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...