Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

You have the URL in there twice...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

its a shame this phone is going to be so expensive (at first anyways). They are going to have to give some good rebates since it will start at $499.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Thing is, everywhere else in the world has a market for high end phones. The US consumer market is dominated by "free" phones with 2+ year service contracts, so the high end phones often don't even get marketed over here.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I'm waiting...I'm waiting...this is a feeling similiar to what it was like waiting for Space Empires V.

Starting today, June 3 2007, television comercials for the Apple iPhone began and announcements that it will be available June 29 2007.

[Wikipedia Quote]
OS X
Apple has confirmed an optimized, full version of the Mac OS X operating system (without unnecessary components) will run on the iPhone, although differences between the operating system (OS X) running on Macs and the iPhone have not been officially explained.

It is expected to take up considerably less than 500 mb.[27][28][29] It will be capable of supporting as-yet undetermined bundled and future 1st and 3rd-party applications, the latter of which are currently limited to a "controlled environment".[30][28][31]

Apple intends to offer a smooth method for updating the iPhone's operating system, in a similar fashion to the way that Mac OS X and iPods are updated, and touts this as an advantage compared to other cell phones.[27][End Quote]

Look at the photographs of it here in Wikipedia. It's Beautiful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone#_note-pogueFAQ

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/...ked-questions/

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I'll bring more links as I find them.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/videos/th...ate-265519.php

http://technorati.com/videos/tag/iPhone

http://technorati.com/photos/tag/iPhone

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html

Very nice monthly service payment plans! The lowest is $59.99.

Unlimited Stuff!:
Data (Email/Web)
Visual Voicemail
Nights & Weekends
Rollover® Minutes
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (Wow!)

"All iPhone service plans include Visual Voicemail and unlimited data — Internet and email — so you only have to decide how many minutes and SMS text messages you need. You’ll select your plan when you activate your iPhone using iTunes on your computer."

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Those look like above average prices to me. Plus its AT&T only...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Looks cool, just need the price of the phone to come down http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Well, iPhone came out today, right? If you got one, what do you think of it? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

You could ask Paris Hilton, I'm sure she and the rest of hollywood all got free ones. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

But will they have to pay outrageously pricey monthly rates too? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

The question is, is the Iphone for you? After do consideration I would have to say that I, feel that I do not need an Iphone. Especially when any of the content sent over the Iphone, ie text, pictures, voice, video, etc will belong by definition of the TOS to the Iphone service provider. Much like your IM conversations belong to AOL, MSN, Google, and so on. NO THANK YOU. I will be sticking with what I have.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Hell, give me a free one and jack the price up $20 a month for the two year contract and it's still cheaper than having to buy the phone itself.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

It's not above average for what's being offered. AT&T's regular 450 peak-minute plan is 39.99. Their bundle with 200 text messages and unlimited web access is 19.99. 39.99+19.99 = 59.98... and if you are gonna complain about the iPhone plan being 1 cent more expensive, you got some serious issues.

There isn't any wireless carrier that is offering similar usage (with similar coverage area) for less. So the only real price consideration is the price of the phone itself, which is still expensive for what people are used to for phones in the US (free - $250 or so).

Well, I didn't buy one because it isn't really practical for me... I work in government, so I am not allowed to carry various things into my office, and the iPhone falls into several of the categories of banned items (cell phone, wireless transmitter, camera, removable storage device). Which sort of makes getting one impractical, since I would hardly ever be able to actually USE it.

However, I do happen to live about a five minute walk away from an Apple store. So I strolled over around 7 last night to check it out. And it is very cool. Smaller than I expected, even knowing its dimensions beforehand. Works pretty much just like you see it in the commercials, there wasn't any doctoring going on there.

It was ridiculously easy to type one-handed with my thumb, and its prediction was pretty decent (I only had to backspace twice in typing around 150-200 or so characters).

The contact list was done very well, better than pretty much any phone I've ever used. You can scroll entry by entry by just dragging your finger down, or there is a column on the right side that has A-Z, and you can scroll directly to those letters by just moving your finger into that area. I already use a Mac, so the synching with Address Book and iCal is a big plus. I'm sure someone will figure out a way to get e.g. Outlook contacts and calendars synched as well. The interface to the calendar is just as nice as the contact list interface. There's also a bunch of other little mini apps that are done well (e.g. weather like in Apple's Dashboard widgets).

I can't comment much on the internet access. Speed was about similar to dialup in the store, but the phone was using the store's Wi-Fi connection instead of the EDGE cell network; and I know that the store's connection is fairly crappy, probably a single 768kbit DSL line. And with 50 or so phones in the store accessing the network, and who knows how many more outside around the store, it's not surprising that the speed was slow.

The other thing I'm not so sure about is battery life. Unlike the iPods 1G-5G, and the Minis, the battery isn't user-replaceable with minimal effort. It's pretty easy to open the iPod cases, but I haven't seen much success in opening the iPhone without substantially deforming the outer casing. Plus, the leads are soldered directly onto the PCB rather than using a small plug, so it requires using a soldering iron to replace the battery. I've also seen that it's a lithium-polymer battery rather than a lithium-ion, which I've heard the polymer variant gets fewer power cycles than the ion.

Anyway, my overall verdict is it's definitely worth it to find a place selling them and at least get a demo of it to see for yourself. It really is very cool.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Can't wait till they shrink them down to the size of a micro chip and implant them in our skulls. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

That would be the iPhone Micro? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I really wonder about the 3rd part software openness... Symbian S60 has a great community out there.

The iPhone being cool and all that, I don't think I would buy it for more than 50 euros: my phone is already good enough.

