A week ago Thursday — just one day before leaving for a week-long vacation — I noticed my iPhone was not connected to my WiFi network. The other iPhone in the house was on it, as was the iPod Touch, iMac, and MacBook, so I knew the network was fine.

Trying to connect to the network was flaky. It took a while for Settings to even open, and then it either wouldn’t find the network, or if it did I could “join” for a split-second before it reverted back to EDGE.

Crummy timing. Leaving town in one day and too much to do to try taking it for support. Since the EDGE network and other functions were fine, I resolved to address it after vacation.

The next day was a bit worse. I could not go to Settings — the page was blank. I’d force a shutdown (which took very long) and then when I came back up Settings might work. Once I had it back up on EDGE, I decided to leave it alone for vacation.

On the flight out I risked going into Settings to enter Airplane mode and it worked. I was also able to go back to regular mode and left it that way all week.

For my return flight I was not so lucky. I couldn’t get to Settings and had to shut the phone off. Landing at home I turned it on but it couldn’t find EDGE, and practically overheated in an attempt to do so. When I got home I plugged in and it came up fine, and Settings worked (still no WiFi though).

So I restored the device. This was my first time doing so and I took great pains to save all the Web URLs for items on my Home pages. It turns out I didn’t need to. After restoring the phone I activated it via iTunes’ backup and it put all the settings and Home page icons back. Sweet! I had to restore my data, of course, but that’s just an iTunes sync away.

Alas, the restore had no effect on the problem. WiFi was still busted (though the Settings screen never showed the same problem it had before).

Clearly, it’s time for the Apple store and some support…

Get to the Apple store and explain to the concierge the issue. She sees it just as clearly as I do, and makes me an iPod appointment which is only 25 minutes away, so I wait.

I explain the issue to my Genius. Naturally, he wants to restore it, which is fine with me. Maybe 10 minutes later, he explains that, yep, there’s an issue, so they’re getting some paperwork for me and getting me a replacement. Well, that was fast!

A few minutes later I have an iPhone which already has all my Home page icons on it. All I needed to do was go home and sync. Now all is right with the world again.

Bottom line is this was great support experience:

• No messing around.
• No crap about sending the phone in for repair or having 20 other people look at it.
• Just get a replacement in my hands and Apple can deal with the phone in their own way (likely it will get repaired and be used as someone else’s replacement some day).

Support job well done, Apple!

On his Internet Nexus site, Paul Thurrott takes Apple to task for dropping the price of the iPhone so much, and then baits current iPhone owners with a question about being ripped off.

“So Apple took the unprecedented step of lowering the price of the iPhone by $200 to $400… My God. It’s kind of insane”

Yes, dropping the price for the holiday season is crazy. No one’s ever done that before (*rolling eyes*).

“My opinion on this is that the iPhone isn’t selling as well as Apple would like. You just don’t drop prices that aggressively so quickly. Ever.”

Well, Apple just did. As for the iPhone not selling so well, the iPhone kicked ass in its first full month. Clobbering all Palm devices combined, clobbering all RIM devices combined, and selling greater than any single Nokia model. Those are some impressive sales figures. And now they’ll get better.

“Today’s iPod announcements would have been incredible without the iPhone price drop.”

They were incredible, and with the new iPhone price they were even better.

“The question, of course, is this: Does this price cut screw the early adopters? You know, the people who actually waited in line, like lemmings, to get an overpriced gadget that will eventually sell millions of copies. The people who would pay anything for any product Apple cares to sell. The fanatics.”

Ah, Paul’s true colors are showing. He still thinks every iPod and iPhone owner is some sort of Mac freak. Will Paul ever learn that the old arguments of calling people who like these products “lemmings” and “fanatics” isn’t going to fly? Why not come up with, you know, an argument, instead of name-calling and baiting people with silly questions?

As for the question itself, it’s patently ridiculous. I bought my iPhone one week after they debuted. Is my iPhone somehow “less” because of the new price? No. Is it somehow different than when I bought it? No. Did Apple render it obsolete today with a better model? No. Can somebody get a better iPhone than mine at any price? No. (In my opinion they cannot get a better phone than mine at any price.)

Getting the iPhone into the hands of so many more people means there will be that many more apps written for it, and web sites that work with it, and accessories developed for it, and IT departments that will have to support it, and on and on. This is a good thing, except of course for any Microsoft Mobile fans like Paul.

Is a price drop of this much this soon unprecedented? Beats me, I don’t claim to follow all price drops for all consumer electronics. But even if it is, this is an unprecedented device, and Apple wants to rock the Christmas season. Personally, I wonder if the original plan was to drop the 4GB to $399, but everyone wants an 8GB, so they discontinued the four and put the eight into that slot. Bottom line is they likely wanted the entry price at $399 for Xmas.

“Or, is Apple just doing The Right Thing ™ and moving quickly to overcome what has clearly been the iPhone’s biggest complaint?:”

Nonsense. See the above about sales in July. Clearly the iPhone price was acceptable. But as I explained above getting even more people on board is a good thing; Christmas is a great time to do it.

For those who may be concerned that Apple lowered their margin too much, I disagree. Yesterday Apple had very high margins on two “iPod” devices, only one of which was selling like hotcakes. Today they lowered that margin, but added high-margin devices in the two iPod touch models. These devices will fly off the shelves, so Apple will be getting high margins on three items selling like hotcakes instead of very high margins on just one. I think Apple will make more money with this approach, and believe the touch models gave them some leeway price-wise on the iPhone.

“I gave the iPhone a 3/5 rating in my recent review”

Ah yes, the seven-part hatchet job disguised as a review. But where is Paul’s grueling seven-part review of Nokia or Palm devices? Or the Blackberry? Oh that’s right, his job wasn’t to denigrate those devices, just the iPhone. I’m surprised he needed seven parts to pull it off.

I pointed out how pointless and biased Paul’s “review” would be even before he wrote it. I did so here and here. His enormous bias against the iPhone was evident long before he started the “review”. A lot of words to say nothing while 90% of the reviews, even from Apple bashers, are resoundingly positive. I wonder what’s it like to not see the future even when you hold it in your hand. Everyone is scrambling to make something iPhone-like (heck, Nokia showed an iPhone rip-off and said they “copy with pride”!), yet Paul gave it 3 out of 5. Heh.

Oh well, it’s just Paul’s job, and somebody’s got to do it, right? I bet it’s times like this Paul really hates being a shill.

Anybody truly upset and feeling ripped off should STFU and put theirs on eBay for $300. It’ll sell because it’s $100 off the current price, and they’ll get their $200 plus a 50% bonus. After all, if it’s only about the 2 C-notes that should satisfy them. Somehow I don’t think we’re going to see eBay flooded with early adapters selling theirs, though. Some people just like to have a reason to bitch. They’re not giving it up. C’mon people, stop being baited.

Meanwhile, I’m sure Rob Enderle and the usual quote whores will jump all over this, as will every newspaper and blog looking to get hits. I can only hope intelligence and rational thinking will prevail.

(image from Engadget’s live blogging of the keynote today.)

On the Apple 2.0 site today there is an article that implies the class-action suit filed against Apple for the iPhone may possibly, in some slight way, maybe, just a little bit, have some actual merit. Um, no.

Just so there can be no question about it now, go to the iPhone Tech Specs page and you’ll see this: “Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.” This is similar to what the iPod Tech Specs page has said for a long time.

The thrust of the article, then, is presumably when this was clear. I don’t know when the above text became available, or if it was there when the individual in question purchased his iPhone, but I believe it doesn’t matter because it was already known.

The article states:

“The lawsuit claims that this information did not appear in the product’s packaging and never came up in Apple’s promotion or marketing of the device.”

They also didn’t mention they didn’t use faster 3G networking in the iPhone, claiming only that it had EDGE and WiFi. Sue! They didn’t mention there would not be iChat, showing only an iChat-like interface for SMS messages. Sue! They didn’t mention there would be no MMS messages. Sue! They didn’t mention the camera would have no zoom, image stabilization, or video. Sue! And on and on. Based on this ridiculous premise I would like to know just what Apple and the iPhone could not be sued for. Not very much, apparently.

