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| Product: iPhone 2.0 |
Company: InfoGear |
| Web: www.infogear.com |
Phone: 650-568-2900 |
| Platform: Your kitchen table |
SRP: US$$299-$399
Street Price: same |
Cred Rating: | Special Award: |
The first version of InfoGear's iPhone offered a glimpse of the future where ubiquitous Internet appliances fight for dominance over the desktop PC. The latest version of the iPhone, brings this future a step closer.
The iPhone is designed as a telephone/Net appliance combo that can fit seamlessly into the fabric of your life. Set up in a kitchen, family room or other central location, the iPhone allows access to email accounts (up to four) and Web browsing. Specialized portals, tailored to your zip code, provide local weather, sports, movie listings, news, food delivery, etc.
The first version of the phone, while already very usable technology, had some significant hardware and software problems. The new phone addresses many of the biggies, with a larger laptop-sized keyboard, a tilt screen, a full-duplex speaker phone, a 56K modem and a few minor software improvements.
The product still has some growing up to do. There's no forward button on the browser, no "find" function, no means of emailing Web pages, no cut and paste, the sound quality of the speakerphone is rather cheesy. The good news is, many of these changes, as they are addressed by InfoGear, can all be downloaded into your machine. For instance, the new iPhone has digital answering machine capabilities. As soon as the bugs are worked out, the software to enable this will be automatically downloaded into your machine.
A serial port on the back of the device is standing by, waiting to receive such future peripherals as a credit card reader. When that ships, gopod help us all.
- Gareth Branwyn [6/23/99]
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