iTechNote

I wrote an article back in December last year claiming iPhone from Apple was just hype. It turned out I was wrong. Apple actually has a product with the name iPhone, which is not approved by FCC and still in dispute with Linksys over the product name.

So what’s good about iPhone? It’s a mobile phone and not a VoIP phone that was announced by Linksys last month. It’s a phone that you hardly see a button. In fact, there is only one “home” button. You control the phone by sliding a finger across its 3.5-inch touch screen.

iPhone combines three products - a mobile phone, an iPod, and an Internet communications device into one small and lightweight handheld device. It has the same power of a state of the art Symbian or Windows Mobile powered device. Despite its innovative new user interface (UI), I have to say it is only equally powerful.

Apple has added a new tab on Apple.com promoting iPhone. The QuickTime based web site is very intuitive to use, showing all the main features of iPhone in an incredibly presentable way. That is what I like about Apple - they work hard, they sell hard. You do not need to read any other publications to know exactly about iPhone.

Where is iPhone standing among Apple’s product? It is the center of the Connected Experiences of Apple. You can bring practically anything you do on the Internet to the device (or sync) and bring along with you anywhere. It has full iTunes integration and can seamlessly synchronize data with a Mac, PC, or Internet service, including music and videos from iTunes, contacts, calendars, photos, notes, bookmarks and e-mail accounts.

There is one worry though - how responsive is the OS X “desktop class” software running on iPhone? Apple will need to get it right before starting to attract users.

The iPhone will come in two versions: a 4GB, $499 model and an 8GB, $599 model. Both models will be available beginning in June from Apple Stores and Cingular. You need to sign up a two-year contract with Cingular to purchase the phone. Apple plans to bring the iPhone to Europe in Q4 2007 and to Asia in 2008.

While waiting for the product that will be due in six months, iPhone fans can subscribe to a mailing list to track the latest status. If you are not lucky enough to join Macworld Expo 2007, you can watch the keynote presented by Steve Jobs right at Apple.com. The keynote features more interesting live demos on iPhone.