The iPhone Is a Breakthrough Handheld Computer
We Spend Two Weeks Using Apple’s Much-Anticipated Device To See if It Lives Up to the Hype; In Search of the Comma Key
One of the most important trends in personal technology over the past few years has been the evolution of the humble cellphone into a true handheld computer, a device able to replicate many of the key functions of a laptop. But most of these “smart phones” have had lousy software, confusing user interfaces and clumsy music, video and photo playback. And their designers have struggled to balance screen size, keyboard usability and battery life.
Now, Apple Inc., whose digital products are hailed for their design and innovation, is jumping into this smart-phone market with the iPhone, which goes on sale in a few days after months of the most frenzied hype and speculation we have ever seen for a single technology product. Even though the phone’s minimum price is a hefty $499, people are already lining up outside Apple stores to be among the first to snag one when they go on sale Friday evening.
We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple’s iTunes software.
It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim.
The phone is thinner than many smart phones.
It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.
The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.
But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It only works with AT&T (formerly Cingular), won’t come in models that use Verizon or Sprint and can’t use the digital cards (called SIM cards) that would allow it to run on T-Mobile’s network. So, the phone can be a poor choice unless you are in areas where AT&T’s coverage is good. It does work overseas, but only via an AT&T roaming plan.
In addition, even when you have great AT&T coverage, the iPhone can’t run on AT&T’s fastest cellular data network. Instead, it uses a pokey network called EDGE, which is far slower than the fastest networks from Verizon or Sprint that power many other smart phones. And the initial iPhone model cannot be upgraded to use the faster networks.
The iPhone compensates by being one of the few smart phones that can also use Wi-Fi wireless networks. When you have access to Wi-Fi, the iPhone flies on the Web. Not only that, but the iPhone automatically switches from EDGE to known Wi-Fi networks when it finds them, and pops up a list of new Wi-Fi networks it encounters as you move. Walt was able to log onto paid Wi-Fi networks at Starbucks and airports, and even used a free Wi-Fi network at Fenway Park in Boston to email pictures taken during a Red Sox game.
But this Wi-Fi capability doesn’t fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data capability, because it is impractical to keep joining and dropping short-range Wi-Fi networks while taking a long walk, or riding in a cab through a city.
AT&T is offering special monthly calling plans for the iPhone, all of which include unlimited Internet and email usage. They range from $60 to $220, depending on the number of voice minutes included. In an unusual twist, iPhone buyers won’t choose their plans and activate their phones in the store. Instead, they will do so when they first connect the iPhone to the iTunes software.
Despite its simple interface, with just four rows of colorful icons on a black background, the iPhone has too many features and functions to detail completely in this space. But here’s a rundown of the key features, with pros and cons based on our testing.
Hardware: The iPhone is simply beautiful. It is thinner than the skinny Samsung BlackJack, yet almost its entire surface is covered by a huge, vivid 3.5-inch display. There’s no physical keyboard, just a single button that takes you to the home screen. The phone is about as long as the Treo 700, the BlackBerry 8800 or the BlackJack, but it’s slightly wider than the BlackJack or Treo, and heavier than the BlackBerry and BlackJack.
The display is made of a sturdy glass, not plastic, and while it did pick up smudges, it didn’t acquire a single scratch, even though it was tossed into Walt’s pocket or briefcase, or Katie’s purse, without any protective case or holster. No scratches appeared on the rest of the body either.
There are only three buttons along the edges. On the top, there’s one that puts the phone to sleep and wakes it up. And, on the left edge, there’s a volume control and a mute switch.
One downside: Some accessories for iPods may not work properly on the iPhone. The headphone jack, which supports both stereo music and phone calls, is deeply recessed, so you may need an adapter for existing headphones. And, while the iPhone uses the standard iPod port on the bottom edge, it doesn’t recognize all car adapters for playing music, only for charging. Apple is considering a software update to fix this.
Touch-screen interface: To go through long lists of emails, contacts, or songs, you just “flick” with your finger. To select items, you tap. To enlarge photos, you “pinch” them by placing two fingers on their corners and dragging them in or out. To zoom in on portions of Web pages, you double-tap with your fingers. You cannot use a stylus for any of this. In the Web browser and photo program, if you turn the phone from a vertical to a horizontal position, the image on the screen turns as well and resizes itself to fit.
