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The new machine

Fri, August 3rd, 2007 by Jamie Folsom | 1 comment

Yes, the iPhone has been getting far too much attention. Yes, it's far too expensive. But as a convert, I can attest to its usefulness, its elegance, and frankly, to a sense of awe. It's one of those machines that makes you look "behind" it, for a bigger machine, that might explain how it does what it does.

Some early observations.

User interface

The iPhone brings to cell phones what the Macintosh brought to personal computing when it arrived: a far better user interface. My previous phones were all capable of doing everything the iPhone does (or almost), but I never used half the features, and never liked using the other half, because it was difficult, or infuriating to do so. 

Apple completely rethought the cell phone UI. In the process, they not only improved on solutions to common UI problems (how to navigate a long list, for example), but they uncovered, and solved numerous other problems, very deftly. The absence of copy and paste functionality (which would never have seemed necessary in a less capable handset) is solved with "links" in well thought-out places. I am sure the use-case testing was extensive, for them to have so ably anticipated what you might need to do with the info you're looking at. 

Effects on several industries

Already, there are versions of web sites, tools, and services, that are adapted for iPhone browser use, just a month or so after its introduction. That's remarkable, given how long other browsers have to wait, in general, for special treatment from designers and developers.

Visual voicemail, and plan management features right on the phone, will undoubtedly be features other carriers will have to add, to avoid losing customers as the price of the iPhone comes down.

What's Ahead

Among the questions people seem to be asking are: "When's the cheaper version coming?" and "Does it have GPS?", and "Can you add applications?"

All valid points. I hope the answers are: "soon, soon, and soon". I think we'll see lots of clones, and lots of handset makers playing catch-up. Meantime, it's going to replace no fewer than three devices, and three different numbers, from Vonage, T-Mobile and Verizon, and end up being more economical, since AT&T's coverage is much better in my neck of the woods.

And it's cool looking. 

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