But just what did Apple reveal to the world after the keynote on 1/9/07? What they revealed from the minute the keynote ended was a web site where anybody could see clearly the back of the unit was sealed. Seeing is believing. A picture is worth a thousand words. This should have made it clear to anybody the battery was not user-replaceable. Couple that with the fact the the iPod has had a sealed battery for six years and the iPhone was, according to Steve Jobs, “the best iPod we’ve ever made.” There was nothing devious here.

The article then goes on to state something I consider disingenuous:

“In subsequent press coverage, the news eventually leaked out, perhaps most memorably in John Dvorak’s famous iPhone podcast, in which he quotes an unnamed Cingular (AT&T) executive complaining about the “amateur mistake” Apple made in not having a removable battery. (link)”

This is absolute and utter nonsense. First, the information didn’t have to “leak out” to anyone who went to Apple’s site and saw the sealed case. Implying it did is disingenuous at the very least. But even for those for which a picture wasn’t good enough, the news coming out less than one week after the keynote confirmed the obvious. See here, here, and here for just three examples.

To imply this was somehow a mystery being hidden, and that it had to “leak out” is just ridiculous. I think Apple’s had sealed batteries in the iPod for so long that it’s a wonder to them anyone thought the iPhone would be otherwise. Sure, some “analysts” questioned it, but they still question the iPod’s battery and lack of FM transmitter today; they’re only proof some people like to complain.

Then we get a line apparently scolding Jobs for not listing any potential shortcoming of the iPhone:

“On June 18, Apple issued another press release: … Nothing about battery replacement.”

That’s because it was an article about battery life. All portable devices talk about battery life (if they don’t, then you know their battery life sucks), but they do not dwell on when the battery will have to be replaced. I mean, even a user-replaceable battery eventually dies, and if it did so after only three months wouldn’t you still complain about it even though it’s user replaceable? What really matters far more is how practical it is in day to day usage, which is what the aforementioned press release was all about. Heck, why don’t you just look at every press release coming out of Apple from 1/9/07 to 6/29/07 and blast them because none of them make mention of iPhone “battery replacement?”

The article concludes:

“Does any of this justify a class action lawsuit or entitle Mr. Trujillo, his lawyers and the class of iPhone purchasers to damages? You be the judge.”

OK, as the judge I can state with no hesitation that this case is laughable and should be tossed out. From what I’ve read, the overwhelming majority (thankfully) believe the same, and this article attempting to place it in a different light is just silly.

I honestly don’t know if the article is simply meant to generate a lot of page hits (I’m sure it will, and heaven knows it suckered me in), or simply trying to bend over backwards in an effort to supply “Mac news from outside the reality distortion field.” If the former, then mea culpa, you caught me with your stinky bait. If the latter, well, it’s one thing to be outside the reality distortion field, it’s quite another to be outside reality.

(Photo from of ifixit.com.)

This isn’t a review of the iPhone. I love the device and feel like I always have a laptop computer on my hip now wherever I go. If you’re looking for a “conclusion” from me, I gave that in an interview on Fix Your Thinking when I stated this:

“I’ve had an iPhone for six days and am simply amazed by the device. Let the others too “cool” to be impressed downplay it or quibble about what it can’t do, perhaps in the interest of acting “fair” or unbiased. I’ve got a list of improvements I’d like to see myself, but what it can do, and how it does it, is amazing. I tell people it’s the best laptop I’ve ever had. It’s the PowerBook 170 all over again! Last night I was sitting with my feet on my desk listening to tunes and reading sites via Google Reader all on the iPhone, when my regular computer was right there! To me, that’s a pretty good testament to what a great little device this is. And it can only get better.”

In the above I mentioned a list of improvements, which I’ll specify here, but keep in mind this isn’t some pie in the sky wish-list that acts as if I can have everything and give up nothing in return. So, for example, you’ll see no request for 3G or GPS here. They’d result in a bigger phone with less battery life. Besides, if 3G replaced EDGE, I’d have less coverage for my internet access. I tended to focus on the items that impact my daily use of the device.

This list is hardly definitive, but at least it’s mine, and not regurgitated from analysts and pundits so out of touch that they still decry the lack of an FM transmitter in the iPod even after its sold 100 million units. I don’t claim this is all I’d want changed, but they seem to annoy me the most.

Here’s what I’d like to see improved in the iPhone:

Allow snooze on appointment alarms.
When an appointment alarm goes off, there’s no option to snooze it. I like to snooze my alarms because if I’m reminded of something 15 minutes early it may be too late. I tend to get reminders 1 or 2 hours before, and then just snooze to make sure I don’t space it off. Can’t do that with the iPhone.

To get around this, I View the appointment when the alarm goes off, then Edit it and change the alarm to an even sooner time. It works, but it’s a very crude substitute for Snooze.

Only 25 ringtones, no chance to change them.
It’s a matter of opinion, but for me there’s only five or so of the ringtones that are any good, the other 20 are kind of lame. And there’s no option to get others. I think Apple’s going to work something through iTunes to get ring tones, and I suspect licensing deals are involved. Still, for now I’m stuck with just a few ring tones I’ll actually use.

Let me set specific sounds for events.
You can set whether an event has a sound or not, but you do not get to pick the sound nor its volume. The sound is predetermined, and the volume used is the master one for which you set the ringer.

The pre-chosen sounds are too simple, too short, and too low for me. Remember those 20 or so lame ringtones? I’d gladly use them here. Let me set one for each event as I see fit. If nothing else I could pick louder and longer sounds for the three items I’m currently most likely to miss with the wimpy sounds they have now: Mail, SMS Text, and Voice-mail.

Let me send MMS pix messages.
It’s got great SMS text messaging, why no MMS messages? Sure I can email pictures, but not to people with regular cells that do not receive email but can still get a PIX message. That’s most people, by the way.

Beef up the vibration.
The vibration on this thing is pretty weak. I’ve had it in my pocket and missed notifications. It needs to vibrate longer for emails and text. My old phone would rattle the walls. I don’t need that much, but a little shake just doesn’t get it done.

Better speed dialing (and/or voice dialing).
On my old phone, speed-dialing was a simple two-step process (obviously, I could only do nine numbers this way, but another 90 were possible if I wanted to push two digits):
1) Open phone.
2) push and hold a single digit.

On the iPhone, a “speed dial” (i.e., call from Favorites) takes anywhere from three to six steps:
1) Wake phone.
2) Unlock phone.
3) If Favorites is showing, tap number. OTHERWISE press Home
4) Press Phone
5) If Favorites is showing, tap number. OTHERWISE press Favorites
6) Touch number.

Keep in mind it’s only three if the Phone was the last application used, and for me that’s rarely the case, so I usually have five or six taps.

I’m not sure how Apple can address this. This is one case where a hardware button comes in handy. Apple doesn’t have any “free” hardware buttons for this, and I wouldn’t want to see nine buttons down the side of the device. I suppose they could make an option to let you pick what screen the iPhone will wake to. Speed dial freaks could select Favorites and therefore always have three taps. If Apple implemented such an option, however, I’d probably choose to just have it remember where it was, like it does now. Bottom line is I’ve resigned myself to the idea that speed-dialing is what it is.

Another solution, of course, would be to implement voice dialing, which is pretty common on phones nowadays. The iPhone has a mic, so I’m not sure why voice dialing is not available anyway. My last phone had it and I had no desire to use it, but in lieu of faster speed dialing I might be tempted to use it on the iPhone if only for that purpose.

Support Mail (viewing and keyboard) in landscape mode.
I’d really like this for viewing. Lots of HTML emails are mini-web pages anyway, and I find myself turning it sideways to get a better read. As for the keyboard, I’m of the opinion that I’ll use one or the other because I don’t want to have to train myself on both. I like the portrait one and have actually avoided the browser’s landscape version, but I see no reason for Apple not to offer the choice.

