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Walt Mossberg Reviews the iPhone
WSJdpatton writes "Walt Mossberg tested the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the US. His verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is on balance a beautiful and breakthrough hand-held computer. Its software especially sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though the lack of physical buttons can be a hindrance." Digital Daily has a roundup of early iPhone reviews.
David Pogue, New York Times
- "so sleek and thin, it makes Treos and BlackBerrys look obese."
- After walking around with the iPhone unprotected for 2 weeks, no marks on it. Glass smudges are easily wiped off.
- 700 megabytes is occupied by the phone's software
- Making calls can be a 6 step process if phone is off.
- Web, Email is superior
- Battery Life Test: 5 hours video, 23 hours audio. Note: did not turn off Wi-Fi and other features as Apple suggests.
- Typing was OK. Difficult at first, but learned to "trust" the keyboard. "The BlackBerry won't be going away anytime soon."
- Cites AT&T network as iPhone's biggest downfall. Cites Consumer Reports survey which ranks AT&T network as last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major US cities.
- AT&T's EDGE cellular network: "excruciatingly slow"
- Slideshow of photos taken with iPhone
- Video Review
Steven Levy, Newsweek
- bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap
- The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.
- e-mail looks more like you're working on a computer than a clunky phone
- YouTube videos work great on Wi-Fi, but can display in a lower quality when you're not at a hotspot and are using AT&T's EDGE network
- unless I did a lot of video watching or Web browsing, [the battery] could generally last the day
- I've been jamming it in my pocket with keyrings, coins and pens, and so far it's nearly as good as new.
Edward Baig, USA Today
- Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype
- The revelation is that it's also comfortable to hold and touch.
- I expected to miss the tactile feel that a physical keyboard provides. I didn't.
- You can hold a conference call with up to five people.
- No voice recognition or voice dialing
- halfway decent internal speakers for listening if you set the thing down
- iPod games are not compatible with iPhone
- our company tech department raised questions about the security settings Apple required with our Microsoft Exchange servers.
- Battery life didn't prove to be a big problem in my unscientific tests
Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal (the submitted article's highlights):
- Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
- largest, highest resolution screen of any smart phone they've seen, most internal memory
- Impressive battery life and thin
- Feels solid
- Regarding the touch keyboard: "After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years."
- Can't use T-Mobile SIM cards
- Wi-Fi capability doesn't fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data capability
- Multitouch: "effective, practical and fun"
- No way to copy/paste text
- Microsoft's Exchange system support
- Voice call quality was good, but not great
- Can't record video
- No Adobe Flash support
- Songs can't be set as ringtones
- Apple says it plans to add fea
Could we take a break from the Iphone for a bit? At least from the front page?
I'm as big an Apple Fanboy as any, but the daily iPhone woodies from the editors is even making ME puke. Please guys, lay off the Kool-Aide!
All pass beyond reach of medicine. None pass beyond the reach of love.
With iPhone, making a call is as simple as touching a name or number. In addition, you can easily construct a favorites list for your most frequently made calls www.iphone-converter.org
Seriously, did anyone expect Mossberg to write anything else? He's been cheering Apple since before I can remember. I think he has the logo tatoo'd on his keaster!
This is my sig.
This is a serious question. I know my face tends to be a bit on the oily side and the littlest bit of grime on my fingers will leave a nice blotch on the screen.. I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else mention this for the iphone. It's also a major PITA when I let people borrow my phone, then I have to wipe their face sludge off my phone. the Iphone looks like one giant magnet for grime.
But when I get my hands on that sweet, sweet iPhone, I'm going to literally cry with joy. Lately, I have been unable to sleep. All I can think of is holding it and putting it in my pocket. Truly, Wednesday is going to be the best day of my life. The only problem is I have to find some friends to call on it. It is odd that none of the reviews mentioned how well the device performs in basements, as that is my primary dwelling place.
So, it seems as though those people who have actually *used* it seem to *like* it. Unlike the majority of stories, posts, blogs, etc. etc. we've seen recently.
I've lost track of just how many uninformed iPhone-hater pieces I've seen over the last week. Of course, most of that is just blog-spam, and to get more clicks, you just say something controversial... As always, follow the money - then you can make a more-informed decision as to whether the opinion being espoused is worth anything.
Oh, and always ignore anything Dvorak or Enderle say...
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
Doesn't quite seem to match...
"After walking around with the iPhone unprotected for 2 weeks, no marks on it. Glass smudges are easily wiped off."
"I've been jamming it in my pocket with keyrings, coins and pens, and so far it's nearly as good as new."
"I expected to miss the tactile feel that a physical keyboard provides. I didn't."
"Typing was OK. Difficult at first, but learned to "trust" the keyboard."
"After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years."
"bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap"
"The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge."
"Multitouch: 'effective, practical and fun'"
"Feels solid"
"Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype"
"The revelation is that it's also comfortable to hold and touch."
"Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer."
Seems like SIM cannot be changed. Now what is the use of terminating cingular contract? Just end up carrying a 600$ music player that cannot make phone calls? From the article - "But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It only works with AT&T (formerly Cingular), won't come in models that use Verizon or Sprint and can't use the digital cards (called SIM cards) that would allow it to run on T-Mobile's network. So, the phone can be a poor choice unless you are in areas where AT&T's coverage is good. It does work overseas, but only via an AT&T roaming plan."
Robert Beltran, Voyager Press:
- Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
- largest, highest resolution screen of any smart phone they've seen, most internal memory
- Impressive battery life and thin
- Feels solid
- Regarding the touch keyboard: "After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years."
- Can't use T-Mobile SIM cards
- Wi-Fi capability doesn't fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data capability
- Multitouch: "effective, practical and fun"
- No way to copy/paste text
- Microsoft's Exchange system support
- Voice call quality was good, but not great
- Can't record video
- No Adobe Flash support
- Songs can't be set as ringtones
- Apple says it plans to add fea
I have to agree with you that scratches and the lack of a tactile feedback is reason alone for me not to want it. I text a lot and I know a lot of my generation, I'm only 21 by the way, does as well. I have a feeling texting is going to be cumbersome with this phone.
I know some company designed a haptic feedback system for touch screens that makes you think you are actually pushing a button. I wonder why Apple didn't include that in this device.
More of the same. The more I hear about the iPhone, the more I realize it's completely useless for my purposes. No real expandability, no real messaging applications, no real improvement from even phones such as the sidekick. Add a lack of ability to serve as a data modem and being tied to a crappy provider, and I would have to say no thanks.
Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses
Where?
The Apple iPhone will likely work far better in Europe, where 3G cellular coverage with higher-speed data transfer dramatically improves the usefulness of the device. Here in the USA, the iPhone's functionality will work if you're near a WiFi hotspot, which makes accessing the Internet reasonably tolerable.
I'm hoping future version of the iPhone will include support for the Verizon and Sprint networks with its vastly faster EVDO wireless data network.
