New Details on iPhone Screen and Battery - First Take

Michael Gartenberg | June 18, 2007, 08:35 AM

A few more details from Apple on the iPhone and they address two important issues, battery life and the touchscreen. Here's what it means.

First, battery life. When Apple first talked about the iPhone, one of the potential issues for me was the lack of a removable battery. There were two reasons for this. The first is Smartphone battery life is notoriously poor (some devices are simply not usable unless you immediately purchase and extended battery for them) and without the ability to swap out batteries, you could easily end up carrying a dead device  through most of your day. If Apple's claim of eight hours of talk time and six hours on Internet access via WiFi are correct, that pretty much will obviate the need for a replacement battery. (and in terms of battery life claims, other than with the 2nd generation, Apple has always under-promised and over-delivered on battery life).

The second reason is the fact that batteries wear out over time. While Apple hasn't announced a way for consumers to do this, it's likely they'll have some sort of program in place (much as they do with the iPod). Given today's news, it's likely that consumers will not be affected negatively by Apple's battery decisions for the iPhone.

The other news was related to the touch screen. Apple revealed that the iPhone will NOT use a plastic screen like the iPod but rather a mineral glass crystal. That's a huge difference that will greatly affect the usability as well as ease on wear and tear.

Both of these items are important as there's been a lot of speculation over the last few days about both of these features (mostly by folks who have never handled a device). It was a good move for Apple to get in front of them.