This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The iPhone, which goes on sale Friday, is designed to make communicating easier, but Apple has been tight-lipped about what the new device can do. But anyone who is expected to fork over $600 for a new cell phone deserves to know what the new electronics marvel can do. According to Apple, the computer giant that also introduced the iPod, its cell phone/iPod hybrid will do things other cell phones can't. That may be true. But there are things it won't be able to do initially that other smart phones can. We scoured sources near and far to bring you the latest information about the newest eye candy from the Cupertino, Calif.-based House of Steve Jobs. Some of it is from Apple; some stems from well-placed rumors from the Apple community. But this is all the information we could glean about what makes the iPhone tick so buyers can make a more educated decision before plunking down their hard-earned cash.

The Nuts and Bolts

* Price: $599 for 8GB model, $499 for 4GB.

* Cellular type: GSM Quad band.

* Size: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches, with 3.5-inch screen; weight, 4.8 ounces.

* Battery Life: Talk time up to 8 hours; standby up to 250 hours; video playback up to 7 hours; audio playback up to 24 hours; Web browsing up to 6 hours. Battery is not removable. Unit must be mailed to Apple for battery replacement.

* Carrier: Cingular/AT&T only.

* Where it will be sold: Apple Store at the Gateway; online at apple.com; and at all corporate owned AT&T stores (nine in Utah, including six in Salt Lake County).

* On Sale: Beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

* Preorders: None will be taken - first-come, first-served (expect lines).

* Requires: Registration with iTunes.

* Plans: New AT&T cell phone plans for iPhone to be announced Friday.

What It Can Do

* New touchscreen technology for dialing and navigation - you can scroll through songs with your finger. Full QWERTY touchscreen keyboard uses predictive technology to correct or prevent typing errors.

* Plays video and music purchased from iTunes Music Store. Also displays photos.

* Surfs the Internet with full - not mini - Safari Web browser.

* Full functioning cell phone with conference calling, vibrate mode, calendar program, speaker phone, SMS text messaging, dialing by name or number and ring tones.

* Built-in 2 mega-pixel camera.

* Visual Voice mail which allows you to pick voice mails in the order you want to hear them.

* Has full HTML e-mail that displays pictures and graphics. Also can read Word, Excel and PDF attachments.

* Displays Google maps, including satellite photos and traffic information.

* Widgets for stocks and weather will be included in the phone.

* Wi-Fi capable. Also uses AT&T's EDGE data network and is Bluetooth compatible.

* Built-in sensors shut off the display when it is near your ear and turns video to widescreen mode when you tilt the phone on its side.

What It Can't Do

* Will not work with any cellular carrier other than Cingular/AT&T.

* Does not come with games, though developers like Electronic Arts are producing titles for it.

* No built-in GPS unit.

* No built-in hard drive. Stores up to 8 GB of content in flash memory.

* Only streams Quicktime-based video and audio. Will only play selected YouTube content on its browser.

* Does not shoot video with its built-in camera.

* Does not support full third-party software. Will only run web-based applications from other developers.

* Does not support Flash-based video or animation in the Web browser.

* Does not have a separate memory card slot.

* Not a true smartphone because it doesn't support productivity software like a word processor.

* Cannot download songs or videos wirelessly from iTunes.

* Cannot download new ring tones.

* No window wiper for the fingerprints that will amass on the touchscreen.

See it to believe it

* For more info on the iPhone, including video demonstrations, go to http://www.apple.com

Is it worth it?

* Find out Vince Horiuchi's take on why it could be best to wait to jump on the iPhone bandwagon in his column on page E2.