Anyone Getting An I-Phone?

[Phil T]

Anyone standing in line tomorrow for an I-phone?

[txtommy]

NO!
I can already call anyone on my free phone. Why would I pay $600 just to pretend that I am cool? I bet I'll see at least one person totally distracted with one of these devices while driving their car before the weekend is over.

[Nick]

Total cost of iPhone w/2 yr commitment will run around $2,000!

I'm good.

[davring]

Not me, could be another Apple flop, they did have many if I remember correctly.

[aim2pls]

I'm too old to want to impress up and commers ..... they can look down on me all they want driving around in my 6 wheel box van installation truck ... wearing my work boots, jeans, and work shirt. Least I own the truck ... the company .. the wife's sebring conv .. the house .. the pool ... take 4 months off a year or more if I'm real lazy and the phone ain't ringing ... oops did I remember to turn that damn thing on???

[machavez00]

I'm with Qwest(Sprint). Until it is available through my carrier, no

[jacag04]

The interface of the iphone cannot be matched by any means but for me to spend 500+ on a phone they must make some changes. First of all the AT&T edge network is way too slow. 2 minutes to load yahoo's homepage is NOT appealing. Obviously this will change for the better but we dont know how long. I'm also not thrilled about the keypad, I guess I cant knock it b4 I try it but those little buttons on a 3 1/2" screen cant be easy to type. I would rather have a decent keyboard rather than the built in software that supposedly corrects mistakes. The least of all features would be a Video Camera. I mean my cell phone 5 years ago had one, how hard could it be for the iphone to have it? The 2.0MP camera is decent but for a product that is revolutionalizing the industry I would expect more. The last point would be that I'm very curious to see how the competition will react. I would suspect by Christmas would be a nice rival phone. I see myself holding out either for a better rival phone or the next generation iphone. What do u all think?

[Phil T]

I did stop by my local Apple store last night about an hour after the phone was released. The 200 people in line (according to TV reports) were gone and the store was busy, but not jammed.

What was really nice was that had dozens of I-Phones on display and activated so you could play with them. Store employees were walking around with I-Phones answering questions and showing how to use the features. I got to play with one for about 20 minutes and it was really easy to use. I was able to watch videos, launch Safari, zoom in on the web pages, look at digital pictures etc. The only thing I did not do was make a call. My wife and I both played with the keyboard and felt it would be easy to get used to.

I did not buy one because I am under a contract to Sprint. My contract is up in October so I may consider one then. I am sure it will never be a replacement for a business laptop, but looks like it would be a great toy if you travel a lot and are bored sitting in an airport.

It would be interesting to see a report from anyone who bought one last night.

[Richard King]

Since AT&T service doesn't work at my house, I'll pass. But then, I would have passed anyway, but now I have an excuse. :D

[CoriBright]

I'm very happy with my Cingular PocketPC. I'll stick with it.

[31Media]

The thing simply costs too much money (both in terms of the phone and data plan required for it) to invest in right now. I've got other bills to pay as opposed to ponying up for an iPhone. Maybe when the price comes down.

[funhouse69]

I'm like others, I'm under contract with another provider and would never add another $175 to the cost of getting another phone. At the same time I had Cingular which is now the "New AT&T" oh wait its now at&t :eek2: anyway I was not a fan of their service but maybe its gotten better.

That said I did take a while to warm up to the i-pod (ok more like kicking and screaming) but finally broke down and bought a Nano and absolutely love it. To me this is a result of years of refinement. This makes me wonder what they will do when they come out with the next generation of the i-phone.

Yes this is pretty much coolest looking phone ever released to date and can not imagine anything coming close to it for sometime to come but the price tag is completely ridiculous to me for such a relatively small amount of storage. Only 4 or 8GB seriously? then why add video capabilities.

I'm usually one to go out and buy new things like this but for the reasons mentioned above I think I will wait this one out to see what comes next from our favorite fruit company next and who knows maybe someone else will surprise us all with something even cooler and more expandable by the time my contract ends.

[Nick]

From what I hear, the iPhone's battery is not replaceable. I'm no expert, but
even with today's extended battery life, that seems like a design flaw.

Also, unless AT&T has a surprise announcement up their corporate sleeve,
it was not the best choice as the exclusive carrier, what with its sub-optimal
"EDGE" data network. Wired Mag said the EDGE network is "laughably slow".

Even with all its glitzy 'bells & whistles', the iPhone doesn't quite ring my bell.

[bidger]

I think it's a product primarily targeted to the Mac head and youth market and I'm neither. Pass.

[directvfreak]

Got mine friday and I love it. Worth the Money. Definatly a lot to get used to but after a few days, it becomes easier. Now that I have played with it for a while, it is much eiser to use and I can use two thumbs to type. If your on the fence to buy one,there is a 14 day return so try it.

[Cholly]

Last night, on the 11 p.m. WBTV newscast, there was a brief video of some teenagers destroying an iPhone to "see how it was made". There was also a side comment that there were reports of large numbers of people opening them up.

