Breaking News!!! Apple iPhone

[RendeR]

I don't understand why all these tencho-hippy toys are always supposed to be "breaking news"

its a gizmo, get a grip.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I don't understand why all these tencho-hippy toys are always supposed to be "breaking news"

its a gizmo, get a grip.

The title was an homage to some old post about a one gig nano that was deemed "Breaking News!!!" Sort of an inside joke thing, if you will.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

There's just something that makes me feel all is right with the world when you're using Professor Frink quotes.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

That's way too expensive. You aren't going to get the buisiness folks away from their Blackberries and Treo's (which run Microsoft office apps) with this and I'm not sure the common phone buyer will shell out that much cash for one.

[Hurst2112]

I would bet that the next generation of ipods will start to incorporate the iphone features.

New ipods will have both a hard drive and the touch interface of the iphone. just a guess.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by stevew

The title was an homage to some old post about a one gig nano that was deemed "Breaking News!!!" Sort of an inside joke thing, if you will.

RendeR no like joke. RendeR SMASH!!!!!!!!

[kcchief19]

I love people. I walk in to the Apple store here in town yesterday and two guys walk in behind me. They go up to one of the employees and ask if the they have any iPhones in yet.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I love people. I walk in to the Apple store here in town yesterday and two guys walk in behind me. They go up to one of the employees and ask if the they have any iPhones in yet.

Was this the reason you were at the Apple store yesterday?



hxxp://sf.metblogs.com/archives/2007/01/entire_apple_store_pranked_wit.phtml

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I love people. I walk in to the Apple store here in town yesterday and two guys walk in behind me. They go up to one of the employees and ask if the they have any iPhones in yet.

Among the problems I am reading around the internet with the iPhone is that it does not come out until June. People are wondering why Apple announced it so early and speculation is that perhaps Apple had a heads up on someone else putting out something very much like this soon.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Among the problems I am reading around the internet with the iPhone is that it does not come out until June. People are wondering why Apple announced it so early and speculation is that perhaps Apple had a heads up on someone else putting out something very much like this soon.

The reason for announcing it so soon is that they had to file the paperwork for FCC permits, so they couldn't keep it a secret anymore, since those applications are public record.

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Among the problems I am reading around the internet with the iPhone is that it does not come out until June. People are wondering why Apple announced it so early and speculation is that perhaps Apple had a heads up on someone else putting out something very much like this soon.

From what was said in the keynote address, the FCC has to sign off on it. That has something to do with the delay.

Even if I were to get one, I wouldn't want to be one of the first. The screen will probably have some issues. I can see people complaining about the interface not being as smooth as they thought. Battery life issues as well. I want one, but will probably wait till my contract is up in Dec.

I have an 8525 to keep me busy right now.

IMA geek

[Ksyrup]

Hurst! Where ya been? Seen the news about Rush's new album?

[Butter]

Hey, Apple's come out with something else I can't afford! Hooray!

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Hurst! Where ya been? Seen the news about Rush's new album?

I've been around. Yeah. I've read Neil's little 'blog' about tracking.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by cartman

There is nothing in the hardware of the phone that keeps it from working with any GSM provider. There is just some sort of software key on it that will only allow it to work with a Cingular branded SIM card. This is referred to as "locking" the phone to a particular provider. This is easily overridden, and I'm sure that the fix will be out the same day as the iPhone. You will also probably be able to buy an unlocked phone to use on any GSM service, but the price will probably be $200 to $300 higher.

Are we sure about this? I was reading on one techie site where they said the phone was on the "Edge" network for Cingular which is by most accounts a crappy non 3G network, and it wouldn't necessarily work on Verizon's/Sprint's network. I'm not too into the cell phone details but just checking.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Are we sure about this? I was reading on one techie site where they said the phone was on the "Edge" network for Cingular which is by most accounts a crappy non 3G network, and it wouldn't necessarily work on Verizon's/Sprint's network. I'm not too into the cell phone details but just checking.

It definitely won't work on Sprint or Verizon, since they use CDMA as their protocol, and Cingular uses GSM. Once unlocked, it would work fine on T-Mobile or AT&T network. 'Edge' is Cingular's marketing term for their wireless data protocol that utilizes GSM, which has decent speed, but nowhere near 3G speed.