Look at what Apple's been releasing, and you can see why he reviews them well. I don't care if you don't like the company, their products have been outstanding over the last couple of years -
As far as I can see, he's called all those pretty well.
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
On the positive side, at least there will be only one person touching it unlike ATMs with touch screens.
Lots of us use touch screen interfaces every day without shedding tears. Why would this be different?
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
While Apple may have gotten things mostly right, they'll refine things and any problems will be well documented by the time the second gen rolls around.
While my old flip phone may not be super sexy, it will work until Apple gets all the bugs hammered out. Maybe by Christmas or this time next year I'll have one, but until then.
"The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
Woah! I learned to program on an Apple II! I like Apple and cheer the resurgence Jobs has brought to them. I think he's done a fantastic job with their products and I wish them continued success. When I say what I wrote about Mossberg, tis true, he is an Apple fanboy, but, hey, that ENDEARS him to me. It's not like there are not a lot of writers that are Windows shills.
This is my sig.
I've gotta say, it looks nice. I'd love one. I don't care enough to switch yet, but it looks REALLY nice. I'm glad to hear that Apple did pretty well with it (as I'd hope).
That said, everyone keeps saying it lacks GPS (which is unfortunate). But I thought that part of the e911 rules that went into effect a few years ago was that all phones had to have a GPS receiver to tell the operator where the caller was. Is the location only from automatic signal strength triangulation? If they have GPS for e911, why don't more phones make it available to the user (if I'm wrong about the GPS being there, the answer to that one is obvious).
Can't wait to play with one some day though. And I really can't wait to see how other phone makers and carriers respond.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
If you actually read the reviews I think you will find everyone adapted to the text messaging readily.
Why is the parent modded insightful?
Like your ear and face are any less greasy. Take out your cell right now and tell me it doesn't have ear crud on it or a face print. Do it! Now wipe your finger across it and tell me it got WORSE. Morons.
Friday June 29.
even worse: no native IM app (you can probably do it through a website, though) and all the service plans are limited to 200 text messages per month (before extra fees kick in).
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
200 is a baseline number for all the plans; more (up to unlimited) can be added as desired (for extra $$$).
The iIt !!!
You know its coming, as sure as pet rocks were a hit in the seventies. I wish I had someone to invest, I know the iIt will sell. It has an "i" in front of it, it must be good! Everyone just has to have one! You can't live without iIt!
This product seems exciting for three reasons:
- Unique user interface (no styluses or thumb keyboards)
- Mobile computing that fits in your pocket
- WiFi and mobile networks enabled
Now, the rest of the industry will respond with cloned technology and drive the $499 entry point price down to what we all can afford. How can it be more perfect?
-Stryemer
We are the music makers,
and we are the dreamers of the dream.
I'm waiting for the brick-sized, brown MS Phune.
There are a lot of phones that even have GPS at the hardware level, but it is disabled.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Generally those touch screens aren't made of apple's signature uber-shiny plastic, that attracts dirt, oil and scratches like no other. Despite taking very good care of my iPod nano, only a year after I purchased it the screen is extremely difficult to read without the backlight on.
My Verizon phone does aGPS for E911, and Verizon actually does let you access it... if you bend over for them just more, which I don't, though I did do the free trial and let it expire, so I know it can work.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
But really, I can't see why not having Flash availabe is much of a drawback. I see it primarily as adware, which is why I have it blocked by default. I suppose it would be nice if one wanted to idle some time away watching YouTube videos, but at $500+? I can't imagine.
I don't have an opinion on Apple or the iPhone, but I prefer that software innovations come before hardware because they produce less landfill. I had to laugh when I saw how the iPhone's "innovative" interface resembles what Opera, the browser uses for its startup screen as of version 9.22 -- a tactile, tiled favorites menu. In ten years, the iPhones will all be in landfills and Opera will be on version 18, without having contributed any landfill. Can we please stop the waste insanity? My grandchildren will have to survive on this planet and they'd like to have some open, unpolluted spaces.
DEATH METAL AND BLACK METAL are the last hope of Western Civilization.
The lack of g3 compatability seems to be a big hindrance to a phone that prides itself as not giving you "not the mobile internet, but the real internet". gprs is what, 56k speeds minus the 300ms pings?
I've unlocked my treo 750 phone to take full advantage of cingular's 386kbit/s g3 and occasionally get a speed of around 800kbps download.
While i suppose that the iphone was designed to color co-ordinate with a starbucks cup as you sit and browse the interweb in the coffee shop hotspot, i'll be using my treo with a clunky interface to access the mobile internet (i.e. the list of simple websites designed for gprs and below and the one that i would set the 60.0kbit/s iphone to download if i was away from a hotspot.)
Once again, apple resorts to its age old design technique: stunningly beautifuly, brilliantly intuitive, but about as useful as a 6 year old pc for what 90% of people do 90% of the time.
Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
From all I've gleaned from being at WWDC, reading the reviews, and sorting through the punditry, the most common negative themes seem to be these:
-The AT&T EDGE network sucks
-The iPhone ignores some key smartphone features (vid capture, SMS/MMS, etc.)
-The price
-No Flash support for browser
-No SDK for third-party developers (boo/hiss!)
Some of the surprises were:
-The battery life is close to the advertised numbers (well, more than expected anyways)
-The virtual keypad is actually useable but it takes a little getting used to "using the Force"
-The multi-touch thing works as advertised
-the Safari web browser lives up to the hype
-The WiFi is actually pretty good
-The iPod part kicks ass (except if you want to use it with 3rd party headphones or in your car's iPod dock)
My own opinion as a "Mac Professional" and Smartphone addict:
-If you want one, wait for rev 2--as you should with all Apple products
-If you don't want an iPhone but like some of the technology, your preferred phone will be getting updates, too
-It will be nice to merge two more devices that go with me everywhere--my smartphone and my iPod.
-The price is a bit high, but I think the market will bear it for now and the price will go down by Q4
-The missing features people are bitching about will come--some of them anyways
-An SDK will appear after Leopard is launched
-The entire market will benefit by the iPhone--and the tech will get cheaper
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
Using firefox 2.0.0.4, whenever I follow the article link it crashes, same with workmate sitting next to me.
Anyone else seeing this?
The iPhone screen is made of glass not plastic
The iphone has a glass front which should make it far more scratch resistant than a regular plastic touch screen.
The haptic touch screens need extra mechanics (weight, battery power,cost...). Like everything in engineering you need to make trade offs. The iphone touch screen is different from a regular touch screen. It has to be to support multi-touch. This difference should make it far better than a regular touch screen and easier to use.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I don't expect to have this dirty-finger problem.
You see, I live in Minnesota, so I wear gloves 10 months out of the year!
(On a serious note, can you use these things with gloves on? Inquiring minds want to know.)
