iPhone?

The big buzz at Macworld this year seems to be the iPhone. Many think this is going to change the world of cell phones, and at first glance, I want to agree.

But a day after the keynote, and the lack of these phones on the show floor and a bit of time to reflect, I am not so sure. And are they really ready? I do not understand why “FCC pending” is a reason to not have many on these on the floor with radios turned off. There are a number of things wrong here that will keep this from being a smashing success in my view, and I hope the company formally known as Apple Computer can correct many of them. We shall see.

First, it is only available on AT&T/Cingular. A BIG mistake from my point of view. Many of us cannot use Cingular, their service is not great where I live for example, and their data service plans have been on the expensive side, a must with this phone. Where and when is a Sprint or Verizon version?

Second, the phone is expensive. $499 and $699 WITH a 2-year contract is high, if you can get a new 2-year contract. But how many people are ready for a new 2-year contract or are in the middle of one already, so cannot easily switch? Without it, I estimate the phone will cost as much as $700 and $900. Way too expensive to just buy for most people. It is cool, but is it $900 cool?

Also, will it work with non-Apple content? I cannot find this out yet, but if I cannot play my own videos, then this is not so great for me, as the cost of music and video from iTunes alone could be a killer for many over time. I still have a problem with $2 for a TV show episode in low resolution. That comes to close to $30 a season for a TV show in low res, the cost of a high quality DVD of the same show when it comes out. I still do not get this price model.

Can I use it with “TiVo To Go” for example? I already have a lot of content from my TiVo and want to watch it on the road. Again, I suspect not.

What other applications will run on it? I love that it runs OS-X, but is it Intel Inside? Can it run other Mac programs? What about other download programs in the future? As a Treo user, I have a lot of additional programs I use which allows me to carry just one device. I would want to carry only one device here as well, but where are apps like GPS Navigator (does this phone even have GPS?), games, document readers, or even simple things like a train schedule when the internet is not available (for BART for exmaple.) I have all this on my Treo and need most of it to switch.

No, I am, a day later, a bit disappointed and let down now. Do I want one? Yes, would love to have one, but maybe I wait for version 2 on Sprint or Verizon, or ver 1.1, when new things start to appear and the price, I hope, comes down.

Kudos to Apple for a very advanced product. It is a ground breaker, and some very cool technology. But…

This is just my opinion, I could be wrong!