Must be nice to have all that money to waste!:icon_lame

[Mark Holtz]

From AnandTech:

Apple's iPhone Dissected: We did it, so you don't have toWe have only had the phone for a few hours but we needed to get inside its casing, what follows is our dissection of the Apple iPhone. Please note that we're doing this so you are not tempted to on your recent $500/$600 expenditure, while it is quite possible to take apart using easy to find tools we'd recommend against it as it will undoubtedly void your warranty and will most likely mar up the beautiful gadget's exterior. Do whatever you wish to your iPhone, but do so at your own risk :)FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3026)

[PatentBoy]

From what I hear, the iPhone's battery is not replaceable. I'm no expert, but
even with today's extended battery life, that seems like a design flaw.

Also, unless AT&T has a surprise announcement up their corporate sleeve,
it was not the best choice as the exclusive carrier, what with its sub-optimal
"EDGE" data network. Wired Mag said the EDGE network is "laughably slow".

Even with all its glitzy 'bells & whistles', the iPhone doesn't quite ring my bell.

The iPhone battery is replaceable, just not user replaceable. ($85)

As you may have heard, the EDGE network has been given a boost, and Apple will continue to pressure them for higher speeds. My guess is that an unlocked iPhone will be available within a year.

[kevinturcotte]

I live in a COMPLETE dead zone, so NO cell phone for me. If I was going to get one though, I'd probably get the iPhone.

[Cholly]

Claim that Apple is making up to 55% profit on each iPhone sold.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134132/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

[fpd917]

Claim that Apple is making up to 55% profit on each iPhone sold.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134132/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

come on people this is America and we built this country on trying to make more money and improving ourselves. Who does not make a profit on products. We would not have jobs if it any other way. You think microshaft doesn't make a profit on everything it sells. If you could make a profit you would too. GO Apple!!!! Typed on a iPhone!

Also, yes i am an apple fan, but aside from that the iPhone is by far the most unique product out there, and someone may come out with something to compete. The ipod revoulutionized the music industry and the iphone may do the same thing.

[Nick]

I don't think 55 percent profit is unreasonable, considering Apple's target market
is impulse-driven gadget freaks with more money than (not then) self-restraint. :rolleyes:

In the 1970s I had an acquiantance who paid over $600 for one of the first digital
watches - a bulky Pulsar that only showed the time in red LEDs when a button was
pressed, but like the iPhone, it was the latest and greatest and he had to have it.

...Also, yes i am an apple fan, but aside from that the iPhone is by far the most unique product out there, and someone may come out with something to compete. The ipod revoulutionized the music industry and the iphone may do the same thing.Well said. Jobs has certainly raised the bar - again.

[Phil T]

I remember those watches!! I bought a TI hand held calculator in 1976 with red LEDS and had to open a Sears charge account to pay for it.

[DonLandis]

I don't think 55 percent profit is unreasonable, considering Apple's target market
is impulse-driven gadget freaks with more money than (not then) self-restraint. :rolleyes:

In the 1970s I had an acquiantance who paid over $600 for one of the first digital
watches - a bulky Pulsar that only showed the time in red LEDs when a button was
pressed, but like the iPhone, it was the latest and greatest and he had to have it.

Well said. Jobs has certainly raised the bar - again.


Hey Nick! I have one of those Pulsar watches. I got it as a gift-award for a presentation I gave at the Smithsonian on solar energy effectiveness by state's average sun energy density. It was the goofiest watch. It's time readout was on the side with the solar panels on top. It quit working after a year or so.

Back to the iphone- This afternoon, I went to the Apple store to get a hands on look see feel and I must say the interface is real slick. It was very easy for me to navigate around. The display was very high quality and the touch screen while a bit inaccurate for a finger touch, it was nicely laid out. I had lots of trouble typing in the letters. There is no stylus on the iphone but IMO, it needs one.

The internet surfing was not bad on EDGE, faster than I anticipated but still pretty slow for day to day use. The real problem I saw was that the safari had lots of problems with media files. I got lots of error messages when I went to various website that were heavy with media. The kid at Apple said You Tube is supported. Ues that works but what about other sites with media? It won't play many media formats that are popular on the net and if these are large files, forget it. Wouldn't handle anything larger than a few megabites.

wifi was definitely faster but I had to make several attempts at turning it on with apple's open wifi signal. When it finally did connect, it was much faster than Edge.

Overall the phone appears to be locked to a few applications. I think you'll need to be happy with what Apple gives you.

Anyway I played with the iphone for nearly an hour and ran the battery down to a what appeared to be 20% so I put it back in it's charging cradle and left. There were about 10 people in all who were looking it over for much shorter period of time but nobody was buying and most walked when they heard the price. The only ones excited about the iphone were the kids. They had about 10 on display and said they had a large supply to sell.


IMO, this phone lacks real PDA use for me but for the average user it may work just fine. In any event, I would say it isn't worth more than $150-$200

[DCSholtis]

Im with T-Mobile and will have to wait until my contract ends then I will probably end up with one.

[machavez00]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) plans to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could be based on the ultra-slim iPod Nano music player, according to a JP Morgan report.

Kevin Chang, a JP Morgan analyst based in Taiwan, cited people in the supply channel he did not name and an application with the U.S Patent and Trademark office for his report dated July 8.

