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All Things iPhone
With the iPhone release coming soon there is no shortage of stories being submitted. Here is an overview of all of its features and specifics on its technical workings. A list of applications is out and still growing. There are warnings however that some applications and peripherals won't be ready or compatible in time for the release. Finally with all the hype associated with the iPhone, we have a reminder of some previous Apple products that ended with a whimper instead of a roar.
It seems TFS has now been corrected from the mysterious future, but I took the time to compose my oh-so-informative post, so I'm going forward anyway, haha. Unless Samzenpus is in Australia (where it wouldn't be night right now), it's still the 27th, which is the night before the night before the iPhone is released. That extra "night before" missing from TFS might seem inconsequential, but remember kids-- if you're buying an iPhone, don't get off work early [thurs] TOMORROW night, get off work early on Friday June 29 to get in line in time.
I'm going to send one of our employees to get in line (for myself and three others) around noon, heh. Sure, I wish it had GPS and 3G, but since I'm coming from a BB8700, which doesn't have GPS (nor 3G), nor did my Treo before that, I'll live. And so far I'm encouraged by the reviews from Pogue and Mossberg (etc) discussed here yesterday. I've been closely watching engadget (etc), and believe the reviews to confirm that many of those sites (such as engadget) spreading negative rumors like "two thumb touchscreen typing was impossible to do, and our anonymous source gave up after a day or two" are really just sensational speculation for driving viewers to the site. It seems the screen takes some getting used to, but not nearly on the level that some "anonymous sources" have characterized. I'm also a bit disappointed in the family pricing.. it's not considerably cheaper for my own phone + my partner's on the same plan, versus individual plans. If they had made corporate/family pricing a little more attractive, I'd be inclined to buy some for our employees. The paltry 200 txt msgs standard to each plan is also annoying (so now I'll have to drop $10 or $20 per phone for extra). But even still, I'm firmly in the demographic that is willing to pay extra for the phone, the service, just for the UI (and non-crashyness) that Apple will bring to the table. This will hopefully have a very nice positive net effect-- I suspect most iPhone users will be very happy, and all other companies will now be pushed to improve their products or lose customers.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
With the iPhone release coming soon there is no shortage of stories being submitted. No shortage?! That's a gross understatement. I think I have just been convinced by this latest iPhone plug that things are going overboard.
We know the features, we know the controversy, we know EVERYTHING.
Just let the damn thing come. This is more than gratuitous splurge on a product. It's downright unnecessary.
I'm looking forward to this thing as much as the next guy, but come on, enough with the iPhone articles. It's getting redundant.
No, but if you put a MacBook over your crotch, that will cook your eggs.
Will it blend?
let's find out here
I cant WAIT for them to destroy an iPhone.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I think I speak for a lot of people of when I say that we're sick of hearing about the bloody iPhone. Who cares if it's super-dooper good, it's just another phone.
No, but the video link that is up on CNN/Money right now is speculating that it might land you a date.
As an Apple fan, even I am finding the level of coverage of this thing to be ridiculous. There are no less than 5 headlines about the iPhone on that page alone. The #*$(# thing isn't even out yet! For this much hype, you'd think it came with 3 5-star hookers and a brick of cocaine straight from colombia.
today is spelling optional day.
The itunes phone was not their work. It was motorola's. You could tell because Steve Jobs spent 2 seconds introducing it, and that's it. he didn't sell it like all the other Apple products he introduces.
The Newton is still being used by some, and is more powerful than some PDAs on the market right now.
The original iMac...they sold millions of units and brought Apple back from the dead.
The cube was just overpriced, but it was well designed, and it's a collector's item now.
I'll be too busy playing with my new copy of the GPL v3 to bother with the iPhone.
This was pretty poor timing by Apple.
-- I have monkeys in my pants.
