Apple execs admit to iPhone anxiety

The hype over the iPhone is almost deafening right now, but there's an article in today's New York Times today that captures a rare moment of self-doubt from Apple regarding the impending launch:

"The anticipation, which is intense even by Jobsian standards, has led to some quiet, behind-the-scenes anxiety at Apple. Some Apple executives worry privately that expectations for the one-button phones may be too high and that first-generation buyers will end up disappointed."

They're right to be a bit nervous. We don't doubt that the iPhone will sell like crazy when it first comes out and be hard to find in stores for months, but it's rare for anything this highly anticipated to completely live up to everyone's expectations. The iPhone's on pretty much the most massive pedestal that any gadget has ever been on, and if there are any issues with it -- like with its touchscreen, battery life, call quality, or software stability -- you can expect the backlash to be severe.

[tekdroid @ Jun 4th 2007 6:47AM]

this will be a revolution, like the Segway.

[Ken @ Jun 4th 2007 7:04AM]

Dean Kamen *wishes* the Segway had nearly this impetus. While IT/Ginger/Segway had tremendous hype with "little" follow-through (think "Snakes on a Plane"), I don't doubt the iPhone will sell out in minutes and be impossible to find for months. If you thought finding a Wii was bad, trying finding an iPhone.

This will be a revolution, but it won't be like the Segway. :)

[Ellianth @ Jun 12th 2007 7:16PM]

How fast something sells out means nothing when there aren't very many to begin with. Btw how many applications make use of the multi-touch screen,other than picture resizing?

[Jeff @ Jun 4th 2007 7:03AM]

Tekdroid's comment perfectly encapsulates the essence of the iPhone hype. Bravo, good sir!

[Mike @ Jun 4th 2007 7:37AM]

YOU GUYS ARE HATERS!

Sure, the iPhone is hyped like crazy and there will be problems like there are with every high tech device.

The bottom line is the all-in-one media device (phone, music/video player, email/IM) is what the market is demanding and these products WILL revolutionize your life by making you more in touch with others and your data.

[Damien @ Jun 4th 2007 12:17PM]

Come back & re read these posts in 6 months...

[psouper @ Jun 4th 2007 7:07AM]

Amidst all the product anticipation that always seems to attend the release of Apple hardware no one seems to have commented on what seems a real problem with the phone, its orientation, and the need to keep swivelling it round in one’s hand as one shifts from function to function, from widescreen to portrait and back again. You switch the phone on in portrait mode with the phone resting upright in your hand, want to scan through your album artwork you must rotate the handset 45 degrees to see the screen in widescreen, want to look through a list of music though and its back to portrait, want to watch a video and its another hand turn back to wide, want to answer a call it’s a twist back to portrait and so on. Indeed one can imagine that if the iPhone is a success we will soon see some variation on RSI developing as legions of iPhone users begin to experience strange wrist aches from repeatedly twisting the phone in their hands. Lets call it iPhone ache or iPA for short.

[Kai Cherry @ Jun 4th 2007 7:22AM]

I'm of the opinion that it could go either way, really.

I buy phones. A LOT of phones...often before anyone here in the good ol' usa *may* even see them. Been thru every major, and a few minor phone OS versions and incarnations.

And you know, as nice as some of the hardware has been, the softare driving the things needs...rethinking. Looks like Apple's had a crack at it.

Now, will it take over the world...cure cancer...end war and provide free energy to all of humanity?

Nah. It probably wouldn't get ya' laid either.

But I know what it WILL do; it will inspire other phone makers to really *think about* how their phones work...how those features are accessed...they won't be willing to leave this to the carrier, because that limitation will keep them from raising the bar.

Will the iPhone become King of the Communicators? Probably not. But you know what WILL happen? Phones will start to work a lot more like them than they do now.

[Richy @ Jun 4th 2007 11:59AM]

Do you only have one hand?

[thor @ Jun 4th 2007 5:50PM]

YES! I completely agree!
I have the same problem with the key to my house! I have to pull it out of my pocket and turn it to fit into the keyhole. I have been trying for years to get someone to develop a door that I can shove my keys towards and it will fit in any direction. And I expect it to be 100% accurate and foolproof.

[Marc @ Jun 8th 2007 3:05PM]

Yes, psouper, having to physically rotate the iphone in order to access all those great features will be the death of us all. If you think is stupid and unfair and an unreasonable burden, you should try this thing called "cooking". You take a knife and slice it through an onion, but you're not done there, oh no! You have to KEEP DOING IT OVER AND OVER, until the onion is in little pieces. Then come peppers, tomatoes, garlic, oh my! That's why cooking, like the iphone, has never and will never catch on.

