Apple iPhone

[duofold]

Nice hands-on...in a controlled environment.

But no 3G? And this is not coming out for several more months? For those who actually use a browser/web on their phone, they know how painfully slow 2.5G/EDGE is in real life use.

And a nonreplaceable battery? I've never had a problem with this on my ipod. But usage patterns for a cellphone are vastly different in my experience - much more frequent charge cycles.

Subsequently, with every phone I've owned, the battery capacity dimishes substantially around the 1 yr mark, sometimes even sooner. So, on a 2 yr contract, what are you faced with - either accept day-to-day/even intraday charging or go without your phone + ipod for a week while it's getting a new battery?

The last issue is unacceptable.

[nick123]

that hands on was bad ass. If it ever comes to Verizon I'll have to pick it up

[xerikx]

skimmed the thread and don't know if it was mentioned

but an ad leaked with the 4gb model being 299 instead of the original jacked price

[i andrew]

ahem.. first post

one of the people i work with works @ apple as well. She said that the prices should come down by 100$ for each one before the release... hope thats true!

[DJ2xTech]

Meizu is coming out with a clone already in China. Supposedly its actually better than the iphone... haha

[Gabriel]

Does anyone know if it'll be locked to a network in EuropeLand too? And if so which one(s)?

Talking of which, I wish there was one big network for all of Europe. Roaming fees are expensive, even for text messages, and I'm always roaming ...

[-questionmark-]

i just want to clear up one point of confusion in this thread.

as of now there will be NO ichat. what it will do however is keep track of a conversation you have with any one person and format it into ichat form. so youll have a transcript of a conversation you have with someone via txt messages but its not ichat. you wont be logging on with your screenname and you wont have your buddylist.

[sarlo]

it looks sexy in movies etc.. but i think i wills tick to my ipaq and normal ipod.. because this thing is hell expensive

[alterion]

I have to say i don't see the fuss really- the n95 looks better in every way except UI - but its not apple so it won't sell aswell ofc

[tedsu]

pretty sure N95 sell well in asia and europe ...

[Tequila]

I have to say i don't see the fuss really- the n95 looks better in every way except UI - but its not apple so it won't sell aswell ofc

The "fuss" is that it's Apple's take on the cell phone market. And the touch screen GUI.

The fact that it's also an iPod (with that cool Cover Flow feature which they should update to the 5G iPods too!), is ok, but a storage capacity of 4Gb or 8Gb really doesn't come close to my 80Gb iPod...

[doduo]

I really don't think that the iPhone is worth buying (for most people).

It's not something you can sensibly use everyday as a phone.

a) it doesn't have any physical tactile buttons.

the shape is inappropriate for a phone

c) it appears to be delicate, something which will scratch and break with ease

d) it's features are not useful, or competitive with current phones.

Simply put, the iPhone is a marketing tool to showcase the interface and Apple's ability as a company. A toy for people who can afford it

My prediction is that Apple will soon sell more phones, most of which will be better suited for everyday use.

[hollaforadolla]

any one camping in line for this?

[Le Dirte]

Keep in mind, they are releasing at 6pm.

[sidneylo]

I really don't think that the iPhone is worth buying (for most people).

It's not something you can sensibly use everyday as a phone.

a) it doesn't have any physical tactile buttons.

the shape is inappropriate for a phone

c) it appears to be delicate, something which will scratch and break with ease

d) it's features are not useful, or competitive with current phones.

Simply put, the iPhone is a marketing tool to showcase the interface and Apple's ability as a company. A toy for people who can afford it

My prediction is that Apple will soon sell more phones, most of which will be better suited for everyday use.

I disagree.

a. http://www.apple.com/iphone/usingiphone/keyboard_large.html

It implements technology to change key fields to adjust for what word you are typing. For example, in the video, if you type "tim", it will predict what letters are possible for you type and predict you're typing the word "time", so the key field for "e" will expand so regardless of your accuracy, it will most likely register as "e".

It also uses AI correcting for words you use often, updating to adjust to your frequently used words or it will cross reference to your address book. In fact, at the end of the video in that link, the narrator ploughs through a message, 'trusting' the AI and as a result, even with a lot of fuck ups, finishes a slick message faster than the average smart phone. That actually impressed me quite a bit.

b. Could be debatable depending on how you look at the ergonomics of bulkier smart phones; you have a valid concern.

c. First few reviews are out, by Walt Mossberg and David Pogue.

Quotes from the reviews:

The display is made of a sturdy glass, not plastic, and while it did pick up smudges, it didn’t acquire a single scratch, even though it was tossed into Walt’s pocket or briefcase, or Katie’s purse, without any protective case or holster. No scratches appeared on the rest of the body either.

- Mossberg, All Things Digital

The phone is so sleek and thin, it makes Treos and BlackBerrys look obese. The glass gets smudgy — a sleeve wipes it clean — but it doesn’t scratch easily. I’ve walked around with an iPhone in my pocket for two weeks, naked and unprotected (the iPhone, that is, not me), and there’s not a mark on it.

- Progue, NY Times

As for breaking easily, if you drop a phone, shit happens. As for scratching, it seems as though their recent upgrade to glass coating rather than plastic has improved durability, according to these first few weeks of use from these units given for review.

d. I find an integrated UI with Safari at the helm for processing the real internet (rather than the mobile web), along with the multi-touch technology, not only a nifty new technology, but a very useful and thoughtful way of applying functionality to what is essentially a full-screen iPod.

