Help Me Review the iPhone?
Posted on 11 June 2007, at 1:14 pm, by Douglas Moran
Speaking of winning an iPhone, whether I win one or not, I’m going to get one when they come out, and do my durndest to have a a review in here for you Gear Diary folks.
Okay, yes, I’m jumping the guy a bit. And yes, I’m obsessed, I admit it. Forgive me. But I’m sick of Widows Mobile, I’m weary of the lack of development in the Palm hardware arena, and my birthday’s this month and I want a new toy, durn it!
So in anticipation of spending waaaay too much money and getting an iPhone, I’ve been creating a list of questions to ask Apple (if I get get hold of anyone there!) and things to review on the iPhone for Gear Diary readers. But it occurred to me (as I was suffering from yet another bout of insomnia) that maybe you folks might be able to help by providing me with some questions of your own.
(Also, if anyone has contacts at Apple that I can email with pre-sales questions, that would be most helpful.)
So anywho, from now until I manage to procure an iPhone, I invite any and all Gear Diary readers to add to the following list of questions and things to check out on the iPhone (and yes, my personal obsessions are very clear from this list; that’s why I need help!):
- Are other formats of video (besides the iTunes proprietary *.m4v) viewable on the iPhone? What bit rates and resolutions recommended?
- If other formats aren’t supported, what tools exist to convert other formats to Apple’s idiotic m4v format?
- Will eBook reading be supported?
- What games are available, and do they recommend a website?
- Can Windows Mobile database information (calendar and contacts, especially) be converted into Apple format? If so, how? Third-party apps, or something simpler?
- Can Palm database information (calendar and contacts, especially) be converted into Apple format? If so, how?
- Can Outlook email be synced with iPhone email? How difficult is it to do, if so?
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June 12th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Well – I can answer at least one question. Regarding tools to convert other video formats into an iPod/iPhone friendly file. I personally use PQD – DVD to iPod suite. It cost about $30.00, although if you own other products of theirs you can get it for less. It’s quite simple to use directly from a DVD or you can convert from other video formats like AVI or DivX.
For free options, there is Jodix or Videora, although they take longer and can sometimes covert the audio and video out of sync, which can be quite frustrating.
My TV To Go also has an option to convert your MS-DVR format recorded shows from Media Center into an iPod/iPhone friendly format. The interface is simple, and easy to use, and it works very well.
I’m sure there are other options as well, but these are the ones I know off the top of my head. I have used them all, and am speaking only for my own experiences.
I’d really like to know about the eBooks as well, but I imagine that will come down to one of the 3rd party apps that will be developed for anything beyond simple text files.
It would be interesting to combine my smartphone and iPod, since I rarely leave the house without both of them. So far, I’m drooling over the shiny, but not quite ready to make the leap at the end of the month – until I see some objective reviews and hear more about the drawbacks of the device. Besides, I’ve yet to give up my old Samsung i600 clamshell smartphone, because it has nearly everything I want in a smartphone, except bluetooth. But, since it’s primary function is as a phone and secondary function is to allow me to read ebooks, it does everything I need it to do. Besides, I would feel funny holding my my iPod to talk into it.
I’ll look forward to hearing your impressions – and reading the answers to the questions you have!
June 12th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I used the PQD tools to convert DVDs for use with TCPMP on my Zodiac, and I wasn’t really pleased with the results; I felt the files I got were jittery and pixelated. But then, I’m spectacularly picky when it comes to converted files; I want video bit-rates of around 1200-1300 kbps, which is insane.
June 17th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you Doug – I’ve been out of it a bit…had major abdominal surgery on Friday – UGH. Finally home from the hospital, and not feeling great, so what to do? Check out my favorite sites and blogs and catch up on what I missed.
My experience with the PQD Suites may be better than yours, or perhaps my standards are not as high – I don’t expect perfection. When I convert DVD’s I have 2 standards. One is if I have physical possession of the disc, the other is if I do not (like I borrowed my mom’s to copy for her) If I own the disc, I start at a file of about 500mb, because if I’m not happy I can just re do it. For the ones I do for other people, I keep the file size at about 1G, which has pretty impressive results, at least in my opinion.
What I like about the suites is the level of customization available – you can choose your frame rates and audio bit rates so you get just what you want.
If you haven’t tried using it recently, I would check out the free trials (I think they limit you to like 5 minutes) but that should give you enough time to see if it will live up to your standards.
I think that Quicktime Pro also has some options for converting into the Apple formats, but since I am satisfied with what I currently use I have never checked it out, but you may want to take a run at that as well and see if it may meet your needs better.
Also, iPod Lounge put up an article describing an email that AT&T/Apple sent out http://www.ilounge.com/index.p.....one-email/
that describes the compatibility with Outlook for contacts and email. Since most PDA’s sync with Outlook, it “should” be a matter of syncing the mobile device first, then the iPhone to get your contacts and email.
That may help you develop some additional questions when you get your chance, but I suspect that it’s gonna be one of those “hands on” learning curves, since it a whole new approach to a phone device.
I personally want to know if the Astraware catalog of games will be able to work on the iPhone, since they account for the majority of the games I play on my mobile devices.
June 17th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
“I personally want to know if the Astraware catalog of games will be able to work on the iPhone, since they account for the majority of the games I play on my mobile devices.”
Hopefully, unless they are under NDA, Alison might be able to weigh in with a response.