iPhones Still In Stock Saturday Afternoon in Chicago

At 12:30 pm on Saturday, the Chicago, Michigan Avenue Apple store had iPhones in stock.

I was planning to sit out the initial iPhone mayhem. For the Friday launch, I enjoyed the launch at my computer, reading online coverage. Saturday morning, I woke to reports that at the end of the Friday, most major markets still had iPhones in stock. So Saturday morning, I went down the the Chicago Apple store on Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile) to, if not purchase a iPhone, lay my hands upon one. The store was packed, with most people milling around the dozen or so floor-model iPhones. I waited behind a man for five minutes for him to release his grubby hands from the sexy device, but I grew bored and casually asked a passing Apple employee if there were any phones left in stock. Yes, there were. So, I purchased an 8 gb iPhone.

If iPhones are still available, this begs the question, are they just not selling? They are selling. There was a line of ten people in front of me who all were purchasing iPhones. There has not been any let up on sales as of Saturday afternoon in Chicago. It seems Apple is following through with their plan to send larger shipments to markets where the iPod is saturated, namely big cities. It's likely this is both a marketing and sales strategy. From a marketing perspective, someone carrying an iPhone on a train in a big city will likely draw the eyes and interest of fellow passengers, which is, essentially, free advertising. From a sales perspective, there is bigger interest for the device in cities with mass transportation systems, as people who drive cars are not as likely to need the use of the video and internet features during travel.

My iPhone AT&T Activation Problems

AT&T is now processing your activation.
You will receive an email confirmation once your activation is complete.

I am one of many people who cannot use the iPhone they just purchased. The weak link in the chain? AT&T. After trying to activate my phone around 1:00 pm on Saturday, my AT&T account still has not been activated as of 7:30 pm. Instead, I've received two emails from AT&T stating that they are still processing my activation. There are nightmare reports from CNET here, and from a blogger here.

I wonder if Steve Jobs is hearing these reports and wondering if there is a performance clause in Apple's contract with AT&T. All I know is, I paid over $600 for a phone I can't use. Sure, with patience, the phone will be activated. But this is Apple, and I was expecting the iPhone to just work.

Meanwhile, I'm left to listen to music on my antiquated 1st gen iPod shuffle. See it below next to my unplugged and useless iPhone.

Initial iPhone Reviews

The initial wave of iPhone reviews are in and they all have positive tones. The device is sexy and fun, it's everything you'd expect an Apple product to be, albeit with a few flaws. We here at Everything iPhone are now most concerned about AT&T's network. How will customers feel about being forced to pay for AT&T's data plan when the network is so bad? 60 seconds for a common web page to load (according to the New York Times' David Pogue) is not acceptable.

Other stuff to check out:
Valleywag's iPhone scorecard.
Scott Bourne from the Apple Phone Show trapped in an iPhone:

Buying an iPhone: The Process Will (*Update* Won't) Take A While

*Update* Apple just released info stating that the iPhone will be able to be activated from home. This should streamline the purchase of the iPhone considerably.

One ignored aspect of the upcoming iPhone release is the fact you'll be signing up for cellular service. Your purchase of an iPhone won't be a simple "buy the gadget and go" experience.

Noted Apple analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research in San Franciso commented on the possible affect on overall sales, stating, "The iPhone is not a simple sale, you have to sign up the customer for service. Can they even get a couple of hundred thousand people through the stores in two days?''

It does not seem likely that AT&T stores will close Friday without selling all of their iPhones. If the stores carry inventory over to the next day, expect a lot of frustration from shoppers who were next in line and told to come back tomorrow.

Five Changes for Apple to Make A Cheaper iPhone

The iPhone needs to cost less for it to become a true global tool that is carried in everyone's pocket. Here are five ways the iPhone could shed features and hardware to become cheaper.

1. No Wifi. It wastes the battery, and wifi signals are still not widely available enough to be useful for most people.

2. No Bluetooth. Common phone users will easily get by without the luxury wireless headset. When my grandma hears the word Bluetooth, she's thinking blueberry pie-stained teeth, not wireless tech.

3. No Camera. The iPhone's camera is only 2 megapixels. For the sake of a cheaper iPhone, it would be not be missed.

4. No Accelerometer. There's no need to watch movies in widescreen on a screen this size. No need for the luxury of widescreen cover flow, normal cover flow works the same. No need for viewing pictures in widescreen. How much will people use landscape mode in the iPhone anyways?