In general, we found this interface, called “multi-touch,” to be effective, practical and fun. But there’s no overall search on the iPhone (except Web searching), and no quick way to move to the top or bottom of pages (except in the Web browser). The only aid is an alphabetical scale on the right in tiny type.
There’s also no way to cut, copy, or paste text.
And the lack of dedicated hardware buttons for functions like phone, email and contacts means extra taps are needed to start using features. Also, if you are playing music while doing something else, the lack of hardware playback buttons forces you to return to the iPod program to stop the music or change a song.
Keyboard: The virtual keys are large and get larger as you touch them. Software tries to guess what you’re typing, and fix errors. Overall, it works. But the error-correction system didn’t seem as clever as the one on the BlackBerry, and you have to switch to a different keyboard view to insert a period or comma, which is annoying.
Web browsing: The iPhone is the first smart phone we’ve tested with a real, computer-grade Web browser, a version of Apple’s Safari. It displays entire Web pages, in their real layouts, and allows you to zoom in quickly by either tapping or pinching with your finger. Multiple pages can be open at the same time, and you can conduct Google or Yahoo searches from a built-in search box.
Email: The iPhone can connect with most popular consumer email services, including Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, EarthLink and others. It can also handle corporate email using Microsoft’s Exchange system, if your IT department cooperates by enabling a setting on the server.
BlackBerry email services can’t be used on an iPhone, but Yahoo Mail supplies free BlackBerry-style “push” email to iPhone users. In our test, this worked fine.
Unlike most phone email software, the iPhone’s shows a preview of each message, so you don’t have to open it. And, if there is a photo attached, it shows the photo automatically, without requiring you to click on a link to see it. It can also receive and open Microsoft Word and Excel documents and Adobe PDF files. But it doesn’t allow you to edit or save these files.
Memory: The $499 base model comes with four gigabytes of memory, and the $599 model has eight gigabytes. That’s far more than on any other smart phone, but much less than on full-size iPods. Also, there’s no slot for memory-expansion cards. Our test $599 model held 1,325 songs; a dozen videos (including a full-length movie); over 100 photos; and over 100 emails, including some attachments, and still had room left over.
Battery life: Like the iPod, but unlike most cellphones, the iPhone lacks a removable battery. So you can’t carry a spare. But its battery life is excellent. In our tests, it got seven hours and 18 minutes of continuous talk time, while the Wi-Fi was on and email was constantly being fetched in the background. That’s close to Apple’s claim of a maximum of eight hours, and far exceeds the talk time claims of other smart phones, which usually top out at five and a half hours.
The interface features \”cover flow\” technology for flipping through album covers.
For continuous music playback, again with Wi-Fi on and email being fetched, we got over 22 hours, shy of Apple’s claim of up to 24 hours, but still huge. For video playback, under the same conditions, we got just under Apple’s claim of seven hours, enough to watch four average-length movies. And, for Web browsing and other Internet functions, including sending and receiving emails, viewing Google maps and YouTube videos, we got over nine hours, well above Apple’s claim of up to six hours.
In real life, of course, you will do a mix of these things, so the best gauge might be that, in our two-week test, the iPhone generally lasted all day with a typical mix of tasks.
Phone calls: The phone interface is clean and simple, but takes more taps to reach than on many other smart phones, because there are no dedicated hardware phone buttons. You also cannot just start typing a name or number, but must scroll through a list of favorites, through your recent call list, or your entire contact list. You can also use a virtual keypad.
One great phone feature is called “visual voice mail.” It shows you the names or at least the phone numbers of people who have left you voicemail, so you can quickly listen to those you want. It’s also very easy to turn the speakerphone on and off, or to establish conference calls.
Voice call quality was good, but not great. In some places, especially in weak coverage areas, there was some muffling or garbling. But most calls were perfectly audible. The iPhone can use Bluetooth wireless headsets and it comes with wired iPod-style earbuds that include a microphone.
Google maps on the iPhone.
A downside — there’s no easy way to transfer phone numbers, via AT&T, directly from an existing phone. The iPhone is meant to sync with an address book (and calendar) on a PC.
Contacts and calendars: These are pretty straightforward and work well. The calendar lacks a week view, though a list view helps fill that gap. Contacts can be gathered into groups, but the groups can’t be used as email distribution lists.
