After having my iPhone for a little over two weeks it is clear that it is the best gadget that I ever owned.
I am not a gadget guy, but I certainly appreciate elegant design and useful tools. iPhone's ease of use, intuitive
interface and great set of built-in applications amount to a device that is hard to resist. People who have not yet seen
it think that it's over hyped and not a big deal. Well, I'm here to say that it is a bid deal.
People who own other intelligent devices from Motorolla, Blackberry or Sony Ericsson have pointed out that features found in iPhone have been around on the market for a while. That is true, iPhone certainly is not the first touch screen device and not the first smart phone. But it is likely the best executed one to date. It packs a punch across the board, but it also excels in little details that make a big difference. In this post we will take a look at 10 simple things that make a user like me very happy.
To unlock the iPhone you simply need to slide a
graphical slider from left to right using your finger. This is an intentional gesture. It's basically impossible to accidentally unlock your iPhone and call someone while the phone is in your pocket (as sometimes happens with other phones).
The only prominent physical button on the front
face of the iPhone is the Home button. By pressing this button while in any application, the user is sent
back to the application screen. This is a simple solution to a problem of letting the users effectively
navigate between applications. The fact that the button is physical elevates its importance and makes it instantly clear and simple to use.
iPhone automatically detects when you
rotate it 90 degrees. Several applications respond to the rotation including iTunes and the Safari Browser. In iTunes
the rotation causes a switch into a cover flow mode, while in Safari more of the page width is automatically fit into the view.
For most web browsing, horizontal view is generally easier.
Fitting the web -- the real web and not a stripped down mobile version -- onto a handheld device is
a really difficult problem. The iPhone is takes a major step towards solving it by using a combination of tricks, including
page zoom, rotation and flip-through Safari tabs. Whenever a user navigates to a page a new tab is created.
The history button gets users into a mode where they can flip through the currently opened tabs. Each tab has a an X next to it, allowing users to easily close it. The whole experience feels quite natural even though it is very different from the browsing experience on laptops and desktops.
One of the most fun and useful things
that the iPhone sports is its highly touted multi-touch screen interface. One of the gestures, the pinch to zoom-in/zoom-out
will probably become the iPhone's most recognized touch gesture. This motion can be used consistently through the different
applications - photos, maps and, of course, the web browser. A simpler gesture - double-tap, is not as slick, but
just as useful.
The iTunes cover flow
is hands down the coolest feature on your iPhone. The experience is even better than
on a computer, since you are scrolling through the albums with your hand. But its not only fun, it is different
way of rediscovering the music in your collection. Clicking on a cover makes it flip around. In this mode, you
can select a song or rate the album.
YouTube and the whole social video phenomenon is on the iPhone, just 1-click away. The fact that YouTube
is directly integrated makes a huge difference because it would not really work via the browser. With this integration,
the users get access to a lists of featured, most popular and recent videos. You can also bookmark and search videos
just like via the web site. The videos themselves are optimized for the iPhone and play surprisingly well.
Calendars, Email, Photos, Movies and Music are all synchronized. Just like with iPod, you can configure
what from iTunes should be transfered to iPhone. But my favorite syncs are contacts, email and calendars. The Contacts are
synchronized both ways, so you can enter them either via Address Book or iPhone. Email can be synced with any POP client, I've configured mine to access
GMail and it works well. Finally, iPhone automatically syncs with iCal on your Mac. The calendar interface on the iPhone is great
showing a sequential list view in addition to the typical daily, weekly and monthly views.
The iPhone delivers an integrated experience
as it connects the applications in the way we would expect. After you take a picture, it lets you assign it to
a contact. When my wife calls me, her picture shows up
on my screen in brilliant color, which really makes my day. If you listen to music and a phone call comes in, the music automatically pauses, then resumes after you hang up.
If you're looking at an email with a phone number, you can press it to make a phone call. Collectively these small
things add up to create a whole new kind of experience, one we are not used to from other phones and handheld devices.
And my number one favorite thing about
the iPhone is that it feels simple. I experimented by letting my 3 year old twins and my 83 year old grandfather
play with the touch screen. The twins were flipping through album covers in a matter of seconds.
My grandpa mastered the scroll and the pinch gesture in about a minute. These are the least
high-tech folks you will find, but yet they were able to pick up the iPhone almost instantly. This says a lot about the device and its potential.
If you have an iPhone and used it for the past few weeks please share your experiences with us. What are your favorite features? Is there anything you didn't like?
Comments
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Agreed on almost everything. However, related to gesture, I do not think that the pinch gesture is the coolest or simplest. I very rarely use it, except maybe in the maps. I use the doubletapping gesture much more often because it is less stressful and it generally does the job (especially in the browser). But I think the flick gesture is the coolest of all, especially since it can be done with the same hand that is holding the phone while browsing pictures, weather conditions, and various lists. This is the one that never fails to impress my audience, especially with the physical bounce back when the end of a list is reached.
Posted by: Jean-Michel Decombe | July 24, 2007 12:31 PMI love the touch screen displaying only the tools I need, when I need them. I do not have to sacrifice half of my screen for buttons.
