iPhone

[Lemur]

Wow, the Apple iPhone was announced late yesterday, and already I've had two emails from geek friends who are dropping everything to buy them. And they're both hard-core Windows guys! Weird.

Any Orgahs feeling the siren call of the iPhone? Doesn't the fact that it will be on the Cingular network make you think twice? Don't you want to wait for the price to come down? Didn't your mama tell you never to buy 1.0 hardware?

Here's Ars Technica's blurb:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Behold, the iPhone

1/9/2007 2:36:24 PM, by Jon Stokes

Apple turned 30 on April 1, 2006—quite a milestone for a technology company that, for much of its life, has provided endless fodder for an army of pundits who have made a living out of writing its obituary. The 2007 Macworld keynote brings Apple into its first full year of its thirties, and the company is keen to demonstrate that 30 is the new 20, and that the new, post-Switch Apple is as ready as ever to do what it was founded to do: make computers for the rest of us... or, waitaminute...

Apple at 30+ makes more than just "computers." Indeed, in spite of his famous declaration that Apple makes computers, and "computers have keyboards," Jobs took the stage this year to tout a roster of products that includes software, services, and one very important device that, though arguably a "computer" in a general sense, decidedly lacks the requisite keyboard

Not a Mac, but also not the Newton: It's an iPod! It's a Phone! It's an Internet device!

Halfway into the keynote, Jobs introduced Apple's newest portable gadget, the long-awaited iPhone, by comparing it to two past seminal Apple products: the original Mac in 1984, and the first iPod in 2001. The message is clear: the iPhone is intended to be Apple's next revolutionary product, and it will carry Apple forward on the coming wave of ubiquitous wireless broadband.

The new iPhone is a essentially a combination of three devices: a widescreen iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. It does not have a keyboard.

In lieu of a keyboard, the 11.6mm thin phone sports a 3.5-inch touchscreen that is meant to be used not with a stylus but with the fingers. With a new input interface called "multi-touch" that enables the touchscreen to accept input from multiple places at once, users can use the touchscreen to tap out SMS messages on an onscreen QWERTY keyboard, surf their contacts list, select music tracks, make calls, and perform other phone, messaging, and media functions.

The iPhone's visual interface makes it possible for Apple to provide some new twists on traditional phone functionality. For instance, a new feature called "visual voicemail" lets you listen to your voicemail messages in any order by using the interface to select which message you want to hear. The contact management and dialing software also make it a snap to select the participants in a conference call, and to send group SMS messages.

The phone also makes use of the same kind of motion detection that powers Nintendo's Wii controller. Photos with a landscape orientation can be switched to portrait simply by turning the phone sideways, or iTunes can move into CoverFlow mode using the same motion. And in another novel interface move, photos and web pages can also be zoomed in and out by squeezing the sides of the phone.

For Internet, calendaring, and messaging use, the phone features a version of Safari, along with Apple's Mail client and iCal. Safari can render full pages, and web navigation works much like it does in OS X. Jobs also gave a stunning demonstration of Google Maps on the new phone, with the phone automatically picking out the phone numbers and making them available to the user to call with just a touch.

The phone's Mail client can render rich HTML email, and connect to any IMAP or POP server. In a move that will make the iPhone a viable Blackberry competitor, Yahoo has announced free push IMAP to the phone. Indeed, Google and Yahoo both provide integrated search capabilities on the phone, and Yahoo is using the phone to launch two new mobile services: Yahoo Go and Yahoo oneSearch.

The iPhone's media capabilities are impressive, and it essentially gives you iPhoto and iTunes in the palm of your hand, complete with CoverFlow. The 3.5mm headphone jack outputs clear sound, and the movies and photos displayed on the phone are very sharp.

The new phone accomplishes all of these feats by running a version of OS X, though there's no word yet on exactly how "stripped down" this version is. The iPhone's OS X version also makes heavy use of Dashboard-like widgets to provide extended functionality, like weather reporting.

Other iPhone features include 8GB of storage, a 2MP camera, and support for the following wireless protocols: GSM + EDGE, Bluetooth, and WiFi. The phone has 16 hours of battery life for audio and 5 hours for talk time, video, and browsing.

The phone will be available to Cingular customers in June at a price of $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB version. You'll be able to pick one up at either the Apple Store or your local Cingular dealer.

[Banquo's Ghost]

It looks and sounds gorgeous but we won't be seeing any in Europe till at best, Christmas. The network deals in Europe are quite different than the US and I'd be surprised if anyone will pay the price Apple are likely to ask - unless they come up with a subsidy.

