Apple can make anything, add an “i” at the beginning of the name and it will be a big hit. I’m waiting anxiously for the “iChair”, which will enable computer users to sit down while working and avoid constant strain on their backs and legs.
I’ll switch cell carriers to have one of those. I’m not a “switcher” I still love my Windows, but if someone were to buy me a Mac, I wouldn’t turn it down. And I do want the iPhone.
– IG
Yes but their chair will also feature tools and items that most manufacturers haven’t included, or have included but in a more shabby implementation.
– IG
I have a few one-word responses:
COOL!
meh
FINGERPRINTS!
Yes, it’s a sexy little device, but I’m like MacTech in that I use my cell phone about ten minutes a month if I’m in a gabby mood. The screens on my RAZR (what can I say, it was a free phone) gather schmutz like nobody’s business - I’d hate to see what the iPhone will look like after a call or two. Ick.
The second one, but they’d say it was the first.
As would any other company.
– IG
I’d kinda like the iPhone- I mean, heck, I love my Treo650 to death, and for the most part, the iPhone sounds like a step up. Except…
Cingular only? Sprint has the best coverage in my town, and it’s not great. I’m also tied into a two-year contract with Sprint… and can I mention just how much that pisses me off? I’m getting really freakin’ tired of the American “customer hostage” bit that our providers do here- the European system (buy a phone, then find a provider) seems much more civilized.
I’d have to pay a huge amount to break contract with Sprint before I could get an iPhone.
Another thing- it’s got GMaps integrated (I’m also running GMaps on my Treo, and love it). But where’s the GPS? The iPhone seems to have everything, except a GPS. Man, I’d be all over it if it had one of those. I’m still irritated that the Treo effectively has a GPS built-in… but it can’t access it.
Wow. Too bad I don’t live near Cingular’s GSM coverage. If this thing was a PCS/1xRTT/EVDO phone, I’d be trying to get one right now. Actually, if this thing had 80Gb, rather than 8Gb, I’d be willing to buy one knowing I’d never turn on the phone. Just the convergence with the WiFi would be enough for me.
I also suspect that a Bluetooth Keyboard will work with this little guy.
On the other hand, I ordered my Apple TV as soon as the store came back online. We’ve had great luck using the iPod to bring TV shows from the computer to the TV, but it sure makes sense to do this over the LAN.
There are only two things about this that worry me. First, and most troublesome, is no mention of third-party expandability. Every other smartphone and PDA phone allows users to install their own software. If that feature is not available, then the iPhone is right out.
Second is the Cingular association. The iPhone will be offered for sale at Apple Stores, but there’s no word on whether a Cingular contract is required in that situation. Cingular might have good coverage, but they can’t beat the $20 unlimited Internet plan I have with T-Mobile.
IIRC, all cellphones built after 2004 are required by law to have GPS built in. Being able to access the GPS is another matter. Depending upon how the phone’s running OSX, you might at some point be able to download and install a hack that let’s you access the GPS in it. I presume that the Linux geeks will be trying to figure out how to run Linux on the thing as soon as they get their mitts on one.
The E911 laws require that a user can be located with a certain degree of accuracy. GPS is one way of doing so, but not required. My HTC Wizard, for example, was introduced in 2005, but doesn’t have GPS. If I had to call 911, my position would be triangulated through the nearest cell towers.
The other product announced this week that I’m excited about is the R2-D2 Mobile Entertainment System, announced at CES by Nikkor. It’s a model of R2-D2 that’s a DVD player, video projector and iPod dock, for only $2,500. And the remote control is in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. As the New York Times said, “perfect for bachelors trying to impress female visitors.”
Yes, it’s incredibly geeky, but it’s also cool in a weird way.
Yes, the iPhone will be expandable with third-party ‘widgets’ the same way the Dashboard in OS X is - actually, as far as I can tell, OS X Dashboard widgets will be able to run on the iPhone completely unmodified. Talk about cool…
As for Cingular, yeah, that does suck. But Verizon sucks too, and everyone else (Sprint, Nextel, T-Mobile, etc.) are minor players. Apple had to pick one of the two major ones, and Cingular is definitely more flexible.