Give me Mail search.
Of course, the email is on the server so what are you gonna do? Well, I’d like to think Apple’s partnership with Yahoo on email could tie onto Yahoo’s Find command. Please?

Support Copy and Paste.
Not sure what finger gesture(s) this would use, but sooner or later (better make it sooner) this will be mandatory.

Sync Notes.
The Notes application kind of just sits there, forgotten and alone. It makes for good typing practice, and you can email them, but it’s really weak. I cut Apple slack here, though, because I firmly believe we’re not really seeing the full iPhone Notes. I believe we’ll see it sometime around when Leopard is released. Leopard’s Mail app will include nice Notes and To Do integration, and I can’t help but think the iPhone will get in on this action, including the To Dos (the iPhone currently has none).

Those are the biggies for me. I’ve also mentioned improvements for the camera, but the above are the primary ones from my first 12 days with the device.

It strikes me that while I certainly believe all or most of these should be implemented, it’s a pretty short list for a 1.0 device. Especially one as complex and hyped as this one was.

Literally.

[NOTE: I originally posted this on 6/29 after I ordered from the Apple Store. But I removed the post a day later when I canceled the order to buy one locally and not wait 2-4 weeks. Turns out supply shriveled up and I had to wait a week anyway.]

Just sunk my money into a phone. Not just any phone, of course. An iPhone. I’ve been planning on getting a new Mac as soon as they get upgraded. Well, I just did. Sure, it’s a phone, but it’s a Mac, too. A hand-held, touchscreen Mac.

Bought it at a local mall last Saturday. Checked the Apple retail store availability and got there at 9am. There were probably 40-50 people there. They had 75 iPhones (all 8GB) and I got mine.

But what about all its “drawbacks,” you ask? Click the iPhone category on my site and you’ll see what I think of those. But here’s a rundown of the usual suspects, and how I apply these directly to me and my decision to purchase:

Greasy, or fragile, or scratchy touchscreen. I use touchscreens every day at gas stations, ATMs, grocery stores, etc. These thing are not fragile. Greasy? What are you, a slob? Wipe your hands off every once in a while, will ya? Besides, fingerprints wipe off.

Can’t replace battery. You mean like my iPod? No, wait, like my four iPods? Hasn’t been an issue there. I can’t believe after five years of this crap for the iPod this argument is still around.

Virtual keyboard. I’m using a keypad (not keyboard) to type, so I think for me the QWERTY keyboard will be a Godsend. Besides, I’m very comfortable with predictive typing, and the iPhone’s looks brilliant.

EDGE instead of 3G. Well, this one I’ll give you a little bit on. But the iPhone has WiFi! And I’m one of those people who thinks he’ll use it in a coffee shop more than otherwise. Further, tens of thousands of Blackberrys are in use on EDGE, so it’s obviously fine for email, texting, etc., the bigger issue is with web browsing. Besides, EDGE has gotten a speed boost this month in anticipation of the iPhone, and by all accounts it’s working.

Expense. Personally, I always thought this was overrated, because with a smartphone you have to view the phone and the two-year contract. For example, Verizon advertises Motorola Qs for $149, but they don’t say they require a minimum $80 a month package. Do the math: (80 x 24) + 149 = 2,069. Once AT&T announced their iPhone plans and unlimited data downloads were available for $60 a month, that sealed it for me: (60 x 24) + 599 = 2,039. I used the most expensive iPhone model in this example, yet the price is virtually the same! Bottom line is the expense difference over two years is negligible.

AT&T Network. I don’t know. I have no love or hate for AT&T any more than I do for Verizon (my current carrier), T-Mobile, Sprint, etc. Well, that’s not quite true because I hate them all. Phone carriers suck, and I rate them only on the quality of their signal where I live. Verizon does fine in my area, will AT&T? I won’t know that until I get the phone and check it out. I don’t care how great the phone is, if I’m dropping calls then forget it. I can return it in 14 days and will do so if the network isn’t up to snuff. However, I was smart enough to check AT&T’s coverage in my area first, and it’s listed as highest in my area.

So there’s some of my reasoning. No more talk, I put my money where my mouth is (or at least where my mouth will be when I’m on the phone). I carry a phone and iPod everywhere now, and have replaced that with one device.

I’ve been using it for five days and am thrilled with the device. I’ll post more on it after I get another week or so under my belt.

RIM and Verizon are in a bit of denial over the iPhone.

Opening weekend sold maybe 700,000 units, and there are reports AT&T has activated one million units already. Add to that the positive reviews it received prior to launch, and more great reviews received after launch, and you have all the makings of a stellar product launch and success.

Still, from both RIM and Verizon we hear little more than business as usual, nothing to see here, move on.

For example, we get a casual attitude from Verizon Wireless’ General Counsel Steve Zipperstein, who says the jury on the iPhone is still out:

“”Despite the hype about the iPhone in the media over the last couple of weeks, the product has only been available for the last 10 days,” said Zipperstein. ” The jury is still out and we will have to see how the market reacts.”"

Right. So if Verizon released a phone that sold a million in 10 days, you wouldn’t be peeing your pants, giggling like a little school girl and counting your stock options.

I agree with Mac Daily News on this one, what jury is Steve talking about? OJ’s?

Meanwhile, Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., shrugs off the iPhone after being asked if anyone at RIM had managed to get one:

“”I haven’t seen one,” he volunteered with a shrug of his shoulders and a bored expression.”It’s possible, I guess. I mean, you watch these things, but you really have to just focus and do your job.”"

And yet, being bored and unworried about the iPhone has not stopped him from warning us all of how dangerous it is:

“He is also intensely critical of what appears to be an effort by Apple to wrest control of the customer experience in the consumer market. For example, the iPhone is being sold through Apple’s own stores, instead of strictly through AT&T Inc…. The phone is free of AT&T’s logo and software and is tied closely to Apple’s iTunes music store,”

Having the AT&T logo in the info bar isn’t enough? It certainly makes it clear whose signal you’re using, which is what AT&T is providing. Customers are not served well by not having a glued-on AT&T emblem? If carriers want their logo on the phone, let them make the hardware.

Selling through Apple’s store is a problem? Can you possibly be serious? Having your phone sold in the most successful retail outlet in history is somehow a bad thing? A store that makes demo phones fully available on WiFi for customers to feel, touch, and use is a problem? Allowing the customer to activate it at home so your sales staff isn’t bothered with that mundane task is somehow an issue? Wow.

Being tied to Apple’s iTunes is a problem as well? Um, what? The dock-and-sync Apple has brilliantly perfected over the years — that hundreds of millions of people already know how to use — is a selling point, Jim, not a drawback.

So this is apparently the crux of the matter to Jim:

“”It’s a dangerous strategy,” says Balsillie. “It’s a tremendous amount of control. And the more control of the platform that goes out of the carrier, the more they shift into a commodity pipe.”"

You don’t think cell service is something of a commodity already? How bad would it be if hardware makers made great hardware unshackled from the unreasonable constraints of carriers who want to sell us $2 ring tones, $3 songs, $15 crappy games and large monthly fees for streamed videos even though we already have those things on our PCs?

I’ve got a great idea. Why not have the carriers worry about their primary reason for existence: the signal? Quit the other crap and deploy faster and stronger signals to more places. They could make their money on $80+ monthly voice/data plans that customers actually feel provide their money’s worth, instead of building proprietary networks and ’services’ to peddle a bunch of stuff we have or could get elsewhere if they didn’t cripple our phone so much.

Jim is pandering to the carriers here. No wonder he’s ‘co-CEO,’ I wouldn’t want him running the whole show. It seems RIM is successful despite his brilliance.

So now politicians are jumping on the iPhone bandwagon.

No, not the one to talk about the device itself, I mean the other one. You know, the one where you blast it for some ridiculous reason in order to get your name in the papers and have a few minutes of fame. That one.