EDIT:Interesting... how do you place the "euro" symbol?
I only get € instead...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I recall seeing cheaper rates for similar amounts of service in a Sprint store a few weeks ago...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Sprint also offers 450 peak-minutes for $39.99 a month. But no rollover. And no data access. However, you can add unlimited data bandwidth for $15 more, and 300 text messages for $5 more. which is... $59.99, for a similar amount of service. How much was the iPhone plan again? Oh yeah, $59.99...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I got my iPhone! I'm posting this with it! The Internet on it is real like on a PC. It can be horizontal or vertical. The key board is easy and smart. I'll post more another time.

I'm sure Apple will do software updates also. See the forums of users at apple.com then support tab then read more then see all at bottom.

It's like a device from the future!

-Wade

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

It's great if you have Internet for a reasonable price...
I have 10 free Mb per month, after that its 1 euro per Mb. And it was a New Year promotion! Now it doesnt exist anymore, even if you can still pay 6 euros for 10 more Mb, or 20 euros for 60Mb.
So Opera Mini without images is lot better choice for me, and you don't need a big screen for that...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

A device from the future without any compelling new features? (touch screen keyboarding is not a very compelling feature IMO) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif As with the ipod, it looks like another clone device that does just what everything else does, but has some overhyped "simple" interface (big TFT screen only in this case) of dubious value... I'm sure that as with the ipod, its an adequate device, but it probably isn't worth all the hype.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

There's a good reason to not get one.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

A touch screen keyboarding is certainly not a compelling feature (though I didn't try this one, maybe it's not so bad). But a bigger screen and multi-touch certainly are.

About the intellectual property problem, the question is: what can you do? I think refusing it will just make you extinct, you have to try to change the thing from the inside...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

At least this should force competitors into trying to match/beat it, which should push the tech along.

I'll get one eventually I'm sure, maybe not iPhone though.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Samsung (IIRC) has a similar large touch screen phone/device, but I forget if its coming out now or soon. They started working on it around the same time that Apple started the iPhone dev, so its definitely not a "copycat."

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I'm pretty sure that's more of a legal liability thing from the carrier. If you look into your ISP agreement, it probably has similar language. Same with email providers, forums, etc. Basically it covers them when they "reproduce" your messages, etc. so you can't sue for copyright infringement. The language is purposefully vague to cover many possible transmission modes; so for cell phones, it's transmission from the phone to the tower, and then down normal phone lines to its destination, or converted to digital and sent via IP down a fiber-optic cable, or relayed wirelessly to another tower, or some technology that hasn't been thought up yet, etc.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I really don't like Steve Job's. And I laugh that Bill Gates is now number 2. HA HA HA

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Yea, him and his billions are a lot to laugh at http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I still don't want any kind of portable phone nor PDA.

At most, I'd like a lightweight laptop computer with a low pricetag, a long battery life, a good keyboard and a screen that's easily readable outside.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I stayed away from a portable phone for as long as I could, but with my job, I need accessibility. I also need a Palm so I don't have to lug textbooks around to peruse at 2 AM. I finally got a Palm Treo, which serves a ton of my needs and puts two devices into one. Now, if I could bundle my pager into that...

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Can't your treo function as a pager? I've never understood why people that have a cell phone also have a pager. Just have people that need to page you call you phone number. I'm pretty sure all cell phone packages these days come with voice mail and most have caller ID. What can you do with a pager that you can't do with a cell phone?

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Not answer it.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Sorry, I couldn't resist the one-liner.

The pager allows me to take time to answer a call, so to speak. At 2 AM, I need a moment to focus and collect my thoughts. Not to mention swear a few times when it is the Emergency Room. Again.

And the hospital can page me to a patient's number to bypass having to call them first to get the number I need to call.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Unfortunately there are still lots of ancient *coughgovernmentcough* systems in use that only work with similarly ancient pagers.

Also, newer phones have features that are prohibited in certain sensitive areas - cameras, data storage, etc. Pagers are dumb enough to be allowed just about anywhere.

Deevolution at its finest.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

I screen calls all the time with my cell phone. If it's a number I don't recognize, or if it's someone I don't want to talk to right them I let it go to voice mail and it doesn't use my air time. And even if they don't leave a message I know who called.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

And I can turn the phone off between pages so an irate patient can't call me back at any hour of the day or night.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Ok, this makes a little sense. They could leave the number as a voice mail, although yo ustill have the extra step of checking yoru voice mail to get the number.

I would be very suprised if there aren't services available out there that would address this though. It would be a simple matter to have a separate phone number that from the callers perspective was like a pager, let them punch in a number which would then come through to your cell phone as a text message. I can't say I've seen such a service, but I've never had the need for it so I've not looked. It would be a simple matter to set something like that up though.


What systems do you mean?

I've heard of the secutiry issues. The Federal building in my town has a rule like that, for what sense it makes. If that's an issue you ought to be able to get one that doesn't have those features though.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

A quick Google search shows I'm not the first one to consider this.

Using your cell phone as a pager

The issue about reception inside buildings is one I hadn't considered, althogh my cell service is pretty good so I don't have a problem with it. With some carriers it's probably more of an issue.

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

BTW... do these thing actually work yet?

Re: Introducing the iPhone...
 

Let's just say that there are ancient communications systems still in use because they still work acceptably well and would cost big $$$ to upgrade. The cost isn't mainly associated with hardware and software, but rather in changing complex processes & procedures, retraining personnel, testing reliability and interfacing with other ancient systems, etc. "Red Tape" stuff. It ain't broke enough yet to fix it, unfortunately.