Will the iPhone be launched in Ireland...

This week's launch of the iPhone (who owns the rights to this name?), raises a few questions for the market and poses a few more questions about its impact in Ireland.

• The screen is superb, and the high resolution is a real change for the mobile market. We always hated the way mobile phones had such poor quality screens, especially when operators would tinker with the icons for impose their own low-res designs.
  • It's good to see Apple highlight the phone aspect of the device. This might sound obvious, but the quality of voice calls on some mobiles is poor.
  • Runs a cut down version of OS X. Could third party applications be developed for the iPhone? This isn't possible right now, but maybe in the future... Imagine a mobile version of Skype on this phone, given its wi-fi capability.
  • The user interface is beautiful. In fact the widget-like interface seems more at home than in Mac OS X on a Mac. The widgets lend themselves to the iPhone in a way that doesn't work as well on a Mac screen.
  • The ability to switch between landscape and portrait views by turning the phone on its side is exceptional.
  • Thank goodness for good syncing. Having battled with syncing contacts ad calendars for the last few years (esp. with Blackberry phones), having a top class mobile with smooth syncing would be welcome.
  
  Items we're not sure about:
  • If there is wi-fi on the phone, will there be an iPhone version of iChat for instant messaging?
  • Why did Apple agree to "push" e-mail with Yahoo? Will this be available to .Mac members?
  • We'll have to wait and see about the typing aspect of the iPhone. Tapping on a surface rather than using keys may be good in principle, but not being able to feel the press of a key will put some off.
  • Will the camera on the back record video as well as take photos?
  • So who will take up the iPhone in Europe? We assume that this is decided at a European-wide level, and so the likes of O2 and Vodafone will be the likely carriers. However both companies have invested in a lot of marketing of the RIM Blackberry- will this have an impact, and will they be reluctant to welcome in Apple with its built-in music features?
  • Speaking of which, why no iTunes store on the iPhone? Buying and downloading music over wi-fi would be great. Maybe the absence of this feature is to not interfere with the mobile networks and their own music download services.
  • Will the iPhone be sold through Apple retailers (third party stores)? This will be an issue in Ireland as Apple has no retail stores.
  • Will we buy one? Of course we will. Just for the phone, contacts and calendar sync alone! However it might be the end of the year before we see this phone in Ireland, and we suspect that the iPhone model introduced on Tuesday will change in this time. 3G functions will probably have to be included for Europe. But lastly, Apple, please don't let the operators anywhere near the interface or design of the iPhone! In our experience loading these devices with logos and operator-only features simply destroys a good piece of technology.
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Simon Spence/2007