Apple filed a patent application document dated July 5 that refers to a multifunctional handheld device with a circular touch pad control, similar to the Nano's scroll wheel.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined comment.

full story
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070709/apple_nanophone.html?.v=5

[Cholly]

Downside of the iPhone, of course, is battery life. The battery is good for 300 - 500 recharge cycles. Then the phone must be sent back to Apple for battery replacement ($79) -- during which time you have no phone!:raspberry :icon_lame

[jacksonm30354]

Alot of negative talk about the battery. It stacks up well against similar phones...

http://www.apple.com/iphone/pr/20070618iphone.html

The battery should last about 2 years. Which is when alot of people would be looking to get a newer phone anyway.

Also, if you get the apple care plan on the iPhone, you can get a rental phone for $29 while you phone is off getting serviced. They will either send it to you prior to you sending yours in or you can go to an Apple Store.

[djlong]

I can get a rental for *$29*?!?!?! That's what I paid for my daughter's RAZR.

I have a Treo 700w, purchased last year for about $400. Does pretty much everything that the iPhone does - MP3, DivX, browser, synch with my deskpto - oh and I can write applications for it in VB.NET and it runs a compact version of SQL Server.

When the battery won't hold a charge, I can go to any electronics store and pay something like $40 and pop in a new one.

Now, I understand the hoopla over Apple's "usability". That's all well and good. But for a company that so "gets it" when it comes to making things easier for people, they are outlandishly disingenuous when it comes to something as simple as replacing a battery. There is NO excuse for making someone pay $110 for a new battery.

[Phil T]

If the battery lives 2 years I would be happy.
I have 3 LG - 225's on a family plan from Sprint. All 3 batteries would not hold a charge after a year

[jacksonm30354]

I can get a rental for *$29*?!?!?! That's what I paid for my daughter's RAZR.

I have a Treo 700w, purchased last year for about $400. Does pretty much everything that the iPhone does - MP3, DivX, browser, synch with my deskpto - oh and I can write applications for it in VB.NET and it runs a compact version of SQL Server.

When the battery won't hold a charge, I can go to any electronics store and pay something like $40 and pop in a new one.

Now, I understand the hoopla over Apple's "usability". That's all well and good. But for a company that so "gets it" when it comes to making things easier for people, they are outlandishly disingenuous when it comes to something as simple as replacing a battery. There is NO excuse for making someone pay $110 for a new battery.

When the RAZR first came out it certainly wasn't $29. It's been around for a few years so yes the price has dropped and part of that is a subsidy from the carrier.

A Motorola battery for the RAZR is more like $99. I dropped my RAZR in the dog's water bowl. It wouldn't retain a charge so thought it was the battery but a new battery didn't do the trick. They wanted $300 for a new RAZR. You can get a cheaper battery maybe but be careful - seen the stories of the phones catching fire?

My understanding is it would have required the iphone to be thicker to allow for a user replaceable battery. I do understand that alot of power users like to switch batteries when runs down, but I don't think they make up a large portion of the market. You can get backup iPod chargers that run off AA batteries if you need them in a pinch before you are able to recharge.

[DonLandis]

Anyone who uses a PDA phone, any of them, knows about battery life. It really isn't about the overall life ( at least for other PDA phones that you swap out a battery for a fully charged one) of the battery but rather the burn time on a charge. The IPHONE is ridiculously low for a practical device in professional use. It is an overpriced toy. The battery without wifi on may last 6-8 hours but you'll spend 4 hours just loading a few web pages because that part is so slow. Turn on wifi and you'll have normal web speed and be able to use features like the ITUNES and Youtube stuff, but then your battery will be reduced to a little over an hour.

I predict the first accessory that IPHONE users will demand is a battery extension device to be plugged into the charging port on the bottom. This will make the phone big and clumsy but at least you'll be able to have phone service for the day.

What I also find offensive is that Mac heads who have worshipped this IPHONE since the advertising hype has come out try to convince me it is the Holy Grail of cell phones, just because other Mac heads told them so. These people have no clue because they live in a bubble and know nothing else. To those who have used PDA phones, we know how silly these IPHONES are and it is all about marketing frenzy built on the marketing model of the Blair Witch Project movie. That was an extremely poor movie made by some kids and had a brilliant marketing scheme and lots of advertising, lots of secrecy with people lining up at the store to be the first to get the movie yadayada. Sound familiar? The movie was a big let down. Unlike the movie, Mac heads living inside the bubble will perpetuate the IPHONE as something it is not. ie the best revolutionary PDA cell phone out.

