The iPhone is not a smartphone {Engadget Mobile}

Jan 9th 2007 11:59PM EDGE is so far from 3G UMTS/HSDPA. Average EDGE speed is about 100kbps, slightly faster than a dailup modem. UMTS average speed is three times as fast (300kbps) with burst up seven times as fast (700kbps) when the network is not busy. Once Cingular finishes the upgrade to HSDPA, well can you say FAST?

The iPhone is truly a revolutionary device and it will stur up competition in the cellular market. This will surely help Cingular, or should I say the new AT&T, stay on top. People are already talking about switching from Do you hear me now? (Verizon Wireless) to the Most Reliable Dropped Calls (J/K). I love the fact that the phone allows you to talk, send a text, and surf the web at the same time. I thought that wasn't possible over EDGE. Guess the boys at Cingular were hard at work to make it possible for Apple.

Palm and RIM stock's fell before the keynote even finished. Steve Jobs does a real good job at selling this as a smartphone, but the iPhone is no smartphone. Having voice, music, videos and photos along with the internet does not make it a smartphone. Being able to add applications, customizing the unit to your personal and business needs, having a true email client that supports MS Exchange and EXCHANGE push email (not Yahoo! IMAP), calendar, notes, etc is what makes a smartphone. The real companies that should shit their pants are Motorola, Sony Ericsson & Nokia. Hopefully this means the last of the RAZR series.

I'm a little skeptical about the touch screen functions, especially because Steve Jobs said "opps" one too many times while trying to operate the unit. The battery life is the next concern. Generally when Apple says 16 hours, they really mean 8 hours. So the 5 hours of talk time, video or wi-fi on that device probably means a weak 2.5 hours, still better than a RAZR, but for a multimedia multifunctional unit, that may be a problem. 5 hours in a 11.6mm, with Wi-Fi which is a battery killer, I have to see it to believe it. The fact that it keeps the 30 pin dock connector is a plus because if your battery is dying, you can go to any electronic store and pick up a charger.

The storage WILL be a problem if Apple uses a 4GB or 8GB hard drive. No one wants their phone freezing, espeically if its in your pocket and your unaware of it. Hopefully they will use the flash drives as they have been using in the 2nd gen Nanos.

The device is very sexy, very glossy, like an ipod of course. But unfortunately, this probably will come with scratches. I don't want that on my cell phone and I truly hate cases that adds inches to the dimensions of the phone. A cell phone goes thru a lot more wear and tear than an iPod, and with no keys there is the potential for serious damage to this device. Cingular is notorious for not offering insurance for expensive devices, namely "smartphones".

Like I said before, I really like this device, but not for me, for my girlfriend. If you have a blackberry and dont need it for business and Exchange server, buy the iPhone it is worth the investment. If your short on pocket/ purse space and want to combine your devices, buy the iPhone it's worth the money. If your tired of your RAZR, sidekick or similar multimedia phone, buy the iPhone it's worth the money. But if your a power user like me, if you have a Treo or a Blackberry and you know that your a power user, I would wait for the next one, and knowing Apple, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new device at the next MacWorld in 2008, six months after the original release.