Syncing: The iPhone syncs with both Macs and Windows PCs using iTunes, which handles not only the transfer of music and video, but also photos, contacts, calendar items and browser bookmarks. In our tests, this worked well, even on a Windows Vista machine using the latest version of Outlook as the source for contacts and appointments.
iPod: The built-in iPod handles music and video perfectly, and has all the features of a regular iPod. But the interface is entirely new. The famed scroll wheel is gone, and instead finger taps and flicking move you through your collection and virtual controls appear on the screen. There’s also a version of the “cover flow” interface which allows you to select music by flipping through album covers.
Other features: There are widgets, or small programs, for accessing weather, stock prices and Google Maps, which includes route directions, but no real-time navigation. Another widget allows you to stream videos from YouTube, and yet another serves as a notepad. There’s a photo program that displays individual pictures or slideshows.
The only add-on software Apple is allowing will be Web-based programs that must be accessed through the on-board Web browser. The company says these can be made to look just like built-in programs, but the few we tried weren’t impressive.
Missing features: The iPhone is missing some features common on some competitors. There’s no instant messaging, only standard text messaging. While its two-megapixel camera took excellent pictures in our tests, it can’t record video. Its otherwise excellent Web browser can’t fully utilize some Web sites, because it doesn’t yet support Adobe’s Flash technology. Although the phone contains a complete iPod, you can’t use your songs as ringtones. There aren’t any games, nor is there any way to directly access Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
Apple says it plans to add features to the phone over time, via free downloads, and hints that some of these holes may be filled.
Expectations for the iPhone have been so high that it can’t possibly meet them all. It isn’t for the average person who just wants a cheap, small phone for calling and texting. But, despite its network limitations, the iPhone is a whole new experience and a pleasure to use.
- Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find all our columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com
Comments
In 1984, I drove from Cleveland to the University of Michigan to be among the first Macintosh purchasers in the country.
I’ve always been an Apple early-adopter, but often I’d regret that I didn’t wait a few months for a second- or third-generation product. (For example, my iMac has no built in camera, and doesn’t run on an Intel chip.)
So, this time, I’m going to wait … your list of clunky functionality and missing features on the iPhone, and the not-so-enthusiastic review of the AT&T network, are enough to give me pause.
In a few months Apple will make improvements, third-party developers will add lots of widgets and web apps, someone will surely make a stylish full-size keyboard, and the prices might even come down.
And I won’t have to wait in line!
Good luck iPhone pioneers! Give Apple feedback so we interlopers get something for the wait!
Posted by Ken Carpenter at June 26th, 2007 at 4:14 pm‘Exchange is supported if IMAP is enabled’ (which I assume is what Walt meant) may be a deal breaker for anyone who uses a BlackBerry.
“If IT enables the setting” just doesn’t happen in a large enterprises - unless you have a buddy in IT who’s going to do you a favor — and confident they’re not going to get audited, or your business card says VP / SVP or better!
So I’m torn — I absolutely need my BB to get to Outlook web mail. Not ‘would like’ or ‘would be nice’ — absolutely _must have_. And I’m not someone graced with a Blackberry Enterprise Server account. My webmail is getting retrieved by the Blackberry Internet Service, and forwarded to my BB 8700.
So, I’m torn. Maybe I’ll end up buying an iPhone after all and keeping my BB and paying extra just for a separate data-only plan to keep the Blackberry going. Kind of a klunky solution, to be sure, but I won’t be the first person to carry two phones.
To be fair, the iPhone sounds like a great device — I’ve been holding off on a new iPod for a year, and a cell phone upgrade since January. My BB is a really great email device, but ultimately, just a one-trick-pony…
Posted by Gerald Oh at June 26th, 2007 at 5:40 pmWalt, in the video accompanying this article, you mention using the iPhone on the wifi network available at Starbucks. It’s worth noting that Starbucks’ wifi is provided by T-Mobile, which means that one would have to open up and pay for an account with T-Mobile to use a phone from AT&T.
Posted by Andrew Huff at June 26th, 2007 at 6:19 pmOK, I was watching the new Apple Activation video today, and when the demonstrator synched up - you could see he had an 80GB version! Not 8, but 80.
Much more preferable if you have a lot of music… or vids… or photos, etc.
Question is, was his an Apple custom-made one, or is an 80GB release around the corner? Next-gen maybe?
