PREVIEW: Final countdown begins to iPhone launch

In a buzz-worthy launch worthy of Apollo 11's blast off to the moon, Apple's iPhone hits US stores on Friday, hoping to eliminate world poverty, eradicate disease, and put a kabosh to war.

OK, that's a slight exaggeration. The new-fangled must-have gadget is only a cell-phone, albeit a really cool one, but judging from the amount of hype it has generated you could easily be forgiven for thinking it's the best invention since sliced bread.

Some of the excitement is due to the RDF (that's short for reality distortion field) so famously created by Apple CEO Steve Jobs whenever he launches a product. But that's only part of the explanation.

The rest of the buzz is down to a combination of the frustration millions of people experience when using their phones and the eternal Apple promise to make machines that are both intuitive and sophisticated.

There can be little doubt that the Silicon Valley company is set to introduce the most comprehensive cell-phone in history, with all due respect to the Nokias, Sony-Ericcson, Palms and Blackberry's of the world.

Featuring a powerful web browser, music player, video capabilities and wi-fi receiver, the only question is whether you will ever have the time, or battery power, to make a phone call.

Concerns about the strength of the iPhone battery prompted Apple to issue updated specifications just a few days before launch. Apple says the phone now offers up to 8 hours of talk time, seven hours of video watching, six hours of web browsing, 24 hours of music listening and a standby time of 10 days.

The phone offers a touch-screen interface that is meant to replace the fiddly buttons that were standard on most other smartphones. A smoothly integrated software suite makes you think that Apple designers were the first ones to ever really think how real people actually use their phones.

You just need to tap your finger to dial a number brought up from the phone book or web browser, another touch makes it a conference call. You can view your voice messages on the screen instead of having to listen to them all in order, and you can resize text and photos by pinching your fingers together and apart.

Apple says the touch-screen keyboard has predictive software that completes words for you and helps prevent errors. But power email addicts of the Blackberry and other smartphones are likely to find that a poor substitute for the tactile feedback they get from pressing the admittedly tiny buttons on their current machines.

Other iPhone drawbacks: It's limited to only the AT&T network, it doesn't work on the relatively fast 3G networks, and third party developers are limited.

That's unlikely to deter the hordes of gadget junkies who simply must have the hippest cell phone out there, even if costs 500 dollars. That's the price of the least expensive version available. But customers will also have to sign a two-year contract commitment for an as yet undisclosed monthly rate plan that could add significantly to the overall cost.

But for true Apple fans it's easy to circumvent such economic rationale.

'A new phone would cost me 200 dollars anyway, and a good iPod costs 300 dollars so I might as well just get an iPhone if I can get my hands on one,' says Paul Renn, a self-confessed Apple 'fan-boy'.

Renn is planning to line up early outside an Apple store in San Francisco when the phone goes on sale on Friday at 6 pm. The phone will be available only in Apple's 162 retail stores and in the 1,800 stores owned by AT&T which has hired 2,000 extra staff to deal with the launch.

Because of its high price, limited corporate appeal and entrenched competitors analysts don't expect the iPhone to dominate the cellphone market, thought it is already inspiring companies like Nokia, LG and Samsung to roll out phones with similar features.

'The demand for the iPhone is partly generated by Apple's marketing machine, but it's also perceived to be a very usable and user-friendly phone,' said Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.

'The frenzy illustrates that there is pent-up demand for mobile devices that are easy to use and really work. People are struggling with small screens and awkward triple-tapping. It's had an impact already, even if it doesn't penetrate as deeply as some expect.'
Source :http://tech.monstersandcritics.com