THE GIZMO: Never before has a consumer-electronics product been as hyped, analyzed and anticipated as the Apple iPhone - the first combination iPod, mobile phone and Internet communications device rolled into one sleek and tidy package.
When the product goes on sale at AT&T and Apple stores this Friday at 6 p.m., hordes of Apple fanboys (and girls) will surely be lined up to buy them. But should you be emptying your bank account and switching carriers to acquire one? Let's investigate.
NOBODY'S EVER DONE THIS BEFORE: The most obvious visual and functional difference between the iPhone and other multimedia communications/entertainment products is the lack of a conventional keyboard.
Most operations are carried out on a touch-sensitive 3.5-inch color screen that covers almost the entire face of the device. The display is graphically transformed to the task at hand - be it skimming your finger down a list of phone callers who've left messages, checking the weather forecast, or viewing a streamed YouTube video (more than 10,000 will be available for perusal, at launch.)
The most impressive feature of the iPhone is its uncommon inclusion of high speed Wi-Fi Internet connectivity, in addition to phone and Internet access via AT&T's Edge network. This combination (and Bluetooth, too) will allow the device to "multi-task" in Wi-Fi hot spots like no other smart phone ever has, said Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group, tech analysts with long and deep connections to Apple.
"Say you're in a strange town and decide you want to eat lobster. You can do a Google or Yahoo search on the iPhone that finds the closest restaurant that features it and brings up a map to plot the location, then have the phone automatically call the place to make a reservation, all in just a second or two with just a couple of screen taps."
BUT NOBODY'S EVER DONE THIS BEFORE: Apple has had two years to fine-tune the OS-X-based operating system and Safari browser to run the iPhone show. But we hear that the firmware is still being tweaked on a daily basis.
So, will programs clash and crash when, say, you're listening to a tune and get a sudden urge to snap a picture with the built-in two-megapixel camera, and then try to e-mail the captured image to a friend while a phone call is coming in?
