Well, let's start out with aesthetics. The iPhone hasn't changed much physically - same size (marginally wider and thicker), same shape, with the chrome around the edge, a home button, and what have you. The main differences are that there is no chrome on the back - the entire rear part is one solid colour, and that they come in different colours. The 8gb only comes in black, and the 16gb comes in either black or white. Somewhat like the 2nd generation ipod nanos, where the lower capacity ones came in only one colour, and they get you to spend more money, should you want a different coloured one.
What I want to know is - who the heck is John Appleseed?
If you ask me, they should have either offered a more exciting colour for the back (product red? I'd buy that), or an array of colours. If anything, the front's colour should correspond with the back's. I think the white edition is a mistake.
In wireless communications; the 3G will make a big difference for web browsers, photo uploaders, VoIP talkers, and the likes. Also, Bluetooth 2.0, fully expandable, so it's not just for headset support (will get a wireless keyboard for mine. I prefer to type on a hard keyboard over a soft one by a mile. Part of the reason I got rid of my original iphone)
Also, battery life is improved by adding 2 hours of talk time, giving us 10 hours (that's my main killer of battery life - another incentive to get it, particularly compared to the 7 hours that the e61i gave me), as well as 300 hours (12.5 days) of standby time. That's 50 hours more than the original iphone. I'm seeing all the original iphone flaws instantly go away!
Still lacks customizable ringtones. But hey, I'm getting an iTunes account, so I can just use one of my purchased songs as a ringtone. So I'm not 100% complaining - but they could still do better (or at least provide a richer list of ringtones. I mean, for crying out loud, Apple, you own the largest music store in the world - provide us with a few freebie ringtones? And not the nondescript "Alert" and "Blues riff" tones?)
Photography - still the same deal at 2 megapixels for the camera. Nothing is mentioned about the video recording, but it still doesn't have flash. Which I think is a big mistake. One would think that the addition of 3G would inspire them to add some 3G features such as video calling? Not to mention that a user-facing camera would bring on the use of photobooth software, which is pretty much the main reason people buy Mac computers! Why not have it on the go? How awesome of a commercial would that be? To take pictures of you and your friends in the pop art/fisheye/light tunnel filters. You could even apply that to the regular camera to take some really cool pictures with. I mean, they're using computer-caliber software - they might as well add some comparable features.
Something else I noticed was included in the package; a SIM ejector tool. "YES!" I said with great vengeance towards my past experiences with the iPhone SIM card. I remember at eComm 2008 in March, when James Body was unlocking my iPhone for me, he had to take out a paperclip from his bag. I mean seriously, Apple could either design it a little better so we don't need a tool to remove the SIM, or provide us with a SIM remover designed to do what several iPhone users struggled to do. Sure, I saw a few of them on eBay, but it should be included nonetheless. I also could have sworn I saw a syringe-style one once, for popping the tray out. What caused Apple to design it that way, I'll NEVER know.
Only thing I think that should have been different about their production, is making different models for consumer diversity (i.e. low budget consumers, high end executives, etc.). If you ask me, it would sell a lot better that way, just like a Macbook vs Macbook pro kind of relationship. The addition of Microsoft Exchange is a meager attempt at executive compatability, and they could have done much, much better with a model designed for email typing.
Also, I just LOVE how Apple tried to beat the installer application by having their own application store. Just comes to show you how much, for better or for worse, hackers have helped our technology world. They should have changed the wording, though, as several applications are free. I don't think I'll be jailbreaking my iPhone, should I be getting one of these, as that's what is currently messing up my brother's iPod Touch, so getting everything directly from Apple (be it a free application, or a $2.99 one) I'll have the peace of mind of legitimacy, and safety, as well as the self-fulfillment of seeing these developers get credit for what they do. Not to mention that every one of these applications will actually work, unlike certain ones I got from installer that would start up and then just shut down.
Woo hoo! Built in Twitter AND eBay!
Best part is, I'll get used to the phone pretty quickly, as I am used to the size of it, using a Samsung Blackjack 2 right now. Better features would include a touchscreen, a camera that doesn't take two seconds (literally) after the button press to capture an image, have wifi, not have the awkwardness of Windows Mobile, and have decent music capabilities (Windows Media Player DISGUSTS me on this thing).
My bottom line is, that the phone's release has several flaws, and the design was not changed enough to justify an entire new production. Add a user-facing camera, with better resolution on the primary one, and even flash, photo booth, a broader array of colours, and ringtones of our own.
My emphasis on complaints lies with the colour arrays. The iPhone only accounted for 5% of Apple's revenue in the 1st quarter; but look at how well iPods sold when colour variations were added in the 3rd and 4th generations of ipods with the Minis. This is a consumer model phone. Like I said before about consumer diversity; the addition of Microsoft Exchange is the only real professional addition.
The majority of iPhone users will still remain everyday consumers, who care a lot about how their phone looks. Going from only one colour, to two colours (shades at that), is a rather limiting transition, and won't exactly go over extremely well with consumers. I mean, look at the first generations of iPods. They were all in one colour. Boring. They were expensive too. Hence, why you didn't see everyday people walking around with them, until they came out with a cheaper, sexier version.
Now, with respect to my unanswered questions, which I would like to hear from some readers about:
- Will these phones be sold unlocked? Or locked to a carrier?
- Will they be able to be purchased without a plan?
- Do you think firmware 2.0 will be more difficult to unlock?
- Any news on video capture abilities?
Would appreciate some comments in response to my questions. Thanks for reading, and would love to hear some responses to the post itself as well.
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