The more hype I see and hear about the iPhone, the more it reminds me of the hype surrounding the Segway
Except, you know, people actually want the iPhone and cell phones are useful. Who actually wanted a Segway and thought it would be good for more than looking like a sidewalk surfing idiot.
For this much hype, you'd think it came with 3 5-star hookers and a brick of cocaine straight from colombia
And even if it did, there would be anti-fanbois that complain that it lacked the necessary rolled c-note to snort the coke and that the Treo 576Whatever843 comes with 5 hookers and certificates guaranteeing them to be disease-free. And the Crackberry has crack instead, and a server that sends you more over a proprietary protocol without the need to go to a dealer to get refills.
I do agree that the post rate for iPhone stories is getting absurd, though. Only 2 more days and the wait will be over... the wait for everyone to stop posting their random idiotic speculation about how good/bad/shiny it's going to be!
Can I get an "Amen"?
goatse much?
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
There are two deal-breakers for me with the iPhone: It has to sync with Exchange directly (no, not just IMAP, but calendaring as well), and it must work with my car's Bluetooth module. The former is because that's the only way I'll get my boss to let me get one instead of a Blackberry; the latter is because no $600 phone, no matter how insanely great, will get me to get rid of a $45K car.
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
today is spelling optional day.
I know I may be late to the party here with 44 coments already posted, but for all you naysayers, here is why we are excited about the iPhone:
The bar is being raised right now for the cellphone industry, and being raised well.
This is the industry that has bent us over for so long, with unusable features, overpriced gadgets that don't deliver on what they promised, and ease of use of a manual lawn-mower.
No, iPhone is not the cure for cancer, but it is making the cell manufacturers and networks change the way they do their business.
After months of being out on the market, the "Chocolate" cellphone will get capability to have songs transfered from the computer. This is not a win for Apple, but a win for the consumer, who without Apple was at the mercy of PHBs and middle management making decisions about how their cellphones should work.
This happened at least one time before... Remember what happened to Exploder once FireFox came out? Oh, well crap, yeah, here's your IE 7 all of a sudden, sorry you had to endure 7 years of exploder 6, no tabs, millions of infections and popups, but we really thought that's what the consumers wanted.
Like I said, the bar is being raised, and it's good to see Nokia, Motorolla and especially the carriers bend over and take it where the sun don't shine from Apple.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Man (Eric Idle): You sit here, dear.
...iPhone iPhone iPhone egg and iPhone; iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone baked beans iPhone iPhone iPhone...
... Eh you get the idea
Wife (Graham Chapman in drag): All right.
Man (to Waitress): Morning!
Waitress (Terry Jones, in drag as a bit of a rat-bag): Morning!
Man: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and iPhone; egg bacon and iPhone; egg bacon sausage and iPhone; iPhone bacon sausage and iPhone; iPhone egg iPhone iPhone bacon and iPhone; iPhone sausage iPhone iPhone bacon iPhone tomato and iPhone;
Vikings (starting to chant): iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone...
Waitress:
Vikings (singing): iPhone! Lovely iPhone! Lovely iPhone!
...or all that has already been released.
t ml
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.h
What a waste of mod points!
I mentioned the negatives because I figured the positive were obvious-- they're the details we've all known for a while, and the ones that get most exposure in the 34838483 stories on /. and elsewhere. The negatives you hear, well, on many sites like Engadget, these are often spurious, or at best they're speculations. The negatives I pointed out really do exist, but aren't the end of the world (for me), and I figured maybe other readers would want to hear my take. I don't consider the price a negative. I spent $500 on my blackberry, and around $700 on my Treo (back in the day), so Apple's price is right about what I'm willing to pay for a good smartphone.
"except for the select few reviewers that have actually used an iPhone can know that the UI is better"
Anyone who had watched the apple tour video can tell you the UI is lightyears ahead of Blackberry, Treo, etc. Even the commercials make this apparent. And as I said, I'm willing to put some faith in certain reviewers (Pogue, etc), and they have all said positive things about the majority of the phone's features.
