Slashdot Mirror
3G iPhone Going Into Production In May
A few folks noted the rumor mill churning over 3G iPhones coming soon. Apparently they might be going into production as early as May, and announced somewhere in the 2nd quarter. Hopefully they manage to stick a GPS and another 16 gigs of memory in this one.
Because the iPhone was a flop outside North America.
A few folks noted the rumor mill churning over 3G iPhones coming soon.
But my iPhone already has 8 gigs!
If it did, I'd buy it at any cost!
I don't think it is so soon. It's already almost been a year since the original came out.
This isn't Apple's other electronic markets, cell phones are updated almost the time, and usually it's not just a "slap a stick of bigger memory on it and call it a day" sort of revision. They need and should be adding more features to compete with the rest of the market.
With that said, I don't understand why the hell people keep begging for GPS, I just feel that there are so many other better self GPS only products that get the job done that Apple shouldn't bother with that market. Besides, if you're shelling out hundreds on an iPhone, I have a feeling you may have a GPS system of some sorts already.
Never underestimate the power of the 'coolness' factor. Also, you write off the nicer interface as if its somewhat insignificant. That's the CORE component of any consumer electronic market. The public is going to interact with the most part through the interface, if it sucks, they're not going to spend the time to learn it.
Like it or hate it, you got to admit that the iPhone has a pretty nice interface and it's not too hard to learn. When my mom and aunts, who are in their 40s and not very technologically adept, decided to pick up iPhones and can use them as well as me, you know they're doing something right.
Isn't this a day early?
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
It all boils down to this: what the iPhone does it does well.
:-)
I have used other smart phones such as the Motorola Q and the Blackberry, but the iPhone is the simplest to use for what I want: easy to access and read e-mail and web browsing and a phone. It also does simple things like work as my calculator, a calendaring system, take notes on it, do alarms, stop-watch, stock quotes, weather and whatever else you download for it now. And oh yeah, it is my iPod too and I synch it with Bluetooth to my car for use as hands-free.
As someone else already pointed out, the ease of use and interface are the key things that a good smartphone really needs - and Apple succeeded quite well with their first try. Yes, it didn't have 3G or GPS built-in for the first pass at it, but future versions most certainly will. Once they add the rest of those features, i'll be surprised at what people will find to complain about it then. It will probably never have enough memory for the complainers and i'm sure the DRM and device lock-down are also something to continue to complain about, but i'm happy with the phone now just as much (or more than) I was when I bought mine back in September after they lowered the price on it. Now if only AT&T could get some better coverage around where I live
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." - Tennyson
The other reply got modded flamebait, but the spirit of the answer was correct - consider how it's not just marketing from Apple themselves, but from phone shops that promote it, and news media from Slashdot to the BBC. What's this - a news article not about the release of Iphone, but simply a new version supporting a feature that's long been a standard? Most phones don't get a story at all.
Apple appear to be taking advantage that many people are unaware how almost every phone (even cheap ones) can do Internet access as standard, so they are able to promote it as a new and wonderful thing (even on Slashdot, I see this happening).
(And it's not clear it has "succeeded" apart from in the sense of not flopping? Sure it's succeeded, but so has the Treo and many other phones, but if you mean been a success above all others, that's not clear at all to me.)
My blog
We're tired of...
"Three PDAs for the Elven Lords
Seven cell phones for the Dwarf Lords and their halls of stone
Nine MP3 players for the
Three Cell Phones for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven PDAs for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine MP3 players for Mortal Men doomed to die,
We want...
One Gadget the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Gadget to rule them all, One Gadget to find them,
One Gadget to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
***
(ie: I don't want a separate cell phone, PDA, MP3 player, GPS and batman utility belt. Especially NOT when the technology is available to easily have all 4 in a single device. And the only thing stopping it from happening is BS marketing idiots.)
Because a GPS that network enabled is a great tool.
Traveling? Want to find a restaurant? Just use your cell with GPS and you can even dial the number and make reservations. Yes auto GPS systems have that but do you carry them in your pocket? When you travel you may or may not have a GPS in your rental car. Yea you could take your portable one with you but what if you don't have a rental car and are just walking? What if you are riding with someone that doesn't have a GPS?
Again it is always in my pocket. It is the same reason that I have web browser on my phone and a media player.
It is always with me and it is small and light.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Such is the case for most of the connectivity technologies that see more rapid adoption overseas. There are large areas of the USA that are simply not densely populated enough to justify the expense of rolling out cutting-edge networks there. It isn't a matter of the US simply being behind the technological curve, as some like to assume.