Posted by: Brett Trout | July 24, 2007 12:36 PMEverything is Synced? Well, not to-dos 'cause there are none. Not Notes. Not passwords 'cause there's no password manager. These are critical features if the iPhone is to replace my PDA. When you compare iPhone to exisiting solutions, you'll find Apple's product is the least Mac-compatible:
http://www.bioneural.net/2007/06/29/mac-friendly-alternatives-to-apples-1g-iphone/
Posted by: Bruce | July 24, 2007 12:43 PMI've read a lot of over-the-top iFawning since the jesusPhone came out, but this is the first time I've seen the home button listed as a great new feature of a phone. Hardly new or unique. The more I read these "top 10 features of my iPhone" lists, the more glad I am to have passed.
PS Not only is the iPhone not the first smartphone, it's not a smartphone at all.
Posted by: Fred | July 24, 2007 2:03 PMHow much can you actually do with it with one hand and not looking at it much? The people I see using it are huddled over it, engaging two hands (holding with one and controlling with the other) and their eyes (zero touch feedback). That could be just because it's new and cool, but for me, I mean I go through my email and make my calls one handed, yes usually driving, but only occasionally having to glance at the screen.
I'm just curious, really, I do think it's pretty cool, but for the most part so you find yourself able to use it one-handed for most things?
Posted by: gettit | July 24, 2007 2:08 PM@Fred
I agree on the home button. For me it's the red button under my thumb. Wherever I am, I can get back to the beginning with it.
Posted by: gettit | July 24, 2007 2:11 PM@5 Yeah, definitely can get a lot done with one hand, including scrolling, tapping, etc.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | July 24, 2007 2:14 PM@gettit:
You can do everything one-handed, including one-thumb typing (obviously not as efficient) unless you have a very short thumb. The only thing is that one-hand pinching is not easy but pinching can almost always be circumvented (and is used only to zoom in maps and pictures anyway).
Using the phone without looking is definitely harder than with a phone that has a real keyboard and buttons, but one should be able to master that too once the hand becomes intimately familiar with the dimensions of the phone and the brain with the position of most UI elements on the touch screen. I would say it would still take a long time to achieve, and I don't know of anybody who has.
Posted by: Jean-Michel Decombe | July 24, 2007 4:09 PMI'm having trouble thinking of another *product* gadget or otherwise, as fantastic as the iPhone. Peopl ewho think it does the same as other smartphones but better are completely missing the whole experience. It is an order of magnitude better than the competition. I laugh everytime a Treo or Pearl/Curve owner comes up to me to try to make the case how great their device is. The iPhone is superior in so many ways it's crazy. At the end of the day, the iPhone is a pleasure to use. I'd say one of it's greatest features is that it essentially comes *without* a manual.
Posted by: pwb | July 24, 2007 4:19 PMPeople who pooh-pooh the iPhone haven't used it. Once they get a chance to try it for a few minutes their jaws are on the floor and they're hooked.
Posted by: Neil Anderson | July 24, 2007 5:42 PM@#7 and @#8
Thanks, that's cool to hear. It was a ton smaller than I expected so I can see getting your thumb around it like that.
I'm not a huge Apple fan, but I do love the fact that an American company is designing world-beating products in consumer electronics. So while I can understand a little of the 'fanboy' backlash, overall I just love the success.
Posted by: gettit | July 24, 2007 6:33 PMI love that you explicitly state that many of the features on the iphone have been around for awhile yet people still bring that up as an argument. Truth is, one can poop in a hole in the ground or they can poop in a toilet. See where I am going with this analogy? The iphone does all of these things better, period. If you don't own one or if you haven't spent more than a few hours with one, then you should keep your small minded comments to yourselves. Either way, we are fortunate to have apple around to push the envelope, competiton is good.
Posted by: George | July 24, 2007 8:52 PMI love that for a device where the touch screen is the defining user interface feature the only physical button - the home button - is listed as a top ten feature.
The iPhone is cool - I used it for a few days - but it's missing at least 11 keys (if not 19 or more) to make it truly more than a toy or a fad. With a full set of keys you would have to expand this list to be your top 26+! :)
Posted by: Ethan | July 24, 2007 10:41 PMThe rich feature set is one reason that, despite ridiculous analyst commentary to the contrary, the iPhone has performed so well in the market, signing up 5% of potential customers in its first month since launch. Read more analysis at moseskagan.com
Posted by: Moses | July 25, 2007 2:10 AMFor once, I just want a truly objective analysis in this iPhone madness. I can't surf through the internet without tripping over hundreds of these fanboy fluff pieces. Would it have hurt you to list some CONS along with the pros? I know that this piece is about the user interface, but surely there are some things that could stand improvement. EVERY technology has them.
Honestly, I want to know in the end if iPhone with its pros (user interface) and its cons (features lacking that other smartphones have) is worth the hype or price, or what makes it so depending on your use of it. I love ReadWriteWeb's articles, but I'm noticing a trend in their lack of objectivity about Apple, and I think it is a shame, because they are usually pretty fantastic about analyzing technology. But when they talk about Apple, it comes across as a PR piece and not a useful analysis.
Posted by: Marta Strickland | July 25, 2007 4:41 AMinteresting links on www.iphonesunlocked.com
Posted by: idevwiki | July 25, 2007 7:22 AMEsta muy bueno, a mi me gusta mucho
Posted by: Leonardo Bracco | July 25, 2007 12:47 PMUm as for the downsides to the iphone, well lets see, no user replaceble battery for one. Oh and the fact that its restricted to the AT&T network, which I have had in the past and have seen and heard nothing but bad things about.
Posted by: Luke | July 30, 2007 1:07 PM