5. Make Everything Except the Screen Smaller. Look at all the space to the right and left of the home button. Now ask yourself, does the Home button need to be on the front of the phone? What if they moved it to the side? However, do not shrink that screen, we want all the real estate we can get. How cool would a device that is almost all glass be anyways? It'd be like a miniature HDTV.

Eric Schmidt Busts Out His iPhone, Stumbles With the Controls

Google posted a YouTube video of Eric Schmidt speaking at the World Economic Forum, and at 24:30 in the video, he done gone bust out an iPhone! The interviewer asks him to show a satellite photo of the Google campus with Google maps. Schmidt manages to navigate the phone from a locked position to the satellite picture within 20 seconds. However, some people may observe that he has to swipe his finger twice to unlock the phone. He also seems to have to tap the Maps button twice to get it to work. On the other hand, he manages to do all this with one hand holding the microphone and the other the iPhone. So, is the touch screen registering touches and swipes accurately? How many licks to the center of a Tootsie pop, and how many times do you have to touch the iPhone to get it work?

From Rumor to Tangible Information

Technology and imagination are a great combination, and maybe that's why the iPhone rumor mill has been so fun. But the ride is almost over, and discussions will soon switch over to the tangible. People will want information on how to get the most out of the device, or whether it's even worth bothering about. People will no longer have to imagine how the device can change their lives or what new technology Steve Jobs can whip out and make consumer friendly. Instead, they will be searching for tales of user experience. Are people spending frustrated hours trying to read Digg over their neighborhood coffee shop's wifi? Did the touch interface accidentally dial their grandma instead of their friend Bernie?

It will be an important time for tech news sites to get their hands on an iPhone. Since Walt Mossberg is the only reporter who is known to have an iPhone right now, many eyes will be on his review, since he will have had it longest.

Buying an iPhone: Still Some Questions Left to Be Answered

Many questions still remain about the details of purchasing an iPhone.

Will there be long lines inside or outside the store? What does the data plan cost? Will there be more than one data plan? How many iPhones at launch? How come I still can't find a Nintendo Wii?

AT&T corporate better get on the ball, as there is no reason to withhold this information anymore, unless the news is bad.

My prediction is long lines for the iPhone will form outside AT&T stores starting early and then start moving at 6:00 pm. This would allow for normal store traffic to flow in and out of the store until the iPhone is sold out. The problem is having people stand outside in the sun all day--people will be dropping form heat exhaustion left and right. That would be bad PR for Apple and AT&T. My closest AT&T Wireless store closes at 7:30 on Friday. So, they know they can sell out their supply of phones in an hour and a half and then be able to close up shop, telling everyone to go home.

Whether you should even try to buy an iPhone will depend on your resolve and the number of phones available. If it's less than a million available, all but the most hardcore should forget about it. I already had the experience with waiting in line for the second shipment of Xbox 360s, and I had to get there at 3 am to have the favor of being 30th in line.

*update* Engadget is reporting that AT&T stores will close at 4:30, then reopen at 6:00 to sell the iPhone. The Apple Phone Show is reporting that no Cingular stores will be selling the iPhone, only select AT&T stores.

The iPhone II: A Look Ahead. Well, Why Not?

The iPhone is coming out on June 29. Within a week after the launch, we will have a good idea if the iPhone is the next big thing or just a cool phone with user interface problems. But when it arrives, what else can we look forward to? The next iMac? That's cool, but not that exciting. Leopard? Computer operating systems just don't carry the excitement they used to. Why not think ahead to the iPhone II?

Some possible changes for the next version of the iPhone are easy to forecast. The memory will obviously be increased. Better battery life is likely, as well as a faster CPU. These are all technologies that improve and become cheaper with time. Even though all of these are basic changes, I believe each one would increase the functionality of the iPhone exponentially.

But what other changes? Structural changes to the phone would be likely. Maybe Apple will realize the need for a removable battery. Or, perhaps some form a tactile feedback could be added to the "glass" surface of the phone to give all the touch screen nonbelievers their wish. Or, they could make little pebbles on the "glass" surface to signify certain important touchscreen areas.

Any problems with the material or shape of the phone could be corrected. Apple is known to make small tweaks. They changed the shape of the Nano slightly to avoid excessive scratching.

Also on some users wishlist is 3G network compatibility, especially the kind that allows you to switch between EDGE and 3G depending on availability. This seems like a simple upgrade that would make some data power-users happy.