[Phil T]

Ok, now I have to have one. :D

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=f390265dcbb9e1f1da97a69637e921d39b6c99aa

[Nick]

That was a great spoof! :up: Thanks for posting, Phil.

~~~~~

Like the iPod, look for the iPhone's essential accessories list to grow and grow
until the typical user will have so many necessary Rube Goldbergian dongles
that the phone will be heavier than a well-appointed laptop, with an equally
large footprint.

A very expensive toy for mac heads with little or no restraint. Just shows to go
one again that not all technically-minded people possess common sense.

[Steve Mehs]

:lol: That was great and so true.

I just ordered a new cell phone not an iPhone but an i502. Decided to show my support to Sprint for disconnecting a bunch of parasites and extended my Nextel contract by another 2 years and picked up this baby for $50 at subsidized cost after rebate. Arrives sometime next week. No camera capabilities whatsoever, no video capabilities whatsoever, ruggedized to US Military Standard 810 F specifications.

[DonLandis]

ruggedized to US Military Standard 810 F specifications.

I should suggest this to my son-in-law. He smashed so many phones in a year he is denied the insurance.

[Nick]

I should suggest this to my son-in-law. He smashed so many phones in a year he is denied the insurance.Nothing like being self-insured to make one a tad more careful... :)

[tfederov]

I may look closer at an iPhone if and when Slingbox will work on it.

[DonLandis]

At this time Apple's Steve Jobs said the iphone will not allow any 3rd party applications. Guess you better hope Apple buys out Sling or settle for a more versatile PDA phone that does much more for less money minus the Apple logo. You could always stick a little Apple on the back. :)

Interesting thought... I may cut out an egrips ( sticky rubber that prevents cell phones from sliding off a table) the shape of an apple and stick it on the back of my XV6700 just to see how many people would think it was an iphone. The xv6700 is about the same size and look of an iphone.

[Phil T]

I may look closer at an iPhone if and when Slingbox will work on it.

Same here. I thought they had opened it up to third parties, or are they just talking about it?

[tfederov]

Same here. I thought they had opened it up to third parties, or are they just talking about it?

Reading the sling forums I wouldn't see it anytime soon. The thought is that the network the iPhone currently uses would make slinging almost unbearable.

[DonLandis]

slinging on the iphone would work fine as you would need to be connected to a wifi network which works well on the iphone. Of course, the wifi is like being wirelessly tethered so to speak. Couldn't watch video while driving down the street as you'd be in and out of wifi hotspots, or as Apple likes to say, in and out of the airport. :) Plus, sling media needs to make an application that works on the iphone The problem as I understand is Apple has a device that works very well due to it's restriction on applications built in and if they open it up to 3rd party installs, they risk have a device that would suffer the same issues as the competition. Versatile but finicky. iphone is not versatile but it works well for what it does.
Apple has announced they plan to publish an SDK for the iphone but this SDK will be very restrictive in what you can and can't do.

[Inches]

I bought a new Prius last month so I decided to get an iPhone with my tax credit. Now that I know how to add my ring tones, its the cats meow....

[directvfreak]

I bought a new Prius last month so I decided to get an iPhone with my tax credit. Now that I know how to add my ring tones, its the cats meow....

Your ring tones... You can't add ringtones to the iPhone... you would know this if you had one.. this leads me to believe you don't own one.

[Nick]

What!?!? :eek2: If I can't add ringtones, I don't want one!!! :ramblinon

:sure:

[HIPAR]

Can you read the screen in bright sunlight?

--- CHAS

[sarge137]

Not a chance!!! I'm an old guy who only jumped on the cell phone band wagon about 5 years ago. I don't need or want a phone that does anything but send and receive telephone calls. When I broke my original Sprint Sanyo a couple of years ago I had a heck of a time finding one that wasn't loaded down with gadgets I wouldn't use and features I didn't want. When my current contract with Sprint runs out I'm going to WalMArt to buy the cheapest throw away I can find, and just add small blocks of minutes as I need them.

[Steve Mehs]

:lol: That was great and so true.

I just ordered a new cell phone not an iPhone but an i502. Decided to show my support to Sprint for disconnecting a bunch of parasites and extended my Nextel contract by another 2 years and picked up this baby for $50 at subsidized cost after rebate. Arrives sometime next week. No camera capabilities whatsoever, no video capabilities whatsoever, ruggedized to US Military Standard 810 F specifications.

Well 12 days later, this thing is getting sent back. The Sprint network is absolutely horrible. I was in an area today that's a major suburb of Buffalo, where I always have perfect Nextel reception and got a call for a job interview, nothing like having that drop out. About 60% of the time my phone is in something called 'digital roaming' I have no idea what the hell that means. Not to mention this phone lacks a lot features (I wouldn't really call them features though) that are standard with Nextel, but not on this hybrid thing. Plus I think the Sprint voicemail system sucks. These are going back and I’m getting an i560 arrives Monday or Tuesday, which is the same as my old phone but it’s ruggedized and has no stupid camera. And best of all, I’ll be back on the Nextel iDen network!

[Nick]

This could be the reason, Steve. Sprint's coverage is still very spotty. I
dropped Sprint two years ago for that very reason. My business partner
has just added another Nextel w/t phone for my use in our new venture.

We'll see how that goes...

[packfan909]