[raphael.cohen @ Jun 4th 2007 7:46AM]

I don't think WM6 needs to be re-thinked, i personnaly can do things much faster with WM6 on an HTC than through the iPhone, even though I've just haved a look at screen-shots of the interface. but, if it's just a matter of interface which will get you to choose a phone rather than another, take a look at something like this :
http://forums.sbsh.net/index.php?showtopic=15747

[Ross @ Jun 4th 2007 8:22AM]

Praise the Lord Jobs - a sober, measured & well-informed opinion on the iPhone!

Thank you and well done.

[nate @ Jun 4th 2007 1:25PM]

@Kai

Right on, the iPhone is not for me but I'm glad it's coming out. Should shake up the industry in a much needed way.

[Drevil @ Jun 4th 2007 7:33AM]

As the saying goes, live by the sword, die by the sword. They invited all the hype, it's up to them to live up to it.

[raphael.cohen @ Jun 4th 2007 7:49AM]

Totally agree, but these devices already exist, since years... and the bottom line is that the iPhone has nothin' new compared to other devices. I am honest, I really would by the iPhone if it would have more features than other phones, but it doesn't.

[Kai Cherry @ Jun 4th 2007 8:31AM]

*Sigh*

"Interface" isn't mearly about a skin...about how it looks. Its about form AND function, and why in the world people believe these things *have to be mutually exclusive* is beyond me.

Features? Again man, I'm tellin' you, I've touched a LOT of phones...hell when I worked for verizon back in the day in Systems Engineering...all we did was mess with the latest greatest (cdma/us tech had to offer) and you know what the biggest missing feature seems to be with phones these days?

Making some damned sense...adhering to the "4 press/clicks" or less CE design principles...I mean you can pile a tv into a phone, but...

OK, you Mentioned WM6. Well let's see if it fixes this IDIOTIC Fundamental Design Flaw in WM5:

I'm on my phone...oh no...the power is running low...too low.

*WHAT* does Windows Mobile 5 decide to do to "preserve battery"? What does it *shut off*?

The PHONE. The...phone. You know, the *primary function of the device*...making frickin' phone calls. I mean...do you see how...flawed that is?

This is what I meant when I said "rethinking"...not what kind of buttons where on the screen.

[Kai Cherry @ Jun 4th 2007 8:51AM]

@raphael
"i personally can do things much faster with WM6 on an HTC than through the iPhone, even though I've just haved a look at screen-shots of the interface"

*think*...you *think* you can I believe you meant to say... I mean unless you tried it and I'm not aware of it, and if so, I stand corrected.

[dF @ Jun 4th 2007 8:02AM]

I know, right? Visual Voicemail has been around for years, so has multi-touch and full featured web browsers.

[Ignacio @ Jun 4th 2007 10:30AM]

"I am honest, I really would by the iPhone if it would have more features than other phones, but it doesn't."

It's not about "how many" features but "how accessible" they are. Apple has never been famous for feature creep, but for ease of use. A feature that is hard to access or figure out is not going to be used as much as one that "just works" the way you expect.

[Tom @ Jun 4th 2007 8:00AM]

Its going to be a BIG let down, sure its looks amazing but touchscreens always disapoint and the battery life will suck. Sure it will sell to a certain small market, but it will never reach mass penetration, its too expensive. I could buy an ipod and get a free phone on contract

The best thing about it - it will hopefully raise the other mobile manufactuers game

[Todd Long @ Jun 4th 2007 10:42AM]

It does look amazing but how do you know the battery life is going to suck? It could be as amazing as it looks and feels. It's definitely not too expensive for an all-in-one device with its capabilities. Sure you could go out and buy an iPod and get a cheap ass phone for free but neither will have the capabilities that this has (and be combined). Obviously this phone (all-in-one device) isn't for everyone but the price aint too bad for what you get.

I agree that one of the best things about it is that it will raise awareness with other mobile comapnies about stepping up their game.

- TL

[adinzbox @ Jun 4th 2007 8:04AM]

Iphone can be a killer, but too much expectations can lead to disappointment in lot of ways. But lets just wait for another 4-6 months and see what its users have to say.

[smartone @ Jun 4th 2007 10:06AM]

I think the achilles heel on iphone could be battery life and hard drive--
most people use their smart phones for making calls and texting these are fair short actions -- suddenly you have someone watching widescreen video on their phone and then a few hours later they want to make a call and the battery is dead? this might be a huge problem.

also most movies take about a gig of harddrive so the 4 gig iphone will probably only be able to carry 2 movies at a time at the most which isn't a great experience.

