As I stated in my previous installment, the big (really big) element of the iPhone is the screen.  

The large screen signifies the triumph of software design over hardware.  Gone will be the days of just programming a couple of softkeys.  

The iPhone subjugates the traditional phone functions to software display.  This design methodology requires more memory, a fast processor and lots of pixels to light on that display.  These elements all equal power consumption!  When combined with music, video, wifi and the occasional phone call, the stated power reserves seem aggressive.    

Similar to Rocket scientists who debate the use of weight capacity on a launch vehicle, the engineers at Apple must have had long debates on the allocation of power reserves to the various functions.  

Prediction: If the iPhone cannot last at least 24 hours with normal use – it will fail.  Expect extra-capacity batteries to be part of the iPhone, very soon.

The exciting and long-anticipated:

 iPhone – the final episode

Coming next week

The best part of the iPhone will be the most controversial.  Where is the keyboard?  Other devices have tried the soft-keyboard approach.  For those of us old enough to remember, the first one of note was the Apple Newton.  

Same hype, same paradigm shift.  The Newton left a big crater when it crashed, one that created “shock and awe” throughout a generation of devices. 

Next came the Palm.  The first successful soft-keyboard device for data.  This worked because the keyboard was still present – it was your PC.  The Palm succeeds because it was a remote data representation of data normally stored on your PC. 

When the Palm morphed into a wireless device – The Treo – it got a keyboard.  Why?  Because it now was a generator of data – not just “read-only.”  The Treo sends and receives e-mail and text messages, and therefore needs a keyboard.  

Now we are back to the Iphone.  No keyboard, but packed with connectivity, GSM with GPRS and Wifi.  As a phone, its owners will have a need to text and send e-mail.  Will the soft keyboard work for them?  I have serious doubts in this regard.  For those of us with larger fingers, or for those who have trouble with a Treo-sized keyboard, the idea of using a touchscreen keyboard for texts and e-mails seems daunting.

Prediction:  The next generation of iPhone will have a real keyboard.

Some more on the iPhone in my next iPhone installment.