Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

Phil Stauskas
(CBS 11 News) Whenever there's new technology to be had, cbs11tv.com Web Producer Phil Stauskas either knows about it or owns it. Phil was one of the half-million people nationwide who stood in line Friday to get an iPhone. This is his review.


Technophiles across the nation congregated outside Apple and AT&T stores on Friday to be among the first to buy (or even see) the latest 'i' creation from industry mogul Steve Jobs. Apple's iPhone launched with much hype and fanfare, but is it really worth the lofty $500-$600 price tag? For many consumers, even some of Apple's most loyal, it's a tough pill to swallow. But the iPhone is a gadget constructed around the idea of convergence. When looking at the individual features the iPhone has to offer, it's a lot easier to understand (read: justify) the price.

The iPhone combines several devices into one handy, pocket-sized tool. It's a cell phone, a BlackBerry, an iPod, a web browser, a mapping device, a PDA, a YouTube client... the list seems to be endless. Best of all, the iPhone couldn't be easier to use thanks to Apple's innovative and intuitive touch screen controls. Every tap, every pinch, every glide feels smooth and natural. Even typing on the screen's 'virtual keyboard' is a snap after just a few hours. (Fat-fingered folks need not worry, the iPhone generally knows what you're trying to type.)

All that touching does leave the unit covered in smudges, but a cleaning cloth is packaged inside. Wipe the unit down occasionally and it looks good as new. Plus, after a few days of regular use, there is not a single scratch anywhere on the screen or casing.

As a cell phone, the iPhone gets the job done well, but you'll have to be an AT&T customer -- they're currently the only provider. Sound quality is decent and I never once felt awkward holding an iPod-shaped device to the side of my head for a call. (The same could not be said about Nokia's N-Gage and several other 'convergence' gadgets.) The selection of ringtones is limited and your iPod music cannot be used, but it would be naïve to think that Apple isn't working on a future fix.

For those who like to screen their calls, the iPhone's 'visual voicemail' feature allows messages to be selected, played and repeated like iPod files. It's a terrific step up in the formatting of voicemail.

So, the iPhone can make phone calls. Big deal. It's those secondary options that are most interesting.

Apple packed the iPhone with Safari, the company's own Internet browser. The touch screen allows users to zoom and scroll through pages with ease. Flip the iPhone on its side and the Web site flips with you. This is handheld Internet as it's never been done before. The browser does not support Java applications or Flash, but I've found their exclusions to be tolerable. Without attempting to push the iPhone's limits, I never found a need for such complex sites when not near my regular home computer. Handheld browsing is generally restricted to checking the daily news or looking up some obscure fact. For those tasks, the iPhone is perfect.

Two options are available for users connecting to the Internet. When a Wi-Fi hotspot is nearby, the iPhone will connect and become, essentially, another computer. Download speeds are restricted only by signal quality. When Wi-Fi is not available, users connect via AT&T's EDGE, an older technology that has been criticized for its sluggishness. But again, I found EDGE's speed to be reasonable for the browser's purposes.

There are a few sites you'll never need to access with the iPhone's Safari application. Google Maps are included as a built-in feature, and are probably one of the iPhone's most useful aspects. In my second day as an iPhone user, I got a flat tire while driving along the highway. After dealing with the inconvenience, I had to get my car to a repair shop. Where was the closest one? A quick Google Maps search pointed me to four nearby locations. After a few taps, I had detailed driving directions and was on the phone alerting the repair shop of my impending arrival. True story.

A big chunk of YouTube's video library is also built into the iPhone. It's certainly not a necessitiy, but it is a fun little bonus.

This is just a taste of what the iPhone has to offer. There are far too many features to detail all of them at once. Most are implemented really well (text messaging, photo manipulation and improvements to the already near-perfect iPod), but a few slightly miss the mark (the e-mail application, a lack of games and the camera's inability to record video). Apple does have the time and ability, however, to amend these issues with software updates.

With so many functions operating on top each other, one might expect the battery to die in roughly 30 minutes, but that's not the case. After extended use, the iPhone's battery did not appear to drain at a particularly alarming rate. But the unit does get rather hot if the display is left illuminated for too long.

No matter how hot the iPhone gets, it'll be the coolest thing you own. That's right, I said it. The iPhone is cool. It sounds like a trivial point, and it's certainly not a good way to understand (read: justify) the $500-$600 price tag, but it cannot be overlooked. This nifty little gadget has an impressive, nearly spellbinding presentation.

But it's not just smoke and mirrors. There's actually substance underneath the flashy presentation. In just three days, I found more real life uses for my iPhone than I could have ever imagined. The iPhone is handy. The iPhone is practical.

And the iPhone is really cool.

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