Anyone who uses a PDA phone, any of them, knows about battery life. It really isn't about the overall life ( at least for other PDA phones that you swap out a battery for a fully charged one) of the battery but rather the burn time on a charge. The IPHONE is ridiculously low for a practical device in professional use. It is an overpriced toy. The battery without wifi on may last 6-8 hours but you'll spend 4 hours just loading a few web pages because that part is so slow. Turn on wifi and you'll have normal web speed and be able to use features like the ITUNES and Youtube stuff, but then your battery will be reduced to a little over an hour.

I predict the first accessory that IPHONE users will demand is a battery extension device to be plugged into the charging port on the bottom. This will make the phone big and clumsy but at least you'll be able to have phone service for the day.

What I also find offensive is that Mac heads who have worshipped this IPHONE since the advertising hype has come out try to convince me it is the Holy Grail of cell phones, just because other Mac heads told them so. These people have no clue because they live in a bubble and know nothing else. To those who have used PDA phones, we know how silly these IPHONES are and it is all about marketing frenzy built on the marketing model of the Blair Witch Project movie. That was an extremely poor movie made by some kids and had a brilliant marketing scheme and lots of advertising, lots of secrecy with people lining up at the store to be the first to get the movie yadayada. Sound familiar? The movie was a big let down. Unlike the movie, Mac heads living inside the bubble will perpetuate the IPHONE as something it is not. ie the best revolutionary PDA cell phone out.

I had the same thing happen to me the weekend this "phone" came out. Felt like I was being aprostlized to. The iPhone is the best thing since sliced bread was invented. Knocking on the Treo that both my wife and I find is the greatest tool we use each day. These are the same people a year ago that were ranting and raving about their Treo. Now it is a POS compared to the locked down iPhone. I have an iPod, and I absolutely love it. But this phone is just too limiting. The battery issue really bothers me. Seems like a money grab for Apple and a way for them to limit after market sales.

If you love the phone and it works for you, then more power to you. But please don't knock someone else for what works for them. Palm and Treo have been around for a LONG time and seem to have it together. I have not used the Windows Treo as I love my 700P.

And who ever said that having a real keyboard on a phone was a bad thing. I would be SOL without it with my big fat fingers. Typing on that "keyboard" would be a comedy of errors.

Hopping off my soap box.

pf

[Steve Mehs]

This could be the reason, Steve. Sprint's coverage is still very spotty. I
dropped Sprint two years ago for that very reason. My business partner
has just added another Nextel w/t phone for my use in our new venture.

We'll see how that goes...

Funny the map shows I should have a decent signal where I was the other day, the town just east of Cheektowaga. From what I read on HowardForums, Sprint has seen the light for now anyways. Originally the Nextel iDEN network was supposed to be phased out and everything was supposed to go to Sprints CDMA network, now it appears those plans have been pushed back. As long as the phone you’ll get is not the 402, 502 or 902, you be on Nextel’s network all the time and you’ll be independent of Sprints coverage. But if you only plan to use it for Direct Connect, it doesn’t really matter since that all goes through Nextel anyway

There is one positive thing I can say about Sprint. Their data access is FAST! For the most part I think net access on a cell phone is worthless, but I use it to check sports scores and my Yahoo Mail. Going from Nextel’s Wireless Web to Sprints PowerSource Data Access was like night and day. I was even able to surf DBSTalk at lightning speed. I will miss that when hockey season rolls around.

[BearsFan]

I find it almost funny that some folks who claim "only 'Macheads' will buy/use an iPhone" are usually those who have never touched one or played with one for a few minutes.

Actually, most people that I know that either have one or want one aren't "Macheads" at all. They're Windows users.

As a guy who's about to enter the IT world and uses and likes BOTH Macs and PCs, and having spent about 30-45 minutes "hands on" with an iPhone, the thing is amazing. I've used email, placed calls, viewed videos, listened to music, and surfed the web without issue. The iPhone is NOT perfect (it's missing Flash support, for instance), and is WAY overpriced...IMHO. Then again, I don't have money to throw around for a $600 gadget + $60 a month, but that's just me. I save for months/years for computers for personal use.

There's no way I can afford an iPhone, but at least for me, as a guy who won't claim to "know it all" or anything, the iPhone is AMAZING. Having tried to endlessly correctly sync Palm Treos and Windows Pocket PCs with limited success, from what I've seen & heard, getting even corporate Exchange Server email set up and useful is easy on the iPhone and not nearly as buggy as the aforementioned "smart phones."

There are some folks out there that simply don't have extensive experience with Macs or Apple products, and therefore are compelled to bash them & call them "elitist" or such. It's true, there are some "Macheads" / fanboys out there that are ridiculous and dumb, but there are also some folks like me who use both platforms and appreciate what each side brings to the technology table.

Once the iPhone is cheaper & I'm able to afford a plan, I may try one. It may be years, that's fine. In the meantime, it's a perfect device for some people with some shortfalls that will soon be fixed/upgraded.

Remember, the first iPod was 5GB and was about what, like $500 or so. Those figures are admittedly off, but you get the picture. ? Now a 30GB iPod can be had for under $250. The iPhone price will come down, and will be better. Still not for everybody, but for those open to trying new things & not "stuck in their ways," it could be a breakthrough device.

[Steve Mehs]

The iPhone is NOT perfect (it's missing Flash support, for instance)