There was a hearing on “wireless innovation and consumer protection.” Nobody would have known that, of course, so the Democrats decided to play the iPhone card in order to get some publicity:

“”The problem with the iPhone is that the iPhone with AT&T is kind of like a ‘Hotel California’ service,” Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey said–in a nod to the Eagles hit, of course–during a hearing. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”"

Ridiculous Hotel California analogy aside, what is the matter with these people? Smartphones requiring 2-year contracts are commonplace, and nothing new. Further, specific phones for specific carriers is also nothing new, or did they not know that the LG Chocolate was exclusive at launch, as was the RAZR, etc.?

This is simply another example of using the iPhone to grab headlines. Every publication on the planet has already done this, so why not politicians now?

The beauty of this is that later the same story was “updated:”

“Update: Just to be clear, despite their gripes about the AT&T exclusivity and the $175 fee that accompanies ending the mandatory two-year contract early, Markey and some of his Democratic colleagues appeared perfectly smitten with the iPhone itself.”

Translation: “We were only grabbing headlines, and didn’t mean to say such stupid things. To be honest, we thought we could just get the publicity without people actually reading what we said and criticizing our stupidity.”

Even with the tremendous success of the iPhone’s launch, it was clear there’d still be spin-meisters out there to take it all away.

And yet, how could they? The phone is a sellout almost everywhere, sold upwards of 700,000 units, and received glowing reviews. Further, reviews coming in after the first couple of days continue to remain overwhelmingly positive.

Still, the naysayers have to tear at something, and with a success this big you just knew the arguments would be pretty ridiculous. But I must admit even I was surprised at just how weak this stuff is. Let’s take a look at three beauties…

The iPhone misses its (mysterious) sales target!

It’s well known iPhone sales in the first few days are a rousing success (see above link indicating perhaps 700,000 units), but not according to The Street’s Scott Moritz. According to Scott, the number inside Apple and on Wall Street was a little higher:

“The sales goal — or so-called whisper number — both internally at Apple and on Wall Street was a nice round 1 million phones.”

Aw, they didn’t make it. Poor Apple! The iPhone failed.

But from where did this “whisper number” originate? Well, Scott doesn’t say, but he writes for The Street, and with a name like that you can bet they’ve got sooper seekrit sources that cannot fail. Yet, Google all you want and you’ll see no one predicting anywhere near 1 million units. In fact, no one estimated even half that. Scott himself predicted under 400,000.

Having seen the best estimates for how many iPhones actually sold, and then inventing a “whisper number” above it to imply the launch came up short, we see perhaps the real reason for Scott’s article:

“Missing this hugely ambitious target is hardly a failure, but competitors in the wireless sector are certainly breathing a little easier.”There’s a lot of rejoicing at Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile,” says IAG Research’s Roger Entner.”

and

“”For the other carriers, it’s not a game changer. It’s business as usual again,” says Entner.”

So Scott and Roger have teamed up to give the other carriers a booster shot. Indeed, Sprint and Verizon stock went up on the news, which was likely the intent of the article to begin with. Looks like a little stock manipulation to me.

Sprint and Verizon are in trouble, no matter how easily swayed a few investors may be by a dubious article such as Scott’s. Half of iPhone’s sales went to non-AT&T customers. This means perhaps as many as 350,000 clients just left Sprint and Verizon for a competitor. And they did this to get a phone that neither carrier can offer for five years! Further, the smartphone clients who left for AT&T are money-spenders, using the high-cost accounts and services a carrier can least afford to lose.

This is bad news for Sprint and Verizon any way you look at it; only a complete moron would think it’s “business as usual.”

Apple and AT&T demand SSN for activation!

This story from Michael Tiemann at CNET is apparently intended to panic (infuriate?) us:

“Apple and AT&T are demanding customers reveal SSNs to activate their iPhones. That should be the lead of every technology and business article written this week.”

Ooh. They’re not requesting your SSN, they’re demanding it. Sounds kinda spooky when you put it that way, doesn’t it? Michael believes that identity theft will run rampant from requiring the use of a SSN for a credit check. Since SSNs have been part of credit checks for ages, I’m not sure why AT&T’s would be more susceptible to foul play than any other. The answer, it seems, is that it isn’t.

Michael’s real problem is that he just doesn’t like AT&T, and goes to great lengths to explain why. The gist of it is this:

“The company is a defendant in a class-action lawsuit after a federal judge denied AT&T’s motions to have the case dismissed. The case alleges that AT&T gave the NSA “unchecked backdoor access to its communications network and its record databases,”"

Serious charges, indeed. But then again the case is ongoing, and what’s more this has nothing to do with getting a credit check for a cell phone that all carriers perform. It also has nothing to do with Apple. Michael also says:

“Before writing me off as a privacy kook,…”

I don’t see you as a kook, but I wish I did. Instead, I see you as a “journalist” with an axe to grind who doesn’t mind using a scare tactic (imbecilic as it is) about identity theft associated with the iPhone to sucker readers into your own personal diatribe against AT&T. Personally, I’d like you better if you were just a kook.

The iPhone costs $17,670!

Finally, here’s another gem from The Street. The iPhone has been criticized for it’s price ever since it was announced. However, now that it’s selling so well maybe the price needs to be, shall we say, “adjusted?” I mean, why quote something like, you know, the price, when you can think big? That’s just what Brett Arends does in giving us the true cost of the iPhone.

As a reasonable, intelligent human being you may have done your homework and figured the cost in the same manner that Brett initially describes:

“A $599 iPhone comes with a minimum service plan of $60 a month for two years. Outlay: $2,039.”

Since other smartphones also require monthly plans (usually $80 or more) for two years, you might even think the iPhone was right in line with a typical smartphone cost. Ha! Foolish you. Luckily you have The Street’s wisdom and guidance to set you straight.

First, you didn’t even figure in taxes:

“But if it’s not a work expense, a customer in, say, the 25% tax bracket actually had to earn $2,720 to pay the bill.”

I’m sure you do this with everything else you purchase, so why not the iPhone? Because you forgot, that’s why. You know, Brett won’t always be here to remind you of these things.

But wait, what if you also invested that money for 35 years? Then what? Brett will tell you:

“Take an iPhone customer who’s 30 years old and is not maxing out contributions to his or her 401(k) retirement plan (few are).In that case, the $2,720 could have been invested tax free. Earning a pretty reasonable 5.5% after inflation over the next 35 years, it would have grown to … $17,670.”

Now don’t you feel like an ass? The freakin’ thing costs nearly $18K!!

Now that your retirement funds are cut short, are we talking about simply pinching a penny here or there during retirement? No! I’m sure if you’ll let Brett work the numbers we’re talking the difference between a retirement villa in Florida on a golf course with nothing to do but work on your distance, and an apartment in North Dakota working evenings at Wal-Mart handing out carts to shoppers with that damn smiley face pinned to your chest.

Listen to Brett. He knows. Numbers don’t lie.

Or get the iPhone, enjoy it, and realize that a cell phone is not a particularly important piece of anyone’s retirement plans.

So there you have it. A tragic trilogy of iPhone articles that it’s just as well appeared in print, because even ILM couldn’t work up believable special effects to go with the these pathetic plot lines.

Apple today announced the iPhone’s battery replacement policy, and I’m disappointed.

It’s somewhat similar to their iPod policy, but the iPhone is not an iPod. My complaint is that the process takes three business days. Include time for shipping back and forth and you’re without the phone for five days!

I never thought Apple would treat a phone in this manner. Surely Steve Jobs understands that a phone and a music player have different priorities in people’s lives? Well, I guess not. When do you think you can get by without your phone for nearly a week?

Apple-bashers will have a field day with this, and rightfully so. This is a mistake, Apple, and you need to do something better. Let us bring it to an Apple store for same-day service; use overnight shipping and guarantee 1-day turnaround (though even that leaves me phoneless for three days). Or, if you cannot do better, than make the battery user-replaceable. I’m not one who necessarily wanted this, but then again I assumed when I needed a new battery it would be addressed in a critical fashion, not with a “oh well, just don’t take or make calls for a week” attitude.

Big mistake, Apple. I think you’re going to hear about this from all quarters, not just your competitors.

(Photo from iFixit.com.)

Now that over 24 hours have passed since the official release of the iPhone (and official review samples are in more publications’ hands) many reviews are coming in for the device.

