Apple iPhone Review - Introduction & Design

Introduction & Design

Maybe it's because I've only ever owned Apple computers, and because I've been following and writing about the company for over a decade now, that I judged them so harshly when they first entered the mobile phone market. I might have held them up to a higher standard, given my longtime fondness and admiration for their products and the resultant sky-high expectations I had for the first Apple mobile phone.

Or I might just have been reacting to the spec sheet and price points - $499/599 plus a two-year contract for a phone that lacked 3G data, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3rd party application support, and a camera flash and video recording capabilities sounded awful steep. Still does. In the many months between iPhone's public debut at MacWorld in January 2007 and it's overhyped hit the streets date that June, iPhone was scrutinized by every angle except the one that matters most: we were all writing about the device, but nobody had gotten their hands on the thing.

So when iPhone finally went on sale, I waited. I tried to get one from Apple's PR department but all I got was strung along via email. I wasn't about to plunk down $500 and also sign up for two years of AT&T service since I was still under contract with T-Mobile. So I waited. And then two events occurring within a short time of one another changed everything: Apple cut iPhone's price by a third, and; clever programmers figured out how to unlock the handset for use on other GSM networks.

And so here I am writing my review of Apple's iPhone - a sort of hybrid review combining the "as Apple sells it" iPhone with the "unlocked, running on T-Mobile, chock full of third party apps" iPhone. However you slice it, Apple's maiden cell phone is a game changer that lives up to the hype. Apple has made a fortune combining hardware design, software design, and firmly controlled vision into some of the best top-to-bottom user experiences to be found anywhere in the consumer electronics industry. iPhone is no different. Yes, it lacks certain features folks have come to expect on high-end cell phones. No, it's not for everyone. Yes, the game of cat and mouse between Apple and "the hackers" that rages on as I write this threatens to hang a black cloud over the company for some time to come.

Doesn't matter. Apple's iPhone is a brilliant piece of consumer electronics with perhaps the most useable interface to ever grace the screen of a device that can do so much. Using the word "brilliant" to describe a phone that, as a phone, is average at best takes some doing. But given the state of cell phones today and where the industry is heading, Apple has really launched a landmark product with the iPhone.

Too bad they haven't found a way to let the hacker/developer community continue to make the thing even better.

iPhone is thin, sleek, and dominated by a large 3.5" touchscreen display bracketed by a cut-out speaker and hidden light sensors (top) and a single physical button (bottom) on the front of the device. At 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm and weighing 135 grams, the device is small enough to tuck away in a pants pocket, large enough to make for easy use of the display, and rather heavy but still pleasant in hand. When the display is darkened in sleep mode, the entire front of the handset is black, flanked by a chromed border and rounded edges all around, and looks like a Star Trek Communicator passed through a minimalist design lab.

Most of the side and back panels of the phone are finished in a textured silver metal designed to be comfortable to grip. The lower portion of the panels is done up in black, as are the phone's controls. Along with that lone front-panel button, iPhone houses a rocker switch for volume control and silent/ringer button on its left side, while the right side is completely button-free. The top panel is home to a power/sleep/wake button, the SIM card tray, and a recessed 3.5mm headphone jack (the source of much head-scratching for me ... more on that in a bit). The bottom panel houses a dock connector similar to those found on iPods, and it's flanked by speaker and microphone grills. The back of the phone features a sensor for the camera set in the upper left corner, and while the black part of the back panel is in fact a battery cover, the battery is not user removable.

WIthout delving into the pros and cons of a phone that lacks buttons but compensates with the best touchscreen display on any handset ever, Apple's near-buttonless design is nothing short of stunning. While the black and silver look that screams "Look at me, I'm an Apple!" is honestly a bit ostentatious for my tastes, it's ostentatious in a really cool, mysterious sort of way. iPhone is a good looking gadget that looks like it came from the future, especially when lined up next to something like a Treo.

After a few weeks of using one, I can definitely say Apple did a (typically) fantastic job on iPhone's industrial design. The phone feels good in use during voice calls and screen-intensive tasks, and its size and shape is a great balance between large enough for Web and media player use but small enough to tuck away in a pocket. The phone's 11.6mm profile and extremely durable optical glass front have a lot to do with the whole "easy to tuck away" thing. After several weeks living mainly in my pants pockets without any sort of case to protect it, iPhone's screen is scratch free and the chrome trim is just a little scuffed up.

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