Not perfect you got that right!

And don’t forget

- The Battery
- No GPS Capability
- No Voice Activated Dialing
- No Voice Recording/Voice Memo Capabilities
- No Memory Card For Data Transfer
- Can’t Add Software
- Security Flaws

But hey you can watch the latest drunken stupidness on YouBoob!

Just got done listening to Leo Laporte, I never realized that the miracle phone that can do dishes and cure cancer lacks some of the basic functionality my beat up 4 year old Moto i90 can do. I have an iPod, it sickens me that I broke down and supported Apple, but it's a decent product, the iPhone is not. Only a Macnut would wait in line overnight for a stupid cell phone on steroids. And only a person with common sense would realize that there are products out there that are better than the iPhone.

The iPhone is not about being practical, it’s about looking cool and making a statement. Fashion is all that Apple ever cared about, and it continues to show.

[DawgLink]

Got an iPhone and LOVE IT.

I think the ease of the phone is incredible. I have had a Treo before this and am VERY HAPPY I switched over to the iPhone.

Email setup was easy, Edge network is more then enough for me, and the battery is just fine for my use.

[DonLandis]

Steve- You left one important item off your list-- The iphone is locked to AT&T although I understand that has now been hacked but the hack is not yet public. Apple has been given a chance to fix this security flaw and if not the claimant will make the hack public.

The other thing that needs to be updated is that Apple is going to make an SDK available for 3rd party apps. Just not yet. So that will no-longer be an issue. Considering the hype iphone rests on, I predict there will be as many 3rd party apps as we have for the windows mobile OS.

The right tool for the job---

Get an iphone if you are a kid and want a new toy and mommy and daddy can afford it.

Get the treo series if you are a business user needing windows server e-mail and other minor applications. OR, if your company is in this camp get a Blackberry!

Get a robust PDA phone such as the XV6700, 6800 or Sprint's equal like the Mogul if you are a serious power user on the go engineer and need reliability and loaded features, high speed data network and unlimited storage.

For example, My wife loves her Treo700w as she is a business user and her company uses 2003 exchange server. When needed she has tomtom GPS and with Verizon has never had a dropped call or a client who can't understand what she is saying ( credit to CDMA). I have the XV6700 and can watch sling box anywhere, demonstrate wmv video of TV shows from my server for clients, do Gotomy PC for file retrieval and even remote desktop and have unlimited storage but I only carry 12 Gb with me these days.


Recent true story-

I was at a clients location who was complaining that the TV show I did for him just had too many problems to approve. He was on the phone company's DSL. I suspected it was too slow to play video realtime so I got out my XV6700 with the Verizon EVDO network and in a few minutes had the video playing for him just fine. Then he said Well that's OK on your phone but how can I show this to my partner? I took my phone and loaded the video file (77 Mb) onto an SD card, stuck the SD card into a USB adapter and put the file on his hard drive. I could have transfered the file direct if he had active sync but he didn't. Can't do this with an iphone. My EVDO was 3 times faster than his DSL.

[Richard King]

http://www.thestreet.com:80/s/apple-sued-over-iphone/newsanalysis/techgames/10372398.html?puc=_htmlttt
Apple is facing the first of what may be many lawsuits claiming infringement of patents pertaining to technology in its new iPhone.

SP Technologies of St. Petersburg, Fla., is calling for Apple to pay royalties for the "willful and deliberate" infringement of a patent it says Apple used illegally for the iPhone's keyboard, according to a filed complaint.

SP's complaint also asks for a permanent injunction against further use of the intellectual property at issue....

SP filed the suit in a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, which is considered to be sympathetic to plaintiffs in patent infringement cases. More....
These types of cases should no longer be allowed in the Eastern District of Texas. :rolleyes:

[DonLandis]

My take on "Got an iphone and love it!"

No offense to anyone here but since this is a much over used phrase since its release I thought I'd comment.

What people who have an iphone are really saying is they love all the attention they get when others see them with an iphone, like when the office mail boy gets an iphone because he waited in line for 7 hours to get one spending his last two paychecks, shows up Monday morning at the office and NOW, for the first time in his career, not just the hot secretary says he is so cool but he gets noticed by the VP in the company who wants to take a look. He even asks his name. iphone great investment in his career! Smart?
Five months later he is invited to the company Christmas party and is remembered as "iphone boy" but while there, one of the execs needs to make a call and yells out- hey iphone boy, let's see that iphone of yours.
He runs over and the exec grabs it and iphone boy explains how to dial out. The exec makes the call but is having trouble with the connection (at&t service quality). Finally he gives up and yells into the phone, I'll call you in a few hours when I get to "my phone".
The guy at the other end yells back oh, you have an i phone?
No! "My phone".
That's what I said, I-phone. this goes on for a short bit and then the battery dies! Gives the iphone back to the clerk and says, oh, before you go to your next job, get a real phone. You're fired!
Meanwhile, the hot secretary to the rescue comes over with her latest release from RIM, its a special classy phone everyone has been talking about... not the Blackberry but for women only- the "Pink Cherry"

[DawgLink]

Don, I see a lot of "I am mad that I didn't get an iPhone" anger in your voice. It's ok. One day your time will come :lol:

