July 02, 2007
After the months of hype and the initially long lines—which we found to be non-existent at 9 pm Friday evening at the Apple Store SoHo—readers are asking about our initial user experiences with the iPhone. While some blogs have focused on the user interface and experience or even the innards of this fascinating device, our report focuses on initial consumer experiences here in NYC.
Were you at an AT&T store Friday evening? We visited three between 9 and 10:30 pm, and at all three we saw what we had expected: curious groups crowding the display models, and exhausted store personnel. The AT&T computer system that performs credit checks had gone down, and some users who tried to register the phone via iTunes (after upgrading to iTunes 7.3) found they were directed back to the same stores for a credit check! Depending on your wireless provider and contract type, most phones seem to be switching over within a few hours, although some user reports underscore a few complications. One interesting case from our own office was a phone ported from T-Mobile. Although some features were available as of Saturday morning—text messaging and outgoing calls—incoming calls were not possible until later that evening. And for another 48 hours, T-Mobile customers calling this iPhone were still routed to the old T-Mobile phone, rather than the iPhone. But all these issues will get worked out. New technology adapters generally have a bit of patience, especially when they realize the tremendous workload involved with switching hundreds of thousands of users.
To that extent, we spent 44 minutes with AT&T reps on the phone Saturday afternoon discussing number portability and software complications. At one point, we were able to listen in on two reps discussing repeat system crashes and inability to get numbers from certain carriers to port. However, given the tremendous demand for this phone, perhaps it was to be expected. (Was there ever such a mass defection in a 24-hour period before? Perhaps, but that was when wireless portability first went into effect, and not because of any new cellular phone.)
While we already brought up AT&T's data network as every other blog did, those reluctant to sign a two-year contract ($175 early termination fee applies) might choose the prepaid route. What's that, a prepaid iPhone? Yes indeed. Especially if you are not a champion talker, signing up via iTunes for the prepaid wireless service with unlimited data might be the way to go. Even one AT&T rep thought these phones would be unlocked within a matter of weeks—and a rep at T-Mobile believed they might be able to offer service later this year, though we have no concrete evidence that is in the works. We do know from the blogosphere that dedicated souls are feverishly working to unlock the iPhone. So one of our three phones was set up via the prepaid route, which has not been publicized at all. You are not locked in to a two-year contract, but it is a bit tough to accomplish registration. Buy the phone at an Apple Store, then register it via iTunes. You'll find some rather attractive prepaid pricing options, and you can use a credit card for monthly replenishment. It remains to be seen whether you'll get a monthly bill. After every text message you send or phone call you make, the iPhone displays a translucent screen announcement such as this:
The last transaction cost x.yy USD. Your account balance is $ xx.yy. You have xyy minutes remaining.
While it's nice to know the text messages are free (since we got an unlimited SMS plan), it's mildly annoying to see this message dozens of times per day. Doubtless the next firmware upgrade will deal with this, and we certainly have zero desire to speak with AT&T or Apple about it. More importantly, here is how the registration process unfolded: First, we authenticated and activated the phone via iTunes. Then we received an email Subject: Ready for Prepaid Funding. To complete the setup of your new iPhone, you must first add funds to your new AT&T prepaid account.
So we funded it via credit card, and chose an attractive plan with 1000 free night/weekend minutes, plus $19.98 additional for unlimited data, and $19.98 for unlimited text messages. Most people forget when they sign a contract, there are government-mandated surcharges (i.e. universal service fund, 911, etc.) that add a sizable amount to a monthly bill. Not so with prepaid; that's factored in to your per-minute cost. Those two emails came from the iTunes store. Then after funding our prepaid account, AT&T sent an email called a Customer Service Summary, "a customized document that specifically outlines the services, charges, and policies regarding your account." We were good to go.
Meanwhile, we wanted to test the camera functions, and began shooting at 6:30 a.m. both on Saturday and Sunday mornings, photographing outdoors and indoors throughout Manhattan to see how typical shots would appear. We visited landmarks, tourist attractions, museums, and shot everything from the United Nations to Park Avenue flowerbeds to Andy Warhol paintings at the Museum of Modern Art:
Typically, interior museum shots with low lighting don't look great, but this "Double Elvis" came out rather nicely. More problematic were the Richard Serra sculptures in the outdoor sculpture garden at the museum, as were shots of the United Nations taken from First Avenue:
Regardless of whether you situate yourself in the shade or not, photographs taken in intense sunlight and of objects not at close distance do not render well on this phone. And you have to email yourself the photos, because syncing with iTunes stupidly does not allow your camera roll of photos to appear on your Mac/PC. (Note to Apple: ridiculous.) Cellphone cameras seem to get their most usage indoors when ambient light is low; unfortunately, the iPhone's camera definitely does not measure up:
So while accurately capturing a painting hung on a white wall was relatively uncomplicated, a sculpture with natural light sources from above and far behind was more tricky. Here (as in other cases) the image has an odd tinge. What's more, at a party at the Flatiron Lounge yesterday evening, none of the photos we took in this dimly-lit atmosphere were usable. Two other iPhoners were present, and we all agreed while the UI is fantastic and the experience of using the phone is terrific, the call quality leaves a bit to be desired—especially from inside older buildings with thick walls.