Posted by Bill Fitz at June 26th, 2007 at 7:48 pmPerhaps Mr. Mossberg lives in an area actually served by AT&T’s 3G network, but I don’t and if you look on their web site and choose to reveal those area that are 3G covered, you’d see that AT&Ts 3G is not ready for the iPhone, so I wouldn’t make much of a deal about the iPhone not supporting 3G and only EDGE. I’d assume a future version would. If I needed speed, I would use the iPhone’s browser to find a WiFi hotspot and get even faster performance.
Posted by Bradley Dichter at June 26th, 2007 at 8:42 pmGreat review! So, what comes in the box besides the iPhone, headset and dock(?) ? Is there a case or any accessories?
Posted by Donovan Dillon at June 26th, 2007 at 10:05 pmBill Fitz,
Posted by Patrick Wang at June 26th, 2007 at 10:55 pmI wouldn’t read too much into the “80GB” you saw in the video. Since the iPhone uses a nearly-identical iTunes interface as iPods, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Apple employees responsible for creating the video simply used the 80GB iPod interface and then later forgot to change it or forgot about it altogether. Product videos like this often have to be created, reviewed, approved, and uploaded well in advance of a completed working model.
Maybe Walt should check out some of the Nokia phones before making too many claims about iPhone’s revolutionary tech. For some time, many Nokia phones have included full web browsers (WITH java & flash!), google maps is also available, not to mention the full GPS in N95 and E90. Nokia also has released a smartphone with 8Gb of internal memory.
Everybody seems to be caught up in the Jobs’ ‘5 years ahead’ hype, that they don’t see other devices that are out there.
And ’cause iPhone is so beautiful, all shortcomings are forgiven.
Posted by jarno pihlajisto at June 27th, 2007 at 2:58 amIn one Day the IPhone will be my
Posted by Mario Schroeder at June 27th, 2007 at 2:59 amBill Fitz,
Posted by Billy Adams at June 27th, 2007 at 7:39 amI’m not sure where you saw that in the activation video, because I just watched it and it was the 8g version. The meter said that it had 7.27 GB in the summary page and 7.24 GB on the meter at the bottom. Just FYI.
Walt and Katherine offer a fair and comprehensive review. I now think the iPhone is revolutionary, much the same as the iPod. It will only get better.
I won’t be getting one anytime soon — I’m in Canada, for one thing — but I’m certain that Apple will sell every unit they can make this year. Way more than 10 million.
Posted by Richard Levangie at June 27th, 2007 at 8:34 amGood review — but there remain some nagging questions. No IM means not even Apple’s iChat will work? (I suppose so, but that seems odd.)
I assume as well that no VOI like Skype can be downloaded to use when on WiFi.
Full fledged web browser should mean all webmail programs work on iPhone, but I never see Hotmail mentioned among the examples. Is this just a courtesy — or do some webmails not work for some reason?
MAIN QUESTION: will the iPhone work for WiFi without an ATT plan? I’d be happy to use it as an iPod/PDA/WiFi device — at least until I can get out of my Verizon plan without eating a penalty! ANYBODY HAVE A CLUE?
Posted by David Ayón at June 27th, 2007 at 9:01 amWaa Hoo - with the i-phone I can finally go-offgrid ! Just need to find some land along the river….
http://www.go-offgrid.com
Posted by Rod Borghese at June 27th, 2007 at 10:26 amBilly Adams / Patrick Wang -
I downloaded the activation vid, as soon as I read about it (early morning Tuesday? I think). The beginning of synching does show 7.24GB, but at the end of him synching - after the video tab - it shows 74.40GB.
25.64GB for Audio, 13.09GB for video, 12.55GB for other, and 23.13 for Free Space.
I could take a screenshot if you want to see for yourselves.
It is definitely an iPhone he’s synching up, the camera pans down from “John’s iPhone” at the top of the screen to the capacity meter.
However, I just went to apple’s site and watched it (didn’t download again tho, streamed it) and it has been fixed to 7.24GB.
Unintentional screw-up, or something to get the blogoshphere going? or a difference between the downloadable version and the streaming one?
Posted by Bill Fitz at June 27th, 2007 at 11:20 amIf you wish to chat with a iPhone, just use Safari and go to http://www.aim.com/aimexpress.adp
Posted by Bradley Dichter at June 27th, 2007 at 12:25 pmGreat review. But in fairness to the iPhone competition, I don’t think it makes sense to show a chart with full retail prices for phones like the Blackjack or the Blackberry.