I certainly don't use a touch screen to make phone calls, though I've seen people's phones that have been used heavily for such. Nor do I use a touch screen for instant messaging. I use a stylus when I use a touch screen. It essentially eliminates grease on the screen, though it is far more annoying than being able to push some buttons.
Also, if I were blind, it would also be rather tricky to find those touchscreen buttons by feel. When you're lining up your fingers on the keypad, you'd just have to get lucky. With actual buttons, you can find them by touch. This also is applied to using the handheld in certain situations, such as driving (and yes, it's horribly wrong to use your handheld while driving, but that bit of wisdom certainly doesn't seem to stop 80% of smartphone users out there).
There's a lot more I can get into as well. There have been many times where customers of mine have literally demanded that their target users do NOT use the touch screen for many different reasons.
Just a bit from someone who has developed software and systems around handhelds for several years now and has to use them heavily on a regular basis. One other thing, the iPhone is a device that is almost entirely marketed towards a large segment of the Slashdot crowd. It does far more than the average person really cares about, isn't really focused at text messaging and email the way Treos and Blackberries are, and is a pain to deal with in regards to actually getting them and getting service for them. Just because you really love Apple's products, doesn't mean you're the most unbiased source of an opinion about smartphones.
The iPhone compensates by being one of the few smart phones that can also use Wi-Fi wireless networks. When you have access to Wi-Fi, the iPhone flies on the Web. Not only that, but the iPhone automatically switches from EDGE to known Wi-Fi networks when it finds them, and pops up a list of new Wi-Fi networks it encounters as you move.
So you can just set it to "linksys" and you won't even need EDGE.
So are all the daily iPhone stories on /. just to rub it in with regard to the original /. comments on the iPod?
"Not just macs. I usually avoid most 1st gen electronic products. But that's just me. I'm risk adverse. That's why I'm still in this basement."
Apparently no one avoided the first generation slashdot.
I just don't have the disposable income to be a Apple product tester. I do want a device that allows me to combine all the little device in my pocket to one little device. Also, iPhone would also allow me to leave my laptop at home more often. I sure hope it survives a couple of generations till I can afford to buy one.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
Having watched Mr. Mossberg's video and read his article, I can't help but think of the recent speedy development of Moonlight and how this speed of development doesn't seem to happen on phones. In the US, I fear the phone companies have held too much power over the phones and features we use.
Despite it's Visual Voicemail, media, and enhanced web browsing capabilities, I won't have an iPhone for the foreseeable future as I don't do AT&T. I do hope, however, that the iPhone's new hotness casts a dark shadow on other phone makers who have neither the manpower or focus to develop such features themselves. So, listen you laggard phone makers, you. Build a linux-based CDMA*/GSM phone with a palm-style keyboard and let the community develop some free software for you.
A CDMA-capable Linux phone is something for which I might pay $500. Especially if I could dock it to my monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Oh yeah, Beryl and Synaptic might be nice too.
* I mention CDMA because Trolltech's Greenphone got me a little excited until I learned that it only does GSM so it won't work with my provider.
No. It uses capacitance. You'll need really thin gloves or special gloves with electronics embedded in them.
Yes, CmdrTaco, they are.
I started working on a "Mac" when it was called a Lisa. I subsequently owned many (actual) Macs and wrote software for the OS professionally (6.x, 7.x, 8.x). Okay, I'm now a Windows user (got tired of the fight...and frankly, XP is just fine)...so I am not a basher...nor am I a fan boy.
:-) ...and I do...all the time. Games, JVMs, new browsers, whatever I want...from thousands of freeware and commercial titles.
Me? I'm not buying it. Sure, the external looks are great...sexy even...as are the visual bells and whistles in the UI...but features? They just are not there for me. Not even close.
Visual voice mail is neat. I'm sure the iPod also has some other exclusive neat tricks in there...but I have a year-old Treo that does what the iPhone does and more...for $200. Start with the overlap:
- Email
- Web browser
- MP3 player
- Phone
- Addresses
- Videos
- Camera
- Google maps with integrated calling
- SMS
- MS Office compatibility (iPod?)
and a range of other similar functions. Don't bother critiquing the individual Treo apps, because unlike the iPod, I can replace them with other apps. For example, the new version of Opera Mini provides the same means to view an entire web page and zoom in. There are dozens of replacement apps for any one of the above functions.
Now let's look at some core features of the Treo that the iPod lacks:
- Multiple carriers
- High-speed 3G network
- SD card slot...for essentially infinite on-the-go storage for MP3s et al.
- Numerous hard buttons to immediately get to the phone, MP3 player, or another app...and they are all programmable
- Can record video
- Has a GLOBAL find function
- CUT & PASTE (between apps)
- IM
- Tactile sensation on keyboard for typing...or for dialing
and perhaps the most important feature:
I CAN ADD APPLICATIONS TO IT
Yes, Walt claims that he finds the onscreen keyboard to be acceptable...but any Treo user can dial on the screen or on the keypad...and almost everyone I know dials on the keypad when they aren't selecting an existing contact. The actual keyboard and 5-way nav key allow you to use the phone when you aren't staring right at the screen. Yes, we shouldn't dial while we are driving, but we do, and you can do it without looking while using a Treo.
Hey, the iPod raises the bar...by a large amount...and the screen is 50% larger than that of a Palm-based Treo (320x480 instead of 320x320)...but a $600 phone that is not expandable and is only offered by one carrier with a two-year lock-in? One to which you cannot add software (outside of...ahem...AJAX-based apps)? How about one that claims to be a smart phone killer yet lacks basic features like cut & paste and global find? Yes, it has wifi. Great. So do many phones.
No, this is a beauty competition. I applaud apple for getting into the market and raising the bar, but I just cannot see how someone thinks this unit is worth the expense compared to other competing devices. I suppose techno lust is powerful...and form often wins out over function. Me? I'll wait a year or two and see what the next versions can do...and how the competition responds.
Your mileage may vary.
$0.02
"I'm not surprised people like it, actually I'd be more surprised if people didn't like it."
Actually, to me that's the hallmark of successful design: Invoke passion. Make something that some people love and that some people hate and you'll have a market.
Too many companies design by committee and focus groups to the point where the end result is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. Others seemingly design by comparison chart, cramming in feature after feature, and often for no more reason than to fill in the blanks.
The later approach also seems to be favored by commentators here on Slashdot. But by walking a mental checklist of missing features, they also miss what it does do. And by all accounts, does to the point of elegance.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
I don't own any Apple products, but I've been using touchscreen devices since I bought a Palm Pilot 1000 back in '96. I've owned several smartphones with various OSs on them and have a Windows based touchscreen smartphone now.
I'll cheerfully say every smartphone I've owned has been an annoying piece of crap, mitigated only by being better than having to carry both a PDA and a phone. I'll reserve judgement on the iPhone's annoyance level until I've used one, but I can confidently assert that smeary marks on a touchscreen pales into insignificance compared to many other moronic design decisions foisted on buyers.
