Enter the iPhone, then. After months of anticipation, last Friday’s UK iPhone launch went off a bit more quietly than the US one, which I’d put down to us Brits’ natural reluctance to whoop and queue round the block for any piece of new technology (that’s not a games console). Nevertheless, tens of thousands of iPhones were sold over the weekend, with Brits finally getting to grips with Apple’s handset.
Including us. Yes, Pocket Picks has an iPhone, which we’ll be using to cover new applications and services in the coming months, as well as giving our own detailed appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the device - both initially, and over time. We activated it yesterday, and it’s up and running smoothly.
Over the next week and a bit, we’ll be examining its key features and applications, but kicking off now with our first impressions…
There’s no doubt that the iPhone’s a sleek piece of kit close-up. It’s not as big as we expected, and feels comfortable in the hands: a sign that Apple is keen for its tactile nature to show through even before you switch the phone on. It’s as shiny and thumbprint-free as you could hope for, too, although that won’t last for long.
Setup proved to be a cinch through iTunes, as we registered with O2 and linked it to our existing iTunes Store account. A few minutes later, we’ve got an activated iPhone sitting in its dock, and we’re ready to go. As a side note, being able to just buy the phone in a box then go home to actually sign up for a contract is a neat idea that may catch on with other operators.
A few thoughts from our first play with the device: the touchscreen interface is certainly intuitive, but not always initially - I found myself delving into the Finger Tips guide a few times to figure out how to do what, and even firing up the online manual in my first hour a couple of times. Once you’re clued up, it feels very natural though, and the little interface bells’n'whistles do make a difference - I’ve already spent several minutes just swooshing up and down web pages and emails with my thumb for the fun of it. This will possibly wear off, but for now it’s captivating.
Brief first impressions of the apps: YouTube works nicely (over Wi-Fi), setting up Gmail was a cinch - even if it does do that annoying Gmail thing of my sent messages appearing in my inbox too - and Safari is pretty good too. I’m still jabbing the wrong key when typing quite often - usually one to the left of the one I want strangely - and I haven’t quite figured out how the autocorrect works, which might speed me up.
The iTunes Wi-Fi Store is ace, and has already cost me a tenner in an impulse buy of the new Led Zep compilation. The camera’s nice to use, but feature-light to say the least, and my Sennheiser headphones don’t fit in the jack, which is a big annoyance.
But more of all these in the coming days, as I look at those different areas in separate posts covering music, the camera, email/messaging, Safari, YouTube and how it works as (gasp) a phone. Check back: there’ll be a new post every day.
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