[Kai Cherry @ Jun 4th 2007 10:21AM]

Um..."Smartone"...*chuckle*

It doesn't have a hard drive.

[smartone @ Jun 4th 2007 10:33AM]

ummm I meant flash drive not harddrive -- but obviously my point is 4 gigs is not enough storage for video.

[Ignacio @ Jun 4th 2007 10:37AM]

"also most movies take about a gig of harddrive so the 4 gig iphone will probably only be able to carry 2 movies at a time at the most which isn't a great experience."

4/1 = 2(?)

Not to mention that at the iPhone resolution (480x320) and using H.264 compression, movies can take far less than a full gig and still maintain great quality.

Oh, also, it's not a hard drive but flash memory (and there is a 8GB model as well)

[Kai Cherry @ Jun 4th 2007 3:47PM]

At iPod bit rates, it can hold a good 10 "half hour" episodes of tv....or podcasts....or a couple to 3 movies...I mean, how much watching are you gonna be doing throughout the day when/where you wouldn't be somewhere more suited to watching a long format video like a movie?

*shrug*

[All Your Comments Belong to Us @ Jun 4th 2007 8:03AM]

There are LOTS of Engadget articles I couldn't care less about. If it's about video games or robots or vacuum cleaners which resemble robots... I just skip it. I never feel compelled to take time out of my busy day to read the article, then piss on it in the comments section.

I didn't do that when Vista was launched. I didn't do it when the PS3 was launched. Etc... In other words, I only comment on stories/products I'm actually interested in.

Why does every iPhone - any Apple story for that matter - bring out every douchy 15-year-old hater from under his mother's mattress to talk about how Appel is teh suXXorz or whatever?

I mean, get a life jackasses. Seriously! If you hate Apple (or Microsoft, or Nintendo, or whatever), how about just skipping that article?

[raphael.cohen @ Jun 4th 2007 8:09AM]

>Seriously! If you hate Apple (or Microsoft, or Nintendo, or whatever), how about just skipping that article?

well, simply because I love smartphones and mobile devices, so I'm interested in the iPhone and evidently compare it to other devices already out on the market since a while. so i was wondering if it does things better, if it has amazing new features that other smartphones don't have... but it just doesn't. I have a PC laptop at home, and an iMac, I don't belong to any community, nore am a mac or pc guy or whatever, as most of the "jackasses" disappointed by the iPhone.

[SeNiLe @ Jun 4th 2007 8:05AM]

The problem with the iPhone is there is no document reader and people can't download small programs into it like the palm or pocket pc. I guess they will be adding 3rd party apps later down the road but it will never meet the needs of the average palm or pocket pc user. I think they should have just made this the ipod video, I would replace my old ipod video for one like this, but don't need the phone and would never switch to Chingular/at&t.

[Jake @ Jun 4th 2007 1:38PM]

Only 15% of consumers have purchased smartphones. The iPhone will compell alot of folks to go the smartphone route because people have confindence because of it's ease of use. Really, an e-reader is not a deal breaker for many. This site is hilarious because it's full of geeks that have no idea how to appeal to the massess.

[arthur dent @ Jun 4th 2007 8:05AM]

some of you market analysts explain to me why apple is not getting
flamed its pants off for asking $600 for a mobile phone, while sony
has been stoned to death for asking the same for the ps3?

[dF @ Jun 4th 2007 8:10AM]

Probably because $600 for a gaming console was the highest price point in that market to date, whereas $600 is way below the highest priced mobile phone.

[Aeaon @ Jun 4th 2007 8:12AM]

because, Sir Arthur, the PS3 hardly does everything that the iPhone claims to do...

[Avi Greengart @ Jun 4th 2007 11:38AM]

@ arthur dent,

Since you asked for an analyst's opinion... The PS3 and iPhone are in completely different markets with different pricing and sales expectations. Apple has actually taken a fair amount of heat for the high pricing, but purely in terms of competitive pricing, smartphones with 4 and 8 GB of storage from Nokia and Samsung are also priced above $500. Sales numbers on Nokia's Nseries, Sony Ericsson's Walkman line, and fashion phones such as the original RAZR and Nokia's 8800 all suggest that Apple should be able to sell millions of units at the $500 - $600 price point.

Yes, the price is still an issue, along with the lack of 3G, hard buttons, corporate email support, 3rd party extensibility, and a removable battery. For these reasons I was pretty skeptical on the iPhone while sitting through the keynote, but after using one afterwards I was convinced that the product does actually live up to the hype. The UI is ...delightful.

