Andy Adams asked:


Queues the length of Regent street, Internet forums alight with fervent discussion, astronomical sales figures it can only be a new release from computing powerhouse, Apple. In this case, the iPhone, after many months of waiting the UK public has now had some time to search for, purchase and show off the hotly anticipated mobile phone.

Many people didn’t think that the UK launch would draw the feeding frenzy experienced in the USA, but much like their American counterparts, UK Apple fans queued up outside Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores despite the typical drizzly British weather. The flagship Apple store in London

was awash with press and photographers as the doors opened where customers were greeted by hoards of Apple staff cheering them as they entered to buy the first batch of iPhones at 6:02pm, a clever play on the network which the iPhone is locked to for 5 years (Telephonica’s O2).

So now that the dust has settled on the media circus, the public has had a chance to live with the phone and draw their own conclusions. The response has been mixed to say the least with many people who didn’t buy the phone nay-saying and people who have bought it singing it’s praises to anyone that will listen. There is no doubt that the phone itself hits the mark with Apple’s styling: minimalist, sleek and innovative. The phone only has two physical buttons, the majority of the phone is operated by a revolutionary touch screen interface with such elaborate gestures as pinching the screen to move photos around the screen and pushing two fingers apart to zoom into a fully viewable web site.

The inclusion of the iPod media player has done away with the owner’s need for a separate mobile phone and MP3 player, but it’s in other areas that the iPhone has drawn some criticism; some may argue some very basic areas too.

For example, the iPhone, at present is unable to send or receive MMS messages, something most basic mobile phones with colour screens can handle these days. The exclusion of high speed 3G data has been a sticking point for most, with Apple claiming that battery life is improved drastically by its omission and the inclusion of WiFi provides high speed internet when you need it.

It’s not just Apple that is under the microscope, the UK’s exclusive carrier of the iPhone, O2 have been under fire on internet message boards that the signal strength of the iPhone is very weak, however O2 responds that they experience these sorts of problems with all handsets and should not be solely attributed to their flagship handset.

The fact that anyone who wants one for themselves has to pay for the handset (£269) is forced to be in a 18 month contract with O2 (Minimum line rental of £35 per month, subject to a credit check) is also off-putting to most UK buyers who expect more options such as buying their mobile phones on pay as you go for instance.. In a recent survey 46% of British public refused to consider buying an iPhone based on pricing alone, which is hardly surprising considering the mobile market in the UK where handsets are traditionally subsidised by the network, even with top range handsets like the Nokia N95 being free on some tariffs.

The main problem that seems to have dented interest in the device is that considering how long it has been anticipated and the staggered release in the USA then the UK, is that when it eventually

came out what was supposed to be a revolutionary, high tech mobile phone actually ended up having some decidedly “last Generation” features (lack of 3G, 2MP camera), the iPhone’s saying grace is probably the brands name and it’s interface, which luckily is something most buyers are impressed by.

Despite these criticisms all three companies involved stated that in the first weekend alone O2 estimated between 20,000 and 40,000 iPhones were sold. These figures would pitch the iPhone as one of the fastest selling mobile

phones in the UK and is not surprising considering the hype and press coverage of its release.

Daniel Millions asked:

The summer of 2007 saw the introduction of the new generation of mobile multimedia interactive cell phones with the release of Apple’s iPhone. Crammed into a package only 4.5″ inches and weighing less than 5 ounces, the Apple iPhone offers users so many features the company offers video tutorials to help customers learn all the things it can do for them.

Contained just within the phone functions are such pro-business features as call conferencing and merging, hold feature, caller ID and the ability to integrate with other cell networks. The iPhone offers voice mail listings without having to access the actual Voicemail and one can pick and choose between calls rather than have to move through them sequentially.

Due to the popularity of ringtones, it was only a few months before Apple upgraded to ringtone functions. By partnering in this feature with iTunes, users can custom design their own ringtones from purchased songs through the iTunes network or the Apple GarageBand software. These ringtones can then be used not only to alert one to an incoming call but can be associated with specific alarm and notification features as well.

Text messaging has been made easier with the implementation of a virtual keyboard on the touch screen. For increased accuracy the texting program includes such aids as predictive word capabilities coupled with automatic spell check and correction and a dictionary that allows you to add words as needed to help it understand topic related jargon, names and special purpose words and phrases. The virtual keyboard has been made a bit larger than previous attempts at this virtual technology and, with two-way orientation, is at its best in landscape position.

As well as superb telephonic utilization, the Apple iPhone has the capability to access e-mail clients through both IMAP and POP3 servers. Both Yahoo and Gmail offer a program for access from the iPhone and by mid 2008 are planning to upgrade to sync with both Apple’s mail application but with Microsoft ActiveSync to connect with Microsoft Outlook and Entourage. The e-mail capabilities include HTML acceptance for graphical e-mail that can include digital photographs and graphics and can embed pictures in outgoing mail as well. Portable Document Files (PDF) as well as Word and Excel documents can be attached and viewed on the iPhone screen.

With a picture being sometimes more informative than any amount of verbal description, the iPhone does have a two megapixel digital camera onboard and the output can be copied directly to an e-mail. The iPhone does not, however, offer video camera functions.

The Apple iPhone was originally released with the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card locked into the AT&T network exclusively. However it did not take long for hackers to find a way to unlock the card for use on other networks and now nearly a fourth of the iPhones sold in the United States are not registered with the AT&T network. While originally designed to block the multimedia and web access functions without an authorized subscription; this too has fallen to the hacker’s craft and various software programs and modification cracks have emerged to free the access to these features outside the AT&T network.

These features make the Apple iPhone a powerful business asset even without even beginning to discuss the many other multimedia and web accessibility features that have made the iPhone worthy of Time magazine’s Invention of the Year award.

Sam Akiani asked:

Apple is rumored to be in talks with Verizon for 2010!

The once believed rejected to have it’s first chance at the iphone, Verizon is now claiming to be in discussion in Apple for it’s very own iPhone coming in 2010!

The latest Apple News points to it’s source, USA Today explains that Verizon reported entered serious talks Apple. The newspaper infers that the phone are able to have to be CDMA version, so that it’s compatible with Verizon’s existent networks. Such action would contradicts Apple COO Tim Cook’s own dismissal of CDMA go on week: When discussed about the iPhone making excessively justified the absence of CDMA model by declaring that a single, GSM phone model to produce than a CDMA model. Cook as well criticized CDMA by asserting it has no future, as most CDMA carries plan to phase out the technology in favor of the same 4G standard what will be used on GSM network.

More likely is a direct leap to a 4G. Verizon chief executive Ivan Seiderberng recently explained that a deal might be in the operates as 4G rolls out in 2010, and therefore experience at lest certain of it’s network ready for an iPhone CMDA version by then.

However, if Verizon does land an iPhone of its own AT&T may topple those ambitions in it’s own discussions. Although separate rumors reads this the up to date iPhone carrier is pushing Apple to extend it’s US exclusivity until 2011!

Any successful deal, no matter the network type, would likely be a serious blow to AT&T, which credited much of its ability to weather the ongoing economic crisis to iPhone sales and the resulting spike in data revenue. Aside from reducing incentives to launch massive, special upgrades to the network, a Verizon model would let those dissatisfied with AT&T’ s 3G coverage or its customer service defect to Verizon without giving up Apple’s handset.