One drawback of the iPhone is that distribution will be limited to Apple and AT&T corporate stores, with absolutely no discounting.
By contrast, other phones are offered through AT&T’s authorized agents (including local cell phone agents, chains like Radio Shack, and online stores like wirefly.com). A more accurate comparative price would reflect this reality, where for example, the Blackjack can easily be found for free — not $199.00.
When reviewing other types of consumer electronics items, Walt usually talks about the “street price.” I’ve never understood why he doesn’t do the same thing with regard to cell phones.
Posted by Scott Fishmonger at June 27th, 2007 at 2:33 pmThanks for the review. I’d like just to say - Welcome, iPhone to the world of cell PCs.
Michael
geocities.com/genetechnics
Posted by Michael Molin at June 27th, 2007 at 8:58 pmI love Macs. Have from the start. Now working off of a MacBook. IChat with family 1400 miles away almost daily. Tried putting all of that together 10 years ago with a powerpc, video camera, and modem. Needless to say this is the best! Now, for the iphone, I wanted it for a comprehensive tool plus to have my ical wirelessly and seemlessly sync with the iphones ical. Also to be able to ichat on the iphone. Since it doesn’t look like either will happen I am looking for an alternative to keeping my ical syncd with my cell phone calendar. I have patients scheduling with my receptionist who puts the appts. into ical. I want to see them when I turn my phone on.
Maybe I can just look at my ical appts. after I publish my ical.???
Posted by Matthew Rickett at June 27th, 2007 at 9:13 pmI saw Walt on the Today show this morning saying that Apple’s steep price is not unreasonable because they are going after people “who are used to paying hundreds for a Smart Phone.”
Again, I think he misjudges the competition. Phones like the Blackberry Pearl and Samsung Blackjack and even the new Curve are free with a contract when you buy through an AT&T agent. That doesn’t spell doom for the iPhone, but Walt is failing to consider the street price when making these comparisons.
Posted by Scott Fishmonger at June 28th, 2007 at 6:16 amIt’s true that there are plenty of mobile devices that have GPS, maps, calling, mobile browsing, email, SMS, etc.
But here is where Apple shines and everyone else struggles. When using an Apple product, the technology is invisible. And that’s what makes me an Apple loyalist. I don’t fight my OS or the solid apps running my various Apple computers and devices. I live a happy technological life both personally and professionally because of Apple’s intention to make it all so simple and beautiful.
I’m looking forward to making an easy conference call on my iPhone - a seemingly simple feature that has been a cumbersome task on my various Nokias and Motorolas over the years.
I’m sure I’ll pick up the iPhone when I don’t have to fight for it. Chances are good that I’ll own a few over the next number of years. After all, in the 20 years since I first used the Mac as a kid, I’m on Apple laptop number 5, desktop number 5, Cinema Display number 3, ipod number 6… and iPhone number 1.
Posted by Claire Fontana at June 28th, 2007 at 9:54 amAT&T’s network has a reputation of poor data service, so it’s reasonable to speculate whether the network will be impacted by the major increase in data traveling across the network due to the iPhone. The real question for AT&T now is have they appropriately planned from a capacity standpoint what affect the iPhone will have, and do they have the correct methods in place to foresee if there will be a problem that will lead to a potential service outages?
This is important especially given the recent Blackberry outage where an unforeseen software problem led to an outage that affected 8 million users. It’s clear the demand for the iPhone is huge and will remain that way at least in the near future, so the potential is high for a repeat of the Blackberry scenario given AT&T’s already notoriously spotty network.
Posted by Roy Agostino at June 29th, 2007 at 3:57 pmThis is the honest to God truth:
This morning I was messing with my iPhone and here’s what I (thought) I did:
1. I clicked the top button
2. It came up immediately with a “typing space”, a 2″ view panel, and then the keyboard.
3. I started typing and it was looking up names by contact name.
I apologize, but I could NOT repeat this. And I couldn’t ever get to that screen again. I have searched the web, but I swear, contact lookup by typing the name IS IN the iPhone somewhere. I don’t know if I did some combo button pushing to get there - but I could not repeat it. But it is DEFINATELY there! If someone discovers this same thing PLEASE post it!
