iPhone > Sex?

Unless you’ve been living in a Mongolian monastery, I am absolutely certain you’ve heard about the iPhone. Actually, I’m pretty certain that if you’ve been living in a Mongolian monastery you’ve heard about the iPhone. Apple’s marketing push behind this product has been no less than suffocating. It’s everywhere you go and Apple will assure you that this thing is greater than everything, including sex.

Does it match the hype? From a chic, got-to-have the latest rare tech item perspective, it does match the hype somewhat. I can see the fashion forward, must-socialize-with-the-latest-and-greatest in New York whipping out their iPhones, receiving e-mails, sending messages and reading very important pdfs on this phone.

Is it for the rest of us?

David Pogue of the New York Times deconstructed the phone (no, not literally) in his review and provided some eye-opening cons versus pros that may make getting this Jesus-like device a no-so-certain endeavour.

Some cons he outlines:
-The internet on AT&T’s network is S-U-P-E-R slow. Accessing your favorite web page may take longer than going through dial-up. Remember those days?

-It takes approximately SIX steps before you actually get to making a call.

-It doesn’t support Flash or Javascript. That may be a deal breaker as many videos (more than half online) are encoded in Flash.

He didn’t delve into the topic of ringtones, but I am certain that if many NYC PR girls can’t get their latest Fergie track on this new fangled device, they’re going to be pissed.

There are also many pros as well, not to be completely negative on the subject. One of my favorite features of the phone (just reading through the review mind you) is going to be the ability to select which voicemail I want to hear. Instead of going through each voicemail one by one, you can select the voicemail from the caller id. Another feature is its physical stature, it is very…VERY slim. In pictures it may look huge, but this is a small sleek device. It’s Apple fool!

The glass is literally scratch resistant. You can view full web pages, not hobbled versions you see on cell phones now. You also get the functionality of an iPod mp3 player all in one.

Is the phone worth having? Without actually holding one in my hand (damn you Apple!!), I can say that the jury is still out. I’d hold off until the second generation refines its shortcomings, and when that happens, get one.

Read Pogues’ complete hands on review here.

**Update 10:13am EST: Apparently Gina Hughes of Yahoo is not feeling it.