Pardon the PHB nature of this next statement, but these are the types of differences that turn a 3 year ROI into a 10 year ROI, and slow down adoption.
The iPhone could be equipped with a perpetual motion machine and a love ray that instantly seduces any woman it is aimed at, and some people would still complain that it doesn't support MMS, and thus they would rather have their free flip phone.
Don't underestimate the power of the dark side.
"by that I mean people who don't sit on slashdot all day wondering why everyone else isn't building robots" DECS
I'm sure they're also attracting the people that have tried out the browsers on their phones, and found them so painful to use that they've just given up. I'm one of them - I never use the browser on my Samsung Z560 unless I really have to. In contrast, I'll browse the web on my iPod Touch quite happily - it's not as good as a desktop browser, but it's not that far off.
In fact, I was ranting to my boss just now about the fact that my phone browser forgets cookies when the browser is closed (which happens every time you close the clamshell, annoyingly). It's particularly apparent when using PayPal Mobile, which shows you a regular login page by default. You can opt to log in using your mobile number and a PIN, and if you've got the cookie you'll be automatically redirected. Mine, unfortunately, forgets the cookie.
the locate feature is absolutely useless to me. there aren't enough wi-fi access points to be any good.
Besides i don't want GPS built in. As GPS uses a ton a battery power. I want a Bluetooth, or other dongle that occasionally sends GPS data. Why can't I get a car dock, with a built in GPS receiver? Just plug the iPhone in I can listen to tunes, hook up the bluetooth to my car's bluetooth headset, and have driving map to go by all from one device.
Unfortunately the SDK, and Apple's EULA's prevent exactly that from ever happening.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
I do already have GPS but I really hope the next iPhone has it and is available soon. If the first version had GPS I would already own an iPhone and I probably wouldn't have a normal suction cup GPS. I would instead be suction cupping my iPhone to the windshield.
Now that I have a good car GPS system to save me from getting lost all the time, I want one in my pocket. I can think of a few times when I have been out in a city on foot, and had to worry about getting lost. It would have been nice to have GPS in my pocket whith the confidence that I would never get lost again. Knowing that you will never get lost makes you free to explore. This is as true in a car as on foot.
I think the main reason that the iPhone doesn't have GPS is that it is a tough feature to really get right. All the GPS systems I have owned have had their flaws. I can understand why you wouldn't want to introduce all that complexity and accompanying scrutiny when you are trying to get an already compelling (to some people) product out the door. I'm still basing my next cell phone purchase on GPS capabilities.
So - what is the reason for not having 3G on the east and west coast of USA? I would guess the population density there is comparable to most of Europe.
And don't think we have 100% 3G coverage over here(Denmark) - far from it. I would guess by area we're around 40%(Complete guesstimate), but coverage by population is at least 80% - I see nothing that prevents USA from doing something similar.
I'll give you several
1: Ease of use.
2: High quality software - few software bugs
3: Ipod
4: Very good web browser
5: Some very nice third party software (if you jailbrake it)
I've also have a Nokia E90 - so I'm able to compare my iPhone to a more feature full phone. This is a phone that has almost all the features that you could imagine. 3.5G, GPS, SIP client, multi megapixel camera, keyboard and etc. This is similar to other expensive Nokia phones.
The problems with the Nokia phones are:
1. Several different confusing menus - the series 60 is awful to use
2. Lots and lots of bugs, several that freezes the phones
3. Terrible multimedia software
4: Good web browser with bad user interface. Nokia calls it Safari (webkit) based, but the interface is miles away from the iPhone
Yes my Nokia E90 has it bright spots. For example I bring it along on my travels because of it's GPS and its SIP client. Additionally the keyboard makes it nice using ssh to check problems with servers and etc. And it's really nice to have 3.5G Internet access. But since it's awful to use as a day to day phone it's mostly left at home.
BTW: I live in Oslo, the main capital of Norway. An area with very good 3G and 3.5G coverage. So I know what I'm missing with just the EDGE network.
The Treo did succeed and it would be more successful now if its software wasn't of such poor quality. The iPhone does many things better than the Treo even ignoring the Treo's stability problems.