Also, google maps along with traffic congestion seems helpful as well as a first step toward GPS integration for better functionality for the user.

Other perks such as visual voicemail are refreshing and may change some old standards for the future of smart phones/PDAs.

--

My beef with this thing is the EDGE network vs. 3G, and spotty AT&T service that I've heard about. Other than that, I'm more interested in seeing what software updates and new apps they'll roll out soon after the release on the 29th.

[homme.homme]

The only thing preventing me from wanting one of these (besides the fact its not available in my country yet) is the lack of memory.Size could possibly be an issue too as I already have trouble putting my tiny samsung p300 in my pocket comfortably>>>

[Le Dirte]

They're releasing the 2nd gen in January anyways. It will be 3G and clearly better and cooler and hopefully a bit cheaper. If you got the money, flaunt it, but if you want something more economical, wait until January.

[doduo]

after looking at that video, and skimming through the reviews, I can see that my concerns are not issues anymore.

it looks a lot more refined than what I expected apple to put out

and I'm impressed with the adaptive interface, construction, and multitouch implementation (based on the video and reviews). I guess being able to change the key field is a great advantage that the touch screen has over hard keysets. I also like how they used glass instead of plastic on the front.

unless and until I find something off about it when I play with it, I think the iPhone looks solid and will probably fit well with its buyers. And since it's features are all software based, most problems could be fixed by updates. I suppose that they could also add features by updates too.

If I'm not mistaken, Rogers will be selling the one selling the iPhone over here. Rogers has HSDPA (1.8-14.4Mb/s vs EDGE's 238.8Kb/s), so I guess we won't have the same internet issues as you guys. I'm just concerned about having to sign a contract with them. link

[fortune]

gonna post up a post from another forum i browse.

Just recieved this email from one of our network admins. Pretty damn pathetic for a next-gen phone, if you ask me.

You are going to be asked (or already have been) to hook up the iPhone to your network's email system in some way. The problem is that the only protocol the iPhone supports is IMAP and that just does not cut it. The iPhone cannot work like a RIM BlackBerry or Windows Mobile. There is no built-in sync with Outlook that is secure enough. It does not work with Lotus Notes either. I think that is a major omission of Apple's part and they should know better if they want to sell to the business community.

For the moment the iPhone is is an attractive, expensive consumer device. Keep it out of your networks until Apple licenses software from either RIM or Redmond to act like a Blackberry or Windows Mobile. Another major drawback is that an iPhone user needs an iTunes registration, which means a music directory on the user's desktop (or lord forbid on the network share). That's a disk space problem and legal can of worms as which of these songs are stolen or violate copyright? Apart from all the above, block any other access because these things can slurp down a good chunk of corporate confidential data. Just say no. Alternatives that -are- recommended are for instance the new BlackBerry Curve 8300, and the Nokia N95.

[polishmike]

That person is an idiot, don't post in here again.

[fortune]

lmao the hostility of this forum is awesome. just figure i'd pass if anyones looking at it for a business sense. my bad, asshat.

[sidneylo]

gonna post up a post from another forum i browse.

Fair enough... but that quote is entirely misguided. It sounds like shit talking from reps or other providers... there have been reports of that going on to stop customers from leaving their services. An estimated 8% of Sprint's subscribers are leaving for the iPhone. The reality is that this product is scaring the bejesus out of other companies.

IMAP is a universally supported protocol for e-mail servers. Business folks alike who are used to 'plugging in' their PDAs and syncing e-mail can just plug in their IMAP information and it automatically updates every few minutes with new e-mails. Fuck syncing. It's the same convenience I have with my Mac mail.app that uses IMAP to pull emails from all my accounts from gmail, to my own webhost email.

[wEstSidE]

Fair enough... but that quote is entirely misguided. It sounds like shit talking from reps or other providers... there have been reports of that going on to stop customers from leaving their services. An estimated 8% of Sprint's subscribers are leaving for the iPhone. The reality is that this product is scaring the bejesus out of other companies.

IMAP is a universally supported protocol for e-mail servers. Business folks alike who are used to 'plugging in' their PDAs and syncing e-mail can just plug in their IMAP information and it automatically updates every few minutes with new e-mails. Fuck syncing. It's the same convenience I have with my Mac mail.app that uses IMAP to pull emails from all my accounts from gmail, to my own webhost email.

i kind of want to post up "nigga technology" from the crackberry thread...or at least my luddite post.

[polishmike]

iPhone also uses POP3 just in case anyone was wondering.

[wEstSidE]

well what the fuck is that other guy griping about then? what, does it like not send using smtp or something?

[polishmike]

He wants an exchange sync that will work like a blackberry enterprise server. There will always be a dork that finds something to bitch about.

[wEstSidE]

cmon now this is a grown man's toy, not a business machine.

[Icarus]

Alert:

DRM DRM DRM DRM DRM DRM DRM DRM

[mrip]

So anyone reselling an iphone?

Check ebay.

This has westside's name all over it.

[hollaforadolla]

They're releasing the 2nd gen in January anyways. It will be 3G and clearly better and cooler and hopefully a bit cheaper. If you got the money, flaunt it, but if you want something more economical, wait until January.

rumor or truth?

im seriously considering purchasing one of these but i really dont want to wait in line. not only are you spending 500 dollars but you are wasting time. i need an ipod video for school but dont have one. add 200 dollars and i get a spiffy iphone. this camping out bullshit is ridiculous though. fuck hypebeast and fuck iphone campers.