I'm certain that a future version of the iPhone will support 3G, due to the impressive audio/visual capabilites of the phone, and the fact that 3G is pretty much established everywhere else in the world, except for the US. But 3G is starting to be rolled out more and more in the US.

edit: changed Cingular to Verizon in the first sentence

[ISiddiqui]

Well, Verizon doesn't have a GSM network, so it wouldn't work for Verizon anyway.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by cartman

The reason for announcing it so soon is that they had to file the paperwork for FCC permits, so they couldn't keep it a secret anymore, since those applications are public record.

yeah, if i remember correctly it only took a little over a month from when Sirius filed their FCC paperwork for the Stilleto portable satellite radio (which has mp3 storage) for it to be released. 6 months seems a little longer then needed, but maybe cell phones take longer to approve, i don't know.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by cartman

There is nothing in the hardware of the phone that keeps it from working with any GSM provider. There is just some sort of software key on it that will only allow it to work with a Cingular branded SIM card. This is referred to as "locking" the phone to a particular provider. This is easily overridden, and I'm sure that the fix will be out the same day as the iPhone. You will also probably be able to buy an unlocked phone to use on any GSM service, but the price will probably be $200 to $300 higher.

Yeah, sorry I just realized you said any GSM network and Sprint/Verizon are CDMA. My bad.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Cringer

yeah, if i remember correctly it only took a little over a month from when Sirius filed their FCC paperwork for the Stilleto portable satellite radio (which has mp3 storage) for it to be released. 6 months seems a little longer then needed, but maybe cell phones take longer to approve, i don't know.

well, most of the "apps" on the phone were just jpegs, not actual programs. Seems they're still working on some things.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Are we sure about this? I was reading on one techie site where they said the phone was on the "Edge" network for Cingular which is by most accounts a crappy non 3G network, and it wouldn't necessarily work on Verizon's/Sprint's network. I'm not too into the cell phone details but just checking.

hxxp://www.techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1RT1OCVNF0AGEQSNDLPSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleId=196900200

Cingular's Edge network provides nationwide coverage at average data speeds between 75 Kbps and 135 Kbps, according to Cingular's Web site. By comparison, the CDMA EV-DO Rev A network being rolled out by Sprint has speeds of 450 Kbps to 800 Kbps. Sprint says its EV-DO network already covers several cities and will be deployed nationwide in the third quarter. Verizon Wireless also has rolled out network segments using CDMA EV-DO technology. The other major GSM provider in the United States, T-Mobile, uses Edge technology.

The iPhone also offers something of a departure for mobile phone service providers in that it has Wi-Fi capability, which can deliver high-speed data access. The phone reportedly switches seamlessly and automatically between Edge and Wi-Fi, depending on what's available. But users will have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot to use the high-speed capability.

Cingular says it will begin offering the Apple iPhone nationwide in June. Apple's decision to use Cingular's Edge (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) underscores the ongoing battle between the European-developed GSM standard and Qualcomm's various CDMA flavors. While Qualcomm struggled for years to bring its CDMA technologies to market, GSM providers captured most of the worldwide mobile phone service provider market and they have moved to lock it up for the future.

When advanced CDMA technologies finally made it to market, they were more robust than most GSM offerings. Qualcomm says its EV-DO networks can reach peak data rates of 3.1 Mbps on the forward link, and 1.8 Mbps on the reverse link.

Cingular and other GSM-based service providers are working on technologies such as High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) to boost their network data speeds to at least parity with EV-DO, although they aren't expected to be available in time for the iPhone rollout.

Will data speed rates make any different to iPhone users?

One longtime Apple cheerleader, influential personal technology reviewer Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, heaped praise on the iPhone Thursday, although he mentioned it runs on the "relatively slow" Edge network. Mossberg has evaluated competing GSM and EV-DO technologies and has said Edge is a "drastically slower alternative that constantly reminded us that we were using a pokey mobile device.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

well, most of the "apps" on the phone were just jpegs, not actual programs. Seems they're still working on some things.

That makes more sense then.

