I have an iPhone: SLOW Web access, too Heavy!

The iPhone: Too heavy, way too SLOW. Expand this section and read on for the dirt on my experience so far with iPhone



iPhone: At first, people asked, Is it too slow? Is it too expensive? Too heavy? How fast and responsive is the Safari web browser, especially in non-WiFi situations?

I'm here to tell you.

The iPhone's Safari browser, using EDGE (meaning you're not in or not using a WiFi hotspot) is not as bad as was originally reported... that is, when it's working at all.

BUT so far, today, EDGE is totally down! You can't browse ANYWHERE on the iPhone. I called Apple and they confirmed that in the Los Angeles area today the EDGE system is being modified, so it is down. No idea when it will be back up again. (Hopefully, they're improving it like they did in the North East). It can't send or receive e-mail during this outage, either. I'm a little peeved, and getting more so the longer this stays this way. This is a Monday afternoon, after all.

The phone is wonderful otherwise, no complaints about anything other than its extreme weight. It is the heaviest phone I've ever owned, and it is isn't properly balanced. Slippery, too. I've dropped it twice already, fortunately just a foot onto the bed once and the other time two feet off of the couch onto the soft carpet, but still.

The keyboard is MADDENING but I'm getting better with it. There is a definite learning curve.

Critics noted that it uses GSM, (EDGE) an older wireless technology that is gradually being supplanted by so-called 3G networks that can transmit data much faster.

Says David Pogue, technology reviewer from the New York Times who tested the iPhone before anyone else for two weeks ending 6/27/2007: "The ... problem is the AT&T network. In a Consumer Reports study, AT&T’s signal ranked either last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major cities. My tests (of the iPhone) in five states bear this out. If Verizon’s slogan is, “Can you hear me now?” AT&T’s should be, “I’m losing you.”

Then there’s the Internet problem. When you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot, going online is fast and satisfying.

But otherwise, you have to use AT&T’s ancient EDGE cellular network, which is excruciatingly slow. The New York Times’s home page takes 55 seconds to appear; Amazon.com, 100 seconds; Yahoo: two minutes. (!!!!) You almost ache for a dial-up modem.

These drawbacks may be deal-killers for some people."

Yes, David, for some people, it certainly may be a deal killer. And here in Simi Valley, southern California, everyone who has a cell phone knows that Verizon has the best, most consistent signal and that AT&T has the absolute worst. Apple really dropped the ball in choosing AT&T as the carrier along with its antiquated cellular web service.

See this excellent and entertaining video of David reviewing the iPhone: click here.

For all it is purported to do, some say the iPhone is clunky, particularly in comparison to some of its lighter, smaller iPod cousins. (There are actually shoes that way less than the iPhone's rather unimpressive 4.8 ounces). And, it's nearly half an inch thick!

Here are the Specs straight from the source, Apple:

Technical Specifications:

Screen size - 3.5 inches
Screen resolution - 320 by 480 at 160 ppi
Input method - Multi-touch
Operating system - OS X
Storage - 4GB or 8GB
GSM - Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Wireless data - Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0
Camera - 2.0 megapixels
Battery - Up to 5 hours Talk / Video / Browsing Up to 16 hours Audio playback
Dimensions - 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm
Weight - 4.8 ounces / 135 grams

The iPhone launched June 29, 2007 at Six PM.