Bear in mind Apple's messaging behind the iPhone -- a "revolutionary phone," i.e., voice experience, "the best iPod we've ever made," and the "Internet in your pocket". For the first two, a keyboard is merely nice to have for tasks such as entering contacts and searching for songs (which the iPhone doesn't yet support), And for at least the iPhone's music features, the larger screen afforded by removing the physical keyboard enhances its ability to display pictures, album art and movies.
REVIEW IPHONE:
The good: The Apple iPhone has a stunning display, a sleek design, and an innovative multitouch user interface. Its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy-to-use apps. As an iPod, it shines.
The bad: The Apple iPhone has variable call quality and lacks some basic features found in many cell phones, including stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. Integrated memory is stingy for an iPod, and you have to sync the iPhone to manage music content.
The bottom line: Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn't always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player.
The good: Boasting a sleek and sexy design, the RIM BlackBerry 8800 offers integrated GPS, push-to-talk capabilities, and multimedia features. The quadband smart phone also has Bluetooth, push e-mail, a full QWERTY keyboard, and long talk-time battery life.
The bad: Unfortunately, the BlackBerry 8800 doesn't work on Cingular's 3G network nor does it have integrated Wi-Fi. Call quality was a little muffled, and the phone is quite wide and awkward to hold. The media player could also use some refinements, and instant messaging is limited to the BlackBerry Messenger client.
The bottom line: Despite some minor issues, the RIM BlackBerry 8800 offers mobile professionals a well-rounded smart phone with added multimedia functions, GPS, and push-to-talk capabilities. That said, messaging remains its forte.
ill history repeat itself with this year's model? The first sign that the iPhone's touch-screen keyboard may have a learning curve came during the Steve Jobs interview at the D: All Things Digital event when Apple's CEO offered to buy Walt Mossberg dinner if he wasn't happy with the iPhone's keyboard after coming up to speed on it.Reinforcing that, in Apple's video walkthrough of the iPhone, the black-shirted narrator notes that "it's easiest to begin typing with just your index finger" but encourages that "as you get more proficient, migrate to using two thumbs" for the payoff that "in about a week, you'll be typing faster on iPhone than any other small keyboard.
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