I'd love one, if only because Apple look as if they have cracked both the integration issue and the user interface. Not to mention having a PDA/phone that actually works seamlessly with my Mac. But then I've been seduced by the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field (TM) before, and no doubt will be again.

[Spino]

I really don't see what the big deal is, other companies have been offering phone/mp3 players for awhile now but suddenly we're all supposed to cream our jeans because Apple is officially entering the fray? Ja, it's got other features as well but it's not as if Apple is reinventing the wheel.

I overheard some people in my office talking about the iPhone yesterday; one girl was so excited about the iPhone, as if it could cure what ails her and fill her life with the joy and merriment only an iTunes subscription and a Cingular account could do...

Never underestimate the mindset of sheeple...

[Lemur]

I really don't see what the big deal is, other companies have been offering phone/mp3 players for awhile now but suddenly we're all supposed to cream our jeans because Apple is officially entering the fray? Ja, it's got other features as well but it's not as if Apple is reinventing the wheel.

Hmm, I'm not that down on it, I just think it's crazy to jump onto something this early, before people have had a chance to hack it and make it work better. Also it's on the Cingular network, which I've heard nothing but negatives about. And it's 1.0 hardware! Come on, who buys 1.0 hardware?

If it works as advertised, it's going to be very, very nice. That's a big if. And once friendly hackers remove some of the restrictions on playback, and get it to play back Divx and Xvid files properly, it'll be the bee's knees. So two years from now, when it's been properly hacked, and the hardware glitches have been fixed, and it's available on a proper network, the lemur will think about it.

What amazes me is seeing perfectly rational geeks running out to get one now. They should know better.

[Husar]

My two year old SDA Music is still running fine and I'm european, so, no.
The only thing that would make me consider to shell a lot of money into a new cellphone would be a cheap, unlimited UMTS flatrate but I think that is not coming anytime soon...

[Bijo]

I bet it can produce a cup of coffee for ya too. Or maybe not. If it can't make coffee (with sugar of course) and serve it, I won't get it.


Now that that's out of my system, let me not get serious.
Apple ain't a bad company, as they make good quality products. But ya know what I don't like about 'em? Exclusivity. In the computer business they're annoying enough already, and now the iPhone? Can somebody get me a cyanide pill please?

Okay, I'll drop the sarcasm. Look at 'em, eh? Eh??! Look at 'em! They proudly present their iPhone (oooooooo!) and they think they got their act together. Well, they do, but.... well, ACH!

Never underestimate the mindset of sheeple...

Exactly. But then again I still tend to underestimate them, simply because of the fact they are sheep.

Let's hope in the future we'll have a phone that can cure diseases, make coffee, shoot leaser beams, and takes you time traveling.


I don't know what my post is about, but I don't see the big deal either with this-- this-- IPHONE!

[Beirut]

When I bought my last phone the salesman asked what options I wanted. I said two. "I want it to ring when I get a call and to make another phone ring when I dial out. Nothing else."

Yeah right. I bought the simplest one they make and it still has ten times too many buttons and oddities.

Just give me a phone that rings. That will be enough. If I want a tricorder I'll have one beamed down.

[Xiahou]

I think it's about time they work on their marketing.... iMac, iTunes, iDVD, iLife, iPod, iPhone- come on, let's think of another letter to stick in front of our product name eh?

[drone]

I think it's about time they work on their marketing.... iMac, iTunes, iDVD, iLife, iPod, iPhone- come on, let's think of another letter to stick in front of our product name eh?

They may be forced to...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/...te/cisco_apple

[Spino]

They may be forced to...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/...te/cisco_apple

That's hysterical, nobody at Apple bothered to research the trademark beforehand?!? LOL!

I hope Apple loses the trademark and scrambles to come up with a silly alternative. iPodphone? iCall? iRingy? iCell? iOverpricedgizmothathaslousyreceptionandcostsalot?

Realistically speaking Apple will probably pony up a ton of cash and buy out the rights from Cisco.

[Lemur]

So, judging by the sentiment in this thread, none of the objections I raised to the iPhone are salient. The real reasons to avoid it are:

• It does too much
• Apple is teh suxx0rz

[lars573]

Hmm, I'm not that down on it, I just think it's crazy to jump onto something this early, before people have had a chance to hack it and make it work better. Also it's on the Cingular network, which I've heard nothing but negatives about. And it's 1.0 hardware! Come on, who buys 1.0 hardware?

I do. I have before and will again.

If it works as advertised, it's going to be very, very nice. That's a big if. And once friendly hackers remove some of the restrictions on playback, and get it to play back Divx and Xvid files properly, it'll be the bee's knees. So two years from now, when it's been properly hacked, and the hardware glitches have been fixed, and it's available on a proper network, the lemur will think about it.

