iPhoneStuff.org

Ars Technica got some great information from a well-known professional usability expert, Bruce Tognazzini, including his opinions on whether the iPhone’s touch-screen interface will be the next big thing, or the next big flop. You may find the results surprising.

Naturally, besides a few elite media people, and Steve Jobs himself, no one has really had a good “hands-on” with the iPhone to test it out for usability, however, perceptions and predictions can be formed.

Bruce…

Loves:

Gives ordinary people widespread access to technologies that have otherwise been very limited for public consumption (such as multitouch and whatnot)
Very approachable, even for older folks
Visual, random-access voicemail. “It’s about time.”
Hates:

Five hour battery life, and non-replaceable battery (without a crowbar…). “That’s a bad interface,” Tog says.
Relying on public WiFi (”Public WiFi is a mess”) for Internet access, or expensive cell networks affect fundamental reliability
SMS, e-mail, and voicemail are all separated out as much as possible. “I should not have to visit three different places on my phone every few minutes to see what is happening.”
Widgets are the only add-on path for the iPhone. “I can only hope that changes.”
Needs a keyboard. Touchscreen keyboard is nice and all, but not good for extended use and takes up much of the screen.
Nits:

Desperately needs to be tested for ruggedness (is that a hint for me, Tog?)
SMS should include an interpreter to expand upon common abbreviations
Camera should be higher resolution
Facial recognition “would be a plus”
iPod interface potentially confusing, much more complex than phone interface
Safari browser on iPhone may and may not be forgiving to web pages that are not totally strict on HTML. Forgiving will be much better in the long run than not.
Maps on the iPhone should just “know” where you are and tell you how far, distance and time-wise, you are from appointments that are on your calendar

He did, however, comment on how much of an improvement on current cell phones this phone from Apple really is, saying “Traditional cell phones are dull, limited, and at end-of-life. iPhone is glorious, and it is only the beginning.”

Yes, if we can learn one thing from our technologically and cell-phonically advanced neighbours in Japan, it’s that cell phone innovation has to start somewhere, but where it leads to with competition, is limited only by imagination.

Apple’s iPhone may be the only king of touch-screen phones in North America, but the Japanese have had country-wide 3G service for a while now, touch-screens are nothing!

In this article from Joystiq, it explains that the phone - called the D800iDS - has dual screens that resemble the Nintendo DS, and no keys.

Its’ features include a PictoChat-like utility, enabling users to scrawl messages to eachother, and focus mainly on games and fun.

While North America anticipates the arrival of its’ first innovative cell phone in… forever, Japan quietly puts out highly superior products on a regular basis. Will this phone ever be available in the United States or Canada? Most likely not.

Some excellent close up shots here, probably one of the best iPhone videos there is right now.

If this product is in fact real, it’s a heaven send for all you embarrassed Microsoft Zune owners.

STOP asking yourself, “Why did I ever buy this thing,” and START making people think you’re hip and trendy once again!

[via fscklog]

In a recent interview, New York Times reporter John Markoff sat down with Steve Jobs and pointedly asked a few probing questions regarding what the iPhone can, and can’t do.

The following is a transcript of one of Markoff’s questions:

Markoff: “And what are you thinking about Flash and Java?”

Jobs: “Java’s not worth building in. Nobody uses Java anymore. It’s this big heavyweight ball and chain.”

Markoff: “Flash?”

Jobs: “Well, you might see that.”

Markoff: “What about YouTube–”

Jobs: “Yeah, YouTube—of course. But you don’t need to have Flash to show YouTube. All you need to do is deal with YouTube.”

So, Steve Jobs, you “don’t need to have Flash to show YouTube” do you?

The help section off the YouTube homepage has this to say:

The video won’t play—what’s wrong?
All of the videos on YouTube are streamed through a Flash player, so you need to have the latest version of Macromedia Flash installed on your computer. To download it, please visit Adobe.

