Tuesday, July 03, 2007 Limpag: Will you line up too? By Max T. Limpag Celltalk
CAMPING OUT. Last week, the iPhone finally became available in the United States after months of unprecedented hype and deafening buzz.
As I write this column early Saturday morning, I read several stories and saw a lot of photographs of how people were spending hours to wait in line outside Apple and AT & T stores in the US. I’ve never seen this much anticipation for a mobile phone, have you?
Analysts have warned that such a massive build-up of expectations by marketing hype puts the product at risk of failing. But hey, we’re talking about Apple and Steve Jobs. By all accounts, the iPhone is a good device: it plays digital media, including some online video formats, browses the Internet via mobil networks or Wi-Fi, and comes with a touch screen.
But whether it is a great device will be known in a few weeks, when those who’ve lined up start using it and posting their experiences in blogs and websites. Most of those who lined up to get their hands on the iPhone last week are your typical early adopters and Apple heads. Will the iPhone be available in the Philippines? Which carrier? Apple works with telecom carriers.
In the US, you need to sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T Mobility to get your hands on the iPhone.
WAIT FOR THE NEXT VERSION. I’ve always balked at purchasing the initial version of a product. Typically, the first version comes with bugs that have escaped quality control and lacks features that didn’t make it to the drawing board. Bugs won’t seem to be a major problem with the iPhone because you can upgrade its operating system, a stripped down version of Mac OS X. In fact, Jobs was reported to have boasted that upgrading the system would be very easy compared with other cell phone models. It is the hardware capability that you should consider.
The iPhone is a 2G unit, although Jobs said they’ll be adding 3G capability in future versions. How soon, I haven’t read anywhere yet. The choice of Internet connection lies on extremes; on one hand, you have the less than 100kbps connection offered by 2G networks; on the other hand, you have the relatively higher speeds offered by Wi-Fi. Apple is engineering the product based on conditions in the US, where there seems to be more Wi-Fi hotspots than HSDPA or 3G coverage. The company said support will be added when 3G rollout becomes more widespread in the US.
If you’re itching to get your hands on the iPhone, wait for the next version...at least wait for the iPhone with 3G support. With all its advanced features, it’s such a pity to have it working under the slow 2G network.
Yes, there’s Wi-Fi support but have you noticed how Wi-Fi coverage in Cebu seems to be spotty? I’ve been told that you can get free Wi-Fi coverage in a lot of shops in Davao City. But here in Cebu, most shops just use the Wi-Fi coverage of major telcos, which require paid subscription.