Even if I never own an iPhone, I'm very pleased to see Apple competing in the market. Hopefully they'll raise the bar for all smartphones.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Here.
Things that surprised me were:
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
So, how long until the glass touchscreen stops responding to input? Won't the atom thin coating get nicked and break the circuits? Or is it better than that?
Most of the stuff on
On a serious note, can you use these things with gloves on?
Only special gloves like the Tävo PlayPoint.
I don't want the oil on my ear to smudge onto the screen.
I don't want to have to fumble to answer a call.
I want to be able to push buttons by feel and memory of said feel.
I'll keep my flip phone thank you. That being said, this thing is neat for every other function, just not as a phone.
The Newsweek reviewer is having trouble typing.
Maybe it's because he's using his thumbs? (As he says in his review.)
Geez, talk about missing the point.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Which would you rather have? Personally I'd side with EVDO. It looks like almost all reviews are calling the iPhone a step forward, but besides subjective cool-looking-ness, and hype, nothing about it is a single step forward (i.e. not done before, but correct me if I'm wrong). However its data network is a step back from the cutting edge, and to me thats the most important part of a gadget phone.
That being said it does look like a lot of the things that it does, which have all been done before, seem to be done well, perhaps better than before (which yes I guess that is something never done before, or a step forward at least). Still if it had EVDO, it could be the best phone available today, if it had something better then it could be close to its hype.
Why can't the iphone stories stop. I barely cared before but jesus tapdancing christ i'm sick of it.
Mod me down for all of it, how much press does a single friggan appliance need.
Ice Cream has no bones.
No, I don't want an iPhone: I think it's underpowered and overpriced. But the release of the iPhone will hopefully cause other manufacturers to make thinner phones with nicer screens and better user interfaces.
It's the defining characteristic of the iPod, and Apple says the iPhone is "our best iPod yet." So where did that clickwheel go? Good column on this here
Even worse than that, no MMS.
Depending on context and/or kanji, "Phune" or "fun" (rhymes with 'tune') can be translated as "excrement" or "animal droppings". Yeah, sounds about right.
More of the same. The more I hear about the iPhone, the more I realize it's completely useless for my purposes
Yes everyone, listen to him! It is useless.
I hate standing in long lines.
You may awaken Saturday with your urges resumed.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Once again, apple resorts to its age old design technique: stunningly beautifuly, brilliantly intuitive, but about as useful as a 6 year old pc for what 90% of people do 90% of the time.
How much of your life are you really not around WiFi? I have WiFi at work, and at home - where I'd say 90% of my time is spent (perhaps a little less with vacation, but that's evened out by airports).
Meanwhile, the very large metro area I live in (Denver) does not even offer 3G anywhere. So it would be an utterly useless feature to me. But from past expereince with EDGE while on road trips, it really does have good reach - I was able to send emails from a campground on the egde of Nevada!
So 90% of the time, iphone users will be surfing or emailing at speeds that 3G users can only dream of.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
LOL. Who'd've thunk it actually had a meaning... ...back on topic, somewhat, I notice this article, about an 80GB iPhone... :
o ne/ :D
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/06/26/80gb-iph
Max.
I mean sell the phone at the apple stores with out any service whatsoever, like you can with Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, etc, phones.
The iPhone's feature set isn't compatible with all the carriers. The iPhone is laying down a new standard that ATT / Cingular has adopted in order to be the exclusive carrier during the rollout. If the phone sells huge numbers, the other carriers will modify their infrastructure to support the new standard.
What is this new standard? Random-access voicemail. I don't have the money to buy this phone this week, but the new voicemail scheme ALONE is compelling enough for me to buy it if I had the cash. I absolutely hate navigating audio menus burning up my minutes trying to get to the 14th message out of 20. Being able to click on ten messages and delete them without dialing up is hugely attractive to me.
Making the phone compatible with every other carrier as you've suggested would have meant dumping this feature. It would have been too difficult to get all the telcos to change their VM systems to support this feature for an unproven single model of phone.
Reminds me of when the iMac came out and it ONLY supported USB. No serial ports. There were no scanners or printers available for it when it went on sale. Lots of pundits predicted failure for the colorful machine. Then it sold massive units and every peripheral vendor quickly ramped up production of USB devices to be compatible with the #1 selling computer model. Apple forced innovation onto the market in an area that had languished through adherence to legacy technology like serial and parallel.
Apple does have balls to 'do something different,' as you recommend. That's why the phone is only available through one service provider.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
This product is just one in a long series, in a trend to completely overlook the needs of blind users. I have been in the market for MP3 players which could be used by blind people, and the general trend is, the newer the device, the less the chances it can be used. The iPhone continues this trend, and I fear the day when other manufacturers pick up on the novelty.
Just a little addition to my rant: I noticed that even simple changes to the firmware, that would make the interface more suited for blind people, like returning to the initial state of the menus, if no interaction for a minute (or such), is being dropped in newer models, even thought it costs nothing to implement. It's almost as if manufacturers have a requirement to make their electronic gadgets less usable by the blind.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
From the article:So basically it's at least as annoying as using T9 for me, where I constantly have to keep changing between the Finnish, Swedish, and English dictionaries?
I still want one, though...
.: Max Romantschuk
Sorry, I'm as mac fan boy as mac fan boys come, but I NEVER buy a first generation Apple product.
I bought a first gen iPod. As years went buy, I never really felt I needed another, because just about anytime a feature was added to newer iPods, along cam an update for my iPod firmware that enabled the same feature - rndom play by album, and Podcast support beign two examples. Sure I can't play video but the device I bought from Apple as a 1st gen product was improved significantly from what I had orginally purchased.
Isn't half the fun of owning Apple stuff watching it improve over time, watching the few rough edges there are polished away and new facets of ability appear? I know that's also true of OSX.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"200 text messages per month"
.... total, in 3 or 4 years of the thing. Work requires I recieve automated text messages concerning server/network issues, and even THAT annoys the crap out of me. It drives me nuts to have my phone go off every three minutes.
Six or seven Text Messages a day, everyday, even weekends, holidays. Is it me, or does that really sound that dumb?
I mean, seriously, OMG its like got only 200 txt messages a month, I think I'm gonna die. Ponies!
From what I've seen people using text messages, most of the messages are pointless anyway. I have Unlimited texting, and I'm pretty sure I haven't sent 10 Text messages
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
The iPhone has a 2 megapixel camera, and I've noticed some of the other advanced phones have 2 megapixel cameras. Does anyone know of any more basic phones w/ high-res cameras?
Not being able to have obnoxious ring tones is probably its best feature.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
You should have your car radio repossessed.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
iPhone - 495
My Stylus habit? 20 bucks a week.
An iPhone will save me 500 bucks in a year.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
It's no problem if you live in California, as His Steveness intended.
