iPhone Launch, Like Device, is Dazzling, Frustrating

Paul Thurrott's iPhone impressions.  He has a more detailed review here.

Disappointed users notwithstanding, the device itself lives up to much of the hype. The technology in the iPhone, from the cool touch screen with unique zooming functionality to the rotating screen, usually (but not always) works as advertised. The battery life is surprisingly good for a device of this kind, even when performing battery-unfriendly tasks such as Web browsing or video playback. Functionally, however, the iPhone is a mixed bag. The built-in applications are usually excellent, but a curious mixture, and you can't download any new applications. Some iPhone features seem half-baked or are missing altogether. For example, although the iPhone sports "visual voicemail" (which is excellent), it doesn't support basic cell phone features such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). The iPhone Web browser is the best ever on a mobile device, but because Apple chose its own Safari browser, it's incompatible or non-optimal with many Web sites, especially those specifically designed for smart phones. For every vaunted feature, it seems, there's a caveat.

All this said, the iPhone is as revolutionary as Apple has claimed. It's just a typical 1.0 product, with lots of room for improvement. I'll continue to track Apple's progress with this intriguing device and will review the iPhone later this month. In the meantime, you can check out my first impressions, along with various photo galleries, screenshots, and other iPhone articles, on the SuperSite for Windows.

iPhone Launch, Like Device, is Dazzling, Frustrating