July 03, 2007
iPhone: To buy or not to buy?
Interesting review of the iPhone from someone who's not afraid to criticize Apple when deserved -- and who knows the company well.
Bruce Tognazzini was hired at Apple by Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin in 1978, where he remained for 14 years, founding the Apple Human Interface Group. He has been a harsh critic of many of Apple’s later innovations, including the notorious round mouse (“farcical”) and the Macintosh Dock (see: Top 10 Reasons the Apple Dock Sucks). He is almost as stingy with his compliments as his partner, Don Norman. That makes his continuing take on the iPhone, largely positive, most unusual.
What does Bruce think about the latest must-have from Jobs and Company?
On June 29, 2007, the long-awaited iphone was released. Was it worth the wait? Is it all it's cracked up to be?
Yes.
There is no mistaking that this is a first-release phone, both in the hardware and software. However, it is an Apple first release, equivalent in many respects to the fifth or sixth release quality we have come to expect from other major computer technology players.
The "fit and finish" of the device are extraordinary, both in terms of industrial design and human-computer interaction.
He goes into some detail about the areas where Apple has fallen short of the mark, although still producing a product far better than the competition. The final section sums up his thoughts on the question facing anyone enticed by the iPhone: To buy or not to buy? -- and touching on what is perhaps the biggest drawback about taking the plunge.
I have been so excited by the technology of the iPhone that I want to buy one even though, for me, it doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm not talking about the typing problem. Even at my advanced age, I suspect I can deal with that with sufficient practice.
No, it's the fact that AT&T has not bothered to build a cell tower within five miles of my house. As Verizon says, "it's the network." Verizon goes were we go and AT&T does not.
If the iPhone were on the Verizon network, I would already be a proud owner. I will certainly be the proud owner of the first video iPod using this interface, even if I can only connect to the net via wi-fi. Finally, I'll have an alternative to those long, lonely walks from my couch to my desk.
Traditional cell phones are dull, limited, and at end-of-life. iPhone is glorious, and it is only the beginning.
AT&T's the deal-killer for me.
Read the whole thing.
Posted by Mike Lief at July 3, 2007 07:35 AM
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