iPhone works great for me and very few if anyone ever physically sees it. Keyboard saves me countless minutes typing away instead of that terrible Verizon piece of crap phone, Internet is incredible compared to the last phone that went on crawling dial-up speed, and the maps/weather/and other features make my old phone look like a joke.

Add in the iPod capabilites that I used the other day while waiting for a client and I am in love with it. :D

[Stuart Sweet]

Got my first real hands-on with an iPhone yesterday. Touch interaction is cool, but I brought up three different forums on DBSTalk.com on my UMTS-equipped Cingular 8525 before the wi-fi-equipped iPhone could bring up one.

If this is the phone for you, I wish you the best. It's not the phone for me.

[Phil T]

My family plan contract was up with Sprint and my daughter wanted to upgrade her phone. She ended up with a LG muzic and I got the Palm Treo 750P last week.

I must say so far I am very happy with the Treo. First thing I did was download Slingplayer software and now can watch my HR20 almost anywhere!! (can't do that with an I phone) The other thing I like is the Sprint TV and radio, although limited on the $15.00 data plan. I also get Google maps just like the I-Phone. I also can listen to my XM on Mobile Musicdock.com.
I have unlimited text messages for $20.00 all 4 phones on my family plan and get a discount on my plan through work (can't do that with I-Phone either).

No I-phone for me for at least two years and hopefully by then more of its features will make it to the other plans without the big cost!!

[DCSholtis]

Got an iPhone and LOVE IT.

I think the ease of the phone is incredible. I have had a Treo before this and am VERY HAPPY I switched over to the iPhone.

Email setup was easy, Edge network is more then enough for me, and the battery is just fine for my use.

I have a year left on my T-Mobile contract then I'll be switching over for an iPhone as well. Love everything Mac. I saw on one of the Mac rumor sites that Mac has a patent on a smaller iPhone. Hopefully by time I'm ready that bad boy will be out but if not...... Id switch now but I'm not quite down with eating a $200 penalty. :lol:

[funhouse69]

I posted my thoughts on this a while back which you can see here http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=990827&postcount=12. With that said I have been to the Apple Store and played with an i-phone several times and I have to say that I have warmed up to it and is the only phone that I have seen to date that is tempting me to switch from Verizon at the end of my contract which is in November.

We know that AT&T is the exclusive provider of the i-phone and will be for any of its new versions for several years. Based on that I don't think that you are going to see anything from any other provider that is going to be as beautiful as the i-phone. Just like the i-pod you are going to see this device continually be refined and probably reinvented as well.

I'm still having a little trouble getting past the price, while I can afford it I don't know if I can justify it and get stuck in a 2 year contract to boot especially when I can get a new EnV from Verizon for free with a new two year contract. The debate continues :D

[DonLandis]

I may get one when they produce a CDMA version. funhouse, I don't know where you got that Apple will be tied to AT&T for any of its new versions. Do you have a reference on that?

MY thoughts are that if Apple chose to, it would make a CDMA version. Then this phone could be Sprint or Verizon. I'm sure by then this version would have two other major flaws corrected, the battery issue and the 3rd party aps issue.

I find it interesting that people are waiting their contract to leave Verizon to go to AT&T to get an iphone, yet others I know hate AT&T for poor phone service and slow data network are waiting out their AT&T contract to get Verizon or Sprint.
Does this fall under grass is greener on the other side of the hill? See the problem with that side of the hill is the owner puts lots of cow **** on his lawn! :)

Anyway, I don't see a problem with Apple making a different iphone for the CDMA market.

If you want a good PDA- Phone that will do everything and much more, much much faster than the iphone, you should check out the XV6700 or the Mogul 6800. from Verizon or Sprint.

[Mark Holtz]

I have been a customer of Verizon back when it was called Airtouch. I am very happy with my service and mostly happy with my phones. Your milage may vary of course.

I have heard horror stories in regards to Cingular and AT&T, including a bout at work with defective memory cards. Thus, I have no intention of switching to AT&T.

[DawgLink]

I had Verizon for about the last 2 years and loved it. Great service down here.

AT&T down here is pretty average at best. Nothing great.

With that said, AT&T service depends on where you are in the country. I know several people across the country (LA, Atlanta, Jersey) and 2 of the 3 think AT&T service is perfect...another thinks its terrible.

I think each part of the country is different in terms of which carrier is the best/worst

[jacksonm30354]

I have had both AT&T (Cingular) and Verizon for 2 years. Neither is perfect. Both have dead spots. I find the voice quality on AT&T a bit clearer than on Verizon. Both drop calls when the signal is not very strong. The internet on either was pretty slow, even in VZ EVDO areas. Maybe that was due to my E815 phone.

It's simply a matter of personal preference just like the PC vs. Mac crowd.

I am one that has the iPhone. I didn't wait in any line to get it. It works great for me. It's not perfect but I like it and it suits my needs. Would I like it better if it had faster internet speeds? Yes. Would I like it better if in google maps it knew my current location without me typing it in? Yes. Maybe these are things that can be corrected with a future software update. If not maybe it'll be in the next version of iPhone hardware.

[DonLandis]

Don, I see a lot of "I am mad that I didn't get an iPhone" anger in your voice. It's ok. One day your time will come :lol:

