I honestly did not expect to use see or use an iPhone just 11 days after its launch in the US. The phone is not out in Europe and the Middle East until the end of this year (which actually is crazy, considering that Nokia’s top phones come out in Jordan as soon as they are released).

But there I was yesterday, at iSystems, the Ammani “Apple Store” test driving the phone.

It is amazing how familiar the device seemed, given all the pictures and videos I’ve already seen!

The device itself is larger than I expected. See it below side-by-side with my Nokia N95. The size of iPhone allows it to have a generous screen, which is great.

The first thing i did was go to the iPod functionality and flick those album covers. Amazing. Then I played a video. Highly watch-able screen and great onscreen controls.

The whole interface does not fall like any phone I used before. It’s also not a shrunk computer desktop interface. It is something new.

I was eager to test the browser. The wifi connection at the store was really slow, but I can testify that Safari on the iPhone is amazing.

Then I tired typing (on the Notes widget). With one index finger typing was pretty good. Sometimes the auto-correction jumped in, almost always with correct suggestions. Typing with two thumbs was much more tricky. I made many mistakes while typing.

I had a quick look at the Photos app (I also tried scaling function by pinching two fingers, which worked great).

Finally I played a bit with the Maps application. I searched for Amman, Jordan and got the satellite images of Amman, which are available on Google Earth. As the connection was slow the images were downloading quite slowly and I was pinching and scrolling around vigorously until I landed on the old Amman airport!

I also had a quick look at the email application and some of the other apps and widget on the phone, the coolest of which was the YouTube app.

The fluidity of the interface, the easer of use, the consistency of the look of the aps, the visual beauty of the interface, the large screen and the slick industrial design make this device highly desirable. I still can’t believe how all the big boys in mobiles have just allowed Apple to waltz into their market with an emphasis on user interface.

Yet what is annoying (apart from the fact that you can’t use an iPhone in this region just yet) are those missing features: MMS, voice dialing (I am now using that on my Nokia all the time) and the lack of video recording. The lack of GPS is not annoying for Amman (no map, remember?) but the minute I travel I am now a user of my N95 GPS capability (although I have to admite that it eats up the battery rapidly).

I am also a bit annoyed that Apple doesn’t seem to allow file downloads in Safari. It also does not provide a Podcast downloading app. Nokia has a pretty good podcasting app for the Nseries, which I used several times already.

Let’s see how Apple goes about these things in the coming months..

360east.com on the iPhone



Comparing in size to the N95



Another comparison


Google Earth..

Read these related posts on 360east:

• iPhone Jordan launch REALLY nears
• Orange starts selling the iPhone in Jordan, but I’m sticking with Nokia, for now
• iPhone dismembered (not for the faint at heart)
• iPhone in the stores today
• Rumor: iPhone to be legally availble in Jordan by end of March