In this post I’ll concentrate on publications and avoid personal bloggers (no matter what their stature), though I may round them up in the next few days.

From reviewing the trade publications’ reviews, a pattern is forming on two things: 1) They believe the iPhone is a remarkable device; and 2) Some reviewers perhaps wished it wasn’t so remarkable, as the hype has been tiring for six months and it might have been nicer had they been able to say it failed. It also would have been a much easier story to publish, and staved off the legions of people who will now call them Apple fanatics, Apple fanbois, or maybe even Apple sycophants. Still, honesty prevailed, and it’s admirable.

I’ll start with Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe, who is no Apple fan yet had to acknowledge something special about the device:

“After the relentless buildup of the past six months, the temptation to trash Apple Inc.’s new iPhone is pretty much irresistible.If only I could.”

and

“Lots of phones have music players and Web browsers… But these other phones look like high-school science fair gadgets compared with the iPhone, an elegant marvel that even a hype-weary journalist has to love.”

Over at CNET they give it an “excellent” 8 out of 10 (no small feat for Apple from a CNET article), and summed it up thusly:

“The Apple iPhone has a stunning display, a sleek design, and an innovative multitouch user interface. Its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy-to-use apps. As an iPod, it shines.”

You should note that CNET’s user review ratings are not yet very high, but if you read them the majority are simply “spammers” giving 2 and 3 ratings based on the so-called faults we’ve heard about for months. Kind of a shame, really, but some people have nothing better to do than post false “reviews” I guess.

PC World, in a bow to some of the ridiculous complaints about the iPhone in recent weeks, exposed the device to a stress test . Their conclusion:

“There’s no need to coddle this sexy little device.”

The reason I call this a bow to ridiculous arguments is simple: When was the last time PC World put a Nokia, Treo, Motorola, Blackberry, etc. into a bag with chains and shook it? When was the last time they dropped it form face height onto concrete? It’s silly the iPhone was even exposed to such testing, unless they also exposed the above-mentioned phones as well, which of course they didn’t. Oh well, at least we know the iPhone doesn’t look like a tank, but it’s built like one.

Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle was clearly tiring of the hype, but is now impressed:

“After all the ink that’s been spilled describing, previewing and hyping the Apple iPhone, does it deserve the attention? I’d have to say yes. It has its flaws and omissions, but this is a device that will be defined by what it brings to the table, not what it leaves behind.”

and

“But for a first effort, this still blows away so many other phones because it takes us to a new level of interaction with our mobile devices. This makes the promise of a “mobile computing” future seem possible because it’s now something we want to do.The cell phone, the most personal of technology devices, has just gotten a whole lot more personal.”

Computerworld weighed in with two reviews. In the first, Tomorrow’s Technology Today, the author states:

“The newness of multitouch in concert with a growing number of mobile desktop-class apps will eventually fade, just as all paradigm-shifters do. But products like the iPhone… leave imprints in time because we can literally judge points into two parts: before and after. I’m convinced the iPhone is that type of product, and I believe its impact will match the hype of recent months.”

and

“The iPhone is a wonderful and thoughtful product that will only get better.”

Computerworld’s second review is also positive. Of special note is the author had this to say about Word and Excel file editing:

“…Google docs and Spreadsheets do work on the iPhone. Who needs Microsoft Office now? With the spanning and pinching abilities you have on this browser, you may forget that you ever needed separate office applications to do simple office tasks.”

The ability to use an office application on the phone will go a long way to defuse potential criticisms of the iPhone as a business device. Combine this with the Zoho announcement that their office suite will have an iPhone version, and IT corporate excuses for not supporting the iPhone are rapidly shrinking.

But maybe the best lines are from Lev Frossman of Time. After a quick list of those iPhone faults we’ve heard bandied about the last six months, he says this:

“Cold fusion would be great too, but you know what? Nobody cares. Steve Jobs has said, repeatedly, that this is the best iPod that Apple has ever made, and it is. It’s also the best phone that anybody has ever made.”

and concludes:

“The hype for the iPhone has been so relentless — witness the screaming Yahoos outside the Apple store — that to praise the phone feels a bit like you’re falling for a sales pitch. Resist the temptation. This thing is a marvel.”

It’s clear that, along with earlier reviews, this device is something different, special, and game-changing. This does not mean it’s for everyone, nor do I claim it to be. If you’ve never been interested in a smartphone, then maybe you’re still not now. But it does mean that other smartphones will be incorporating this type of interface over the coming years (yes, years, because it will take a while to do much more than mimic a few menus). That’s a good thing for all phone users.

While nightmares of iPhones danced in IT heads.

OK, so my poetry sucks. Sue me.

It appears that even at this late date there are a few revelations to be made about the iPhone. Well, maybe not revelations, but at least tantalizing tidbits that, if not as tasty as sugar-plums, are food for thought nonetheless.

For the last couple of weeks, most of the iPhone press from Apple has been targeted primarily at consumers. They’ve been pretty mum about what role, if any, the iPhone would play in the enterprise, and what services might be available for it. But today, a few things have come out. Not all of it is from Apple, and most of it is not in the form of a hard press release, but given the source it’s significant anyway.

Some of these came in an interview with Apple’s Steve Jobs and AT&T’s Randall Stephensen. There appear to be edited versions of the same interview in a few publications. In USA Today, a question was asked about the iPhone handling corporate email:

“Q: What about corporate e-mail? I understand that’s an issue for many consumers, who may not be able to hook up to their company networks?Jobs: You’ll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. We have some pilots going with companies with names you’ll recognize. This won’t be a big issue.”

Sounds like Apple is going to make it difficult for IT groups to say “no” to the iPhone. If they can come out with some “names you’ll recognize” that have corporate email to the iPhone, it will be harder for IT groups to say it can’t, or shouldn’t, be done.

I wonder what form this will take? There’s been rumors Apple would license Microsoft’s ActiveSync for this, but that would mean following the proprietary Exchange format. I’m not sure Apple wants to do this. They’d likely prefer staying open. I wonder if these corporations are simply using some form of IMAP-based service? It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks, and just what corporations Apple is dealing with.

In a piece in the Wall Street Journal, Jobs was asked about what applications from third-party developers he’d like to see, and had this to say:

“…But I think the majority of applications people are going to write for the iPhone are going to be things that corporations like. [Salesforce.com CEO] Mark Benioff has announced he’s going to be doing some exciting stuff with the iPhone… I think people are going to surprise us over the next six or nine months with some pretty creative stuff.”

More applications targeted at the enterprise, and from Salesforce.com? That could be a biggie.

Finally, in the New York Times we have this:

“Mr. Jobs also hinted that there would be announcements about services for corporate users within several weeks. “There’s already corporations who have been running pilots hooking up to Exchange servers and other kinds of mail servers, and they have gone very well,” he said.”

Further confirmation of the iPhone handling corporate email. And what other “announcements about services” does Apple have in mind?

Aside from the Apple/AT&T interview, there were a couple of other significant news items today to strike at the corporate heart.

Visto, a provider of mobile email business, announced the support of corporate email for the iPhone. Support of corporate email on the iPhone is being bombarded on all sides! Between the Jobs comments above, this Visto announcement, and the fact that the iPhone already supports IMAP (which Exchange also supports), if this thing is popular there is simply no way IT groups will have any choice but to embrace it. At least not for very long.

Also today, Zoho has announced an iPhone version of their office suite. This is significant in that the iPhone can read popular office files, but not yet edit them. So here is an alternative. It also seems reasonable to assume that Google’s partnership with Apple may yield something like this with Google Docs as well. In fact, if Google had not planned on something like this, then the Zoho announcement may very well spur them to do so now.

The ability to edit office docs would shoot down yet another argument against the iPhone for corporate use. For corporations, things are getting even more interesting from an iPhone perspective.

In yet another list of so-called missing features, Apple 2.0 has posted the iPhone’s “missing pieces”.