The Treo concept remains a desirable one so you answered your own question. The company that does the best job with this type of device will succeed. Right now it is Apple (among others).
then MAYBE you'll have a decent argument about why maps are superior in every way. Maps are useful to be sure but GPS devices do a lot more than just show where streets are located. I use my GPS almost daily. Bet you I get a lot more value out of my GPS than you do from your map.
Dude.. You live in Chicago, it's a grid, lucky you. Try to find your way around Houston or New Orleans without help sometime. It's a bona fide nightmare. New Orleans has streets that are parallel in one place and intersect in others, they call it a the "Crescent City" for a reason. It also has streets change names at random places for reasons that, while historically interesting, make no navigational sense. New Orleans is a bit unique by any standard, but most of what I like to call the "post-WW II Southern Cities" are huge sprawling things with little planning and often several "downtown areas" interspersed with residential subdivisions and bedroom communities. I've been to New York and Chicago, their well planned grid and awesome public transportation are things to be envied... Most of us do, because we don't have them.
I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
This isn't true anymore. About 83% of the U.S. population lives in cities. We just aren't a rural country anymore. The simpler answer is that we have a de facto telecommunications monopoly in this country, and we all know how much monpolies love innovation.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
Perhaps this will be what it takes to bring the phone into Canada? 2 of our 3 major providers are 3G (Telus, Bell), so it the 3G iPhone would make perfect sense as a starting point for a Canadian release.
It's almost cruel how little Apple has said about a Canadian release (nothing). They haven't even hinted, nor have Telus, Bell, or Rogers. Only recently have we gotten a sign a 'something' in that there's a "French - Canadian" language seeting in the new 2.0 software.
Sigh, I'll keep waiting.
My old Motorolla V551 took a hard hit and was knocked out cold. I needed a phone - fast... I walked into the Cingular/AT&T store, asked to see a phone that would do more than just be a phone... So I looked at Palm... Been there, done that, have the t-shirt from Handspring... *yawn* --- I looked at Blackberry... too fruity for me... --- I then took a serious look at the (then) top of the line Windows Mobile device... sleek, sexy styling with turbo handling, all the business needs rolled into a nice, convenient package, NATIVE support for Exchange, Word, Excel, full apps, not just viewers, the quintessential Solitaire and more... and then... the price tag... $500 --- I told the sales punk, "I might as well buy an iPhone." So he showed me the iPhone. He turned it on... Ooooh! Aaaah! Here's my credit card. Wrap it up nice and pretty for me, OK?
Several months later, here I am... frigging iPhone doesn't sport ActiveSync, email is a throw back to the dark ages (I think Pine had more features), friggen OS X without copy/cut/paste - WTF?!?! Edge Wireless? That's all? You're kidding right? No voice dialing? No Bluetooth tethering? The list of gripes goes on... But Oooh... it's so pretty...
I love my iPhone - (under my breath: frigging under-developed piece of...)
Take hands-free dialing for example. The State of California issued several press releases about the impending law stating that cell phone use while driving would require hands free, yet, within less than a year of said law taking effect, the iPhone was released without the ability to voice dial, ergo, not being truly hands-free. You think Apple would be up to the task of do-diligence by making sure their user base is able to adhere to local and state legislation. There are alternatives... don't use your phone while driving or only answer calls using a headset. Alternatively, Motorola offers (for about $200) a device that connects to the iPhone and facilitates hands-free voice dialing. The problem is, it's an expensive add-on that should never have been needed in the first place.
Instead of focusing on stock tickers (can be had through the web browser), weather information (can be had through the web browser), and YouTube services (can be had through the web browser), I think the Apple dev team would have spent their time more wisely by addressing real-world issues such as tethering the phone to a BlueTooth laptop for use as a modem, fine tuning the email app so it's not so cludgy (have you ever tried deleted more than 20 emails in a sitting) - I think I have carpal tunnel in my tapping finger... but I digress...
Yes, I understand there will be plenty of items left on a to-do list at the end of a 1.0 release cycle. Many things end up on the cutting room floor. But why cut out common, everyday, key features that just about every modern (cell) phone already supports and leave your customer (and potential fanboy base) high and dry with the "So Sorry" schpeal?
And before you say, "Well, you bought into it anyway" - Yes I did. I know I did. I don't regret that I did. But now that I am here, I am noticing things that could have been done better - just like everyone else who owns an iPhone.
However, I must give Apple props - on a whole, out of the gate, they did quite well. I think Apple was wide to eliminate the 4GB model as well as cut the price of the 8GB model. And the end user experience has been beyond anything I ever found with any other phone...