Iphone gets US debut

IT SEEMS a new mobile phone has been launched by a company known as 'Apple Corp', to some fanfare in the United States.

Rather than waste your precious time perusing all of those natty gadget sites, the INQ thought it best to provide you with our own one-stop Iphone-news round-up.

A huge blow to early adopters in the US should be felt this Monday. As reported previously by the INQUIRER, respected journo Guy Kewney has stated that a 3G flavor of the Iphone will be launched this Monday within the UK.

Despite the US networks having lagged European mobile telephony for some time, it's doubtful that US early adopters will appreciate the instant obsoletion of their new and expensive phone.

If you're more interested to see what the 2G version of the phone has inside its pretty box, check out Think Secret. The infamous Apple rumour site has managed to break apart the phone, and gives us a pretty view of each of the internal components.

Fortunately Think Secret will easily be able to buy another Iphone after possibly destroying the one pictured - stocks of the phone still seem to be within stores, and US customers could still get hold of the device sometime after stores opened.

It also seems the the site may manage to get it re-working after all - PC World.com put the phone through a variety of stress tests to see how it fared. Considering that Apple is often criticised for poor quality in the first generation of its products, the site reveals the phone is surprisingly hardy and even the screen is quite resistant to scratch.

Less resistant to damage was the reputation of AT&T. Apple and AT&T seem to have had their signals crossed - MacDailyNews readers and users in 'Apple Discussions' on the site's forums, are reporting their Iphones are being turned into Ibricks while they wait for AT&T activation.

Despite the phone's manual stating that users can operate the phone whilst activation is pending, it's clear this is incorrect and customers aren't able to make or receive calls until the heavily over-subscribed AT&T activation is made - which is apparently taking some time.

Mac and Ipod Site " Ifixit.com" also had a rummage in the inner casing of the phone. Seems the authors believe the device is much more impressively constructed compared to an Ipod, and includes a total of 16 screws. In comparison an Ipod Nano has three.

US broadcaster CNBC offered a considerable rebuke on the phone, even going as far as to show a leading presenter failing to operate the phone correctly.

David Pogue of the New York Times claims the phone matches up to the majority of early hype, but offers a list of caveats.

"There's no memory-card slot, no chat program, no voice dialing. You can't install new programs from anyone but Apple; other companies can create only iPhone-tailored mini-programs on the Web. The browser can't handle Java or Flash, which deprives you of millions of Web videos."

Despite some claims that call quality is poor, Wirelessinfo.com has taken a more technical, scientific approach - and reports the phone handles voice traffic at a very good level of audio quality.

Unfortunately getting any other kind of audio from the device, via headphones, seems to provide users with considerable problems due to the jack being embedded too far into the device.

Engadget on the other hand, can take you through a preview of the device via a HD video, which shows a lot of the gesturing, keyboard input and general GUI of the phone.

Expect more Iphone related news on Monday, when the UK is expected to see its first look at Apple's wonder-mobile. But if you can't wait for the offical UK release, try Ebay. A variety of the devices can be had for around £549 (plus £24.95 P&P), that's if you don't purchase one of the fakes.

Don't worry about buying one if you work for Apple. Steve Jobs announced that all employees would receive a free 8GB Apple Iphone. Some of us at the INQ are hoping that Mad Mike Mageek will do something similar. [Hey Dean, I'd buy you a beer but we can't smoke in pubs any more. Plus I've had to correct all those misplaced apostrophes again on a Saturday!!! Ed.]

All-in-all the Iphone appears not to [be, Ed.] a pile of over-hyped jobs after all. µ

See Also
Site posts UK Iphone listing with Voda contract
Jobs warns of iPhone shortages
RIM not shaken by Iphone
iTariff for iPhone to iCost an iFortune