"How anyone could be sure that the iPhone doesn't crash as "often" as existing smart phones on the market is beyond me"
My Treo would endure around 3-5 crashes PER DAY. My blackberry doesn't crash, but has gotten considerable slower over time, and freezes occasionally (and this always seems to be at the exact wrong moment). I am not someone who grants corporations a lot of faith, but Apple is one of the few who has earned my faith. They're products aren't know for being cheap, but their UI and industrial design are both industry leading, and stability is an important factor to them. This is evidenced in the lack of third party apps-- that's what causes many other phones crash 10 times a day (instead of the normal once or twice if you're only using the native apps). Apple has earned enough credit with me that I'm willing to stake $500 on their product being solid. Apple doesn't have the best reputation for 1st gen devices, but I've had no issues with my Macbook Pro, so I'm willing to take that "gamble" again.. some aren't. Incidentally, the only other company that I can think of that I've decided to buy a product without even seeing it in person, was my Lotus, and that was for the same reasons. And I was very happy I made the purchase.
"How can you know that the iPhone is worth the money or even decent?"
I can't "KNOW" anything about the iPhone, really. What I do "KNOW" is that apple has, in the past, built many products I am very happy with, and has earned a reputation for quality. So yes, it's a gamble, but I believe the odds are handicapped in my favor. Incidentally, if you're tempted to call me an Apple zealot.. I'm making this post from an Opteron box running XP64 Corp. I tend to believe in the right tool for the right job-- in this case, I don't feel like the blackberry is the right tool for me, and even if the iPhone isn't [exactly] either, it's as close as anything will be for a while.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
Don't forget the obligitory release day stories... I spiked it like a football and it scratched, what a POS! EDGE netwrok overrun by too much iPhone traffiic. iPhone exclusive Flicr group. Dropped my iPhone in the toilet, it still works. Dropped my iPhone in the toilet, it doesn't work. Lifehacker will have their 10 secret features of the iPhone article. Since no one reads manuals no one will notice that it's basically the getting started guide in HTML. Gizmodo... iPhone sells out in one day, geeks enraged. macroumors... Apple iPhone 2.0 sports 3g, 16GB storage and 3rd party apps for $299. Engadget... iPhone DOA return rate unprecidented. And last but not least... IT BLENDS!!!
Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
putty is available on symbian. Will the iphone have anything as useful?
Anyone who had watched the apple tour video can tell you the UI is lightyears ahead of Blackberry, Treo, etc. Even the commercials make this apparent. And as I said, I'm willing to put some faith in certain reviewers (Pogue, etc), and they have all said positive things about the majority of the phone's features.
That is called "advertising." Anyone who have watched the trailers for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End can tell you that that is an awesome movie. Suckers queued in line for that product too.
Football Odds
1. Camp out for iPhone in an area with a LOT of people waiting. Must be first in line.
2. Buy iPhone at 6PM.
3. Smash it on the pavement in front of everyone.
4. Post video on website and make a bazillion dollars.
Good lord, the article about Apple flops mentions the iMac as a failure, even though the original series was the best-selling desktop computer of all time and basically heralded an age of all-in-one computers. He even states "iMac, great computer, but when was the last time you saw one? That craze died pretty fast" For chrissakes they still make the bloody things. Yeah, yeah, he was talking about the original ones, but for crying out loud, that was more than five years ago. The craze died out because they discontinued that model. Idiot.
Monday: "I wonder what restaurants can be found around my work place, where I go every day..."
Tuesday: "I wonder what restaurants can be found around my work place, where I go every day..."
It sounds rather kludgy from my point of view. Revolutionary would be if it already had all the info, gathered based on my location, and I just hit a button: "food" and it gives a couple of arrows I can follow to get to different kinds of food, based on my preferences. Or "Kill time: 30 min", and it gives a few small galleries, cafés, and nice parks (depending on weather). That's a feature worth talking about.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.