I'll never get one. Because I won;t give Apple money, ever. M$ or nothing.

What amazes me is seeing perfectly rational geeks running out to get one now. They should know better.

Geeks won't be buying this and you know it. Apple has built there market share on getting sheeple to buy their products.

[Lemur]

Geeks won't be buying this and you know it. Apple has built there market share on getting sheeple to buy their products.

I know a guy who makes his living building PCs for folks, with a side line in IT support for medium-sized businesses. He also builds web stores with checkouts and all of that hooh-hah for businesses who need it. He even monkeys around with AS400s, which is not for the faint of heart. Walk into his office and you see nothing but windows computers, with the exception of a Linux box serving up some fileshare and HTML.

Why do I tell you all of this? Because this morning he emailed me about how excited he is to get an iPhone. Are you telling me this guy isn't a geek?

I can see there's a towering inferno of Apple hate on going on in this thread, and that's neither here nor there. I'm agnostic: show me the platform that does what I want at the right price, reliably, and I'm all for it. Sometimes that's Windows, sometimes that's OS X, and sometimes that's Linux.

I can't believe I'm going to be forced to defend Apple's latest toy, but really, "sheeple"? Anybody who wants what this thing does is a mindless wool-bearing quadruped? This passes for discussion 'round here?

[lars573]

1 geek. Versus the thousands of sheep minded people (condensed into sheeple) who will go by it because it has i in front of phone. The same trendy toolboxes who'll scoff at us geeks for "suffering" with our PC's while they hold their noses in the air and hammer away at their iMAC's or iBooks. That's where the Apple hate comes from, a geek can only take so much derision and talking down too. iPods are no better than anything Creative puts out. The iPhone won't be better than anything Nokia, Motorolla, or Samsung puts out. But will have more visibility simply because it has an apple symbol on it.

Now on principle if I ever do get a device like this iPhone it will be from Nokia, Motorolla, or Samsung. Not like I'll have to worry for a while. Since this is only on Cingular it won't be in Canada for a year or two. Wireless networks are regional here. No Cingular, period.

[Husar]

Wait a second, Apple is so much better because their computers never crash, they are much better for editing videos and there are only few games made for them?
Ok, my Windows XP never crashes, I don't need to edit videos and I play games in my sparetime(lots of sparetime I have), what reason on earth could exist for me to like Apple?
Did I already mention that iTunes is annoying for similar reasons other online music stores are annoying? And that they like to put iTunes into the QuickTime package? And that I just now discovered that Apple upgrade has a seperate folder in my Start menu?
Besides that, if everyone goes "iPod, iPod, Apple pwnz, I need an iPod because it can play music!!!" I have a natural tendency to ignore it simply because it's hyped. I like to look for unnoticed products that are better than the hyped ones. If you want to talk about needs, my 1GB Mini SD in my cellphone has about 300MB of free space and I copied all my audio CDs onto it, yes I buy CDs in stores, weird, isn't it? (especially considering I used an evil Microsoft product to do this, just imagine it)

Ok, where am I?
Yes, many people think apple is for 1337 and by bying it they become more 1337 and can talk bad about people using Microsoft, but IMO these people are simply unable to deal with Windows. What I do not like about the company is that they support this 1337-hyping, everything they release is "teh stylish" and "teh best there is" and I simply do not believe this.

I also think it's scary how much I can write about this "issue".
I'll stop here before my Windows crashes because I write things(couldn't happen with an Apple, of course)...

[SwordsMaster]

Meh, fancy yet useless. Not impressed.

Touchscreen? Fabulous. As soon as it gets scratched (which it will) it is useless, as there aren't eve buttons to supply any other basic functionality.

The more screen you have, the higher the chances of breaking it too.

Internet access? Fantastic. Will it mean you don't need your laptop? No way.

Videos? Great. How sad is it to watch your DVDs on a mobile phone anyway?

The only thing I think is a good addition is the extra memory for extra music storage - the one thing phones should have - and even that is offset by the extremely reduced battry life used to power all the other useless features.

Everything else is quite standard - camera, etc. That is not worth paying 600USD for.

Won't be getting this one.

[Spino]

So, judging by the sentiment in this thread, none of the objections I raised to the iPhone are salient. The real reasons to avoid it are:

• It does too much
• Apple is teh suxx0rz

You forgot one...

[LIST]It does too much



I'd give Apple a fair shake if their computers didn't sport a default one button mouse for oh, a thousand years and if they actually served a useful purpose beyond basic applications... like being able to play tons of cool computer games.

