Tim Almond

I’ve just read one of the most ignorant pieces of writing about Apple’s iPhone. How people get to be senior editors of newspapers whilst understanding so little is beyond me.

 But in the innumerable articles comparing the iPhone to existing phones from other suppliers, several fundamental points are being missed. For example, in an article in The New York Times last week a Nokia executive was quoted saying, ludicrously, that the iPhone "is an evolution of the status quo." According to the article, "he said Nokia already sold high-end phones with a wide range of functions." Such statements make the speaker appear desperate, and ignorant.

No, he’s actually well informed. With the exception of the multi-touch interface, there’s really nothing new in the iPhone. Polished, maybe. Improved interface, screen and layout, yes. It’s got some interesting design ideas. But in terms of features, Nokia are ahead of the iPhone already.

It is unconvincing to compare Apple’s iPhone to the features of existing phones. Unlike pretty much everything else on the market, the iPhone is not a stand-alone device. It only makes sense to use in conjunction with a computer. You can’t even activate it, for pete’s sake, without going into iTunes on your PC or Mac.

Being forced to install a piece of proprietary software on my PC to use my cellphone isn’t a benefit. Secondly, my Nokia 6680 (a 2+ year old phone) that I have is not a stand-alone device, either. I can connect the USB cable and synchronise contacts. It can transfer music and pictures, opting for the more open interface of the phone becoming a PC drive. Not only that, I can transfer an MP3 to use as a ringtone and 3rd party applications (neither of which are iTunes features).

The iPhone is, as Mossberg pointed out "a true handheld computer." This is a radical statement. While Palm, Nokia, Research in Motion and others have aspired to such a device, they have failed to deliver it. Yet it is what people want.

The iPhone is less of a "true handheld computer" than a 10 year old Psion V is. Can I program it? No. Can I install 3rd party applications? No. The latest release of Python for Symbian S60 allows me to write programs to collect the GPS information from the phone to use in whatever way I see fit. I could write an application to automatically take photos from the camera, put that together with the GPS information and upload it to a website. That’s a true handheld computer. Try that on an iPhone.

It is impossible to explain why the iPhone has so completely captured the world’s imagination. But I think one major reason is that many of us who routinely use the web today instinctively feel we ought to be able to do so everywhere. Until now that has been impossible.

Impossible? What, so that Opera Mini that’s running on my 6680 is a figment of my imagination?

The iPhone appears to be the kind of solution we have been waiting for. And the early built-in features, like Google maps with real-time traffic information demonstrate just what kinds of potential there is in real Internet features on a portable device.

Wow. Is that like the Google maps with real-time traffic information that I downloaded for my 6680 a month ago?

So am I rushing out to buy an iPhone? No. Another thing Jobs is masterful at is the iterative improvement of Apple’s products. I would rather wait to have the initial inevitable bugs ironed out and certain basic flaws corrected — like the absence of a good speakerphone, silent vibration capability, and video recording.

And everything listed here.

Tags: Technology //