At the Macworld Conference & Expo on Jan. 9, Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the next generation of Apple technology: the iPhone.
According to the Apple Web site, the iPhone combines a phone, the Apple iPod and an Internet communications device into one portable platform. The iPhone also uses an entirely new user interface which centers on a touch screen display that allows the user to navigate through the different features.
“The iPhone has everything that you need in a handheld device,” Sam Brown, a freshman in chemistry, said. “Nobody else has anything like it.”
The iPhone allows users to enjoy their music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, movies and other media on a 3.5-inch widescreen display. Users can update their media by simple syncing their iPhone with Apple’s iTunes program.
Apple’s success in recent years is due mainly to their iPod portable music player, students say. Some students believe that this success will carry over to the iPhone.
“The iPod has large storage capacity, it’s easy to use, has great sound and is very durable,” Michael Altman, a freshman in electrical engineering, said. “The iPhone has all these characteristics of an iPod and many more features.”
In addition to incorporating the media capabilities of an iPod and the features of a cell phone, the iPhone also features a built-in Web browser. According to the Apple Web site, the iPhone uses the Safari Web browser with built-in Google and Yahoo search engines.
The iPhone runs on the Mac OS X and also has a 2-megapixel camera, but instead of a stylus, the iPhone can be controlled with a single finger.
“Being able to control the iPhone with your finger makes for much easier navigation,” Altman said. “It’s a better system than having to press many confusing buttons.”
The iPhone won’t be available until June. A four gigabyte version will be priced at $499 and an eight gigabyte version will be $599. However, some students are skeptical that the iPhone’s high price will make it a hit on the already large cell phone market.
“Even with all of its features, the iPhone will have difficulty competing with the large cell phone companies and their cheaper phones,” Matt Major, a sophomore in chemical engineering, said. “I don’t think many people will start buying the phone until the price comes down some.”
Others believe that the iPhone’s array of features may be testing the limit of what a cell phone can do.
“The phone is an interesting concept, but it seems that companies these days are trying to cram everything they can into a phone,” Becca Morris, a freshman in First Year College, said.
Despite all of the hype surrounding the iPhone, Apple has run into difficultly with naming their product. Cisco Systems Inc. has actually owned the iPhone brand since 2000, when it purchased InfoGear, another Internet appliance company. Cisco is currently suing Apple for trademark violation.
