• Wired, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 11:15 AM

The first round of iPhone reviews are in, and they're very good. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Newsweek all like Apple's sleek new device, particularly the touch-screen. However, the biggest gripe, which again was almost unanimous, came down to AT&T's wireless network, described as "pokey" (meaning slow). That's right, 2G just doesn't cut it for something this cool, and hopefully the limitations AT&T's network imposes on the iPhone will be a call to reform in the larger wireless industry.

Wireless industry execs like Verizon's John Harrobin, senior vice president, marketing and digital media, contend that "user experience" and not price, is what sells phones. But the data shows consumers don't care about the network, they want cool new phones: Americans on average get a new one every two years or less. They expect a high quality network to be a given.

The real user experience question is all about the phone-which is precisely why Verizon and co. should be worried come Friday. Apple has a fine history with user experience. The iPhone should be "several generations ahead" of its competitors and "resist aging better than other phones," says Chris Hazleton, senior analyst for mobile devices at IDC. Mobile phones will have to get better as a result of Apple's entry. The question is: when will the networks?

Read the whole story at Wired »