PC Mag tests iPhone

PC Magazine was allowed 10 minutes to handle Apple's new iPhone one day after it was introduced on Tuesday morning by company CEO Steve Jobs at the Macworld Conference & Expo inside San Francisco's Moscone Center. "Ten minutes isn't much, but I can safely say that the iPhone is even more impressive than it appeared during the Jobs keyote, and that's saying something," said PC Magazine's Cade Metz. Metz was granted a brief meeting with Apple executives on Wednesday afternoon where he handled and used the phone for the brief period, saying that the device was "an absolute revelation." "Seeing the device in action is one thing—but actually using it is another," Metz said. "Each application is impressive in its own right, from photo-management software to the Safari Web browser, but it's the overall touch-screen interface that takes the breath away."

Citing the on-screen keyboard as the only portion of the phone he had trouble using, Metz added that "it's obviously the sort of thing that takes some practice -- but it was impressive nonetheless."

Despite his short 10-minute interlude with the iPhone, Metz says it was obvious that the MultiTouch technology works as Jobs said it would. "With a tap of the finger, I opened the photo management tool. With another, I opened a photo. With a swipe of the finger, I moved the photo back and forth. And by placing two fingers on the screen and moving them back and forth, I could zoom in and out."

Metz adds that it was just as easy to scroll through a full size Web page and zoom in or out. Instantly browsing and accessing songs as well as videos and contacts in much the same way, Metz was offered no earphones and so couldn't listen to the songs on the device. Switching the device from portrait to landscape mode by turning the iPhone apparently only works in one direction, and typing with the on-screen keyboard requires some practice, according to Metz.

"At first, I typed with two hands—gripping the device on each side and taping a thumb on each end of the keyboard—but I was only about 50 percent accurate. Then I switched to hunting and pecking with a single index finger, and though this was (slightly) more accurate, it was much slower," Metz. said. "My guess is that after some practice, you could get pretty efficient with two thumbs. But the keyboard is obviously something that takes some time to get used to. The rest of the interface requires no practice whatsoever."

With his last minute remaining Metz phoned his editor in New York, who said the sound quality was poor or "kinda fuzzy." Metz notes, however, that he was in an area of the Moscone Center where cellular reception is less than ideal.

"And then they took it away from me. I didn't have a chance to try Google Maps or the Apple Widgets or the visual voice mail. But it's the new interface that really caught the attention this week—and it's everything Jobs says it is."

by MacNN Staff