How do you read eBooks on it? "Over the web" is not an option: in fact that'll probably make you hit their "limited unlimited" limit and get your account cancelled, either for excessively long connections or excessively idle connections.
You said that you've seen reviews claiming that that the iPhone scratches easily, right? So where exactly are those reviews? ALL of the reviews I've seen so far from people who have actually used the iPhone for any length of time have said that they don't see it as an issue. The ONLY people I've seen bringing it up are those who are purely speculating. So if you've seen reviews by people who have actually REVIEWED the iPhone (as opposed to speculated about it) and had that problem, I'd be very interested in seeing links to them. If you don't provide any links, I'll assume you're making things up at worst and exaggerating at best.
David
So you see, Slashdot works like this: There are more stories every day than you can possibly read. Don't read the ones you are not interested in. In particular, don't post comments to those stories that have no value and do not contribute to the quality of the discussion. An example of a worthless comment is the one you posted. If you don't give a hoot about the iPhone, then move on to the next story. Its really not that difficult to grok.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
Who even uses that? MMS is only useful if you're using a gimped Verizon phone and have no other way to get your pictures off of it.
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
I'd imagine that devices with keypads would be more vulnerable to dirt and debris. And who uses any mobile device when their hands are filthy?
I've been looking for a new all in one mobile phone and to be honest the iPhone doesn't cut it for me and neither does the Nokia N95 (although it comes close). Then I stumbled across the soon to be released Openmoko Linux based and open mobile phone. Although the first released model (second model should have WiFi) lacks Wifi it will have bluetooth and a lcd screen that blows the one offered by the iPhone out of the water. The phone will be completely (well as much as it can be) open source so all the FOSS games and applications can be ported over if need be and anyone can develop applications without having to jump through a complex licensing scheme. If your patient wait till 2008 for the GTA02 model that should blow your socks off.
This problem occurs with any phone that has a screen that you're tempted to rest on your ear (e.g. screen faces the same direction as the ear piece) like the Motorola RAZR. In addition, the RAZR (and many other phones) have a serious design flaw which lets lint and dust from your pocket get behind the screen, rendering them even more difficult to read than they are by design. Since this doesn't seem to be a problem with iPods, I'm guessing Apple is aware of this and addresses it in their design, so the iPhone screen, like the iPod, is probably sealed better than most other phones.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
As the iPhone's major appeal is its interactive visual interface, why would you even want one in the first place... even if it did have voice navigation or vibration feedback or what have you?
Post proof or retract.
Buy an european iPhone. as far as I know it is not legal to lock you to a network here.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
You're not nearly as sick as the rest of us are at whiny pathetic loosers who have nothing better to do than bitch about the fact that they don't want to read the article they just read and posted to. Holy crap, do you realize how much that labels you as a sheeple? "Help! I'm reading an iPhone story, and I can't stop! OMG! I'm posting! OMG! Dude. Seriously. Get a grip.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
The elements of capacitive touchscreens (like the iPhone's) do not require direct contact, and are thus not on the protective lens over all embedded LCD displays, i.e., those in a product and not a raw module. The electrodes are typically laid down on either the front surface of the actual front glass of the display in a fashion no different than that for the circuitry on the rear (inside) of the front glass, or on a separate intermediate layer between the display front glass and the protective lens. The only way you're going to break a capacitive touchscreen is if you first break or remove the protective lens and then damage the surface of the display below it, or kill the sensing circuit with either a conductive liquid (shorting) or an electrostatic discharge that finds a path through the housing (gaps, ungrounded or insufficiently grounded metal, etc.).
"My order takes pride in knowing all that can be known, and most of all the rest..." --Galen
Hrm... iPhone reads PDF. If the ebooks are not delivered in some proprietary DRM format they should "just work". If there is a particular eBook service you're interested in, I suggested posting a feature request to Apple. I posted several in January after the iPhone shipped. One of my requests was support for multiple party conference calling sometimes called "six way calling" or "one plus five conferencing" (a standard GSM network feature which is not supported by many phones and barely mentioned by wireless carriers, let alone promoted) has apparently been delivered (it was mentioned in one of the major reviews, WSJ iirc). This feature isn't useful to everyone, but it was useful to me, and its lack would prevent me from switching to iPhone. I explained in my request that this advanced network feature would be most used by the people most likely to be early adopters of the iPhone. I've had very, very good luck with feature requests when I've taken the time to think it through carefully, and explain it thoroughly, including the business case. Everything I requested in the Panther days was delivered in Tiger. Nearly everything I've requested in the Tiger days appears that it will be delivered in Leopard.
Sign up for a free (fork over email) ADCaccount (upper right of this page). Then go to Radar (link on that page) to submit your requests. They won't be fulfilled right away, but if you take the time to submit a good feature request, Apple does take them seriously. The time to request features desired in iPhone 2.0 is now.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
- it's vaporware! it doesn't exist!
- nobody has been able to review one, you can't say that!
- it won't ship for months!
- every last minute details is not yet known, therefore all you think you know is wrong!
Seriously, though, in what way is the mokOpen screen in a year going to be vastly superior to iPhone's screen, which exists today, and which is by several measures better than anything on any other phone today?If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
How old are you?
Okay, so I'm living in Europe, not in the US. But I'm guessing younger people in the US use SMS quite a bit. Over here, it's huge. I hardly ever use the phone to call anyone. I use SMS, and so does everyone else. It's less intrusive, and written messages are much clearer. You can go back and re-read them if you forget the precise time of an appointment, or the address you're supposed to go to.
SMS is just much more convenient than calling somebody in most cases. I would easily use the 200 messages a month.
Maybe he generally writes positive reviews about Apple's products because they're generally good products. Just a hunch. Your conspiracy theory could be true, too.
Despite those other people's suggesstions that it should be that way, I believe Nokia has a model(VOIP and Voice Dial) or another(yes, this one is tri-band, but is fine if you're not going NSAT&T).
Sure, neither of them has a "touch screen", but both are out now, and in fully unlocked and developer friendly form. Sure, both have a higher price tag but you can have any provider the hardware will support.
As for the folks who are averse to having such in a car, please move to the nearest cellphone hostile state.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
...but it tends to be tricky on most PDAs as there's usually a ridge around the screen. If the whole face is flat glass, a simple wipe will clean it up...
This story is a perfect example of the "politically"(financially) motivated censorship on Slashdot.
There was a thread titled "Break, Please" which I replied to. Now gone. Invisible at -1 nested, all five pages searched for the phrase, nada. (pagination is still broken too) Ditto for a thread I started titled "The iIt - Order Now!", which is also gone. A search of the entire story for "iIt" page by page comes up blank. Ditto for a thread titled "PLEASE! - GIVE IT A REST!" that I replied to. (one of the replies on that thread is even moderated 4:Interesting)
Break, Please.
The iIt - Order now!
PLEASE! - GIVE IT A REST!