[AgustusM]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/01/10/cisco...one-trademark/

And now Cisco is suing Apple over the iPhone trademark. Seems Apple didn't sign the paperwork for the name in time, and Cisco said FU

I love this BTW after apple sent a bunch of cease and desist letters to podcasters for using the name "pod" serves them right - but I still want one of these phones, though I will probably wait for 2nd generation and all the bugs to get worked out.

[Subby]

I would get fired if I tried to replace my users' blackberries with this.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Among the problems I am reading around the internet with the iPhone is that it does not come out until June. People are wondering why Apple announced it so early and speculation is that perhaps Apple had a heads up on someone else putting out something very much like this soon.

The fact that it's not coming out until June was what got me about the people rushing in to see if they had. How many people rushed into stores two years ago to find out if they had any PlayStation 3 or Wii consoles in stock yet?

My thought: people are morons. That is all.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Among the problems I am reading around the internet with the iPhone is that it does not come out until June. People are wondering why Apple announced it so early and speculation is that perhaps Apple had a heads up on someone else putting out something very much like this soon.

You mean like the LG KE 850
http://desktops.engadget.com/2007/01...ated-at-birth/

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

The fact that it's not coming out until June was what got me about the people rushing in to see if they had. How many people rushed into stores two years ago to find out if they had any PlayStation 3 or Wii consoles in stock yet?

My thought: people are morons. That is all.

So I shouldn't keep checking Wal Mart for my own personal Robocop?

[Daimyo]

If the iPhone name falls through they can always just call it Newton 2.0

[Oilers9911]

Remember the days when a phone was for making phone calls?

[ISiddiqui]

You call the iPhone the phone of the future? Pshaw!





All LCD as well.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

Remember the days when a phone was for making phone calls?

I remember a couple of years ago and seeing listed as a "feature" for a cell phone "real time voice communication".

[Cringer]

[b]Interesting article...

hxxp://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/technology/11cnd-apple.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 — Apple’s new iPhone appears to be the clearest statement yet of what Steve Jobs’s impact has been on consumer electronics.

It is not that he invents new technologies. He refines existing ones.

Mr. Jobs himself acknowledged that when asked during an interview on Tuesday whether he thought the iPhone represented a trend toward the convergence of computing and communications.

“I don’t want people to think of this as a computer,” he said. “I think of it as reinventing the phone.”

If the iPhone succeeds commercially, it will be new proof of Mr. Jobs’s power and influence over the world’s consumer marketplace.

Indeed, at times he seems to be able to defy gravity.

But while his design ideas have frequently been runaway successes, there have also been striking failures.

His Next computer, developed in the 1980s during his exile from Apple and originally intended for a college audience, was never able to break out of its small niche. (Despite being a commercial failure, the Next was used by Tim Berners-Lee to develop the original concept of the World Wide Web.) In a similar fashion, the Macintosh Cube, introduced in 2000, failed in the market despite being seen as an artistic breakthrough in computer industrial design.

Indeed, when the Macintosh Computer — which, like the iPhone, was designed by a small group shrouded in secrecy — was introduced in January 1984, it was received with the same kind of wild hyperbole that greeted the iPhone this week. But a year later, the shortcomings of the first-generation Macintosh cost Mr. Jobs his job at the company he had founded with his high school friend Stephen Wozniak nine years earlier.

In light of the iPhone’s closed, appliance-style design, it is worth recounting the Mac’s early history because of the potential parallel pitfalls that Mr. Jobs and his company may face.

Despite its high price of $2,495, the Macintosh initially sold briskly. But Mr. Jobs’s early predictions of huge sales (on Tuesday, in a similar fashion, he set a goal for the iPhone 1 percent of the world’s cellular phone market, or 10 million phones a year, by the end of 2008) failed to materialize.

The Mac’s stumble was in part because of pricing and in part because Mr. Jobs had intentionally restricted its expandability. Despite his assertion that a slow data connection would be sufficient, the gamble failed when Apple’s business stalled and Mr. Jobs was forced out of the company by the chief executive he had brought in, John Sculley.

In a similar fashion, Mr. Jobs is gambling that people will pay a premium ($499 or $599) for the iPhone and appears to have sought to limit its expandability.

The device is not currently compatible with the faster 3G wireless data networks that are driving sharp gains in cellular revenues in the United States, although several Apple insiders said the phone could be upgraded to 3G with software if Apple later decides to do so.

