Getting to Know the iPhone
Product Review
It turned out all the hype leading up to the release of the Apple iPhone was well deserved. We'll explore the breathtaking features of this revolutionary new device,
including
its nagging little imperfections, how to develop software for the iPhone, and ponder the vast implications the iPhone has for the future of web development.
Introduction
For years companies such as Palm and Microsoft have been trying to convince the world that handheld devices are the future of computing. But handheld devices have always been painful to use compared with full featured computers. Even most single function devices (such as cell phones) could use a healthy dose of usability improvement. Aside from a few loyal blackberry users, skeptics (including me) have always been deservedly abundant when companies made predictions about a future dominated by handhelds.
However, after using an iPhone for the last week, I must concede it truly changes everything. It is the killer app that we've all been waiting for. The iPhone is destined to finally convince the general public that it's time to jump into the handheld world wholeheartedly. Aside from its obvious coolness factor, it is highly useful and far more user-friendly than any other handheld device ever created. And, no, neither Apple nor (its exclusive carrier) AT&T are paying me to say any of this. Even with its numerous minor flaws (typical of a 1.0 product) the concepts presented by the iPhone are several generations ahead of its nearest competition. If there is any other comparable product in the world, it must be hidden deep within the technical wilds of Japan.
Breathtaking Features
When you’re using an iPhone it feels like the screen is gigantic, yet when you go to slide it in your pocket you’ll notice the iPhone is as small as any other modern & stylish phone. Most impressively, it’s even thinner than the Motorola RAZR, which made thin “in”. It feels solid in your hand, like it will last 1000 years.
Virtually all interaction with the iPhone is controlled via context sensitive on screen controls. For example, the touch sensitive keyboard appears on screen only when needed. This distinctive keyboard takes only a day or two to get accustomed to, then you'll wonder why all keyboards aren't done this way. Other handheld devices exclude alphanumeric keyboards completely or allow them to fold them out of site when not in use - but they are always taking up precious physical space. Not so with the iPhone.
Figure 1: The iPhone's built-in web browser gives a better surfing experience than any other handheld device.
The built-in Safari web browser is the most amazing web browser to ever exist in a handheld device. Other devices tend to give you a filtered, watered down version of the web. Instead the iPhone displays full and complete web sites that look and act as their designers intended. There is no longer any need for web developers to create special “mobile versions” of web sites. The iPhone scales and flips and zooms standard web pages in the most intuitive ways imaginable, with no more effort than a flick of the finger. Trying to surf the web on any other handheld device has always been painful, and I would only do it out of desperate last resort. Conversely, surfing the web on an iPhone is actually fun.
The iPhone is all about getting useful information to your fingers instantly, so I suggest you spring for the unlimited data plan. Thanks to AT&T's EDGE network, you can get internet access and all the other data you need from virtually everywhere. In most places the network's 2.5G speed is plenty fast for acceptable web browsing. Whenever a Wi-Fi network is within range the iPhone will use it instead (with your permission) for blazing fast web surfing.
The iPhone is also the best iPod ever to exist. Flipping through your albums, songs, videos, and artists is a breeze. Its interface is far more interesting and intuitive than the original iPod, which is saying a lot since that device virtually redefined usability when it took America by storm. All media is managed by syncing through a Mac or Windows computer with iTunes installed.
In case all the cheap & free music, podcasts, TV Shows, music videos, and movies available through the iTunes store aren’t enough to keep you entertained, the iPhone has a special YouTube feature built in to provide you with hours of free video clips.
Figure 2: The iPhone has spectacular music and video functionality that makes all other music players seem instantly archaic.
The 2 megapixel camera is significantly higher quality than the cameras found in most other phones. And the photo management features of the iPhone blow away the competition with dreamlike interactivity as you flip through automatic or manual slide shows. You can zoom, scale, and rotate pictures with a flick of the finger. When plugged into a PC, Windows recognizes the iPhone as a camera and offers the standard picture wizard options to manage photos.
The maps feature overlays instinctive controls on top of Google maps. As you travel, you can step through each direction provided by the iPhone to visually see where you are at all times. You never have to get lost ever again. This fact alone may be worth the iPhone’s currently hefty price. I also bookmarked a local traffic site with the iPhone's built-in web browser so I never need to get stuck in an avoidable traffic jam ever again either!