Posted by Richard Gintz at July 7th, 2007 at 5:56 amthanks,
dgintz
Hey Im sure someone somewhere has mentioned this before, but the absent copy and paste could be easily implemented in a software update. However my money is on the fact that Apple isn’t willing to make a move unless they are certain that its the most effective. Meaning, that the iPhone has no menu button so how would you implement something thats commonly found in the Edit menu. Personally id just take a play from the Trackpad playbook and implement a double tap and hold-drag move to select text. Same loope precision, just the preemptive tap before the tap-hold. Now with the text selected, a simple tap hold will pop up a copy/cut text command, visually similar to what happens if you are to hold down a link in safari. Now to paste, an equally pressing challenge for interface design. I might suggest double tap hold to prompt a contextual menu, or even (please) two finger tap after positioning the cursor. (Another play from the MacOS X trackpad) Two finger contextual menu, how about it?
Posted by Alexander Saretzky at July 7th, 2007 at 3:59 pmNot sure why people are dumping on AT&T’s network when it was Job’s decision to make the iPhone 2G. I get great speed on AT&T’s 3G network, and haven’t been to a city this year where I didn’t have 3G coverage.
Posted by Bill Eastman at July 8th, 2007 at 9:57 am8gb iPod costs around $250, so adding price of smart phone makes it $500. So generally Apple is trying for fast returning R&D expenses just adding $100. Looking in spec, iPhone is quad band phone, so it shouldn’t be a problem using it internationally. Certainly it can be unlocked. Mentioned Nokia’s smart phones cost aprox. the same $600, without nice iPod features. Nokia phones also have bluetooth incompatible with most cars, for example BMW. Apple’s one works just great.
Posted by D Rogatkin at July 9th, 2007 at 3:36 amNeat graphic of the iPhone alongside some competitor phones. Sure makes them look like relics left over from the last century.
Posted by Neil Anderson at July 11th, 2007 at 6:22 pmI have had a Verizon plan for over 6 years. In that time, I have “dropped” maybe 5 calls. I had Cingular for about a week. In that short time I dropped 14 calls. When I called to complain about the dropped calls “AD”, I was told that the fewest dropped calls related to MAJOR COVERAGE areas, and that outside that it was hit or miss. Now, Apple tells me that I must use it or not use the iPHONE, hmmm, not a hard decision. I’ll stay with Verizon…..
Posted by Jeff Popa at August 16th, 2007 at 6:10 pmEnjoy some “limited’ functionality on your iPhone:
ON YOUR COMPUTER:
1. Open Address Book and create (+) a new Group. Label it ZP (ZipProcessor) - it also should come up on the bottom of your list of groups.
2. Add (+) a new person to your Address Book. Call it a business name: WP-1. Include the date or other document title you choose.
3. Drag this “person” to the ZP folder.
4. Now, scroll down to the bottom of WP-1 card until you find the Note field. Click in the Note section and begin to type. How much? I’m not sure. I typed quite a bit with no problem. The note section won’t permit you, however, to format or do anything other than type raw text data in the default font. Try typing a few paragraphs. Don’t forget to save.
ON YOUR iPHONE:
5. Now sync to your iPhone. Once done, click the Phone icon. Find ZP in your Group List. Click on WP-1 (or whatever name you chose). Scroll down and view the text you typed in the Note section.
6. Double-click on the note in your iPhone to open the editing screen and add/edit a few lines. Save it and sync. Your edits now are on your computer.
7. Copy the material you want to save or print to a text edit program on your computer and print-away. You can also start a new document from your ZP group folder in your iPhone. Type, save, and sync to your desk top computer.
Note that you can have as many WP-# documents (oops, I mean Persons) as you want in your Group ZP folder. You now have functionality where there was none! Sorry we are not permitted to format, but I’m happy to be able to at least do this much.
If this worked for you please write back! Any suggestions? I’ll pass them along to others who have requested this.
Best wishes,
Rev. Eric R Towse
Posted by Eric R Towse at June 17th, 2008 at 6:23 pmetowse@nyc.rr.com
Another very bad thing about the iphone is that you can´t organize meetings online. The iPhone doesn´t admit to add people to events…brutal..
Posted by Ricardo Luger at August 2nd, 2008 at 8:11 amIf you are looking for unlocked iPhones, check here http://iphone-unlocked.com
Posted by Nedyo Nedev at September 4th, 2008 at 6:12 pm