New Yorkers really love their iPhones: One woman at Congee Village late Saturday night was excitedly showing it off to friends, and wherever we went over the weekend we saw people playing with their iPhones, from the stoops of West 13th Street to cafes and Starbucks locations. Moreover, since the Safari browser functions superbly, we're busy revisiting thousands of NYC.com's pages to see how they render. We've been surfing (i.e. stealing) everyone's wireless connections wherever possible, and living in Manhattan affords you many opportunities to suck the free wireless out of the ethersphere from unsecured networks. However, if you stop surfing the wireless for a minute or so, the iPhone locks itself, and then reverts back to the Edge network. Let's hope that gets fixed as well, because getting into a taxi or living outside of Manhattan (perish the thought), AT&T's Edge network is indeed so hopelessly slow that you might tear out your hair. Battery life is a serious problem; surf wireless for over an hour and you really deplete the battery, which some blogs say will allow only 300 to 400 charges. We doubt, however, that you'll need to mail away those phones to Apple if your battery gets depleted within a year.
Bottom line: This is the must-have gadget. You'll want to protect your investment with a Speck ToughSkin for iPhone, which we picked up at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue yesterday morning for $29.95 plus tax. The rubber seems more durable than the other iPhone skins out there, and it grips nicely. In addition, for those who keep their iPhones in their pockets, it keeps the back and sides of the device from getting scratched by keys or coins. The ToughSkin also comes with a nice geeky belt clip in the event you don't want to shove the iPhone in your jacket or pants pocket. We haven't dropped it yet on concrete from waist height, however, so we can't comment on its durability.
Update: Answers to Readers' Questions
Q: how long does the battery last?
A: One day we got a message "less than 15% of" battery charge remains, and the usage meter shows "5 Hours, 54 Minutes" of use; then seven minutes of usage later, "less than 10% of battery" remaining. Another day after just 4 hours and 55 minutes only 20% of battery charge remained after little use. Not terribly impressive, but it seems not slurping down WiFi to use Safari will preserve battery life. Moreover, the Standby meter is inaccurate because it factors the time the phone is in use into the Standby calculation.
Note the meager usage:
With a whopping 34 minutes of phone use over a period of several days, it seems this weak battery will be the subject of much future controversy, perhaps resulting in a program similar to the Xbox warranty repair program.
Q: Does the battery take longer to charge via USB or adapter?
A: Plugging it in to a wall outlet is the fastest way to recharge. Seems to take between 90 and 120 minutes with that nice little white "iPod USB Power Adapter" they include with the iPhone package (but forgot to rebrand). Charging via USB takes longer. The phone appears to be more than 90% charged after an hour or so, but it's the final 10% that seems to take an additional two hours. By the way, it's rather ridiculous that numerous iPod accessories don't work with the iPhone—we're thinking of the radio transmitter and common headphones/earplugs. Why infuriate your customers? "Steve Jobs has always worshipped at the altar of closed systems," said Mark Anderson of Strategic News Service, apparently forgetting the original Woz Apple II systems that were eminently modifiable.
Q: AT&T's Edge network went down yesterday?
A: Apparently for over an hour, but mostly affecting West Coast users. Slurping down WiFi in the office, we did not even notice this.
Q: How's the texting?
A: Best experience ever on any phone.
Q: I heard a reporter's phone broke after just four days.
A: We read that one too. If you sell close to a million phones in a week, some will be bound to quickly malfuction. This reminds us of our first Newton.
Q: Can't you do what the Macworld article says and cut the plastic ring off the end of your headphones plug?
A: We just tried it—and it did take only a minute with an Xacto knife.
Q: Wait! I can get a no-contract prepaid iPhone?
A: Yes, and it's quite easy to activate via iTunes.
Q: You see these prepaid messages indicating your balance 'dozens of times a day'?
A: In fact, this morning they were popping up every six minutes on average, even when the phone was in sleep mode. This might be having an effect on battery life; we're not sure yet.
Q: What happens once T-Mobile offers the iPhone in Germany? Is it true some guy already hacked it?
A: We'll answer that question with a question: What happens once you can use Skype on the iPhone?
Q: Overall impression?
A: While there are of course drawbacks, we've always been early adopters of Apple's new products stretching back to the Apple IIe, Newton and beyond. We're confident the glitches and few missing functions such as voice-activated dialing will be addressed.
Q: Useful? What does an iphone do exactly?
A: You are visiting from which planet?
Tags:
apple store, iphone, itunes, moma, united nations
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Posted on 7/2/2007
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