iPhone works great for me and very few if anyone ever physically sees it. Keyboard saves me countless minutes typing away instead of that terrible Verizon piece of crap phone, Internet is incredible compared to the last phone that went on crawling dial-up speed, and the maps/weather/and other features make my old phone look like a joke.

Add in the iPod capabilites that I used the other day while waiting for a client and I am in love with it. :D

Huh? No not mad at all. In fact I was quite relieved that I didn't feel without after all that advertising about the iphone going to revolutionize the cell phone. You see, I am using the XV6700 and I can work side by side with an iphone and the only thing I'm missing is the little apple logo on the back!
But, working side by side, it is a race to see who can drain the battery the fastest, My XV 6700 will go about 90 minutes with wifi and the best we got to date on the iphone is 15 minutes more, BUT, when the iphone is down it is down for the count. I can pop in a new battery and up and running in a minute. Haven't done a side by side w/o wifi but have done a side by side with network apps. The Verizon EVDO is now getting me about 660kbps download on the phone in most areas. They keep improving it. The latest EVDO on the EXPRESS card technology on a laptop is hitting 2.4 Mbps. I have one too so I know how it tests out. They just recently upgraded many locations to EVDO (A) that has quadrupled the speed from the old EVDO. But with applications, YES, the Google Maps is nice and has a quick shortcut button on the screen, I have to go through two pull down menus to load it but then I'm loading it much faster than the iphone. Speaking of Maps- Try this one out on your iphone- Install TomTom GPS software and hang it in your car. Next install the traffic and weather update, or DOT cameras that follow your route ahead so you can see what traffic is like ahead of you in realtime. Does the iphone have an application for NOAA weather RADAR maps animation? This tells you the storm location and size and the direction of movement. I have news, stock and weather updates from RSS feeds. But don't dispair, I understand Apple is giving way to the 3rd party applications request and soon you will be able to do as much as I can. with your iphone, except for the internet speed of course. You might just run your battery dead as you wait for a 67 Mb streaming video file to load. Then you'll have to hunt for a place to plug in. Apple iphone- the cell phone to revolutionize the industry. The first cell phone that needs to be plugged into 120AC to use it all day! :D

OK I've razzed you enough on this but you have to admit you were asking for it. :D The main beef I have with this iphone and Apple in general is their way of doing things is primarily based on hype and cult like dedication from users. Their ad campaign was brilliant deception and brainwashing. It worked! They have the entire non-tech world brainwashed. Good for them. If the iphone didn't have the apple logo and had to stand on its own features, lets say an LG or Motorola, you would have never seen the people lining up to buy at that price. Anyone who buys an iphone today is brainwashed!
Funny story- Last week I was in a city on the coast a few hundred miles north of here and a client was having problems with his T-Mobile phone so I made the call on my XV6700, Went right through. When I handed the guy my XV6700. he lit up with excitement. He said man oh man I've been wanting to try one of these iphones. When he finished the call he said how great it worked. Then I broke the news to him and said sorry- This is not an iphone but an XV6700 from Verizon. He was so disappointed, the look on his face from one moment to the other was priceless! I've actually been thinking of cutting out one of those egripps in the shape of an apple and sticking it on the back to have some fun with people thinking I have a 2nd version of the iphone. :)

Anyway- here's an update to the latest about iphone. KInd of surprised nobody mentioned it yet:

But first of all before all you legal experts get your panties in a bunch, Congress specifically exempted Cell phones from the DMCA. So not only is it legal to hack or modify a cell phone, any discussion of it is also protected under the first amendment.

If you bought an iphone and were wanting to use it on a T-Mobile network- Here's (http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/) all you need to do. The details are listed in that blog.


This morning, I looked at the Saturday paper and on the front page was this story of how this 17 year old kid cracked the iphone which took him all summer to achieve. Actually, George Hotz worked with a team of unnamed associates to achieve the complex crack which includes some internal hardware work as well as software code entries. The process is in the blog if you're curious.

George has put his hacked iphone for sale but ran into the usual crooks on ebay. He also suspects that since the crack is now public, a company will spring up using the process as a service. He is not happy about that.

Apple and AT&T have refused to comment.

[DawgLink]

Don, you got the cliff notes to that?

[Nick]

I have been a customer of Verizon back when it was called Airtouch...Not that it matters, but I started with Verizon way back when they were still PacTel, but I
left AirTouch before they changed to Verizon and switched to Cingular when they were
still BellSouth Mobility. Now I've been with T-Mobile for four years because they offered
me a deal I couldn't refuse and they haven't changed names -- yet. ;)

[DonLandis]

Hey Nick- Been there done that too. I never said Verizon was cheap. In fact, I've always said they appear to be the highest in the business. BUT, coming from T-Mobil;e, I felt the cheaper price for T-Mobile reflected in the quality of their service, vis a vis- Constant dropped calls, large regions of no service, and GPRS data speed vs. EVDO. With Verizon my bottom line cost went up 25% but what I got was ZERO dropped calls, never seem to be without service in my travels, and I can surf the internet like a DSL connection, watch sling box video and monitor my security cameras from the road. Of course many people would consider a 25% jump in cell phone cost obscene.


Whats a cliff note?