Not only did I snap a line in NYC yesterday, I managed to make it home to DC before 6PM and on my walk home caught a few dozen people (above) lined up outside another AT&T store.
Surprisingly, I encountered the only American unaware of and unimpressed with this historical milestone. The teenager saw my camera and news crew across the street – and our conversation went something like this: “What happened?” “iPhone!” “Oh, that comes out today?” “6PM!” “Oh, hm.”
Later in the evening I headed back out to AT&T. They had sold their stock (a number they wouldn’t reveal) in under an hour and the store was pretty quiet… I only waited about 5 minutes for my turn on the iPhone.
My biggest concern has always been typing, so that was the first thing I played with. Nearly every word I thumb-typed was misspelled — I just couldn’t accurately hit the virtual keys. I assume one would get better with practice and I know the security tether was in my way. However, the iPhone correctly guessed 100% of the words I was trying to type. Interesting factoid: The keyboard won’t rotate into landscape mode when composing an email or note, but it will do landscape when entering a Safari URL.
The interface is pretty slick, and while the basics were pretty easy to figure out, it’s probably necessary to watch Apple’s online videos to maximize efficiency and functionality. (Interesting that they provided a “Reset your iPhone” video.)
I did try a little EDGE web surfing… The speed to download and render wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either. Perfectly sufficient for a mobile device. YouTube video looked good, assuming one could find something worth watching.
Last, but most certainly not least, the hardware is sexy. Super slim and sleek, plus a solid feel. After playing with the iPhone, I wandered over to look at the Blackberry 8800 (which I’ve been eyeing for that built-in GPS) and it just felt plasticky and clunky in comparison.
All this phone playing had me wondering when my Blackjack would be getting its Windows Mobile 6 update. No date has been announced, but I did discover there’s a pre-release leaked version floating around. It’s getting mixed reviews – so I passed. But, in my web travels, I came across Facade. It’s a very nice home screen organizer, displaying upcoming appointments and tasks plus whatever program icons I choose to pin. I’m currently using the free trial, but it seems like a good deal for $15.