Moreover, Mr. Jobs also appears to be restricting the potential for third-party software developers to write applications for the new handset — from ringtones to word processors.

To be sure, this strategy has not limited the success of the iPod, which has become the defining hand-held consumer appliance and fashion statement in the last half-decade. The world of digital cellular phones, however, is rapidly becoming a simple extension of the world of personal computing. The leading handset makers — Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Sony Ericsson — are all pushing in the direction of making their devices increasingly look like PCs you can put in your pocket.

Mr. Jobs is moving in that direction, too, but it appears that he wants to control his device much more closely than his competitors.

“We define everything that is on the phone,” he said. “You don’t want your phone to be like a PC. The last thing you want is to have loaded three apps on your phone and then you go to make a call and it doesn’t work anymore. These are more like iPods than they are like computers.”

The iPhone, he insisted, would not look like the rest of the wireless industry.

“These are devices that need to work, and you can’t do that if you load any software on them,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there’s not going to be software to buy that you can load on them coming from us. It doesn’t mean we have to write it all, but it means it has to be more of a controlled environment.”

Software developers at Macworld Expo, the trade show where Mr. Jobs made the iPhone announcement, said they were taking a wait-and-see attitude about the phone. Several noted that much of the phone’s usability will depend on what added functions Apple decides to place in the version of the Safari Web browser that is part of the system.

If there is a Adobe Flash player available for the iPhone, and if it supports the Internet standards that are being widely used by the developers of a proliferating array of Web services, Apple’s decision to restrict software development may not matter.

Indeed, Mr. Jobs appears already to have made believers out of many industry analysts and independent researchers.

“He’s competing as he always has, as an integrated-consumer-device maker who lets other people deal with the rest of the stuff,” said Michael J. Kleeman, a former telecommunications industry executive who is now a researcher at the University of California, San Diego. “He gets to leverage other people’s capital investments.”

There are still a number of intriguing unanswered questions about the design of the system, and analysts said the real design of the device will not be fully comprehended until the iPhone is in users’ hands in June.

Is it a phone, a PC, or something entirely new? For instance, despite the fact that the phone has high-speed digital Wi-Fi capability built in, Mr. Jobs was coy about how that capability would be used.

During an interview on Tuesday, he said that Apple had not decided whether to enable a voice-over-Internet service like Skype — a potentially divisive issue for Cingular, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, because it could come at the expense of cellular voice revenue.

Also, it is not clear how far Mr. Jobs will go in letting the device begin to replace the PC and Macintosh for users who have no need to sit in front of a desk or carry a portable computer.

It is possible that Apple’s chief executive has found a way to step into the chasm between the two worlds and profitably fill it.

“Apple is in a unique position to build a winning personal device that really fulfills the missing promise here,” said Michael Hawley, a software designer who is a former member of the M.I.T. faculty and a friend of Mr. Jobs.

[Oilers9911]

Originally Posted by cartman

I remember a couple of years ago and seeing listed as a "feature" for a cell phone "real time voice communication".

You'd sure as hell hope it was a feature if you were buying that particular phone wouldn't you?

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by John Galt

RendeR no like sensationalized useless toys. RendeR no get joke RendeR SMASH!!!!!!!!

Fixed that for clarity, and for once you cracked me up John *chuckles*

[Cringer]

'Get your free iPhone, click here' adds already showing up. Nice.

[cartman]

Ten years since the announcement. Always fun to look back at these threads.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Subby

I would get fired if I tried to replace my users' blackberries with this.

HOW IS YOUR NEW JOB????!!!!????111

[molson]

And here's the launch reaction thread.

iPhone - Front Office Football Central

[cartman]

And here's my 'alright boyz' thread

Alright boyz, here we go! Apple iPhone released - Front Office Football Central

[QuikSand]

That moment when you see what you posted in an old thread... and approve.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

that's a farging colossal phone

Lol.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I don't understand why all these tencho-hippy toys are always supposed to be "breaking news"

its a gizmo, get a grip.

Just your daily reminder that RendeR is, was, and always will be, stupid.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Subby

I would get fired if I tried to replace my users' blackberries with this.

Your daily reminder that Subby is, wa