All three conveniently missing altogether in the nested view at -1 threshold (the most readable view). This proves undoubtedly that the nested view is broken, and don't tell me to report it to slashcode bugs, I have a number of times and it continues to be ignored. It is always posts that are factually accurate and critical of whatever product or view that slashdot is flogging at us that just happen to be missing, which leads me to believe that it is not broken at all, but just subject to censorship of convenience. I did not expect to find these threads at -1 threaded and was surprised to find them still there, I guess the censorship being prototyped in -1 nested is not yet complete.
Pretty disgusting, this is one of the worst examples of Slashdot selling out I have ever seen, its down to hiding posts that are critical of products they are shamelessly promoting.
I am never going to buy an iPhone. Why? Because Slashdot spammed it at me for the last three months. There is such a thing as over saturation in advertising.
That would make sense but I can read every story on Slashdot every day, no problem, it takes about a total of 30 minutes out of my day. The problem is that they are shamelessly spamming the iPhone at us. I fully expect to see penis enlargement and investment advice at this rate...
I am contributing to the quality of the discussion by pointing out that Slashdot is shamelessly spamming us with iPhone ads. The number of comments that are saying exactly this should be enough to tell you that there is a problem.
(...and this little gem ought to be rather illuminating on the subject...)
I'd rather have some interesting tech to read about than yet another iPhone ad to fill my 30 minutes of Slashdot reading.
P.S. I find the constant linkspam to NewScientist pseudoscience trash journalism equally annoying.
[IP address changed for this post to defeat slashdot's ridiculous post flood interval of 30 minutes]
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Youtube is most definitely on the iPhone.
Being blind would probably also make coverflow less than impressive.
Being deaf would make the iPhone very hard to use as well.
Having no arms would make the iPhone very difficult to hold on to.
Being a jackass would make the iPhone easy to complain about.
I love your idea!
Downloaded the latest upgrades for your distro on the day of release? Bought your Bjork CD the day it hit the stores? Rushed out to try the new Gordita you saw on TV? Excited about the Smart car finally coming to America? Why, clearly, you MUST be a tool because no sane person could be bothered to grab something they want right away.
Oh for gods sake...
Since the birth of the car people have ALWAYS talked in the car to their passengers.
Even damn bus drivers do it in tour guides.
So whats worse? Listening to someone talk? or Actually doing the talking?
Because every car has a radio that you can listen to talkback radio and hear conversations.
And dont tell me you tell your friends when they are in the car with you, "SHUT UP MORON, im driving, wait till we get there, silence UNTIL WE GET THERE"
Talking hands free is no different to radio/music at 1000 watts, and talking to your friends. Are radios illegal in cars?
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
A Review by a fanboy is hardly objective...
Still, no hard drive, no SD slot - iPhone is lame, gone in 4 months...
Nobody will buy them, Verizon has nothing to worry about...
The iPhone is so hot, my finger is not the appendage I plan on operating it with.
I absolutely abhor touching a screen and leaving finger prints on any of the computers I work on.
In a day of use this iPhone thing's screen will look like an oil slick driving me nuts. Hence I would never ever get one.
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
Not the most features, but the ones that are there are well done. Apple is not going after the people that love smart phones, so for most of the Slashdot crowd it is probably a dud, they are going after the people that could do with many of the features of smart phones but hate the ones that already exist.
So, this is all about bringing the features of smart phones to the people that previously would never buy a smart phone due to their clunky nature. By all accounts it is going to be a storming success.
Personally I like the feature set of the iPhone, except the lack of 3G, and I could never justify the cost of it. Do I want it? Hell yes, but I'm going to have to wait for a while. This is obviously part of the Apple plan:
1. Release a sexy phone that lots of people want
2. Make it initially very expensive, so that it becomes a luxury status item.
3. Wait until it is firmly established as THE status item, then start slowly release new versions at cheaper prices making loads of people buy it because they still view it as a status symbol even though everyone can now afford to buy one.
Exactly the same plan as with the iPod.
... IMHO is the Nokia E61 which isn't available in the USA. (They can be had on eBay or purchased abroad).
Features: WiFi, VOIP, bigger keyboard than all Blackberry's and Treos. Having WiFi access on your phone for browsing and email is awesome.
Negatives: No touchscreen -- which as an ex-Treo user I thought would be a big deal. It's not. The interface is great, and completely tweakable with a zillion settings.
Runs great on T-Mobile.
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
Hmm... 200 text messages yet unlimited data? Assume a text message is 2k (huge), then assume an MP3 at 5MB (average). A single MP3 is equivalent to about 2500 messages.
In summary, AT&T is fucking people over on text messages. Why did Apple allow this?
Unintential stuff from his review caught on the WSJ video:
1) Smudges are definitely visible on the iPhone screen. See at location - unfortunately, we would need to read stuff on that same screen. Location 4:38
2) He mentions that on third day he was going to chuck it out the window because of the keyboard. Then, on the 5th day, it worked as good as his Treo. Ah, it's great being a reviewer...because normal people would have likely returned it on Day 3. Or maybe thrown it out the window, in which case Day 5 maybe would involve convincing the Apple Store person that this occurred during "normal usage" of the iPhone.
3) He seems to indicate that the coolest features of the phone (Internet browsing on a "real browser", email, etc.) require high-speed Internet, but the phone itself has no high-speed capabilities, and apparently is not upgradeable at all.
My thoughts:
1) Cost just doesn't seem justifiable. I'm not a Crackberry fan, and so anything bigger than a RAZR (which I use) still seems painfully big and unwieldy, and overly tied to work-related stuff 24/7.
2) Huge lock-in period with AT&T. I've never heard about AT&T having a great network in NYC metro (many use Verizon and a decent number use Sprint).
3) I'm not sure how fast EDGE is, but tethering from the laptop to a basic cell phone is cheaper and perhaps just as good.
4) I've not really seen that a phone that raises the bar instantly becomes a phone that I need or really really want. I still haven't seen the whole point of browsing through Album art and this quick music selection. I must have chosen the wrong iPod (shuffle) and still think "simple is good."
5) Ah, the phone should last a day or so? To me, I'm not so happy if the RAZR needs to be recharged before 3 days of use. I've taken it on a weekend trip with rather low battery and got decent use out of it until the next Monday. A $500+ convergence device should really last 2 days or more, I would think.
6) You have to remember one thing - these reviewers probably paid nothing for this device. When you've been selected to review a device as hyped as the iPhone, it is seen as an honor and a privilege, and because you didn't sink $500, your expectations are surely lower than the average customer. So, take these reviews with a grain of salt.
