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The iPhone has to be one of the most marketed high tech devices to ever hit the shelves in this country. The release of Halo 3 from Microsoft late last year had come close to encompassing the same buzz that the iPhone had when it hit the market. But the marketing campaign for that title pales in comparison to the iPhone.

If you believe the hype of the advertising, the iPhone is the all encompassing gadget that no one could possibly live without nor would consumers want to. The device is so many things, from a cellphone to a media player. You can browse the web, use the map feature to find a location or check your e-mail on the run. In the information age we're in, this is the perfect device to run our busy daily lives.

For the sake of discussion, let's focus our energy on the phone feature and compare how it stacks up to other higher end devices. The iPhone has external speakers as do most of the higher end smart phones. While the speakers on the phone are adequate, one would assume that since it is an Apple product, the phone would be compatible with the iPod docking station. I thought I would be able to play the music from my iPhone through the external speakers on the iPod docking station. It's not going to happen. This compatibility issue with the docking station is beyond comprehension. How could they overlook this issue?

Moving on to keyboard functionality I quickly realized that I had a much tougher time with keystrokes than I thought I would. The screen on the iphone is huge, yet typing speed on the keyboard is moderate. I know, all you teens out there may not agree with me on this one, since you can text at the speed of sound, but I am not that good. So I would have to rate the keyboard as average, only because it has the potential to be much better.

As far as call quality is concerned, I thought the iPhone would be much better, especially with the AT&T contract. The quality of sound is just not there compared to the Blackberry Curve or even the Pearl. I believe it is more of a phone problem and not an AT&T problem. The volume does not adjust high enough and there is just too much static and buzz for the signal to be considered crisp and clear. I was once again disappointed by the iPhone on the basis of being just a phone.

Overall, I think the iPhone fails to meet the expectation and hype of being a great smart phone. Of course, with the amount of hype surrounding the phone, I don't see how it ever could meet that expectation. With that said, the iPhone is the best media player on the planet with plenty of phone memory and browsing capabilities. However. if you are looking for just a smart-phone, there are much better ones on the market than the iPhone.

Learn more about this author, Jay Halseth.
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