The rumor is that it will be available within six months on other carriers, not two years as is being reported. Two years would be really, really excessive - I can’t believe Jobs would agree to that.
Regarding the zirconia bit - wow, I had forgotten about that. Jobs did mention that there were over 200 patents in the iPhone - I bet that’s one of them. That’s awesome.
The more I hear about this, the more I like it. June couldn’t come soon enough.
Oooh, oooh, sign me up! I could use one of those.
I’m waiting until they come out with iLever or the iWheel, complete with stylish, compact design and well-planned ergonomics. I’m sure it’ll be a vast improvement over those old-fashioned, depreciated machines.
Stranger
Meh, I think the iPhone is too bloated to be a practical everyday device that I would carry. I’m good with computers and can program them but I like things to be kept simple. Actually, I don’t even like to carry my cell phone that much. I long for the day when I can just ride off into the woods and not have a care in the world.
<Sigh!> How I miss the days when men carried clubs and danced around the fire.
The iPhone is running MacOSX, whether it’s the full version or some slimmed down core is yet to be determined but you should be able to use all of the conventional mac development tools to work on it.
Personally, I’m probably going to wait until version 2 when the price comes down, battery life goes up and GPS is added. Right now I have a Dell Axim x51v which is pretty much the same form factor except with twice the resolution, no cell phone capabilities and running windows. It would be nice to carry 1 thing around instead of 2 but not $500 nice.
Oh yeah, I just remembered. One of the most exciting things which I think is going to come out of the whole iPhone thing is probably going to be, ironically, something which has come from Microsoft Research Labs. Ken Hinckley did some work in 2003 on Tablet Whacking (MPG video).
The basic idea is that for sharing little snippets of information like contact details, all of the current methods are a major pain in the ass. In theory, you can do it via bluetooth but NOBODY I know ever does it like that. What people do is labouriously hand transcribe the information back in because it’s the LEAST painful method we have so far. What Hinckley came up with is that the unique accelerometer signature that occurs when two objects bump into each other allows them to uniquely identify each other. You can then use that semantic link to identify intent.
So imagine this scenario: You meet a girl at a party and you two hit it off. You want to give her your phone number and you find out you both have iphones. You select “Send contact details via bumping” and then you gently tap your phone against hers. The phone sends out a custom bluetooth signal through the room, identifying maybe 7 different devices but it can tell which iphone was bumped by your phone so it sends the data seamlessly to that phone and it all gets entered in automatically. Or, you run into a friend and tell him you’re going to a party tonight and he should come. He asks you for details so you just bump it all across to his phone. It’s quick, it’s intuitive and it’s very applesque.
I don’t know how patenting and licensing would work for something like that but I would love, LOVE to see this style of interaction happen on the iPhone. It’s something that really would revolutionise mobile devices and it’s incredibly sad that it’s been languishing on the shelf for 3 years already.
Remember folks, you heard it here first.
I could sworn there was amention of GPS in the keynote, or at least some location tech “It knows where you are”. But nothing on website.
Brian
I don’t believe the naysayers: this is really an incredible technology for a comparatively low price when you look at what it is, does, and what’s all bundled in.
That said, I could not justify purchasing one given that I do not have any long commutes on public transport or really spend much time in my day where a computer is not readily available. I could barely justify buying an iPod period for this reason.
The one thing I’m especially skeptical about is the 4GB/8GB flash space. With a screen that’s big enough for video, that just isn’t even close to enough space to store reasonable amounts of it to make the feature worthwhile. And that’s even if that’s just the user-available space. I expect that that is the TOTAL space, in which case OSX and the apps and such will take up a heck of a lot of the existing room, leaving you with more of an mp3 jukebox comparable to LG’s phones or a 2GB nano rather than a real video iPod.