We thought you need a bit of humour, so here is the Sunday Business Post’s review of the iPhone from 2007, just as it was about to be launched in Europe. We particularly like the references to “inevitable” scratches to the glass, the view that the iPhone will be “largely ignored” and that apparently Nokia and Sony-Ericsson will wipe the iPhone when it comes to music! Enjoy!



Reality Bytes: iPhone’s chances are doubtful in Europe
Sunday, June 24, 2007 - By Adrian Weckler

Later this week, Apple will release the year’s most-hyped gadget, the iPhone.
It could prove reasonably popular in the US, a low-tech cellular backwater where people still pull aerials out of their ‘cellphones’ and have to pay to accept calls.
In more modern Europe, the iPhone will be largely ignored.
There are several reasons for this. First, texting on the iPhone will be very difficult; it has no buttons and will have a Qwerty keyboard touchscreen layout, so thumbs cannot be used.
Secondly, there’s the touchscreen format itself. Despite its announcement that this will be glass and not plastic, irritating smudges and scratches are inevitable.
Then there’s the iPhone’s technology - or lack of it. Incredibly, the gadget has been made as a low-tech slow-band GPRS unit.
So browsing the internet on it - which is what it is trumpeting as a key feature - will take ages. Activities such as watching YouTube will prove juddery and stopstart. Then there is its music facility.
From what we know, there is no possibility of downloading music on it.
Instead, it will need to be connected to a computer anytime one wants to get music on or off it.
This is miles behind current technology and will certainly not appeal to the likes of Vodafone, O2 or 3, for whom revenue from music downloads is becoming crucial to their business models.
Ironically, in Ireland this could leave the iPhone’s success in the hands of Meteor, the only non-3G network which doesn’t have a big business in downloading music.
But a €600 phone on Meteor? The network of cheap calls, free texts and pre-paid customers?
That is a strange proposition.
It seems likely that a core of Apple fans will rush to buy the iPhone when it launches in Europe, whenever that is .
But this is a small number of people. With a hatful of powerful new music phones due out later this year from Sony Ericsson and Nokia - which can download music from revenue-thirsty operators - the iPhone’s chances in Europe look very weak, to say the least.

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Tags: Sunday Business Post