# Apple Presser Discussion Thread: iSlate? Verizon iPhone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661 "2010-01-27T17:31:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/21 "2010-01-27T18:50:18Z")
Who wants to try to guess what it’ll cost? It’s 10:48 California time, and my current guess (based on the live blog), is $599. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/22 "2010-01-27T18:53:00Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Who wants to try to guess what it’ll cost? > > It’s 10:48 California time, and my current guess (based on the live blog), is $599. 16GB iPad? $699 32 GB? $749 64 GB? $799 ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/23 "2010-01-27T18:56:17Z")
I think you’re shooting too low. I could see this starting at $800. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/24 "2010-01-27T19:01:21Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > I think you’re shooting too low. I could see this starting at $800. That was my inclination too, but early in the keynote, Jobs talked about needing an intermediary step between the iPod and the MacBook. Once you’re charging $800 for it though, it’s not intermediary; it’s almost equivalent. So I suspect that they’ll price this really aggressively. Maybe try to make up for it in app sales? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/25 "2010-01-27T19:06:10Z")
Overall it seems pretty underwhelming. This is pretty much a bigger iPod Touch. No multitasking. No flash support (something which is now common on smartphones). No writing capabilites (one of the biggest advantages of tablets) and I doubt the onscreen keyboard works particularly well. ``` Markets seems mildly disappointed with Apple's stock falling more than 1%. ``` Still I wouldn’t underestimate Apple’s marketing machine. And the iPad is the Great Hope of the media for making money off content. They are probably going to hype it to the skies. On the whole though, I don’t think this is going to be a big success unless it’s priced very competitively which is unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/26 "2010-01-27T19:06:19Z")
Wow, you’re gonna need a really big pocket to carry that thing around! ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/27 "2010-01-27T19:11:20Z")
Not an Apple guy here either, and I was still pretty excited about this announcement. I’m… not at all excited anymore. I have an iPhone, I have a laptop, I don’t know why I would need this. I know they’re trying to push it as the in between of the two, but I’m not sure it is. The whole thing seems strange to me. I’ve wanted a fully-featured tablet for a long time, too. I haven’t heard any reason for me to buy this yet. ---
**Author:** ![BeeDubU2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BeeDubU2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeDubU2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/28 "2010-01-27T19:13:49Z")
It seems like the same shortcomings of the iPhone are being transferred to the ipad. STILL no flash, STILL no multitasking. Have you seen a camera yet? ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/29 "2010-01-27T19:14:38Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Just think, if you want to pay for the super premium iPad you can get the MAX-iPad, so you can cover the days when you’re streaming heavily… 😃 Win. ---
**Author:** ![BeeDubU2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BeeDubU2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeDubU2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/30 "2010-01-27T19:18:48Z")
And I’m reading now that you still have to sync it to an actual computer. I was really excited about this, and now I’m… underwhelmed. I guess I thought it would take all I loved about the iPhone and make it, I dunno, better. I was hoping for a USB port so you could connect a physical keyboard, or your camera to upload pics and such. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/31 "2010-01-27T19:19:14Z")
I am surprised there is no camera on this thing. Pretty much a standard feature on netbooks and I would have thought video chatting would be a pretty natural function on this device. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/32 "2010-01-27T19:20:14Z")
$500 ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/33 "2010-01-27T19:20:45Z")
$499 ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/34 "2010-01-27T19:22:14Z")
$829 for the biggest with 3G…dayum ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/35 "2010-01-27T19:22:48Z")
plus if you want ATT wireless coverage, $15 a month for 250mb or $30 a month unlimited. I have to say, at that price it’s really tempting. I don’t have a niche for this, but I might try to create one. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/36 "2010-01-27T19:23:18Z")
Wow, that IS competitively priced. And they have a keyboard dock (I was really wondering if they’d support one, or a Bluetooth keyboard; I already have one of those that I use on the Mac.) Mind you, the 3G versions add $130 to that price tag. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/37 "2010-01-27T19:23:32Z")
Seems like they’re indulging in a bit of weasel-pricing on the 3G side. “$14.99 for 250 megabytes” - that’s, what, half a television episode? Or two albums, three tops? With steep overage charges, I’m sure. That would _probably_ be okay if you used your iKotex for email exclusively, but nothing more than that. It’s a useless pricing scheme, designed solely as a soundbite to make the iKotex sound affordable. As for the $30 unlimited plan - not terrible, but AT&T is barely managing with the burden iphones place on their network. How can they handle this without really, really crippling the 3G access? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/38 "2010-01-27T19:26:01Z")
A fair question about the AT&T network. That’s why I don’t own an iphone yet. Of course the 3g access is optional. But if I bought the $499 model and went with the $29.99 a month AT&T plan, with Skype, it’s $20 less than my current Verizon plan, which I hardly ever use… ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/39 "2010-01-27T19:26:24Z")
I think Steve Jobs may have just saved the world. When he announced the price so much jism flew into the air that it blocked out the sun, temporarily halting global warming. What can’t Steve Jobs do? ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661/40 "2010-01-27T19:27:21Z")
Put me on the underwhelmed list. It’s a bigger, beefier iPod/iPhone. I’d rather have a crappy laptop. At least the crappy laptop could run Skype and browse the web at the same time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-presser-discussion-thread-islate-verizon-iphone/526661.md?page=3)