iPhone: Don't buy one yet (Part II)

Quick Review
iPhone Style: 10/10. Customer Service: 1/10 (phone still doesn't work). Touch Screen: 10/10. Bluetooth: 1/10 (no music). iPod: 9/10 (because of no bluetooth music). Compatibility with existing iPod addons like Nike Plus: 1/10 (reportedly none work yet). Web on Wi-Fi: 10/10 (compared to existing phones). Keyboard: 6/10 (incredible for a touchscreen, poor compared to mini keyboards). Photo browsing: 10/10 (great screen and touch controls). Cost: 4/10 (more expensive than comparable phones and 2G data plans). Watching video & YouTube: 8/10. Text editing: 2/10 (no copy, paste, nor undo). Calendar: 5/10 (nothing new, missing some features). Todo List: 1/10 (no Todo list like Palm or Windows Mobile).

Overall: 6/10 -- Yes it's revolutionary, and it's stunning, but I'm returning mine -- read the rest for why.


Full Review
I bought an iPhone because I thought I'd be able to listen wirelessly to music and podcasts through my bluetooth headset, or wired through my regular wired headphones -- I can't (no A2DP, and a custom headphone plug).

I bought an iPhone because I thought I'd be able to get phone calls with my existing number -- I can't (they say they can't transfer a number across mailing zip codes).

I bought an iPhone to take notes on -- I can't figure out how to copy and paste (the word "paste" isn't in the manual).

I bought an iPhone so that I'd be up and running in "minutes" -- after 9 days of waiting and many hours on hold, my phone still isn't on AT&T and they only finally told me why. By the way, you have to call at least 3 different phone numbers depending upon your iPhone problem -- if you call the wrong one they'll just tell you to call the next number. (Other reviewers had even more problems than me).

I bought an iPhone so I could look at the pretty graphics and great multi-touch UI -- and I can. But that's not enough.

Now, the iPhone does look superb. I love the UI, the graphics, and the style. Competitors will need to move quick to catch up. As Apple smooths out their bugs the iPhone could really come to dominate a niche of the SmartPhone market just like the iPod did -- the iPhone really is revolutionary, but as with most revolutions, they don't happen in a day.

Touch Screen
The multi-touch interface is the first touch screen I've ever played with that does it right. Fingers aren't too big to type because it knows where the whole finger is -- and it does the right thing. Normally your finger blocks what you are doing so you can't see it -- but when you use the keyboard a little letter pops up so you can see what you're tying (and if you hit the wrong key, just drag your finger a little to get the correct key before letting go). If your finger would block your cursor when trying to place the cursor, a little magnifying glass pops up so you can see where the cursor is really going. The flick to scroll and the pinch to zoom are finally here -- despite being in research touch-screen systems since the 1970's. So you can drop that annoying stylus! You really don't need it. (Actually, stylus's don't work on the touchscreen -- it has to be a finger to activate the sensor, which may be a benefit).

Summary
So, my recommendation? Don't buy an iPhone yet -- wait a year or two while Apple and AT&T iron out their issues and the platform matures a little -- and then buy it! You'll like it. Until then, borrow someone else's iPhone to play with it for a little while -- you'll be more happy just playing with it, not owning it -- yet. As for me, I'm repacking mine and returning it to the store -- and will try to buy it again when they release iPhone version 2.