This is not a review, but I have seen the device since I was present for its soft launch. So here it goes:
The i-phone is a multimedia and internet enabled mobile phone from the Apple stable.It was announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on 9th January 2007. Its scheduled to be released in US on 29th June 2007 in the Apple Stores.
Features:
Touch Screen - A 3.5 inch LCD touch screen topped with optical quality glass is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for
multi-touch sensing. No stylus is needed, nor can one be used, as the
touch screen requires bare skin to operate
.
Other Inputs - The display responds to three sensors: a proximity sensor that shuts off the display and touchscreen when the iPhone is brought near the face to save battery power and to
prevent spurious inputs from the user’s face and ears, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power, and an accelerometer, which senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, albeit in only one 90 degree direction.
Phone - The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID,
and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone
functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives
a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in.
Camera - The iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera located on the back.
Multimedia - As good as a video i-pod.
Internet - The iPhone has built-in WiFi, with which it will be able to access the Internet (through a wireless network) via a modified version of the Safari web browser. The iPhone also has Bluetooth 2.x+EDR built in.
E-Mail - The iPhone also features an HTML e-mail program, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. Yahoo will be providing a free PUSH-IMAP e-mail service.
Battery - The iPhone features a built-in battery that is not intended to be
user-replaceable, similar to existing iPods. The battery is stated to
be capable of providing up to seven hours of video, six hours of web
browsing, or eight hours of talk time (depending on configuration). The
battery life for music playing is stated to be 24 hours. The battery will also allow for up to 250 hours of standby time.
The iPhone will be released in early 2008 in India. In US it will be released in 2 configurations - 4GB & 8GB priced at US$499 and US$599 respectively.
Definately worth a buy. Its going to be the most awaited release of this year.