I like Apple 2.0, and have it linked right here on my blog, but this piece is a bit off. Not because of the few reasonable complaints about the iPhone it points out, but rather because of the number of unreasonable or even outright ridiculous complaints it discusses.

I’ve listed them in order, and in each case I place it into one of three categories:

• Obvious - A complaint about a feature I think is reasonable to wonder why the iPhone does not include.

• Questionable - A complaint that might be nice to have, but not something that would make a lot of people’s “missing feature” lists, or even improve the phone in the eyes of a significant number of potential users. I see these mostly as examples of knowing when to say “no.”

• Silly - A complaint that comes from left field, or a wish list, or a rumor site, that had no basis in legitimacy and therefore no business being listed as “missing.”

Here is the list:

No instant messaging

Obvious. Many phones include this, and with Apple’s bragging about their own iChat this seems a no-brainer. Sure, Apple’s SMS is setup to simulate IM, but it’s not the same. I don’t understand this omission.

No way to IM pictures, videos, sounds (i.e. no MMS)

Obvious. Almost every phone on the planet with a camera lets you send picture and sound messages. Sure, with the iPhone you can email them, but that’s hardly the same.

Can’t cut and pasteCan’t edit or save Word, Excel, PDF documents

Questionable. These are not major file editing machines (and I refer to all smartphones, not just the iPhone). If it could cut and paste, no doubt there would be complaints about how hard it is. How many people use this? Some? Sure, but not enough to matter. At first, everyone was wailing that Word and Excel files couldn’t be viewed. Now that they can, the issue is they can’t be edited. Whatever. I wonder if Google Apps can be a potential answer to this?

Camera can’t record video

Questionable. Most people use their camera phone to take pictures of fair quality, not to take movies of crappy quality.

Can’t play Web pages with Flash

Questionable. The iPhone allows web browsing the likes of which no cell phone or smartphone has ever seen before. No longer banished to crappy WAP or mobile sites. So does it get praise? No, people bitch because there’s no Flash. They said this would prevent, for example, YouTube, but I guess not, huh? Apple didn’t add Flash, YouTube subtracted it!

No access to iTunes Music Store

Silly. This was never promised, discussed, or even hinted at by Apple or any site except pie in the sky rumor and dream sites. It’ll likely come some day, but to expect it now is unreasonable.

No games

Obvious. I suspect the issue here was that the iPod’s games require the “old” iPod interface, and need re-tooling for the iPhone touch screen. I think games will come pretty soon.

No way to download contacts from old phones

Silly. This is only a one-time setup task. Further, the iPhone syncs back and forth beautifully with your computer. If your existing phone can do that, then transferring to the iPhone will be a snap. If your existing phone can’t do that, then it’s just one of the reasons you’re getting rid of the piece of crap.

Can’t turn contact lists into e-mail distribution lists

Questionable. Is this common? Especially as primarily a consumer device I can’t see this being on 99 out of 100 people’s lists.

Can’t turn iPod songs into ring tones

Silly. I bet Apple would do this in a heartbeat if they could. It’s about licensing. The RIAA and labels are too stupid to make this a reasonable option. Apple’s still working with them in talks, but it’s up to them.

No way to search phone book or song lists

Obvious. I’ve been looking through doc and the user guide video to check on this, and I’ve seen nothing to suggest a search feature like current iPods have. The iPhone will make it easier to scroll, and easier to find a particular letter, but there are still times I think I’d like typing in a few letters and getting a list. Not sure why this isn’t on the iPhone.

No voice dialing

Obvious (but borderline Questionable). It has a mic and a speaker phone, why not allow voice dialing? I don’t use it; I think most people don’t use it, so I guess that’s why. In that regard this could have been listed as questionable. Still, it’s pretty common on phones so I’m not sure why they avoided it.

No quick way to move up or down pages

Questionable. You mean a Home and End key? I can see this, I guess, but the fact is with alphabet scrolling for the iPod and contacts, and finger-flick scrolling in web pages making short work of them, I’m not really sure what “quick” way could be implemented that would really be, well, quicker.

Not clear if there is support for Microsoft Exchange

Questionable. (And if you’re not sure, why is this even here?) If Exchange is supporting the open IMAP standard (which it’s capable of) then the support is there. Otherwise it’s not there, though there are rumors otherwise. I think Apple plans to make the bulk of their money on this device from consumers, not business. Native Exchange support would be nice, but I see no reason to believe it would help on day 1. Blackberry is all about business, but you don’t see them in the hands of many consumers. Apple would be fine if the iPhone was the other way round.

No other carrier except AT&T Wireless

Questionable, with an explanation. If you live in an area of weak AT&T coverage, you can’t even consider the iPhone. Period. That certainly sucks, so it’s “obvious” they should have supported more than one carrier. However, AT&T supports GSM, which is the international standard Apple wanted to follow. Further, AT&T was willing to compromise and work with Apple on things like visual voice mail. Also, it’s known that AT&T had no say in the device and didn’t even see one until very late in the game. Apple had control. Frankly, Apple needed control to make the iPhone what it is. No one else had that vision. You can bitch and moan that it’s all hype, but the reality is otherwise. If Apple didn’t work with a single vendor who ceded hardware and software design decisions to them at the outset, a lot of what the iPhone is would be compromised. In fact, it would likely be little more than just another cell phone.

No AT&T Wireless insurance

Not sure what the deal is here. Is there AppleCare for the thing?

No way to change SIM card or battery except through Apple

Silly, with an explanation. It’s “obvious” that in the future this will not be silly. I mean, duh, it’s why they went the GSM route in the first place! But it’s silly now (bordering on ludicrous). With all the exclusive talk the last six months, and Apple and AT&T making it clear that’s how it will be, only a wishful thinker of the highest order (or a moron) should be surprised to see that Apple/AT&T took many steps to prevent it form being used on another network in the US right now.

No GPS or live navigation system

Silly. Most phones don’t have it, and most of the ones that do are slow and it burns through the battery anyway. Google Maps provides directions with real-time traffic flows, and the only thing you need to know that GPS would otherwise provide is where you are. If you don’t know where you are then you’re hosed anyway. Oh, and the first one who counters this with being stranded somewhere under freak circumstances and being saved by their GPS is getting punched in the mouth. Can we have some realistic expectations, and not scenarios extracted from our rectum, please?

No VPN for secure communications

According to Apple’s own iPhone Q&A it does support VPN.

No access to a fast, 3G network

Questionable, with an explanation. WiFi blows away 3G, and the iPhone is given too little credit for its inclusion. I believe that, as a consumer device, Apple sees this being used a lot more at Starbuck’s than on the road. Sure, 3G would be better than EDGE, but AT&T’s 3G rollout is limited, and Apple had other good reasons to go with AT&T.

Bottom line to me is that anybody can list what’s “missing,” but a realistic analysis of the device and target market makes most of the above questionable. If all the “obvious” items were added, they may grab a few potential buyers right off the bat. Maybe for day 1 Apple feels they’ll sell every one they make, so at this point they don’t need those buyers? Regardless, I can see the “obvious” getting added down the road.

As for the questionable items, if they were all added to the iPhone tomorrow, the critics would not stop howling (they’d just come up with more) and, more importantly, relatively few people would be swayed in favor of the device.

Finally, what Apple has included is clearly of more value than what they left off. If you do not agree, that’s fine, but then iPhone isn’t for you, and there are many phones that will fit the bill.

There have been a lot of reasons explaining why the iPhone will be a hit or a miss. I wouldn’t try to count how many unique reasons have been postulated for the success or failure of the device, but the ones listed below are what I consider the ‘Top 5′ for each.

The lists are mine, and based solely on my own memory of what seems to be a common consensus of analyst and pundit comments in all the articles I’ve read.

I present each list in no particular order (i.e., I made no attempt to rank them). These just seem to be the five I see most often as reasons for success or failure. Listed with each are my comments.