Seriously now, most of us here in the Org love our computer games. If we didn't then barring any need for 3D, multimedia or intense number crunching work we'd all be perfectly happy with state of the art computers from 4-5 years ago.

Now that Apple has opened the floodgates for the all-in-one phone market I cannot wait to see what the competition has to offer.

(Be nice - Beirut)

[Mikeus Caesar]

You forgot one...

[LIST]It does too much

You forgot one as well!

[LIST]It does too much
I'm deadly serial though, Apple do suck. As countless people in this thread have mentioned, they rely on the 'sheeple snowball effect', whereby one very well known sheeple buys an Apple product, and then more and more sheeple buy from Apple. This gets media attention, and results in even more sheeple buying.

A good example would be my school - a few popular people got iPoops, then not-as-popular-but-still-popular people got them, then gradually everyone got one. Now the only people i know of in school who don't use iPoops are my large group of friends - we all use MP3 players by people such as creative.


And before any Apple fanatics out there go on the defensive against me (if there are any here at the .Org, heaven forbid), might i just point out that i also don't have a great like of Microsoft, but unlike you i don't view them as the 'great satan' - i view them as a company that bothers to allow their software to be compatible with nearly everything else.



(No flame & troll posts please - Beirut)

[lars573]

I think of M$ as the devil I know. Plus competing with Sony in the game console market has forced them to be less evil. Granted only a little.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

The proprietary nature of Apple products puts me off the iPod, and this too. If, as Lemur alludes to, it can be cracked, I might consider getting one-assuming no other company has brought out a superior product in the same area. The only real things that Apple's gizmos have going for them are looks, which no real geek would pay heed to, and the touch-screen interfaces that they go for, which I dislike. Give me proper buttons any day.

As for Macs, I avoid them as I don't like being patronised by my computer.

[Bijo]

Apple Schmapple. I know some people who use music production software on Macintosh. And granted, for music technology, studio stuff, etc., it ain't bad stuff. But Windows software ain't bad either. But you know what's the real killer? The Apple software they got is CRACKED. Oh joy, oh joy. I rejoice when such news, sounding like heavenly divine music, reaches my ear.

Apple is a wretched fiend. M$ is a wretched fiend. They are both wretched fiends.

As currywurry said, M$ got compatibility. Though I heard (been a while actually) Apple computers were going to use different processors or something? Intel-based ones? x86? Well, whatever, you know what I'm talking about, and it'd mean there would be more compatibility.


Anyway, back to topic, the iPhone ain't a bad name I think. The 'i' certainly has a flair to it, though it gets tiring. Why is it always the 'i', eh? iThis, iThat, iWhat, iBoom, iBadabing-badaboop! i!
Somebody tell me, what's the thing with 'i'. And reading that article gave me some sense to what an evil Apple is, like any other company (at least many). Bunch o' conmen, stealing stuff. Fie!

[lars573]

It's true Intel based Macs can run windows. I've seen such a beast on demo at my local Futureshop once. It even had a two button mouse! Via boot camp and partions Intel Macs can boot Mac OS, Windows, or Linux all on the same machine.

[Banquo's Ghost]

I would like to thank the posters in this thread.

I now understand my worthlessness as a human being because of my choice of computer.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Really, the antipathy and stereotyping in this thread wouldn't be out of place in the Backroom.

[Beirut]

Gentlemen,

I would refer you, please, to this post.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=60719

Though geek in circumstance, this forum demands Org. standards of comportment.

[Husar]

I would like to thank the posters in this thread.

I now understand my worthlessness as a human being because of my choice of computer.

You evil....

Actually, I'd be sorry to have hurt you or your feelings or not or anyway I just don't like Apple, nothing to do with it's users except maybe some of them. I even thought about getting an iPod for a while but it just isn't worth it for me.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I gotta retire from this thread now, such minor "issues" really don't deserve so much attention, buy what you like and ignore the rest one might say, as long as YOU are happy with it.

[Lemur]

1 geek. Versus the thousands of sheep minded people (condensed into sheeple) who will go by it because it has i in front of phone.

Yes, one geek. And I could name some more, but I didn't want to bore you by presenting a litany of geeks I know, including their bona fides. At least my example rises to the level of anecdotal; you're still flailing in the land of ad hominem.

If Apple is teh suxx0rz and people only buy things because Apple put a letter in front of some words, one would suppose that eMachines would have been a huge hit, correct? And qLogic would rule the world of network-attached storage?

I really didn't start this thread to create a hate shrine for Apple Computer. I was genuinely puzzled that two Windows geeks I know are all hot and bothered about the iPhone. I am rather surprised at the level of anger and negative generalization. Did a Mac kill someone you love?

