June 22nd, 2007

6 iPhone questions I need AT&T and/or Apple to answer

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:36 am

Categories: Apple, Mobile software, Smartphone, Wireless carriers, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, AT&T Corp., Apple Inc., Matthew Miller

Even after laying out what my personal costs to buy the iPhone would be and finding out the number is quite high I am still seriously thinking about camping out in line at my local AT&T store. I already called them to confirm they would be getting some and also chatted a bit about swapping my family from T-Mobile to AT&T. However, there are 6 questions that I need AT&T and/or Apple to answer before I am ready to really commit to the iPhone and they are:

1. What are the voice and data plan options? Answered here
2. Is the SIM removable and swappable? I need to know if I can take out the SIM and pop it into something like the Treo 750 if I find I am not happy without some hardware buttons.
3. Can I sign up for service and try the iPhone for 30 days like other AT&T phones/service? Signing a 2-year commitment, paying US$650 (taxes are $50 in WA) for the iPhone, and paying monthly fees for service is a big commitment and I want to make sure it is worth the costs.
4. How can I dial the iPhone in my car? On devices today I simple press and hold a hardware key or use voice commands. I haven’t seen any confirmation of voice dialing options and wonder how people will dial while driving, because you know they will even if it isn’t advised.
5. Is there any way to get my hosted Exchange or Gmail email? I think this has been answered as a negative for any kind of push email, but I wonder if there are other options. I think accessing Gmail and using hosted Exchange Outlook Web Access may be the only ways at this time.
6. How can I view Office attachments sent to my email account? Answered in the Guided Tour video

Hopefully, we’ll get answers to a couple of these before 29 June and if not then I may just have to wait out the first wave of early adopters and look to others, like Jason D. O’Grady, for answers to my questions.

UPDATE: After Apple posted more information, it looks like the cost will be less than anticipated for the voice/data plans and so to answer some of the other questions I will most likely be in line to try one out for myself.