The Misses:

• Touchscreen keyboard: There’s been some real garbage written about this. The only legitimate complaint I’ve seen is the lack of touch feedback (and therefore ability to touch-type) on the device. However, I don’t think the majority of people touch-type on their keyboards (or keypads, since most people don’t have a phone with a keyboard). For those who do, there will be a learning curve, and they may or may not be willing to go through it. I can see some people canning the phone because they can’t get the hang of it. But I also see a lot of people making it good. Ultimately, while there will almost certainly be grumbling about the keyboard, I don’t see it being a show-stopper. Also, keep in mind Apple could do things to improve it if necessary. Two I can think of is to support it in landscape mode and offer sound feedback when an item is touched. If the perception is that the keyboard is a problem after the iPhone has been available for a week, Apple should move to improve it rapidly.

• Price: I’ve already commented on this elsewhere. Bottom line is that over the course of a two-year contract (which is expensive for any smartphone) the iPhone price difference is not very big.

• Slower EDGE network: Every time this is brought up it fails to mention that 3G is not particularly fast. Yes, it’s much faster than EDGE, but it’s slower than what we’ve got at home (unless we’re dial-up, in which case EDGE will appear fast anyway). Further, when EDGE is brought up, the WiFi capability of the device is not usually mentioned. This is faster than EDGE or 3G. You have to be near a WiFi hotspot, but who is going to the jungle with this thing? Just as people who bought SUVs as they rose in popularity may have talked about “off-roading,” but never took it off the road, the fact is the iPhone is going to be used in Starbuck’s a lot more often than the jungle.

• Availability on AT&T only: This one is hard to judge. Each phone company has its detractors. If you live in an area of weak AT&T coverage I wouldn’t even consider the iPhone. Otherwise, I would. If you think AT&T sucks, they probably do, but so does Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc. In the US especially, phone carriers have way too much power, and it shows. If I gotta have one that sucks, you can bet I’ll get the one that has the phone I want.

• Lack of business email for smartphone use: The battle with IT has begun! The iPhone supports IMAP email, so does MS Exchange (though it’s usually not implemented). IT people feel other email is not as secure as Exchange (debatable), and on and on. I can’t answer this question, but I do know that if you want it for business mail, and your IT group tells you to jump in the lake, well, then, I guess you’re not getting an iPhone.

The Hits:

• Building on iPod success: According to Apple, it’s the best iPod they’ve ever made. Wide screen, beautiful, touch control, etc. If you’re one of the 9-10 million people each quarter that buy an iPod, that feature alone is worth at least $200 (probably more) of the iPhone’s asking price. Anyone looking to replace their iPod (not just their cell phone) is likely a potential customer here.

• Ease of use: Apple is legendary at this, and has left little doubt in the iPhone. The ads are all about the interface, and the guided tour shows it as well. I already know how to take a call when I’m on another, and also how to create a three-way call. Most phones can do this, but I don’t know how to on my current phone, and I’m smart enough to know most people don’t know how to on their phones either.

• “Desktop class” web browsing: Sure, other phones will “do” the web. But Apple makes it clear they’re several steps ahead of other phones in this regard. Import your existing bookmarks, browse multiple pages at once, fully open and standards-compliant web browser. Look, the fact that it’s a smaller screen than your desktop means this will not be the same as being at your desk — let’s have some realistic expectations here. But clearly as a total package it leapfrogs anything out there now.

• Touchscreen interface: The ‘wow’ factor. Provides the ability to have such a huge screen (for a portable device), and a big contributor to its ease of use. In addition, a contributer to its upgradability (since the user interface is all software-based). No stylus, no buttons with special color coding because they serve different purposes for the app you’re in. Just the controls you need when you need them. The simplicity of this cannot be overestimated.

• Integration with iTunes: Syncing and communicating your phone with your PC is sometimes a frustrating mess (if you can do it at all). Lots of people just enter contacts directly into their phone; it may or may not match what they have on their desktop. Further, the only pictures they have have may be those they took with the phone itself, getting pictures from your PC can be difficult, if even allowed. Same with music, bookmarks, etc. Yet with iTunes this is all a no-brainer. And the real beauty of this is that many (most?) potential iPhone customer already know this, since they use iTunes and maybe even an iPod as well. There’s a lot to be said for getting a cool device with lots of potential and knowing you’ll be able to transfer stuff from your PC to it that will fulfill that potential.

So what’s my prediction on the iPhone? It should be obvious from my comments that I think it will be successful. I’m just not convinced the reasons given as ‘misses’ will effect most users, or even be an issue at all. They seem like so much nit-picking to me, and couldn’t you just as easily take any other phone and tear it to shreds in a similar manner? I think so. Though compromises exist, I believe the iPhone has the fewest for its given features than any other phone out there.

Oddly, the single biggest potential for failure I see is one not usually mentioned. It does three things at once. Lots of people might think it only does one or two of those “best,” and therefore want another device for the third. Once you take away its ability to do all three, and get a user thinking he needs to carry a couple of devices anyway, then the world opens up to all competitors. If most people think the iPhone is the best at one of its functions and very good at the other two, then I think it rolls. However, if it’s perceived to be not so good at even one of its functions, that’s where trouble could start. If such a perception seems to form within the first couple weeks, I’d suggest Apple quickly act to correct it before its too late. If the perception is left to linger for a couple of months, it may be too late to correct at all.

I predict Apple sells anywhere from 10 (yes, just 10) to 45 million of them in 2007. In other words, I’m staying out of the prediction game.

There’s been a bucketful of negative iPhone articles lately, as usual. Want to read something more positive for a change? I’m linking to three articles that actually thought the subject through and have a realistic outlook. After all, why start the weekend on a down note?

I’m sure these articles won’t generate the number of page-hits the typical “The iPhone is insecure and has a touchscreen with fingerprints so it will destroy your life!” articles do, but you could help that by reading them.

These articles are not iPhone fluff pieces. They’re not fawning. They simply look at the subject matter at hand, apply a dose of cranium usage (i.e., thinking) and come away with a more positive picture than the FUD-spewing pieces that lack real analysis. I’ve picked one article each on the iPhone’s potential, its security, and its features.

1) I, Cringely writes about Apple and Google collaborating.

Not usually a big fan of I,C, but this is a positive article. Highlights:

“The iPhone absolutely needs AJAX applications for the phone to be a success on AT&T’s EDGE network. By pushing more functional logic into the browser, the bandwidth consumed per http round-trip is significantly reduced… Whaddayado? Introduce a Windows version of Safari, get a million people to download it in the first week, and scare developers into moving Safari customization higher on their AJAX priority list.”

and

“Where Google comes into this story is with the Google Web Toolkit (GWT), an open source compiler that compiles Java source code into optimized browser-specific JavaScript code… Now imagine you are the developer of an AJAX application and you suddenly have an urgent need to support Safari for Windows. The easiest way to accomplish that is through GWT. What this means for Apple is better and broader iPhone support.”

The above is all speculation, of course, and may not be what’s happening at all. Cringeley’s track record at prediction is not very good. However, that Safari was released on Windows at least in part to help ensure writing and proper testing of iPhone apps is not in dispute. What I like about the article is that, instead of fabricating one of a million theories on why the iPhone could fail, it’s a positive scenario on a way the iPhone could succeed.

My point is that if all you’re gonna do is theorize, there are just as many success stories to dream up than failures. They just don’t get the page hits, I guess, but it’s nice to see.

2) IBM on iPhone’s security.

With all the crap and FUD we’ve seen (and will continue to see) about the iPhone in business and not being secure, etc., here’s an IW article about what IBM security researchers had to say on the topic. Their reasoned analysis certainly goes against the FUD grain we’ve been seeing. Highlights:

“The plus side is that it should take a pretty sophisticated hacker to break into the phone’s system, but the negative is that… many hackers will be inspired to try.”

That “plus” is a great one, and with all we’ve been hearing about how insecure the device allegedly is, it’s about time somebody gave the UNIX-based OS X credit where it’s due!

“It’s going to be challenging for the bad guys to exploit them like they do other [smart phones]… We’ve seen some very determined attacks on other mobile phone platforms… A lot of these attacks are going to be very hard to launch against the iPhone.”

Finally, someone is being realistic about what is going on in the real world of hackers. Looking at existing hacks and weaknesses and examining the iPhone in light of those, instead of generic crap.

