So Cool, but will iphone work?

Why rivals say wait to buy it

June 25,2007

BY MIKE WENDLAND

FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

With the tech world pretty much in the iPhone fever awaiting Friday's launch of Apple's much anticipated new iPod music/video player-phone-and-internet device, rival wireless companies are doing a full-count press with reasons why you may not want to be one of those standing in line when the iPhone goes on sale at 6 p.m. Friday.

Besides the fact that the iPhone is widly expensive($499 for a 4GB model, $599 for the 8GB model), the competition has been busy compiling a list of iPhone issues that could sour user experience.

The only wireless carrier that will offer the iPhone is AT&T Wireless, formely Cingular, and the company's retial stores have been hiring extra help and preparing for long lines when the iPhone becomes available. I like the phone so much that I will be waiting in one of those lines.

But, if you're not as enamored as I, here are some of the things that may give you pause:

First-editions bugs: Rare is the tech device that doesn't have a bunch of glitches in the very first models. Apple insists it has tested and refined the iPhones and that the models sold Friday will be more than ready for prime time.

Second-string data network: Instead AT&T's super fast 3G broadband-like data network, the iPhone will surf the net via the respectable but considerably slower EDGE data network. It's a safe bet future models will work with 3G, another reason to perhaps wait.

No direct music downloads: Unlike music phones already offered by rival carriers such as Verizon and Sprint, the iPhone will not be able to directly download music or video through the AT&T network. You have to download those fiels through Apple's iTunes store to your computer(either a Mac or PC) and then transfer them over to the phone. "The initial iPhone fails to take advantage of mobility in mobile phones by not allowing syncing and purchasing of music and videos over-the-air," says Daren Tsui, CEO of the mspot.com mobile entertainment site.

Keyboard concerns: The iPhone does not have a tactile keyboard, like BlackBerry or Treo or other smartphones. Instead, you enter characters by typing an electronically drawn virtual representation of a keyboard on the glass screen of the iPhone. "Customers who are accustomed to a physical keyboard may find typing on a screen to be less certain and accurate than on physical buttons and face a learning curve," says analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research.

Sky-high costs: "The Motorola RAZR cost $500 when it first came out," says Allan Keiter, CEO of MyRatePlan.com, a phone shopping comparision site. "Now it's almost given away by many carriers. The iPhone will certainly sell for a lot less after launch. Right now, at $500 and $600, it's certainly at the top of the list of the most expensive wirelesss phones."

Exclusively: You can only get the iPhone if you ar a subscriber to the AT&T network. That means Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile customers are out of luck. You could scale back your current contract to the minimum(usually around $30 a month and then sign a new contract).

PC users issues: Although the iPhone will be able to connect and synchronize with PCs as well as Apple macintosh computers. the operating system, Internet browser and whole user interface is decidedly Apple in feel and function.

Michelle Gilbert, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless in Michigan, thinks the iPhone's lack of downloading ability will turn a lot of customers off. "More than 95% of Verizon Wireless customers download their music over the air, which is a huge differentiator from the iPhone's capabilities," she says.

That is a convenience the iPhone won't have.

But is it and the other issues -- enough to sink the launch? We'll find out at 6p.m. Friday.

MIKE WENDLAND is the Coverage Editor for the Detroit Free Press. He can be reached at 313-222-8861 or mwenwendland@freepress.com Check his blog for iPhone updates all week at www.freep.com