-avi

Avi Greengart
Principal Analyst, Mobile Devices
Current Analysis

[Joe @ Jun 4th 2007 8:09AM]

They're scared? Well I guess now I'd better save them by buying one. Now the hype is getting to the bleeding heart crowd!

[Aeaon @ Jun 4th 2007 8:12AM]

Hah. I'm sorry. I couldn't help but notice they used the misleading phrase "one-button". A one-button gadget means nothing when the whole thing is a touch screen. I think it's just the normal nay sayings that always arise before a product launch. Except, this might not be "just another product".

[Pc_Madness @ Jun 4th 2007 8:17AM]

The button on the bottom is a "Home" key is it not? Hence.. 1 button?

[Aeaon @ Jun 4th 2007 8:19AM]

Yes, but some of the un-informed public might be deuced into thinking that's the iPhone's only button. Thinking that it's just like any other smart-phone. I'm just saying they could've probably thought of a better way to describe Apple's device.

Just looking out for the stupid half of America...

[Archietype @ Jun 4th 2007 8:47AM]

Well I sure as hell wouldn't want to put a PS3 up to my ear to make a call.

[brad @ Jun 4th 2007 8:21AM]

@arthur dent

The reason for no one complaining about the $600 tag is becuase in reality alot of phones do cost that much...look at the retail price of the smart phones/pda at any store, they really are pretty high its the $200 you get off the phone price for signing a contract....

what people should really be pissed about is that buy signing a two year contract, you get the "right" to purchase an Iphone, no sort of $$ off

Im awaiting the launch of the iphone not because im getting one but i want to see the response of all the other carriers because in the end...the consumer is the one who truely wins

[MIKE @ Jun 4th 2007 8:23AM]

Simply more evidence that your an Apple hater. Jobs is simply a genuis and everyone one of you losers will end up looking like morons while us cool people cruise around with THE hotest phone in the world while we feel the love.

Steve is a god.

[BeyondtheTech @ Jun 4th 2007 8:26AM]

I think the biggest backlashes would be when the 3G iPhone will come out earlier than expected (i.e. 6 months) or when a significant price drop takes place.

As for the orientation issue, it's only when you want Cover Flow or any video that you'll require turning the device 90-degrees. Most of the time, you can stay in portrait mode just fine.

I for one don't see why many are complaining about for price tag. I purchased an HTC Universal for nearly a grand, and all the other devices, Wizard (KJAM), O2 Atom, Blue Angel (PDA2k), Eten M500, etc, all for over $500 each easy. Sure, this one's tied to a two-year contract, but if you're smart, you'd know how to deal with it, like eBaying your old stuff, or schmoozing with the sales reps.

As for viewing file types, if it even has an inkling of Mac OS X's Preview program, it might be able to display PDFs in native form. If not, leave it up to the 3rd-party developers to come out with a Microsoft Office file viewer.

One thing I'm hoping for, but not expecting, is pairing to a Bluetooth GPS for use with Google Maps. That would be a nice surprise.

[lozaccio @ Jun 4th 2007 8:26AM]

Someone on here said they can get things done quicker on WM 6.0?

- First all there is to go by is the video but even then judging by them, I prefer the reactivity and interfaces on the iPhone. I am reading to smash my buggy Dash (love the phone itself) for the Wincrap Mobile loaded on it (spinning ball on every screen/ action anyone, Alarm bug etc...?).

- As usual, people who know and understand will get what's best for them, the vast majority won't. Otherwise MSFT would be out of business right now. I dare speculate the number of people getting the phone will be enough to meet Apple's expectations on a first device of what will become a new product line.

[ken @ Jun 4th 2007 8:26AM]

Fond memories of my Newton and it never really worked! Didn't stop me loving it.

[raphael.cohen @ Jun 4th 2007 8:59AM]

yeah whatever about the interface, i guess this is the big deal for you. any HTC already has all the iPhone's features and more, I don't get it ? what is it about the iphone ? to tell you the truth I use my HTC (with Wm6) with my thumb and i don't have any problem with that. when the battery goes low, wm6 show up a pop-up msg, even during a call, saying "the battery is low", what else is there to be expected ? i am not saying that the iphone is a "bad" product, i just wanted to know what will it have to make it stand out other phones ? honestly ?

[farfisa @ Jun 4th 2007 8:38AM]

Wow, "call quality"... I hadn't even thought of that!

[Barry B @ Jun 4th 2007 8:43AM]

This is gonna be fun.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 4th 2007 8:47AM]

Guys guys,

Everything will be fine as long as the iPhones don't blow up.