Ukyou reviews, the iPhone

Today started out quite normally with a trip to JU followed by a wonderful and exciting encounter with the bureaucracy of our academic system at the ministry of higher education (actually it was not THAT bad).
The rest of the day was spent working on the top secret project for the Japanese language section, which half of Jordan knows about. The time is 7 PM and going home is the next step.

Since I live at the end of the world now, I first passed by Sweifieh to pass some time before being picked up for my long journey home. There I encountered the highlight of the day. The iPhone.

Hopping for a bit to the Apple shop, I was hoping to get some quality time with the (in)famous iPhone. Having had bad experiences with the iPod Shuffle I was hesitant to touch apple's flagship product. In the end the Nerdy Gizmo loving instinct overcome rational thought and I succumbed.

Within minutes I found myself manhandling the iPhone. Well manhandling is an over statement. I got a good 10 minutes of handling the phone and it was 10 minutes of ecstasy. Gizmo ecstasy that is.

I can sum up the iPhone in one word...."polished". If you look up the word "polished" the iPhone picture is sure right next to it. The design, the interface is just so.... freakishly polished.
I can understand why people swoon when they see the iPhone.

So does your resident Japanese language teacher approve this little bugger?
hummmmmm.......
Actually NO! (Not completely)
I love the iPhone to bits, but for all the WRONG reasons.

First of all this is not a smart phone, it is a dumb phone disguising it self as one. Under all the glitz is a weird mishmash of very cool and uncool features.

It is the perfect phone that could have been.It is a beautiful device. But give it another name PLEASE.

What i liked about the iPhone:

The interface. It is so darn simple and easy to use. Intuitive is the word. Next, the web browser. Mobile safari is really cool and the browsing using the touch screen is a dream.
The photo browser. Browsing is like a dream. Flip pictures with your thumb, zoom with pinching a picture. ooooh. Touch screen and QWERTY keyboard. Very smooth. But my gigantor fingers have to move nimble and fast.

What I don't like and want fixed in the next 3G iPhone:

For starters ,the 2 MP camera. What? that's it? The camera is so simple it makes my photography instincts cry! No video also! What a waste of potential! Next thing to mind, the minimalist design of the interface. What? Ukyou the purveyor of everything zen and Japanese says no to minimalism? Well call me weird but i found it too simple in design. Maybe that was Cupertino's philosophy but they could have done something a bit more Dynamic. It is minimalism with no soul. Easy to install Skins for the interface PLEASE!
The controlism of apple is also a problem in the iPhone. I want to be able to change things around more easily, don't want to have to use iTunes, we want freedom!
More in depth features for each application. Apple should have a novice interface and an all out i am an IT Tatsujin interface.
No japanese iPhone yet. BOOOOOOOOO (I think the 3G iPhone is coming to save the day)
The touch screen screams Japanese handwriting detection. Oh my!
Then there is the matter of the development of new apps. I hope apple loosens up with 3rd party support for this thing. it will mean VERY cool apps in the future.
Lastly in the past having an apple said that your were of the ranks of the unique MacNerdom. Now having an apple product is a status symbol. It so POP culture, it really detracts from the gadget's uniqueness.

The last things is that if it breaks, you are officially screwed, since you will be at the mercy of the service of Apple in Jordan. You cannot change the battery yourself. Tsk Tsk!

So in the end do I want one? Yes!
Will I get one? I still need my kidney!

Of course this whole post is based on 10 minutes of uninformed tomfoolery with the gadget so do not take it seriously, and don't base any judgements on the thing until you try it out first hand!