[lars573]

Yes PC gamming.

Also the i denoted Apple, and the image of who uses an Apple product, that Apple has spent millions crafting. Then there is the PC vs. MAC commercials that give rise to a homicidal rage in me that terrifies small children and animals. I going assume that Banquo had you know real reasons for using MAC. Other than being lured in by slick advertising. Also the type of people whom I was decrying do exist. One of the collumists in the local indie news paper devoted her space one week to venting about the abuse she takes from fellow journalists and co-workers over her using a laptop PC instead of an iBook. I know you want proof but this collum is 1-2 years old, I doubt I could find it.

[Banquo's Ghost]

I going assume that Banquo had you know real reasons for using MAC. Other than being lured in by slick advertising.

Well, I can't disregard that I may have been influenced by marketing, as Apple do this well.

But I have had a Mac for some while now. I particularly like the interface of OSX and find it easy to work with. Some features such as Exposé and the new Dashboard have become so second nature that I struggle with Windows, dumbly pressing the F10 key and expecting my "windows" to sort themselves.

My MacBook Pro has a gorgeous screen and for me as a writer, a lovely feel to the keyboard. Again, there might be better laptop keyboards out there, but I haven't found them - not that I do an exhaustive search, because I'm a creature of habit - until Apple lets me down, I'm unlikely to give them the push, in the same way I'm unlikely to give up Earl Grey tea.

I'm a sucker for the light-sensitive keyboard and screen adjustment. I like to write in the semi-dark and having a lit keyboard and dimmed screen just makes me feel in the groove. I like iChat and the conferencing video feature that lets me speak with friends and colleagues, particularly my editor and publishers, who also have Macs (surprise!) and so it all makes things nice and seamless.

I like the iLife suite - it's very intuitive for me, integrates all the things I want to do with media very nicely and it came free with the MacBook.

I particularly like that I can have all these things and now with Intel Macs, I can have a Windows partition and play TW games. So I'm not at all anti-Microsoft - indeed I use the MS Office for Mac suite too. Windows is very useful for some tasks and some useful applications are only available for the dominant platform. I do resent having to install all the protective measures necessary to secure a Win machine though, but for the limited connection the partition has to the 'net, I at least don't have to buy these.

Like Lemur said, I choose tools for the job. I like the design of Apple Macs and they suit me. I can't deny that I like it when people come up and ask me what computer I have - I'd probably feel the same way if I was lucky enough to own a Ferrari. If Apple screws up, I'd be happy to look at a Sony Vaio for example, of which I had one when they were first launched. Or whatever did the job.

I like my iPod for the same reasons - good design and an intuitive interface. The market penetration of iPods must mean Apple is doing something right, because good marketing doesn't sell a bad product past the first generation. I would look forward to an iPhone simply because the reputation Apple has built up with me makes me think it would be a good choice.

I'm not a techie, I like to have things just work. In my experience, Apple products do this, thought I know this is not true for some, especially in the early days of the Intel change.

What can I say? I like them.

I've bought Saabs for the last few years as my work car for the same reasons.

[Lemur]

I'm not a techie, I like to have things just work. In my experience, Apple products do this, thought I know this is not true for some, especially in the early days of the Intel change.

To quote another geek friend (long-time Unix admin, used to run Playboy's online store, now builds PDA interfaces for databases, so no talk about how he isn't a "real" geek), when I asked him why he had switched to an OS X laptop: "Hey, you have no idea what it's like to have a Unix laptop that just works."

I don't get angry at Apple for marketing themselves as though they were a luxury German high-speed vibrator. It's their right to market themselves however they like. But as long as they're making interesting technology that does useful things, I'll keep my eye on them.

[Bijo]

I'm cool, I'm cool. *takes a sip of coffee* *breathes calmly* Okay, to continue...

It's true Intel based Macs can run windows. I've seen such a beast on demo at my local Futureshop once. It even had a two button mouse! Via boot camp and partions Intel Macs can boot Mac OS, Windows, or Linux all on the same machine.

Now there's some interesting stuff! I'm talking about the two-button mouse of course!
But really... to be able to run Windows, Mac OS, and Linux is some good stuff.
I've been thinking of switching from Windows to (a version of) Linux, but since I don't know anything about it, it's kinda messed up. And I'm not sure if Linux supports everything Windows supports. Probably not of course, but I can hope, right? There should be a standard or something, like Windows XP and Mac OS X, etc., made by one commercialized group who has total control, yet they should keep the beauty of how it's been developed up until now, if that's at all possible.