APPLE'S IPHONE
Product Review of Apple's iPhone
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In the following paragraphs we will review the iPhone's features to help you decide if an iPhone is in your future. Considering the cost of iPod's, you can pay a little more and get a mobile phone with internet and email capabilities too. Read on for more information.
The IPhone as a Multimedia Player
The iPod feature has the best MP3 player on any phone, according to Consumer Reports. Glide your finger over the new iTunes interface to see a 3-D rolodex of available album covers. Your music continues to play even when you switch to other iPhone features. Turn the phone off and you can still enjoy the music. One drawback may be that you can only download songs to your iPod through a connection to your computer.
The iPhone as a Camera Phone
IPhone's cameraphone feature offers a 2MP resolution, which is more than most cameraphones offer. Pretty good photo quality, although certainly less than from a standard digital camera. Some features offered on other cameraphones are missing from the iPhone.
The IPhone as an Email Service
For email, the iPhone gets very good marks from Consumer Reports. Readability is excellent with a variety of font sizes, styles and colors. Word, Excel, PDF, JPEG and HTML attachments are viewable. Can't view zip files or powerpoint displays, though. The inteface provides shortcuts with logos to the major web-based email services, making it easier to connect to your email than with most smart phones.
IPhone's Web Access
Surf the 'net faster with iPhone's Safari web browser and a wi-fi connection. The Safari browser is more computer-like than other smart phones, which filter out website elements. You can view the entire web page, and can zoom in to read it, but it's easy to forget where you are on the page, and even easier to hit a link you don't want to open. You can't download music from ITunes to your iPhone, and if you're not on a wi-fi connection, you're stuck with AT&T's EDGE network, which is slower than the "3G" network used by other AT&T smart phones or the network used by Verizon and Sprint.
The IPhone as a Cell Phone
AT&T (formerly Cingular) is the only phone service provider for the iPhone for the next five years. Users responding to surveys have not given the phone service aspect very good reviews, for the most part. You will need to sign up for an AT&T plan if you buy an iPhone. If you're currently with another provider, cancellation fees with them could run you up to $200, but if you are currently an AT&T user, the termination fee is waived. Plan rates range from $60 to $100 a month. The basic $60 plan gets you 450 minutes of phone time; the next step up at $80 includes 900 minutes, and the $100 plan gives you 1,350 minutes of talk time. All 3 plans include 200 text messages a month, unlimited data services, and visual voice mail. Unused minutes roll over to the next month, too.
Other Features of the IPhone
Other features of the iPhone include text messaging, clock, calendar and calculator features present on other cell phones; view your photos on the screen; have access to stock and weather reports, and enjoy the large 3 1/2 inch touch screen display, too.
Battery Life and Replacement
Claimed battery life is similar to high-end mobile phones: up to 6 hours for web browsing, 7 hours for video playback, 8 hours for talking, 24 hours for music playback, 250 hours for standby. If the battery needs replacing after the one-year warranty, replacement cost is $79 plus shipping and tax. You won't be able to replace the battery yourself. Apple does promise a 3-day turnaround though, as well as being able to rent another iPhone for $29 while you wait.