A Review of the Apple iPhone
By John MacWilliams, Bishop & Associates Inc.

 Apple Website

After a couple months of personal use, here are my impressions of the much-touted Apple iPhone:

• They just announced a $100 to $200 rebate for original customers—a class move.

• The phone’s industrial design is Applesque—slim, sleek, with a fantastic color display.

• It’s amazing how they got so much electronics into this small device.

• The phone size is 4.5” x 2.4” x .46”. At 4.8 ounces, it is “packed solid.”

• The display is 480 x 320, a 3.5” diagonal. It shows photos, images, and video clips very, very well.

• It has a touch screen, three switches (volume, on-off, and mute), audio jack, iPod connector, and a 2MP camera.

• The screen gets smudged from finger or facial oils, and needs to be cleaned regularly.

• A screen overlay, plus a neat rubber “bumper case,” can help protect the device.

• The iPhone scrolls or magnifies screen images with a pinch or flick of your fingers.

• An accelerometer automatically switches from portrait to landscape views when you rotate the phone. It also “scrolls” albums.

• Email access is a major convenience for road warriors—Mac, Yahoo, AOL, or Gmail compatible.

• I find email the best feature of the device, although large attachments can be unwieldy, and some email services don’t work well.

• I’m not sure how corporate firewalled-emailers would use this email feature.

• Users can view emails and get important communications via voice, email, or text messaging (SMS).

• There is an “airplane mode.” It switches “off” communications, but allows in-situ use.

• The device has unlimited data access ($20) in all ATT plans. Edge network can be slow.

• As a phone it is just OK, particularly in noisy environments or with hearing loss.

• The speaker function is semi-useless—a headset or the earpiece solves that challenge with iPod quality.

• Other features, Safari, search, YouTube, GPS mapping, iPod, Calendar, and 2MP camera, are good.

• Bluetooth and WiFi make the iPhone hands-free. WiFi is 13 times faster than AT&T’s Edge, but these features use battery juice.

• The battery discharge is about 24 hours. If you turn off WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. when you don’t need them, the battery life improves.

I didn’t have any trouble activating the phone. Some users did have problems. If you are near an Apple store, as I am, they are helpful and are conducting iPhone workshops to service the customer. I did find them a bit overwhelmed by the iPhone traffic—which is good for Apple.

The battery life, to me, seems a bit suboptimal, but the iPhone is really a small computer, and its large display does not come free. I find you should charge the phone once per day, and turn off the WiFi/Bluetooth functions when not in use. Since my car is set-up for Bluetooth, I forgot several times to turn it back on. I did have trouble activating the hands-free/Bluetooth feature with my car, but that was more my fault than the phone’s. AT&T’s service person went out into the parking lot and fixed it (by entering the access code). The other hands-free Bluetooth kits I have—SuperTooth and Motorola—were easily set up. (SuperTooth is a neat device that clips on your sun visor to give you hands-free service with most Bluetooth phones.)

The phone uses iTunes to sync with your computer (Mac or PC), e.g. email, contacts, schedule, etc. This feature also updates firmware, which has already had two upgrades. My only issue was with the on-screen slider that opens the phone: It stopped working. The guy at Apple played with it and got it working again—I think it was a software glitch.

My bottom line as a communications device:

• I’ve gotten used to the phone. It’s great with the hands-free car kit.

• Battery life is that of a PDA, but much better. But, not as good as a plain cell phone.

• If I were a music nut, I would probably walk off a cliff with this device.

• Being the silent type, I really like the email feature, but I will still use my desktop or notebook to study large emails and attachments. At least I know they are there with the iPhone.

• This device’s chief benefit is staying connected, while mobile, within ATT’s enhanced network.

• From an electronic packaging standpoint, it is packed solid with stacked boards, flexible circuitry, and quite a few subminiature connectors.

Connectorese
There are 23 to 28 connectors associated with an iPhone, depending on what accessories you buy. I was surprised by the number. One curious item: the battery is hard-wired and requires an Apple battery replacement ($79.95). I think they had to design it this way because the device is so sleek.

• Two I/O docking/charging connectors, Apple mini-jack

• Two computer docks: docking cradle + USB

• Three charging cables, 12 volt, 120 volt

• Sixteen internal B2B, SIM, main board, comm board, camera, display, other battery hard-wired

• Five additional hardware—Bluetooth headset and car kit, both with mini USB connectors

iPhone connectors include docking cradle, dock/USB cable assembly, power/USB adapter, iPod universal docking, iPod stereo headset, TTY adapter, Bluetooth headset, and Bluetooth dual dock. Third-party solutions include Bluetooth/mini-USB headsets and hands-free car kits. A “major” user could utilize as many as 10 auxillary connectors, in addition to those that came with the device.

There is liberal use of flex circuitry with FEC connectors. If the connector value is approximately $5, the iPhone market could be approximately $50 million next year, and $150 million by 2010. Apple reports that it sold one million iPhones in the first two months.

The following are some teardown photos from EDN and iFixit.com:

http://www.edn.com/article/CA6463808.html?industryid=47043&nid=2436&rid=1628371755 EDN magazine with teardown.com 

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/105/images_large/49.jpg iFixit.com iPhone Display Disassembled.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/105/images_large/42.jpg iFixit.com Comm and Logic Board.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/105/images_large/43.jpg iFixit.com Logic Board Mezzanine Connectors.

Apple iPhone Photos

John MacWilliams Principal Consultant and Analyst, Bishop & Associates Inc. John MacWiIliams has 45 years in the electronics industry, including AMP, TRW/IRC, Diceon, his own consultancy, and Bishop & Associates Inc. His broad experiences include all phases of sales and marketing, venture development, U.S. competitiveness programs, technology transfer, and, of course, his writings for ConnectorSupplier.com. He is also TWG chair of iNEMI’s Connector Roadmap 2000, 2004, and 2007, and recent technology program reviews for the government. MacWilliams studied engineering and business at Lehigh University, graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management.