But let's get a little farther out there. How about some cool, revolutionary changes? How about a DVI or HDMI out? Why not turn the iPhone into a portable Apple TV? Let that bad boy pump out 720p. Battery life, smattery life. How about the iPhone as a "home appliance" remote control? It'd be easy to have the iPhone become a remote control for an AppleTV. But, I want to see Apple sell Apple-branded coffee makers, ovens, and air conditioners and have the iPhone turn them on and off. Hey, they aren't Apple Computer anymore, remember? Introducing the Apple Expresso Deluxe--it just works.

The iPhone as a Gaming Device

One of the most intriguing possibilities for the iPhone is as a gaming device. The iPhone lacks the directional pad and buttons of a traditional handheld gaming device, but is that a drawback? Maybe not. The Nintendo DS utilizes a touch screen for half of its gaming experience, and the DS is a hot seller. But the iPhone is all touch screen (let's ignore that "Home" button). So, instead of comparing the iPhone with classic handheld gaming devices, let's consider the possibilities of a pure touch screen handheld gaming device.

What the iPhone has to work with is 3.5 inches of touch screen real estate. Does a touch screen lend itself to advanced gaming? The technology has never been widespread enough for game developers to be forced to be creative with it. There is one place that touch screen gaming has been around for a while: in bars. These bar games are usually simple, such as compare two pictures and point out the differences, or basic trivia games. These kinds of games could be easily translated onto the iPhone. Other common puzzle games could be translated easily as well, such as sudoku.

But what about advanced gaming? Could there be a Grand Theft Auto for the iPhone? My first thoughts are, no, you'd need a directional pad to direct that car to run over pedestrians. But, what is stopping them from simply redesigning the gameplay? What if you simply touched the sides of the screen to direct your car, or slid your finger forward for up, and slid your finger back for down? What if you hit little graphics on the screen instead of hitting an "A" or "B" button? Or, what if the buttons moved, adding an additional challenge to the game play? Let's see a Sony PSP do that. There are probably dozens of new frontiers that are waiting to be discovered.

The processor of the iPhone is still a secret, so that could be a limitation. Also, there is the ever-present specter of lack of tactile feedback. In David Pogue's lastest blog entry about Microsoft's Surface technology, he says touch screens are "inaccurate, slow, and unsatisfying," and will never replace a keyboard and a mouse. I would argue with the use of the word never--why can't someone develop a touch screen with tactile feedback--but that's another post. He does make a good point about current touch screen technology though, and frustrating controls for game play could sink the iPhone as a gaming device.

Which Features on the iPhone Can Suck?

Not all features on the iPhone are going to work perfectly out of the box. So, I was wondering, which features must be perfect, and which features can be not-so perfect?

1. The phone feature has to be perfect. No question. My grandma needs to be able to make a phone call on the iPhone and then check her voicemail. There must be no fumbling with features. There must be one and only one button to push to answer a call. My current cell phone gives me that. I expect to make and answer calls on the iPhone flawlessly. Has Apple built a user interface that will make that happen with a touch screen? Sounds like a tough job, and we'll soon see.

2. The iPod feature has to be perfect or close to perfect. This should be easy for Apple to pull off, but the touch screen interface could present some unforeseen challenges. The iPod feature is what will make or break the $600 price tag. I do not want to pay $600 for just a great phone. No, $600 should get me a phone and an iPod.

3. The Internet feature can suck. It'd be nice to be out in downtown Chicago and be able to whip out my iPhone and catch up on Engadget while I'm waiting for the bus, but it's not something I will be let down by if it doesn't work well. Besides, I can't afford AT&T's data package, so only the wifi is relevant. How pervasive is wifi? Wifi in downtown Chicago is not as saturated as San Francisco. For most of the country, wifi is random, undependable, and thus un-Appleish.

4. The touch screen keyboard can be average (but can't suck). I'm so used to taking a few frustrating minutes to pound out a 10-word message, I find it hard to believe Apple won't be able to improve on the experience. At the recent D: All Things Digital Conference, Steve Jobs said users will need to learn to trust the keyboard, and it will take about a week to get used to it. Hmm, I thought a good user interface was intuitive. Sounds like this is already working against the iPhone. Not a deal breaker for me though.

5. Other iPhone features that can suck: calendar, note taking, games, and photo viewer. However, they all can't suck. If they do, you'll hear grumbling about the price.