It was a landmark Keynote.
It's a landmark device; a really smart smart phone!
This Keynote did more than remove the word "Computer" from Apple's
company name. It demonstrated that the core values of Apple--
innovation, design and attention to the end-user experience--which
have made the company's computers and music players into icons are now
set to do the same for mobile phones.
I won't get my hands on an iPhone until 2008, but already I'm in love.
It is the smart smart phone that people have been waiting for, a fact
underscored by the 200+ patents involved in creating it.
I'm in love ten ways:
1. Smart Interaction. Finally no more lost or fiddly stylus action!
Apple's Multi-Touch software makes the stylus redundant. I rate this
near the top of the features to love.
2. Smart design. Sure it looks nice. What Apple product doesn't? But
the real triumph is Apple's commitment to a design philosophy that it
not just about looks. Thin (11.6 mm), sparse and elegant, designed so
that the software and hardware work perfectly together.
3. Smart heart. The iPhone runs Mac OS X. It's hard to tell from the
Keynote if it is a cut-down version or full-strength, but it promises
the same intelligence, stability and elegance that I currently enjoy
on my MacBook Pro.
4. Smart sensors. With three built-in sensors, the iPhone knows more
about what it is doing than I do. A proximity sensor, an accelerometer
that automatically switches from landscape to portrait mode and back
and ambient light sensors make this more self-aware device on the
market
5. Smart email. Rich HTML emails and true Blackberry-like "push" email
make my Nokia E60 look like a dinosaur. This looks like a phone that
it will be fun to email on, rather than a phone that you use to check
your email is really, really have to.
6. Smart browsing. I've enjoyed using Opera mobile on my Nokia, but
the full-strength Safari included in the new iPhone just blows it out
of the water. It does really look like "the Internet in your pocket"
as Steve suggests.
7. Smart headphones. Why are music phones less successful than the
iPod? One of the key reasons has to be that you have to use the
manufacturer's special headphones, which you inevitably leave at
home/work/in the other backpack. Phone manufacturers love the special
headphones because replacements are a source of high-profit
incremental revenue. Users usually hate them. Apple's solution is
special headphones that take advantage of the phone functionality but
still fit into a standard headphone slot. Typical Apple elegance.
8. Smart voicemail. Steve says, "Wouldn't it be great if you didn't
have to listen to five [voicemails] to get to the sixth?" Oh, yes, it
would. The new visual voicemail on the iPhone lets me choose which
messages to listen to. No more waiting until the phone lets me hear
the one I'm interested in.
9. Smart speaker. I'm not sure what quality the built-in speaker in
the iPhone will deliver, but I bet my freelancing income for the next
six months that it is better than the speaker included in any other
four mobile phones I've used before. Even if I leave my standard
headphones at home, I'm not stuck anymore.
10. Smart integration. In a perverse way I've grown to love the
nightmare of syncing my phones and hand-helds with my Mac through
third-party conduits and software. Everyone loves a challenge. The
iPhone will bring all that to an end with seamless integration of
contacts and all the info I need.
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