With all these amazing features it’s easy to forget that there is a fantastic phone in there too. Excellent clarity, nice integration, and easy contact management are included (along with the ability to sync with Outlook, Outlook Express, and similar programs.) The famous white ear bud headphones now include a microphone so you can click between music and phone calls without missing a beat. The Visual Voicemail feature presents a distinctively speedy way to review voicemail messages.
There are more than a half dozen other useful mini-applications built into the iPhone that are essentially all superior to any similar features you may find in other cell phones. There icons enabling email, instant messaging, stock data, weather, calendars, alarms, notes, and more.
The unique combination of all of the above features built into a single device - and the fact that it is done well and virtually every feature is superior and more intuitive than any other comparable device - makes this a truly revolutionary device, not merely evolutionary. The iPhone is extremely useful; I find myself utilizing it for one thing or another almost constantly.
The iPhone's original pricing of $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB version
seemed a bit shocking at first. That's a lot of money for a phone! But when you consider all of the features this device provides then it seems like much more of a bargain. How much would it cost to instead buy a cell phone, an iPod, a navigation device, an organizer, an email device, a mobile Wi-Fi enabled web browser, and a camera? And how much fun would it be to juggle all those devices? Perhaps Apple should have given the iPhone a more descriptive name, such as iPhoneBrowserCameraJukeboxEmailOrganizerAndMore.
Getting an iPhone is pretty much a no-brainer decision now that Apple has dropped
the price tag of both versions by $200.
iPhone Flaws
My worst complaint about the iPhone is the lack of driver support for 64-bit Windows Vista. Without the thus-far missing 64-bit compatible drivers, there is no way to use iTunes with the iPhone - and iTunes is the only way to active a new iPhone or manage the media on it. Of course this is only a problem if your media collection is located on a machine that runs a 64-bit edition of Windows. This increasingly common version of Windows is a glaring omission that should shame Apple, yet they've so far not announced any plans for 64-bit Windows support. I confirmed that an embedded virtual PC instance of a 32-bit operating system does not work despite suggestions on the Internet that it might. The only workarounds I've been able to find are to set up a dual boot with a 32-bit operating system, or to use a 32-bit computer and a network drive mapped to the music collection on the 64-bit computer.
Figure 3: Trying to sync an iPhone using a 64-bit version of Windows will result in this misleading error message.
The camera on the iPhone could benefit from some sort of flash bulb. Optical
zoom would (of course) be desirable too, although that's admittedly a rarity in
camera phones. There is also no support for recording video clips, although
I don't miss that feature much since I've never seen a decent looking video clip
taken by a camera phone anyway.
The iPhone's price tag ($499 - $599) is a bit much for a lot of people to swallow
even though it's a bargain when you consider all the features it provides.
Still, on top of the initial wad of cash you'll need to drop you'll also need a
monthly service plan from AT&T - the only
only carrier the iPhone works with. Clearly not everybody can afford an iPhone
in its current form. Those with more diminutive means should be pleased to
hear the
rumors about smaller, cheaper, and slightly less functional
versions of the iPhone coming in the near future.
Some people bemoan the lack of stereo Bluetooth, but that's only an issue if you
have fancy stereo Bluetooth headphones and wish to listen to music through them.
This wish-list feature was likely omitted for reasons related to battery conservation.
While most iPod accessories will work with the iPhone, there are some problem categories.
Many Bluetooth headsets won't work with the iPhone, so I suggest you do a little
research first to ensure any Bluetooth headset you wish to purchase is indeed iPhone
compatible. Also, many wired headphones won't work with the iPhone either
even though the iPhone has a standard headphone jack. This is because the
headphone plug is recessed unusually far into the iPhone, making many headphones
physically incapable of plugging in far enough to get a firm connection. An
adapter is available to mitigate this issue.
FM Transmitters made for iPods are also a problem accessory. Many don't work
at all. Those that do (such as iTrip) belch out a variety of cell-phone related
interference noises along with the music.