In other words, if Apple does plan on giving full support to YouTube, then we can expect they will give full support to having a Flash player on the upcoming iPhone.

German Apple enthusiast magazine Macwelt recently drew new details out of Apple Germany, and in this article, discuss a few things the iPhone has, and has not.

Apple has apparently confirmed that the operating system on the iPhone - which is a slimmed down, 500MB version of OS X), will take up part of the hard drive space allotted for iPod songs and videos.

This means that the 4GB version of the iPhone will mean you’ll get 3.5GB of storage, and the 8GB version will get you, the user, 7.5GB of storage.

The question still remains, as to whether Safari’s cache will clear upon exiting, or will it take up even more space from the hard drive? The same could be asked about iPhone contacts, SMS messages, and voicemail messages. Only time will tell.

Don’t let your awesome piece of technology become the determining factor in letting someone live or die!

[via Geek Culture]

German Apple enthusiast magazine Macwelt recently drew new details out of Apple Germany, and in this article, discuss a few things the iPhone has, and has not.

One item of note, is that Macwelt discerned from Apple that iPhone users will not be allowed to use their multimedia mobile communications device for VoIP. That means that connecting wirelessly to the internet via WiFi will not get you a free call.

This news is disappointing for users who tie their other mobile devices - like laptops - to their wireless bluetooth headsets. It also comes at a time when many critics have been hitting Apple with bad reviews of anticipation due to a number a recent details about the iPhone’s limitations.

Being 5 months away from production and shipping, Apple surely has some tricks up their sleeve that will make us salivate even more as we get closer to June.

The first generation iPhone comes equipped with a two megapixel digital camera on the back of it. To see exactly what size of image to expect to see taken from this tiny camera, I have provided a scaled-down picture I took with my Canon Powershot A70 a few years ago on a frosty morning. Click on the picture to enlarge it to full two megapixel screen size.

Whether we’ll be able to get this type of macro quality out of the small iPhone camera or not is yet to be seen, but what’s not left to worry about is if the size of the photo will be enough for printing 4×6 prints, or even 5×7 prints. They will look as sharp as your skill as a photographer lets them.

A word of caution: don’t plan to be bobbing your head to the beat of a soulful tune playing on the iPod section of your iPhone while taking a picture with the iPhone camera. Doing so will likely lead you to a road of disappointment in picture quality, due to the fact that your shaking will make for blurry portraits.

One of the top results when searching for the Apple iPhone is the Linksys iPhone. One might wonder what the Linksys iPhone is, and why have I never heard of it? The official Linksys iPhone web site gives this description of their product (bold is ours):

iPhone is about a new age of communications, with voice applications at the core. An age that is about more than just dialing a phone number and waiting to see if someone on the other end answers. Devices in this new age are expected to deliver more than just a connection to friends, loved ones, and colleagues. They now must deliver on the promise of particular types of content tailored to your specific needs.

The variety of features available on Linksys iPhones will change the way you communicate with friends and family. iPhone products offer compelling internet services using popular clients like Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice that display real-time contact list and presence information letting you know if the party you want to call is available. Enjoy access to personal content like music, photos, and live video cameras from sources on the Internet. In short, Linksys iPhones give you the ability to do more with your phone than talk!

Basically, summarized, the Linksys iPhone is cordless home phone with access to Skype and Yahoo! Messenger, and other capabilities as well.

Of course, the Linksys iPhone is not a cell phone, nor a mobile solution like the Apple iPhone is, however, the patent for the Linksys iPhone covers mobile technologies and is the very root of their recent lawsuit again Apple Inc.

Earlier reports had assumed that Apple would rename the iPhone due to this naming conflict, however at Macworld last week Apple shattered these assumptions with its’ bold iPhone design.

Both products have their benefits, and can be used for different purposes. What if one wanted to have both products active in tandem? Things might get confusing, but more than likely, one would refer to their Linksys iPhone as their “phone” and their Apple iPhone as their “cell phone” or “PDA.”