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Is the iPhone worth the hype? Have you ever wanted a phone that could double as a butter churner? Or, better yet, accurately predict the outcome of the 2008 presidential election? After all the average consumer has heard for months now, it seems as if Apple's new iPhone should be able to one-up even those tall orders. The new phone (it's hard to call it just that), is more than what media icons are calling the most hyped product in history. It's quite possibly the most revolutionary computer since Apple's Macintosh, introduced over two decades ago in 1984. Yes, I just called the iPhone a computer. But sincerely, because that's what it truly is. I refuse to believe that a handheld device that can play movies, make calls and surf the real Internet is not a computer. Apple's new device is nothing but innovative, starting with its finger-touch interface. People don't like styluses. Apple realized that the key to creating any handheld device up until now was waging war between buttons and screen. If a screen took up half of the front, buttons could take up the other half. It's like ordering a pizza: only so many slices can be pepperoni before they conflict with the olive-only slices. The company's solution? Overwhelmingly simple and elegant: put the olives on the pepperoni. That way both the buttons and the screen get maximum real estate, resulting in a boost of customer satisfaction. The real thing that's going to change the world, however, is the Internet. Wait- Didn't that already change the world? Well, yes, but not as much as it will. The iPod. Duke University was the first of a slew of major colleges to implement the hardware into classrooms as an educational tool. Why? Because audio playback, storage space and other features make it a prime learning instrument. Take the same device, add the ability to browse the web wirelessly, and voilà, must-have classroom technology that all taxpayers will be paying for within the decade. Wireless Internet changed the way we work and play. Wireless Internet everywhere will do the same. Again. But bigger. I'm not talking about the non- Internet Internet that you see on today's cell phones and PDAs. Apple's made the real thing, every site, every possibility- fit into your pocket. The implications are huge, the limitations are small. The bigger case here though isn't just the iPhone itself. It's what it will do to the cellular phone industry. Motorola, LG and every other phone-maker on the market have been shackling executives and engineers to the walls of boardrooms and labs for the past few months, forcing them to come up with a solution to the "iPhone problem." They knew it was going to be huge, and so each company now has to change the way they play the game. Apple has not only opened up the possibilities with new features like multi-touch and the Internet, but has also made tasks simple and fun. It's easy to load files between computer and iPhone. In fact, the iPhone and the personal computer are so meant to be together that you can't even activate the network on the device without connecting it to iTunes first. How else does the iPhone trump everything to date, including smart phones and Blackberries? Visual voicemail. Unless you missed a call from Regis Philbin, you probably don't get overly excited about checking your voicemail, am I right? It's because it's boring. There's no creativity. There's no let's-think-outside-the-box-ness. With iPhone, for the first time, you can see the name and picture of the person you have a voicemail from. You can also listen to messages in any order you want. The battery life on the phone is no wimp. With eight hours, the iPhone gets three hours more talk time than the average smart phone. (I was going to say "competing smart phone," but there's no competition.) There's seven hours on the battery for video playback, six for Internet use, and 24 for audio playback. The screen, which is easily larger than any other mobile phone's, has no problem with scratches or scrapes. Multiple testers have dropped the phone, dragged a key across the surface and, frankly, abused it beyond deserving. However, the iPhone has constantly been the victor with a tough resistance. The phone's camera is 2 megapixels and shoots at a beautiful quality. Other smart phones barely have over one megapixel of resolution. Unlike every other, the phone features Wi-Fi, which means it will connect to the Internet as fast as your laptop and surf in any cafe, store or business that struts the invisible buffet. Finally, the iPhone easily ousts any other phone in terms of built-in memory. Up to 8GB provides plenty of room for movies, TV shows and music. The average top-of-theline phone carries 100 megabytes, one-eightieth the size. Ahh, but there must be at least one negative. In fact, there are a few, and I will name them in rapidfire succession: AT&T, price, expansion, AT&T, recording, AT&T and GPS. Alright, alright, I mentioned AT&T more than once. That's because the magical new phone only works with AT&T because of an exclusive deal Apple made with the carrier. The price. Although it may be too steep for your run-of-the-mill mill runner, the iPhone actually rests at a pretty convenient price point given the number of features included. Does it need more cowbell? Not for the price of $499 (4- gigabyte) and $599 (8-gigabyte). And there's no expandable memory, not that you really need it with eight gigs. With Secure Digital (SD) cards quickly becoming the de facto standard, however, one might hope there'd be a slot... but it's no less amazing without one. Despite including a sickeningly sweet camera with the device, Apple didn't include video or audio recording capabilities- two things amazingly helpful for journalists. Finally, with the inclusion of a Google Maps application, a GPS feature on the phone would prove inexplicably beneficial, but such a feature may likely be announced in a future revision. So, with a sleek frame hiding masterful guts and a prophesied future of glory for such a small device, the iPhone is hands-down a winner and worth purchasing. In fact, if you decide to buy two, send one my way. To comment on this article,
e-mail Harrison at hkeely@gmail.
com.
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