January 10th, 2007
Hands on with the iPhone
David Pogue of the New York Times was given an audience with the Pope of Apple and spent an hour playing with the iPhone, confirming that the multi-function mobile device is way more that smoke and mirrors at this stage. Here are a few excerpts:
It feels amazing in your hand. Not like an iPod, not like a Treo — but something new. It’s so thin, and the rounded stainless-steel edges are so smooth, you can excuse its larger-than-Treo façade. When you’re on a call, it’s so cool how the screen turns off to save power, thanks to its proximity sensor.
Typing is difficult. The letter keys are just pictures on the glass screen, so of course there’s no tactile feedback. Software helps a lot. You can afford to make a lot of typos as you muddle through a word, because the software analyzes which keys you *might* have meant and figures out the word you wanted….Bottom line: Heavy BlackBerry addicts may not want to jump ship just yet.
The Web browsing experience is incredible. You see the entire Web page on the iPhone’s screen….The manipulation is seamless, smoothly animated—and useful.
Dan Farber, editor-in-chief of CNET News.com, has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
