Mossberg offers first iPhone impressions
updated 10:55 am EDT, Tue June 12, 2007
Mossberg receives iPhone
Technology columnist Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal yesterday received an iPhone from Apple to review during the days leading up to the phone's launch on June 29th. Mossberg offered his first impressions of the handset to college leaders durin ga speech at The Chronicle of Higher Education's Presidents Forum. "I don’t know whether I’ll give it a good review or not," Mossberg said, adding that he will use the device over the next couple of weeks before writing a review. "I can already see some things I don’t like about it. I see some other things that I do like a lot about it." A vital point to distinguish, according to the columnist, is whether the iPhone's touch-screen keyboard at least matches the performance of keyboards on other smartphones.
"They are claiming that through clever software they have figured out a way for this to be actually far more accurate and efficient than you think it will be, and I’m testing that proposition," said Mossberg. "And I can tell you that in the first hour it works a little better than I thought, but I’m still not sure it works as well as a regular keyboard - and the first hour is not a very fair test, so I’m going to keep going at it."
The columnist pointed to the iPhone as the "next level of elevation of the cellphone" after predicting the end of the PC era. Mossberg believes iPhone is the next generation "not because it's better or necessarily better than your Blackberry [...] but this runs a real computer operating system."
yikes
06/12, 11:51am reply
This doesn't sound like a good start to things.
jad713
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Joined: Jul 2006
he got it yesterday...
06/12, 11:54am reply
he's been accused of being a shill for everything apple, by the MS apologists usually, so my hope is he's just doing the typical 'i'm not going to give this a pass because i'm not objective' stuff up front.
he's already seen it and wrote about it once, and he'll likely do the typical whining about the lack of 3G and single carrier and EDGE stuff that everyone is pointing to (in desperation).
or maybe he'll hate it. if he does, you can shave a good few bucks off AAPL if not more. this guy has clout.
zl9600
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2003
landscape keyboard?
06/12, 12:03pm reply
So does it do landscape-mode keyboard or not?
OtisWild
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2005
The 12th app is...
06/12, 12:39pm reply
I just realized while watching the WWDC keynote that one of the most common items I use Internet access on a portable device to look up is local movie listings.
My bet is the 12th app is the "Movies" widget that His Steveness demo'd at WWDC.
amper
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Joined: Nov 2003
keyboard and walt
06/12, 01:03pm reply
I don't think it would do a landscape keyboard, since there wouldn't be much left on the screen to see what you're typing.
And of course Walt is going to like it. He effuses love on Apple all the time...
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
Re: 12th app
06/12, 01:03pm reply
Movies isn't an app or a widget. At best it should be on the bottom, not in the app pane.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
RE: yesterday
06/12, 01:32pm reply
Good points, but I worry that it didn't blow him away right out of the box. If the reviews aren't stelluar, I think it could snowball into a huge flop. But, then again, I thought the retail stores wouldn't work either. Maybe Jobs does know what he's doing. ;o)
jad713
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Joined: Jul 2006
leverage against cingular
06/12, 01:36pm reply
because it gives them a bargaining chip against cingular. apple gives them exclusivity and cingular bends over and changes their network (visual voicemail) and no medianet, etc.
cmoney
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Sep 2000
Re: the ungodly reason
06/12, 03:47pm reply
is because it's an ipod
Since when does an iPod require an iTMS account? Unless you're playing iTMS music?
Again, if you don't have music, why do you have to sign up for an account?
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
and of course...
06/12, 04:31pm reply
...we live or die by EVERYTHING that Walt Mossberg does or does not endorse_
Yeah APPL stock miught drop a point or two after Walter b****** about the lack of Windows OS functionality becuase he can't play the PC version of DOOM on the thing --
BUT that'll suck [for Apple] when everyone around ends up buying iPhones left and right and the stock hits +$50 per share [that's $50 more than what it's worth now - 'cause I know someone will misread that and tell me that Apple stock is already worth more than $50 per share - duh!] instead of +$51.85_
Yep - the stock holders are going to have ahissy fit over a buck eighty-five and won't be able to go on 2 skiing trips this winter_
UberFu
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Joined: Oct 2002