“And one major thing they’ve been focusing on is that the iPhone won’t have a software developer’s kit. While that makes it harder for third-party vendors to make software for the phone, it’s also going to make it a lot harder for hackers and malware writers to take advantage of it.”

Hey, these guys are smart. See the “crap and FUD” link above. In that article I stated: “Does Apple not get points for running a secure Operating System in OS X? Further, what about that fact that Apple has (so far) closed the device to third-party apps? Does the IT group have any idea what third-party crap is being downloaded by a user and put on their smartphone? Do you think there may be a security risk there?” Thank you IBM for seeing this as well. It’s a shame this obvious fact eludes those writing articles meant to do nothing but scare-monger and serve an IT agenda.

“He said another positive is that Apple historically has made it pretty easy to update their products… “We suspect the ability to update the phone will be relatively painless and robust. That’s been a major problem with other smart phones.”

This is where OS X and the iPhone’s integration with iTunes comes into play. The article ends on what I consider a positive note:

“So where does that leave the iPhone’s security future?”It will likely take a very sophisticated attack and a very sophisticated attacker to compromise an iPhone,” he added. It will take a level of sophistication that we haven’t seen much of…”

In other words, sure, people will try, but it ain’t gonna be easy. Was there any doubt people would try? No. Was there any doubt it would be difficult? Well, if you read the scatter-brained FUD articles pandering to IT managers, yes. But when reason is applied, an altogether different picture emerges.

3) Forbes suggests that maybe, just maybe, the iPhone is about features.

For my last article I’ve chosen a Forbes piece. What I like about this article isn’t just that it discusses iPhone features, but also takes a swing at the notion that the only people lining up for it are devotees of Apple. That point bothers me because the “iPod generation” is overwhelmingly non-Mac users. The suggestion in FUD-pieces about “Macolytes” being the only ones drooling over the device is just plain wrong.

Some highlights from the article:

“You mean, all the anticipation is about the actual, physical product and its features–and the Apple brand is at the bottom of the list…?”

Yep. Much is made of iPhone’s price, but what some don’t seem to get is that the very price that may drive some away is also cause for most people to think about what the iPhone actually offers, not who makes it.

“Could it be that great brands are the product (no pun intended) of something other than branding? In fact, they are!… Branding seeks to transcend tangible benefits… Great brands, meanwhile, are the result of compelling products and services.”

Good explanation of the difference between ‘great brands’ and ‘branding’. And here are the money quotes:

“But brands such as Apple didn’t become great because of good ads. Rather, the unique and differentiated propositions of the products made for good ads. Macintosh computers really are more beautiful inside and out: easier to use, and better to look at.”"Great products speak for themselves. Not by coincidence, the iPhone ads are as straightforward as a product demo can be: a hand in front of a black background operating the device. Could Motorola or Nokia get away with this? Hardly. What sets the iPhone apart is its unique design and the promise of new features and a new standard in usability.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Of course, the features will have to work; there is no guarantee of success. But that’s the point. The Apple brand will do nothing for this device if it doesn’t perform. With so many articles claiming Apple’s recent successes are luck, or because of alleged “lock-in”, or because their fans are all “Macolyte” zombies, it’s nice to see a major publication suggest that it’s actually because Apple is developing products that people want to use because they solve real problems in an elegant and easy to use manner.

So, you see, there is some light shining in the dark, dingy corners of the frightening, IT-pandering, closed- minded, negative hit-piece, page-hit-generating FUD out there. Enjoy!

I was going to write a piece on a Wall Street Journal article that decries the use of the iPhone for business, and the IT departments’ general resistance to the device even in the face of clear employee desires for it. So much so that they may even get one anyway.

I don’t mean everyone at your company should get an iPhone, but I do believe that if a smartphone of some kind is justified for the work you do, then why not get the one people are drooling over? There are numerous ways to route email to the device.

At any rate, I don’t need to write a piece, because Jon Gruber of Daring Fireball nails this one good.

Enough!

I’m not referring to the iPhone hype. That’s fine, especially now that we have Apple’s ads for the product, and an availability date of 6/29.

No, I’m referring to the many articles asking ridiculous questions about things we already know (or should have known) about the iPhone. As if Apple’s own web site and six months of constant discussion have not revealed so much as a clue about the device. Below are a few of the things I’m talking about.

“Hey, My Whopper Doesn’t Look Like It Does in the Commercials!”
Let’s start with a ZDNet article so impressed by the “speed” of the iPhone on the commercials that it actually asks if the iPhone is really that fast? The article states:

“The internet speed was particularly noticeable in the Calamari video where the person went to Google Maps to find a seafood restaurant and then called the restaurant after opening up the details with a simple screen tap.”"Do you think the videos are showing real performance of the iPhone?”

Oh please. I can answer the question: No, it’s not that fast. It’s a commercial. Have you ever seen a commercial for photo printing? Did you buy one of those printers because of how fast the print came out? Are you that gullible? These were short spots and they’re not going to waste valuable TV broadcast time showing the New York Times load. The speed of the device was witnessed in the January demo, where it loaded the NYT live over WiFi. It was no speed demon, but it’ll work.

You Are Here. (Because you told me so.)
Then there are the articles asking if the iPhone has GPS. This takes two different approaches. One of them believes this is possible because:

“The ad entitled ‘Calamari’ shows a button at the bottom of the screen that reads “Directions To Here” which would mean that the iPhone has GPS capabilities.”

No, it would not mean that. It would mean that, like any map application on the web (Google’s, MapQuest, Yahoo’s, etc.), it has a function to get directions to “here”, where “here” is the location displayed on the map!

Other articles have claimed it must have GPS because in the commercial the location came up without prompting. Gasp! That means it must know where you are, and that can only mean GPS. Well, unless, of course, it means that you can have a default location like Map applications are wont to have.

All This Chitter Chatter…
Then there are the sites bemoaning the lack of iChat shipping on the phone. I saw a few of these articles so I’ll just pick one. It says:

“An iChat program will not be included in the initial operating system. Coupled with the lack of support for 3rd party apps for the time being, this means that there will be no way to get your instant messaging fix for now.”

But iChat was never promised or touted as a feature of the iPhone. It’s not on Apple’s site for the iPhone. Further, some of the sites seemed to think this would have been video chat, apparently not even realizing the camera is turned the wrong way.

It’ SIMpossible!
Then there’s the tragedy of no accessible SIM slot. The same article above mentions this:

“There will not be an external SIM slot, contrary to the announcement at MacWorld stating that the phone would have a SIM slot at the top of the device.”

What was announced at MacWorld is the existence of a SIM slot, which is no doubt built-in to the device. I would think it’s not accessible in the initial release because the device in the U.S. is exclusive to AT&T, and doesn’t need it accessible. I’m not at all surprised to see Apple put the whammy on changing carriers via SIM slot on initial release. I’m sure AT&T wanted this, but Apple likely wanted it, too, to better control the initial user experience. They’ll make the slot accessible when they need to (at the international release, which is the primary reason for the slot in the first place), but for now they don’t need to.

The 12th Man.
And then there’s the 12th application. Lots of sites reported this, but again I’ll only pick one:

“However, there is an odd shot in the newly released “How-To” iPhone ad, where the screen goes from the traditional 11 icon view, to a new 12 icon view.”

And this article has got lots of pictures as proof! Yes, plenty of “eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was” to prove their point that there’s a 12th icon. So naturally, they query:

“what is the mystery app that has bumped all these apps down one spot?”

Well, am I the only one who believes one of the settings allowed on this phone will be to modify the main menu? I mean, this seems like a pretty obvious thing to me. Maybe add and remove items like a favorite contact or location? Perhaps in using this particular iPhone that’s all that was done. I don’t know this, of course, but it seems as likely to me as there being some mysterious app that Apple wants to keep all hush hush until the very end.

So, only one day after the ads initially aired and the availability date is set, the craziness begins in earnest. It almost hurts to think that we have 25 more days of this to come. Brace yourselves.