7) Finally, my own experience. I've gotten into the Apple mix with an iPod shuffle, which I really do enjoy on the whole. However, I did have a problem with faulty headphones, so they sent me a new pair. Well, they sent their in-Ear phones by mistake, which I discovered is great audio quality if I attach the Koss foam earbuds instead of those crappy gray rubber caps that come with the headphones. Not that bad, I guess. Also, I own a Macbook, and I seem to break the usual mold of minimal repairs on the thing. I'm a power user, having owned this white Macbook since last July (so Rev 2 or 3?), and my HD crashed and burned (nonrecoverable) and so that was replaced. No data recovery, and I couldn't have my old dead HD back to attempt my own data recovery. Then, I've had the outer shell casing begin to crack on the molding near the wrist wrest, and so my keyboard and the shell was replaced. I've also had an area of dead pixels in the middle of my screen which apparently is "normal wear and tear" and not covered. And, when I recently had an issue with iMovie HD losing its themes, I discovered the Apple Store Genius Bar is not stocked with all geniuses as the Apple Ads would make me think. The solution proposed by this dude...wipe your system and run system restore. His helpful advice after I told him all the crap I have installed, "Make a day of it!" Yeah, what day and who's got the time? I put the Recovery DVD in my computer and reran the installation of ONLY the pre-installed programs (iLife, etc.) and magically all the Themes came back! I'm not a genius by any stretch, but this is disconcerting. Oh, and they don't have a blue screen of death...it's a black one that appears in 3 languages...and I've seen it on a few occasions. Post crash analysis seems well-nigh impossible to do as well. All in all still happy, but I hope their quality doesn't go the way of the dodo bird.
This sig donated to Pater. Long live
Well, you're just wrong on this one. I'm 30, and decidedly not an "omg ponies" type. I send/receive 200 messages a month easily. I don't even have that many friends. Considering one SMS 'conversation' can easily be 5-10 messages, you can see how it adds up.
everyone (reveiwers, commercials, etc) keep mentioning that you can watch youtube videos, but flash is not on the iphone. um, youtube videos are flash movies!
is the youtube widget on the iphone a standalone flash player that doesnt integrate with safari?
the history of the world
You claim "paid nothing for this device" -- in general the high-end reviewers pay for the devices -- at least the WSJ claims to. Rather than giving the devices for free to reviewers, some computer^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h toy companies lets preferred reviewers get early review hardware in exchange for positive reviews. One or two "not the greatest thing since sliced bread" reviews and your executive and pre-release access is cut off. Have you ever wondered why all the interviews with the toy company ceo are puff pieces?
They first have to sign everyone up to a Calls-For-Sure plans, then ditch their suppliers.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
No Sling comments? I figured slashdot would be full of Sling users. The lack of SlingPlayer support is a deal killer. For someone that loves TV the Sling (with my TIVO) is the best application on my phone. The second deal killer is being unable to tether with PDANet. Sometimes I need internet access away from Home and Work.
Considering that theres surely more diverse stories available in the firehose, and that each iphone article is another story that is not on the front page, I'd say it affects the quality of the days articles.
The point is that even with filtering or ignoring iphone related stories its still annoying that this is taking the place of possibly interesting, or failing that at least DIVERSE news.
hope you feel better for thinking you're ripping into a mindless drone though.
Ice Cream has no bones.
The touch panel is under the glass: http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
You actually raise a good point: Nobody tested this thing in cold temperatures. How well does the screen accept your input in very cold temperatures? Does it work at all with gloves? Does it break when it gets some snow on it? Not all of us live in the tropics all year around.
Most electronics companies seem to develop the same old products until Apple comes along and produces a competing product with an elegant design and a streamlined interface. It's not so much that they innovate but that they take the most important features and make easy to use.
That said, if the US market had access to the kinds of phones available in Asia and Europe the impact the iPhone has made would be significantly smaller. There are some great-looking phones in the rest of the world with all kinds of functionality.
And design-wise, I bought a lower-end NEC phone a year and a half ago that has all the same design cues as this iPhone. Black face, metallic bevel, etc. My phone isn't touch screen and it has individual buttons, but the basic styling is similar. My point is that while the iPhone certainly looks very nice, it isn't the pinnacle of design. Again, I've seen phones overseas that are visually more impressive.
I think one of the biggest hindrances to progress in the US mobile phone market has been the service carriers. Verizon, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint and all the others have done nothing but screw the American public in numerous ways.
The good thing about the iPhone is that it should stimulate the mobile phone market and it reminds people of the limitations of the American mobile phone network.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRC-77
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
check it out http://www.publictivity.com/iPhoneChat/ not perfect, but it's coming along
Live EVERY week... Like it's Shark Week
he sure didn't care for the AppleTV, they must not have paid him that month
Live EVERY week... Like it's Shark Week
I think early adopters will be disappointed - not that the iPhone won't live up to their expectations, but because of what always happens when Apple releases technology like this: the rest of the industry wakes up, copies, and often improves. Apple seems to have a long history of introducing, but not perfecting, many concepts.
a nguage)
Until Apple began releasing sexy designs for their Macs, every PC was its nickname - a beige box. Following releases like the iMac (however deplorable the hardware configuration), seeing that people snatched them up because they looked cool, other industry players followed suit. Most PCs today look like welcome home appliances rather than mysterious monoliths.
Apple's GUI ideas often also filter through the industry along with their interfaces. Here is a short list of Apple firsts:
- Color display
- Widespread distribution of 5.25" floppy drive
- First spreadsheet program (VisiCalc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCalc
- Popularization of programming in education via Logo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_l
- Apple QuickTake digital camera, one of the first to market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_QuickTake)
- Handheld computing with the Newton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton)
I imagine that the iPhone will end up being what many Apple products have been throughout history - the first good execution of a good idea and a prototype for future products. Touch screens of this design are not new ideas, but they have not been successfully implemented to the degree that Apple is using them. I, for one, am quite grateful that companies like Apple exist. Though I am a PC guy at heart, I can't help but appreciate the innovation that Apple, like a belligerent teenager, forces into the market with just the right amount of fanfare and hype to make every gadget nut go gaga with joy.
I meant that there were no IM/MMS--the iPhone has SMS.
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
Seriously, are you PMSing or something today? Talk about an over blown response. What's got your panties in a bunch today??
A computer, by common definition since 1980s means something you can install programs, there is some payware or free SDK open to development .
. aspx
I am speaking about these:
http://www.symbian.com/developer/index.html
http://trolltech.no/developer
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/embedded/default
http://www.java.net/
You know, Symbian, Linux, WinCE handheld devices are "handheld computers". Lets say, the mail client doesn't fit your needs? Go to sourceforge or handango and get a better client for your needs and install. You need a specific function such as GPS? You buy add on device, install its software and you got it.
A $60 J2ME (Java) supporting regular phone is more close to computer than iPhone is.
I may have lost my little remaining trust/respect to Apple centric media after iPhone. That is a big deal since I use Macs whenever possible. I won't be checking Apple hating gray beard sites either. We don't deserve this kind of media...
There are several things about all this that are seriously bothering me.
