iPHONE

--->The iPhone was announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during the keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo on 9 January 2007. It's an an Internet-enabled mobile phone that is expected to revolutionize the mobile industry.

--->The iPhone's features include those of a camera phone, an MP3 and video player, mobile phone, and Internet services like e-mail, text messaging, web browsing, Visual Voicemail and wireless connectivity. The iPhone user input is accomplished via touchscreen with virtual keyboard and buttons.

--->The iPhone was released in the United States on June 29, 2007 and made available from the Apple Store and from AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless, with the original price of US$499 for the 4 GB model and US$599 for the 8 GB model, based on a two-year service contract. Apple intends to make the phone available in Europe in Q4 2007 and in Asia in 2008.

--->Apple iPhone will retail for $499 (4 GB) or $599 (8 GB) with a two-year AT&T contract. A steep price tag for many, but compared to other ground-breaking phones in recent years, it's not that bad.

--->The iPhone's most important feature is a 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 pixels touch screen display, easily beating other multimedia smartphones currently on the market. Its recent surface upgrade from plastic to optical-quality glass, also makes it pretty much scratch-proof.

--->The iPhone's second most important feature is its Mac OS X user interface, which obviously can't be easily replicated by competitors. Apple will not open for third party developers though, which are left in the dark with Widgets only to develop. Combined with EDGE-only connectivity when being on the road, your Mac OS X themed travel application will load slowly, if it loads at all.

--->The iPhone features a built-in battery that is not intended to be user-replaceable (”we knew that,” you cry), similar to existing iPods. The battery is capable of providing five hours of video, web browsing, or talk time. HOWEVER - the battery life for music playing is 16 hours. It is unknown how long the batteries will last in sleep mode.

--->The fact that underneath all the gloss and music and video, it is a cell phone, here’s hoping that the sleep mode battery life will be at least 48 hours. Most cell phones can be left on in sleep mode for a few days.

--->There will be new headphones which are similar to those of current iPods, but which incorporate a microphone.

--->If you thought you had to hold the iPhone right up to your mouth to talk, and worry that you’ll drop it, worry no longer. Also, if it’s illegal to hold a cell phone and drive at the same time where you are, out of the box this will not be a problem for you with this corded solution.

--->The loudspeaker is used both for handsfree operations and media playback.
Storage: 4 or 8 GB Flash memory, storing files (music, video, contacts, photos) and operating system.

--->Unlike current iPods, the iPhone will use flash memory, not a hard-drive based memory storage. This is good news for a cell phone, which will more than likely get tossed around more than an mp3 player. A hard bump and you might get the sad iPod icon on an HDD based iPod, but flash memory is solid with no moving parts like the USB thumb drive sticking out the back of your computer right now.

--->Apple has announced that the slimmed-down version of OS X running on the iPhone will take up “considerably less” than 500MB.

--->The iPhone has three switches on its sides: sleep/wake, volume up/down, ringer on/off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen.

--->The iPhone will have support for IMAP, POP3, and Yahoo Push mail. It will also automatically recognize and detect phone numbers in email messages, and gives the option for a one-click access to dialing them. The iPhone does not support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), so you will not be able to attach pictures or videos to text messages. It will not let you “chat” with friends directly via instant messaging (IM).

--->Videos will pause automatically when a call comes in, and then resumes when the call ends.

--->The iPhone does not have Global Positioning System (GPS).

--->There is no such thing as an iPhone SDK. Third-party applications will be allowed only as web-based applications loaded the Internet via the iPhone’s Safari web browser.

--->You must either setup or have an existing iTunes account in order to use the iPhone, even if you do not intend to make purchases. This is an additional requirement on top of the 2-year service agreement with AT&T.

--->Synchronization is automatic when the iPhone is plugged into a Mac or PC for email, contacts, calendar, and photos.

--->The mobile version of OS X or whatever it is the iPhone runs takes up 700MB of the device’s capacity.

--->There’s no way to cut, copy, or paste text! WHOA! Big, big mistake.

--->No A2DP support. That, friends, is such a huge bummer right there.

--->Music can’t be used as a ringtone — even if it’s just a raw MP3. No additional ringtones will be sold at launch

--->On a PC the iPhone syncs with Outlook for calendars AND addresses! Noice.

--->No MMS. And sorry, no voice dialing, either.

--->The prototype iPhone had a plastic screen similar most of its cell competitors. Earlier this month, Apple announced a last-minute shift to glass. This was probably the company’s way of avoiding the Nano fiasco of 2005, when customers sued Apple over that iPod model’s highly scratchable screen.

--->The iPhone is limited to AT&T’s EDGE system, which is a second generation cell-phone network. The fastest system is 3G, or third generation. It isn’t clear why Apple chose the slower system, but probably the iPhone’s sophisticated equipment was easier to implement on the older network. Jobs has promised that future iPhones will use 3G.

--->LG’s new Prada Phone, the iPhone’s closest rival, also uses advanced touchscreen technology, but it doesn’t have Apple’s patented two-finger touching. The iPhone is the only device that allows you to stretch, shrink, and move items with your index finger and thumb.

--->According to experts, the Apple touchscreen recognizes only human skin. Curious cats, slobbery dogs, or even people using a stylus won’t be detected by the iPhone. Finicky users afraid of getting the glass screen dirty are out of luck.

--->The iPhone surfs the Web and plays iTunes videos, but its limited Flash animation capability means that the video on most websites, including the New York Times and Billboard, isn’t watchable. But at least YouTube changed its format last month to ensure compatibility with the iPhone.

--->Google Maps works beautifully on the iPhone, but you still need to enter a starting address—the phone’s not equipped with G.P.S., which could pinpoint your location automatically.

--->The next generation of iPhones is expected to correct this mistake.

--->For months, journalists, analysts, and evildoers were trying to figure out what would fill the blank menu square shown in early iPhone screen shots. Turns out, it’s up to you. Apple allows you to customize the menu with downloadable options that can be used to track stocks, check weather, or, likely in the future, give airport flight data.

--->Apple claims that the iPhone can import your current digital Rolodex from a computer, but it hasn’t mentioned whether the contacts in your iPhone can be transferred back to your machine—or to the next phone you purchase. Apple also hasn’t said if the SIM card, the little chip that retains cell-phone data, will be removable.