The painful memories of looking forward to and being disappointed by the first Newton still affect my thinking on whether or not to get in line and buy an iPhone next week. I am an optimist and a technology enthusiast.
I am strongly tempted to get in that line Friday the 29th. I am watching all the tech sites, gathering information here and there.
Newton 1.0 didn't have the best handwriting recognition but I could live with that. What didn't work is that when I put in 50 contacts, it got slow. Unusably slow.
Steve was not at the helm when the Newton was released. In fact, he killed the Newton project. Maybe he deserves a free pass on the failure of the Newton. Steve is the most competitive, perfectionistic tech exec out there. He is betting the company on the iPhone or close to it and I don't see him letting it fail.
However, I am a techie. I know the advice and have given it often to not buy a 1.0 device or OS. Wait awhile to see how things shake out the first couple of weeks and months. But, of course, being a blogger and tech professional, I often break the rule so that I can better advise my clients.
I want to know what it is like to use an iPhone. I want to see how well it will work for me. Whether it is better than my BlackBerry Pearl by leaps and bounds.
Since I bought the Pearl in February, I am in a bit of jam when it comes to signing another 2 year contract. I will be studying the details in the days before launch to see what my cost would be to get an iPhone right out of the gate.
The TV ads and the iPhone demos on the Apple site look awesome. I am sure next week I will be swept up in the excitement and be sorely tempted. And yet, I am not looking forward to waiting in line for hours on end and then finding out that the cost is too high or the store I choose has run out.
OS X on a mobile phone seems amazingly cool. I am one of those who believe the mobile phone is the next computing platform of interest. The always-on connectivity and the universality of cell phones is getting to a tipping point that I am sure will produce all sorts of cool stuff.
I want to lead the pack ahead of the next guy, rather than sit on my hands next week and wish I were one of the lucky first adopters.
By the way, I sold 1/2 of my Apple stock Monday morning. I was nervous and wanted to take some profits (4x since I bought in 02 or so). But, I didn't want to miss out on what could be a sky high stock price as the impact of all the ads and hoopla hit a crescendo next week. I may sell another 1/4 on launch day. I'll see how I feel. Lick my finger and stick it in the air. You know the drill.
I am worried about the possibility that the keyboard will suck. I have used a Treo 650 and a BlackBerry Pearl. Can I appreciate and tolerate or even enjoy the iPhone touchpad keyboard? What is your advice? Are you there in the line next week?
UPDATE Jun 19 5:08 pm
Ooh. Apple's latest press release says you can buy an iPhone on the Apple Online store. Waiting in line is not required.