Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
The Setup
Setup couldn’t be easier. No, really. It couldn't. You can sign up for wireless service and activate the device without a phone call – much less a trip to the local cellular store. Apple gives you the option of handling the entire process online, through its iTunes service.
All told, it took me the better part of an hour to set the thing up. But that’s because I’m delinquent when it comes to updating my desktop software. The iPhone won’t work without iTunes 7.3 and Mac OS 10.4.10 - or Windows Vista or XP Service Pak 2, if you’re on a PC - and I was running much older versions.
Once my desktop was updated, I had the phone activated in less than ten minutes. There was a moment where AT&T's website struggled to pull up my info, but after an extra try or two, it finally responded.
The line for the Apple iPhone - not the cable car
The Software
But enough with setup. The real revelation is Apple’s stylus-free GUI. The interface is so intuitive - and so responsive - you can do almost anything without a second thought. To open an app, you simply touch it with a finger. To move an item back and forth, you slide your finger to and fro. Giving you the power to do almost everything with a touch to the screen, Apple includes only the one hardware button.
The ability to navigate with your bare hands lends a little something extra to almost every application – from the calculator and the weather widget to email and visual voicemail – but it’s particularly handy when it comes to using Google Maps and browsing the web. You can zoom in on a map or a web page simply by touching two fingers to the screen and then spreading them apart. If only it were that easy on the desktop.
The only part of UI had trouble with was the on-screen keyboard. Even after a few minutes of practice, I hit the right key maybe 50 per cent of the time. My wife, by contrast, took right to it. But her fingers are considerably smaller than mine, and she has a general knack for showing me up. For most, I'm sure the soft keyboard will take some getting used to, and if your hands are on the bulky side, I question whether you can ever master it completely.
The coveted box
Next page: The Sights and Sounds
COMMENTS
How could anyone buy these things.
I couldn't buy one of these. It's the price. No matter how good it is. I try not to make a habit of carrying around anything worth over £400.
How may people will be walking along the high street texting away (full focus on the screen as theres no buttons) and suddenly someone whips it out of your hands and is running off in the other direction as fast as they can.
I can't think of anything more expensive that you have to have with you all the time.
You may as well wair a shirt with "ROB ME!" in bright red letters.
ignorant comments
mr. anonymous,
all the people i showed the phone to were my friends who are professionals (read: have money). no one ever balked at the cost of the phone or the fact that the phone is "2.5G." Why? because the typical 3G phone is cumbersome at best to do anything worthwhile online and they are at or near the iphone's price range (treo, n95, 8800 even my slvr was $300). plus $635 isn't that much to spend on a phone. i spent far more in '91 for my pioneer 3 watt car phone ($1200) not including the $300 installation and the $400-$1000 a month in service charges. cuz back then, there were no calling plans. it was $.50/min peak, $.25/min off peak.
so please don't belittle something you know nothing about. that wasn't the point of this thread. people have some good questions. however you:
a. weren't there.
b. you obviously have no experience using the product.
c. you don't place value on UI design
d. haven't noticed it's the fastest selling consumer electronics product in history.
and lastly:
e. so bravely post anonymously.
please don't just post irrelevant statements. guess what? you don't have to buy an iphone. stick with whatever you have. i promise, i won't laugh at you. go back to WoW.
peace.
btw, (20th Century poster) i'm not from LA. but i do know many people there...heh.
20th Century...
"rubbish! buttons are so 20th century"
"melonade!"
pierrenorman - you're not from LA perchance?
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