I've had problems with 3rd party power chargers that claim to be compatible with
both iPods and iPhones. Some didn't work and even appeared to drain the iPhone's
battery! I suggest buying chargers directly from Apple (or their exclusive
carrier AT&T) or at least buy chargers that are designed specifically for the
iPhone. (Or you can just charge your iPhone up through your computer's USB
port.)
I've seen many reports on the Internet from typical users saying their iPhone battery lasts
one or two days on a single charge. On the other hand, I'm lucky to get one
full day out of mine. This may be related to the fact that I find the iPhone
so useful that I'm using it in one way or another almost all the time. The
iPhone takes several hours to charge up completely. The built-in battery cannot be replaced,
except by a qualified technician.
All iPhone media (except photos) must be managed through a computer running iTunes.
If you don't like iTunes or have problems running it, that's too bad for you.
If you don't like the fact that a few of iTune's usual iPod features (such as manual
media file management) are disabled, that's also too bad for you. I hope Apple
will become a little more flexible about this matter in the future.
While the iPhone does support SMS for text messaging, there is no direct support
for the related MMS format. This increasingly popular format is used for sending
pictures, audio, and other media clips along with text messages. Luckily there
is a workaround.
The iPhone's incredibly friendly email program supports POP3 and IMAP, but not Microsoft
Exchange. This is one of the main issues that currently makes the iPhone a
much better consumer device than a business device. Until Apple updates the
iPhone with improved business oriented features, many companies refuse to buy it.
In fact, even AT&T employees are currently forbidden from using iPhones!
It's a virtual certainty that Apple with tackle these hotly requested business features
once they catch up with consumer demand.
Also a disappointment: The iPhone comes with only a couple dozen mundane ringtones
and there is currently no way to add any more or use songs from your music collection
as ringtones.
I expect that Apple will fix many of these issues via software updates soon.
Apple, don't let us down! Despite all these nagging little flaws, the iPhone
has proved itself invaluable to me.
Developing Software for the iPhone
Just when Microsoft's Internet Explorer team thought they
had their hands full with the increasing competition from Firefox, along comes Safari
with a stunning blow.
Safari used to be largely ignored by web developers; it was considered important
only if the web site specifically targeted Mac users. Now with the recent
release of Safari for Windows and the Safari browser that's built into the iPhone,
Safari is suddenly a major player in the browser market and can no longer be ignored.
Most web pages display flawlessly by default on the iPhone;
I've surfed dozens of web sites with no significant issues.
In fact, Safari is currently the main and only development platform for the iPhone.
If you want to develop an application for the iPhone, it is done by creating a web
application and testing it with Safari.
Figure 4: The iPhone displays real, complete web pages in all their original glory. Zooming, scrolling, and navigation are unbelievably easy.
While the iPhone version of Safari does have a few limitations of which you should be aware, these limitations are surprisingly few and far between when compared with the capabilities of other so-called ‘internet enabled’ devices. Most notable is the iPhone’s lack of support for Adobe Flash. This is due to the fact that plug-ins and downloads of all kinds are prohibited on the iPhone. Unfortunately this also rules out Silverlight as a development option. The iPhone’s included PDF support is a notable aberration.
So this leaves HTML and a comprehensive implementation of JavaScript as the primary client side platform for iPhone development. I put Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX framework through some fairly thorough tests with the iPhone and was pleased to find it is fully functional with the exception of missing drag and hover events (due to the fact there is no mouse on the iPhone.) It's good to know we can continue to use cutting edge technologies such as ASP.NET and AJAX for iPhone development. We don't have to dumb down our scripts, create special mobile versions of our web content, or learn new mobile-centric programming languages.
Just because it's not necessary to develop special HTML output for the iPhone, that doesn't mean that you can't. If you choose to design an application specifically for display on the iPhone then you may want to consider these tips and optimizations to give its web pages first class iPhone support.
Summary
The iPhone is a clearly a glimpse into the future of handheld devices. With
so much power and versatility demonstrated, it's now clear that a single handheld
device can be worthy of precious pocket real estate. Keyboards and mice will eventually become optional on all computers, replaced with perceptive touch sensitive
displays that will interact with people much as the iPhone does today.
References
Apple iPhone
Using
the iPhone Keyboard
Safari for Windows
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