Is the iPhone ready?

Apple are the kings of integration innovation, but not necessarily innovation itself. They take average stuff and throw it all together with style. To this end, the components that make the iPhone a brilliant piece of technology have in fact come from many sources outside of Apple. This consistent with Apple's history.

Let me first clear up a few common misconceptions that I keep hearing:

• Apple did not invent the mouse: It was originally created by Doug Engelbart, and later perfected with the ball-mouse from Bill English at Xerox PARC.
• Apple did not invent the GUI: It came from Xerox PARC again, designed for the Xerox Alto.
• Apple's UNIX-variant with a windowing system (MacOS X) has its roots in X Windows, developed in 1984 initially by MIT. At that point in time, Apple had released their first Macintosh.
• Apple's Multi-Touch interface was originally developed by Jeff Han (of CU-SeeMe fame from the early 1990's).
• Apple's use of an accelerometer as an input device is already used by digital cameras, Wiimotes, and even mobile phones from Nokia and Samsung, but was really popularised by MacBook hackers that have used the device for some really funky applications such as SmackBook, and utilities that rotate windows to make them always appear straight when the laptop isn't.

Having said that, Apple have integrated amazing technologies into their iPhone, producing a beautiful product that looks like it will change the way we look at not only the mobile phone, but user interfaces in general. Once again, Apple will lead another market into a new direction.

Without dwelling on the specifications too much, the iPhone includes the Mac OS X operating system, although it has not been confirmed if this is a new kernel, or if it is indeed the same kernel that has been ported. It includes standard connectivity with USB and Firewire (via a 30-pin iPod connector), WiFi, Bluetooth, and naturally quad-band GSM with EDGE.

Apple have presumably chosen the 2.5G route due to state of the mobile telecommunications market within the USA, and will undoubtedly integrate newer 3G technologies later, especially for the European and Asian markets. I presume that other features such as integrated Wireless USB and GPS will also appear in later releases (it's too soon for Galileo support).

Fortunately for Apple in the growing Asian market, the 30-pin iPod connector, which includes charging via USB, should fit neatly into new mandates from China and South Korea which require mobile phone manufacturers to standardise their data and power cables; a move which is also being watched closely in Europe.

Despite Apple's claims that the phone is not a smart-phone, it does exhibit all the necessary traits: It includes your standard phone book, calendar and tasks, messaging (email, SMS, MMS, etc.), imaging, music and video playback, and so forth. It is indeed a quirk of irony that the first smart-phone was the IBM Simon which, like the iPhone, had no physical buttons, but relied on a touch-screen interface. The Nokia 7700 could be considered an updated version of this goal, but despite being planned initially for release in 2003, it ultimately failed to appear commercially.

Underneath the glossy surface of beautiful design and features is a somewhat murky underbelly that's been growing for some time. This is, of course, iTunes. One major component of the iPhone is essentially a wide-screen video capable iPod, which means owners will again be locked into Apple's closed brand of DRM known as FairPlay. This isn't a big issue though, since most people happily download illegal music.

Apple have announced that iTunes will be where you synchronise your PIM data. Apple have no public plans to use widespread standards such as OMA (SyncML), nor synchronisation over a network connection, which will severely limit the usability of the product for businesses who are now managing fleets comprised of a mélange of different mobile devices in this manner.

Consumers already feel locked in with iTunes, with some going so far as to state that iTunes is the major flaw of the iPod, primarily due to the fact that iTunes will reorganise your music unintelligibly, making it difficult to move away from it. With alternatives becoming common now (I'm using iPod shuffle Database Builder), this puts another crimp on moving away from iTunes to a competing product.

While I was amazed by the iPhone itself, the bundled software mentioned in the keynote speech made me feel awkward. I currently own a Nokia E70, on which I can run Google Maps happily, and surf the web using my Safari-based web browser (Nokia and Apple collaborated on this some time ago). On these two points alone, I felt both disappointed in Apple for implying that these were out-right industry firsts, and disappointed in Nokia for their poor-man's nipple-mouse interface!

Bundled software is one thing, but can we build our own software? The answer appears to be a resounding no, with Jobs himself confirming that third-party applications need to be licensed in order to work with the phone. This greatly reduces the availability software for the device, and provides another restriction on consumers.

For now, there also appears to be another catch: Customers in the United States will apparently be required to purchase the phone with a contractual agreement with Cingular. Rumours have been flying that an unlocked version of the iPhone will come at a ridiculously high price level that probably compares more realistically with cost of physically producing the phone. It will be interesting to see how Apple tackles international markets, since many countries (such as Belgium) do not allow truly locked phones.

The product is already sublime, and while it's not a product for me just now, I'm sure that when it matures up over the coming years it will help shape the new standard for converged mobile devices.

At the end of the day, I'm feeling safe in the knowledge that while the iPhone is an amazing and very cool product, I would regret the purchase as it stands. I'm still happy with my E70: it's easy to use (despite my jealousy of the iPhone's interface), and it does what the iPhone does. Ultimately, my E70 just isn't as stylish. For now, I'm happy to wait another three years, particularly to see other manufacturers rise to Apple's challenge.