The wonderful wizard of Woz is a lot like the rest of us. Even though Steve Jobs reputedly promised him an iPhone the day after it was released, that wasn’t enough for Woz: he got in line with the plebes at the San Jose Apple Store on June 29th and ponied up his own hard-earned cash for the must-have gadget.
Now that he’s had it for a while, Woz is ready to share some opinions about the device. He talked to USA Today tech writer Ed Baig:
[Woz] loves the appearance, human touch, Safari Web browser, and messaging on iPhone — plus the fact that the device is “more like my computer and less like other smartphones I’ve used.”We’re with you Woz: voice dialing’s on our list too. Hopefully, Woz’s input has a better chance of swaying The Jobs than ours. And hey, while you’re at it, see if you can get him to add iChat too. Kthxbye!But he’s still not relying on iPhone for voice, leaving that to his Motorola Razr cellphone for now.
Woz is compiling a list of peeves he plans to share with his former partner Steve Jobs; the two haven’t spoken about iPhone since the phone launched. On the Woz wish list: voice dialing and a 3G — or third generation — data network that is “more reliable” than AT&T’s Edge. He’d also like to display the temperature, in Celsius, on the home screen.
The iPhone is the most amazing piece of technological wizardry since the Mac in 1984. Voice dial, GPS, 3G, etc., don't even begin to detract from this remarkable device. In time all of these upgrades will be addressed but jumping up and down on my Razor and making a sailboat of my Treo gave me a warm feeling as the art of the iPhone alone was worth the conversion. I have been logging 7-9 hours of use everyday and am just now starting to slow down to 5 hours. The battery is amazing and the features so far outweigh anything on the market.
So I'm listening to music on my iPhone when a call comes in from Anthony in Germany. I'm sending him photos taken on my iPhone from last night's dinner in the Napa Valley and he's sending me links via email to his latest web creations. His email links launch Safari where we discuss what he has done. A call comes in from Daphne and I conference her in. She wants to go to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Windsor, CA the following morning. While we are all chatting, I launch Maps and get the address of the festival along with directions and driving time. I share the information and we decide to leave at 5AM. I set my iPhone alarm clock and we're good to go. We all hang up and I am returned to Ziggy Stardust and the Spyders from Mars.
All this is done with the most beautiful and elegant interface I have experienced on any portable telecommunication device, period. Everyday I continue to find little things that make this so much more than just a really good phone. Between EDGE and WiFi I have no complaints with speed. It is clearly faster than my smartphones and I get signal in places where I couldn't talk before. Even YouTube looks better on my iPhone than on my computer. I just can't say enough.
Wow factor: 10
Jeffrey Davila
Woz is spot on in regards to voice dialing. After all, doesn't OS X sport voice commands already? I would also like the voice feature to announce using the caller ID who is on the line before I decide to take the call.
I also would like it if email could be used in the landscape viewing mode. It seems bizarre that this feature is missing.
But coming up with nick pick things does nothing to diminish the incredible iPhone. It is the 21st Century Fabrege Jewell. I think that Jeffrey in the previous posting echos my sentiments regarding the iPhone experience.
Wow Factor? If the scale is 10, then I give it a 15!
Jeffrey - you must have been at home or on some public WiFi while doing all those multi-tasking marvels on your iPhone. Sadly, the few occasions where I had an opportunity to actually show off my iPhone's prowess in letting me look something up on Google Maps while talking with a friend, I got the error message that EDGE data services were not available while on a voice call. That just really sucks, and makes all those marvelous features worthless if I have to hang up the phone to utilize them.
why doesn't the "favorites" list in an alpabetical order..... it does in the "contacts"
Why when you use a name in the "contacts", and there is only one phone number, do you have to go to a second screen and push the only phone number there? Think about driving and the number of buttons you have to hit before you can make a call.... too much danger
how about one button dialing from the key pad...... God every cheap phone on the planet does that........
I want to be able to run Keynote Presentations.
Not for "Presentions" so much but to make study aids for University Students. The screen res is no longer a problem, just zoom in.
Beautiful!
Woz is like the Pete Best of Apple. Go away, dude. Your time is done.
Also, to Gary V.: Favorites are not in alphabetical order because they are in order of favorite. Your most favorite is at the top, your next favorite after that, etc. If you want your favorite to be in alpha just edit them and move them that way.
Hal
I agree -- somewhat. Everybody wants 3G, of course, but while you're bound to AT&T, no go until they build out the net and there's a lower-power, smaller HSDPA chip.
As for the rest, I don't know. There was a certain time where everybody said the iPod should have a radio. Lots of competitors did, and they were crushed. Want a radio? Buy an add-on. Buy a damn radio if you want. Likewise, Woz wants a temperature sensor? In celsius? Gee, I'm sure dozens of people want that.
I think the larger issue is this: third-party add-ons and an API. I think that's a bigger problem, since all iPhone apps run as root. Rootkits we don't need. I hope this is coming, but version 1.0 is the shakedown cruise.
I was surprised at the Razr voice phone comment from Woz. Perhaps my reception isn't as good as his or perhaps it's a Verizon thing - but my Razr (which still get's used on family-plan minutes since it was a group-freebie) has HORRIBLE sound compared to the iPhone. Now - granted, I have a Cingular / AT&T tower on top of my building - but even in other areas I've noticed a serious improvement in sound, both for me - and for the person on the other end with Apple's phone.
I'm talking "landline" quality.
Am I nuts? Does anyone else have a Razr that doesn't sound terrible?
Hal, really? The Pete Best of Apple? Do you even know what you are talking about? If it wasn't for the Woz, there wouldn't even be an Apple, let alone an iPhone. Woz was the technical wiz behind Apple. As far as I'm concerned, he can talk all he wants and speak his mind. He deserves this, our respect, our admiration and so much more from the Mac community. Pete Best? I don't think so . . . I don't think so.
I'd love to have a 3G network that was more reliable than Edge. I thought the two main reasons Apple went with Edge instead of 3G were: (1) battery will burn out faster on 3G - not very reliable if battery is dead, and (2) coverage of ANY 3G network (not just ATT's) is not as widespread as ATT's Edge network (fewer cities, many non-urban areas, etc.).
So, until Apple starts building its own 3G phone networks, I don't see how Apple can change that equation. They'll just have to wait and deal with the reality of the situation. I think they made a good judgment call based on current reality, not wishes.
Gary,
As far as favorites are concerned, I think the idea is to have them work the same way speed dial works except that there is no number associated with person and instead it is a simple rank. You know if you hit the edit button you can reorder your favorites.
I can see your issue with the single number contact - however that is making the assumption when you hit the contact you are doing so to dial the contac when in actuality you have the option to do many things once you hit the contact.
Pete Best? Are you kidding? Did Pete Best not only invent the Beatles, but all of pop music? The Woz did that for the personal computer market. Also, Pete did not leave the Beatles because they became too corporate. He got fired.
That was about the most stupid comparison I have ever heard.