In large part, the excitement surrounding the iPhone is due to the carefully cultivated Apple chic factor, which began with the candy-colored iMac in the late 1990s and increased exponentially with the release of the Windows-compatible 3rd Generation iPod in 2003.  A large section of the gadget-buying public expects great things from Apple, sight unseen, and to a degree this expectation is well founded.  The fact remains, however, that very little is known about the actual usability of the iPhone, namely its wireless phone performance, the operating system’s lag time, the quality and user-friendliness of its onscreen touch keyboard, and the device’s life span.

A pre-release analysis of the iPhone is a tricky business, but it must begin with one simple question: Who will buy the iPhone?  There are primarily two types of users who opt for smartphones, the business user who needs Internet access, e-mail, voice communication and text messaging all in one place, and the teen or twentysomething user who owns a smartphone primarily to send and receive text messages and to snap impromptu photos.  Will the iPhone expand this user-base in new and important ways?

Will the iPhone’s touchscreen-only QWERTY keyboard allow either of the two smartphone user classes to adopt the iPhone en masse?  Will a non-tactile keyboard perform half as well as an integrated hardware keyboard like those found on a Treo or Motorola Q?  Some pre-release reports state that typing with the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard with more than one finger results in error after error. 

And then, there’s the cost.  Prospective iPhone owners can expect to spend $500 on the low-end 4GB model with a two-year contract; this is the price of many smartphones before the carrier subsidy.  It remains to be seen whether its high price will prevent the iPhone from becoming mainstream or if the cost will simply be a substantial, but palatable, sacrifice users will make to own the ultimate in gadget cool.

A usable web browser is the holy grail of handheld data access, and so far no mobile device has been able to deliver a desktop-like Internet experience.  One primary appeal of the iPhone, therefore,  may be its Safari web browser, which, in demonstrations at least, is shown to render web pages accurately and with real-world readability; this is a claim no smartphone (or even PDA) has yet been able to make.  Could the iPhone, with its large, touchscreen display turn out to be the first smartphone that brings the familiar Web experience to a mobile device?  Will users who need mobile web access flock to the iPhone?

The iPhone, at least as it stands today, will not allow users to install and run non-Apple software.  A lack of third-party software may prove to be a limiting factor for iPhone adoption, but Apple has attempted to side-step this self-imposed software lock down by allowing Web 2.0 “applications” to run over the Internet in Safari.  This not only gives Apple more control over the iPhone and how it’s used, but allows the company to combat critics who believe a smartphone should be able to be augmented with third-party software add-ons.  Will the lack of 3G connectivity make these web applications viable for time-pressed users?

Users who plan to carry an extra battery for the iPhone may be surprised to learn that the iPhone’s battery is fully internal, and cannot be replaced without at least partially disassembling the smartphone, something Apple doesn't intend users to do.  Though Apple reports the iPhone’s battery life to be “up to” 8 hours, depending on usage, many may not be comfortable with the idea of not being able to pop in an extra battery if the juice is low, to say nothing of replacing the battery altogether when it stops holding as strong a charge a year or two down the road. 

If you’re aching to buy an iPhone, it probably stands to reason that you already own an iPod, and quite likely a 5G iPod with onboard video playback capability.  If you’ve already spent $300 or $400 on a video iPod and another $200 on a smartphone, will you shell out another $500 to combine the two devices?  A fair  number of users likely will, but it remains to be seen if enough will do so to make the 1G iPhone a success beyond its first few months in retail.

Whatever the advantages or disadvantages of the iPhone turn out to be, one thing is certain: Apple devotees will be standing in line (MacBooks in tow) to get their hands on one, and that will result in a large number of sales in the first several weeks.  What isn’t clear is whether the iPhone will grow in popularity like the 1st and 2nd Generation iPods, which sold steadily but never reached average consumers in any significant number, or more like the 5G iPod which is used by millions upon millions of users worldwide. We’ll just have to wait and see.

---------------------------------

The Apple iPhone is set to arrive at AT&T Wireless stores at 6:00 PM on Friday, June 29, 2007.  Quantities will be limited.