ProductCritic Has Most Extensive List Of iPhone Reviews

ProductCritic's Cell Phone Reviews now lists 18 reviews for the Apple iPhone. I think we have the most extensive list of reviews you will find anywhere.

Currently, the iPhone has a ProductCritic score of 87 which puts it tied for best rated phone on the site along with the Sony Ericsson K800i and the Sony Ericsson W810i.

This post brought to you by:

If you love cell phones and need a cell phone rental plan, sign online today. Our international cell phone rental is the perfect option for all of your international phonecall needs. Our cell phones have high convenience with low commitment. Find out why we're number one when it comes to satellite phone rental!

ProductCritic's Apple iPhone Review Roundup

We've just posted all the current Apple iPhone reviews up on our main consumer electronics review site. At this time, not surprisingly (given the hype surrounding the iPhone), it is the highest rated phone on ProductCritic (just barely edging out the Sony Ericsson K800i).

Most of the reviews are from the main stream press (like USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and CNET). Over the next few weeks, I'd expect the real in-depth reviews from the more tech-centric sites.

How To Buy A Cell Phone

If it's been awhile since you had a new cell phone and you're looking for a new one but are a little uncomfortable PC World has an introduction article about How To Buy A Cell Phone.

The "Big Picture" section of the article is the most helpful as it gives a good explanation of all this talk about 3G, GSM, CDMA and a host of other non-helpful acronyms.

By the way, remember that the iPhone, even though it's supposed to be the hottest thing is not 3G capable which means that the information transfer speeds to it (when you're browsing or if you want to watch streaming video) are slower than what the latest technology allows.

Great, I just blew it. I had stated I wouldn't talk about the iPhone again and only ten days later, I mention it. I guess it's hard to steer clear of the hottest talk amongst the geek (and even non-geek) crowd.

Last Thoughts About iPhone

OK, because everyone else had talked the iPhone to death and I'm getting sick of all the hype and speculation, this will be the last time I blog about the iPhone until it actually comes out and we aggregate the reviews on the main site. I'm only discussing this post because like I've stated in previous posts, it might be a good idea to doubt the hype you read from CES.

CNET's gadget blog, Crave, has an entry entitled "Thirteen reasons to doubt the iPhone hype". Here is a summary of the thirteen points:

1. No 3G compatibility
2. Does Wifi overcome lack of 3G?
3. What's under the hood?
4. Download from iTunes?
5. OSX and multitasking?
6. "iPhone" name?
7. Who's the phone for? Who can afford it?
8. Will the user have any freedom?
9. Extra costs?
10. Another iLock-in strategy?
11. Is the touch screen useful?
12. What's after early adopters?
13. Other factors involved in a cell phone purchase

I believe that there are definitely "hype" elements to all this iPhone talk. Specifically, I'll discuss a few of the points I find valid. My opinion is that the other points I don't discuss are a case of grasping at straws just to get "Thirteen doubts".

Numbers 1 and 2 are key doubts I have. Together with my main concern about the battery and battery life in my original iPhone post, I think this could be a deal-breaker for the iPhone and will prevent it from moving past early adopters. For a "next-gen" phone, it must have 3G if it's going to allow streaming of video! More importantly, 3G and Wifi both eat up the battery quickly. If this is really going to be a "next-gen" phone, you're going to need it to connect up via Wifi and have ability to get speeds to stream video...even if you don't want to stream video.

The other key issue for me is the cost of the phone (#'s 7 and 9). I fully expect regular cell phone manufacturers to continually lower their handset prices until they are essentially free (like the once sexy Motorola RAZR). Will Steve Jobs allow that of an Apple product? When launched, the handset will cost $600 in addition to the contract. I'm sure people will pay that but if it doesn't come down in price as quickly as other phones, I don't believe it will get the support of the next wave of buyers after the initial early adopters.

The final interesting point that Crave's blog entry notes is that point #3 notes the similarity between what's inside the iPhone and the Samsung Blackjack (which received a ProductCritic Score of 74). Still, given the other features, look, and overall sexiness of the iPhone, I'm not sure who really cares about what's inside the iPhone.