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The iPhone will impact mobile journalism, news consumption

I broke down last weekend and bought an iPhone. I’ve been coveting it for months but I wanted to wait a few weeks after it went on sale to see if it could really live up to the hype. Since I couldn’t find any reviews that were seriously negative, and since Walt Mossberg gave it a thumbs up, I decide to take the plunge.

In a nutshell, it’s awesome.

And, despite its expense, it could potentially change the way mobile journalists operate. The Safari web browser absolutely rocks for everything from reading RSS feeds to general web browsing. It has its own version of tabbed browsing (which I love) and a slick interface for filling out forms on web pages and logging into web sites that require registration. That makes it easy to update a blog or send an email - perfect for filing bits of information quickly from wherever a reporter might happen to be.

When connected to a wifi network, the connection is about as fast as my laptop computer. When not connected to a wifi network, the Edge network connection that works on the cellular network is not as fast, but still fast enough.

The email synced nicely with my Gmail account. The video voicemail function allows you to scroll forward and back with a slide bar while playing your voice message, especially helpful for those fast talkers who blow through their phone number when leaving you a message. The screen is sparkling for display of everything from web pages, to photos and video, and readable even in direct sunlight. The battery life is solid – yesterday, after using it all day, I still had 75% remaining.

But the most amazing part is the overall user interface. It’s like nothing I’ve ever used, but it works seamlessly and is extremely intuitive. (My 6-year-old son has already mastered the parts of it I’ve let him play with.) What would be a lengthy scroll through dozens of songs or contacts becomes a moment of joy as you swipe your finger downward and watch the list roll like a slot machine.

I wish it would shoot video. I wish it would allow for document saving and transfer. And I wish it would allow for copy and paste of text, although that’s practically unnecessary because the interface makes most information clickable.

The current version’s emphasis on the iPod functionality doesn’t help a journalist. And news organizations aren’t likely to pay the extra dough for that feature, but the rest of it is incredible useful.

The iPhone changes the way you think about consuming information, too. So even if news organizations never buy the device for reporters to use to create information, they should be aware of what it can do for their audience.

Posted by MarkBriggs on Sunday, July 29, 2007
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