iPhone: take 1

My first take on the iPhone: promising, but could the price be its Achilles heel?

It's in a situation that was exactly like the PS3, actually, except it's a lot more innovative. A lot of people want it, but will they be willing to cough up $499 for a mere 4 gb of storage?

Firstly, I do believe that four gigabytes is enough to store its multimedia; except, you might have to constantly delete songs, and whatnot. An eight gigabyte version is available too, which I would consider to be a much wiser investment (just think: twice the storage!).

It's motion-sensing abilities look quite incredible. It features coverflow, which is what sold me to iTunes (er, when I got a computer that could decently run iTunes). I do believe that those two will be its main selling points; anything that has to do with motion nowadays is quite popular(Wii much?); but the features are also decently implemented. Not to mention it has a touchscreen, which is much more preferable and universally-featured (I hate to say it, but my stubby fingers have had some trouble with small keypads) than say, a keypad. The Nintendo DS, for example, has a touchscreen as well, and look how far it's gone (well, from the touching is fun commercial?)!

Since the iPod was so popular, I think the iPhone would be able to capitalize on that as well. Prior owners of iPods (mostly minis and 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generations) will be looking into purchasing an iPhone depending on their experience with their iPod (presumably, good).

Also, connecting to the internet with the iPhone will be quite the experience; its screen is much larger than any of its preceding handheld devices (with a few exceptions), and it has wifi access. I like the sound of that :)

This might all sound very nice, but it will cost a whopping $499 US and $599 US for a 2 year contraact for the 4gb and 8gb versions respectively. Don't be too down on yourselves, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/iphone_price.html reports that consumers can expect Apple to easily cut its price if demand isn't too high. But, Apple's definitely going to bet they don't have to.

It might have been brief, but I can't really say much until I've had a run with the iPhone myself. Only when I experience it myself will I be able to write a 2nd take, and tell you whether or not its really worth $499 (that's more than a Wii!).