First of all, the $175 cancellation fee. AFAIK, cancellation fees have been mainly justified by the fact that phones are subsidized by the carrier. This is not the case with the iPhone, so how can they justify a cancellation fee at all, let alone a $175 fee?
Second of all, there is the question of tethering. The only information I've seen on this subject (which is not official) indicates that tethering will NOT be allowed. This is practically a deal-breaker for me.
Third of all, I'd also like to know what the deal is with credit check v. deposit. I'm sick to death of every company in the world thinking they have a right to intrude into my credit history/privacy/what have you. There's no information from Apple or AT&T about this subject. Also, what's the deal with the "pre-approved credit" number?
Other than these three big issues, every other drawback I've seen is something that isn't important to me, or is something that I believe that Apple will fix in the future. It's times like these that I hate Apple's closed mouth about their product details. I know I won't be standing in line this weekend. I'll wait until the real details surface.
You know, this thing is cute and it does lots of wiz-bang stuff. So do all of these "smart phones" out there.
But what I would pay money for (not this much) is a phone I could sit on, get soaking wet with sweat (it's 95 degrees with >70% humidity here), drop on concrete, etc... and still have the thing work.
I, and most folks I know, need a phone to do two things: Make phone calls and survive my day.
my $0.02
I saw a CNET TV review just 2 days ago exactly speaking about your kind of device. I hope cell companies will ship something like that in Europe too. I know a Ericsson R320 still used in military environment. Almost a decade old device I guess.Here is review (in Flash)
http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-28043.html
(has mp4 download link there too)
Every cell phone I've owned has had the screen right below the ear piece. Every single one has picked up smudges and smears and oil from being pressed against my face while I'm on a call. My current phone is the Motorola V325, a flip phone with a big glossy color screen that goes right against my ear and cheek...it's about 95 degrees + high humidity here in DC lately, so can imagine how that screen looks after a bit of a walk-and-talk outside.
If you put any cell phone to your ear at all, you're going to have to wipe the screen on a regular basis. I just rub mine on my shirt or pants 2 or 3 times. It doesn't mark the clothes and it cleans it well enough. The key question is whether the screen will pick up scratches from this. So far the V325 is good to go on this score. With a glass screen, I'm guessing the iPhone will probably do ok too.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
My take: It's shiny and deliberately brain damaged. My Nokia E70 is less shiny but much more functional. For example, I can set any MP3 as my ring tone. (If anyone knows where I can get a MP3 of a baby crying, I'm kind of looking...)
Dude also doesn't seem to answer the questions I have about the phone:
1) Can I use wireless bluetooth headphones with it?
2) Can I connect it to the asterisk server on my main system when I'm on my home wifi?
3) Can I connect my macbook to it using bluetooth and browse the internet using the iPhone's cellular connection.
So far the iPhone does not compare very favorably to my E70.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
So? The iPhone has full email. If I want to send a picture or email to a verizon account, I send it to 2125551212@vtext.com
Every carrier has an email bridge.
or @mobile.mycingulair.com
or @mobile.att.net
or @messaging.sprintpcs.com
or @messaging.nextel.com
Just like on most cell phones.
Incidentally I have a first-gen Shuffle and the volume control on that is effectively a rocker switch too. It seems to work ok--I don't feel like it's a deficiency compared to my iPod Mini. It depends on how fine the gradations are, and how it responds to extended holds in one direction.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
The tech behind multitouch is the same behind the iPod clickwheel and laptop trackpads--the capacitance of your finger. Thin gloves might or might not work. They make gloves specifically for iPod's clickwheel, and these might work with the multitouch interface as well.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Of all the cons that people have mentioned, the only one that really makes me sad is the iPhone's lack of copy and paste. It seems like highlighting text should be pretty straightforward and at least they could have some sort of pop up options menu if you hold your finger on some text for more than 2 seconds or something.
Why in God's name did Apple worry so much about having an exclusive carrier for this product? How is this going to sell in Europe?
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/06/27/itunes-7-3-wi
and that 3rd party development is also very likely:
http://macapper.com/2007/06/27/exclusive-third-pa
What most people seem to have missed is that iPhone requires iTunes 7.3 which has yet to be released even though the iPhone will go on sale on Friday. Among the surprises the new iTunes seems to offer are two extra tabs on the interface.
One of these is "ringtones" and I would bet the other is probably either iPhone games or iPhone 3rd party applications (same diff).
People also might want to ask themselves why if it's impossible to unlock the phone or use VoIP exclusively, why ATT is charging such a high disconnect fee?
I think the iPhone will quickly be "opened" (there are websites already advertising this), and that ATT has made the traditional "deal with the devil" in that regard. Their service is already widely reported as "the main thing wrong with the iPhone." Does anyone really believe that Steve Jobs would want to lock everyone into ATT crap service for 5 years?
There WILL be other options, you can bet on it. It's part of the strategy. Get ATT to sell the thing by signing up for an exclusive contract, then allow everyone access to VoIP through the backdoor of 3rd party development. I can see Steve shrugging his shoulders now at the board meeting and saying:
"Hey, it's not our fault that everyone is using VoIP and not EDGE."
a funny poke at all the iPhone hype: Steve Jobs Personal iPhone Screensaver
It's a phone (supposedly). Never mind all the other crap, how long does this thing take to boot up and let me actually make a phone call?
And what happens when it gets infected with a virus or goes horribly wrong somehow and becomes unusable ?
Think I'll stick with my old style Nokia 3310 for now - at least that has a ringtone melody composer!
he sure didn't care for the AppleTV
Yeah because the AppleTV was such an excellent product. Uh huh.
Hrm... iPhone reads PDF. If the ebooks are not delivered in some proprietary DRM format they should "just work".
No thanks, no PDF, no "Mobile Acrobat", no "Microsoft Reader".
There's several good formats with multiple published implementations that actually work *well* for eBooks. I personally prefer Mobipocket because it's widely available from DRM-free (note that) sources. They're all equivalent to subsets of HTML so HTML would work, too, but converting to HTML won't cut it because Safari doesn't have the bookmarking features an eBook reader needs... and I don't think that can be implemented on the iPhone except by storing the bookmarks on a remote webserver.
I've been an ADC member for some years now, and this is the first I've heard of "Radar". That's a bit of a twee name for "feature requests".
That's a lot of limits on unlimited service.
No streaming data, no idle connections, no "uploads" (whatever that means, when you don't have any way to install software to upload anything with), no using your iPhone as a modem for your Macbook, no remote access to your home servers (unless you incorporate, I guess),
Service is not intended to provide full-time connections, and the Service may be discontinued after a significant period of inactivity or after sessions of excessive usage.
So there you are reading an eBook on your iPhone over the net, and AT&T thinks you've been online too long without any activity, and *poof* goes your connection.
Give him a break. I have nothing better to do than bitch about people who can't spell 'loser'.
"Keister" please . . .