Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone Guided Tour and Site Redesign

The iPhone is just a product. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's a collection of hardware, software, form factor and interface, features, benefits, and limitations, sold for a price, with some amount of warranty and support.

Apple has clearly focused this product on consumer users who own a cell phone and an iPod, along with a computer. They've made it compatible with some basic standards like IMAP and CalDAV, but not even attempted (as far as we've been told) to make it compatible with common business protocols like Exchange Server and Blackberry Server, or even vCal.

Normally I'd say that that's all fine, and the 3rd party developers will fill in the gaps - the folks at PocketMac and Missing Sync have done a great job allowing mobile devices to connect in ways their designers never considered, and Palm developers have created an amazing library of apps both large and small that allow the Palm/Treo's to do some pretty impressive things.

For me, the biggest limit on the iPhone is the lack of 3rd party support. With it, you don't need to worry - you want it to do something, in all liklihood, someone will make software that will do it. Without it, it's Steve's way or the highway.

I'm willing to try Steve's way, and see if it works, but I'm not selling my Treo...
 
Deanster said:
Normally I'd say that that's all fine, and the 3rd party developers will fill in the gaps - the folks at PocketMac and Missing Sync have done a great job allowing mobile devices to connect in ways their designers never considered, and Palm developers have created an amazing library of apps both large and small that allow the Palm/Treo's to do some pretty impressive things.

For me, the biggest limit on the iPhone is the lack of 3rd party support. With it, you don't need to worry - you want it to do something, in all liklihood, someone will make software that will do it. Without it, it's Steve's way or the highway.

I'm willing to try Steve's way, and see if it works, but I'm not selling my Treo...
Click to expand...


Will people calm down about this 3rd party support issue. I'm sure later on when the iPhone gets more established with users, Apple will be more open to 3rd party applications and accessories or whatever. I am understand the move not to just let 3rd party apps and developers run wild on a piece of technology that has been worked on for two and half years. I would be worried about security too!

Remember, the iPhone is not even out yet, so could we give it some time before we start complaining about the 3rd party support.

In due time my friends... in due time...
 
iPoodOverZune said:
Folks, read this humorous piece about One_True_phone aka Jesus_Phone aka iPhone :) digg it!
http://blogs.business2.com/netly/2007/06/the_one_true_ph.html#more
Click to expand...

That's the funniest thing I've read yet and certainly puts it all in perspective.

It's a phone like any other phone that in 8-10 months will be just another piece of cheap plastic that we toss into the cup holder of the car, let our kids play with and lose at the beach.

God bless the marketing bastards that whip us into a frenzy over trinkets that lose their appeal faster than Paris Hilton can get out of jail.

Crap, should I take the work I've done for Verizon off my demo reel? Only the Jesus phone knows for sure.
 
Worried about the battery use limits?

Folks that use a Treo or a Blackberry that currently carry spare batteries should expect that at least one accessory manufacturer will soon offer external batteries that connect via the USB recharge connector at the base of the iPhone. Just plug in the external battery to keep yapping on the iPhone.

The video shows an in-flight iPhone mode that shuts down Bluetooth, WIFI and Cell radio transmissions. If one is just using the iPod or video features, or reading email then battery life could be quite a bit longer than what Apple recently posted.
 
Bibbler said:
And you're an non-thinking Fanboy... Apple could introduce a combination Refrigerator-iPod tomorrow for $20,000 and "followers" like you would be racing how revolutionary it is...

Judging from how immature your posts are, I seriously doubt Mommy will buy you an iPhone anyway...


Please Ban and Delete me now. I've seen enough of you moron. Get back to your circle jerk. Woooo Hooo Steve.. Ballmar is SCARED!!!! MS is TOAST!!!!! I just know it!!!!!!! Those are Facts!!! Wooo Hooo.
Click to expand...


No, we would not buy a $20 fridge. And this may surprise you, we WILL NOT buy an iPhone that has a contract over $100/month. But the iPhone contract will be no where near that price per month. Just as Steve Jobs made buying your music economical and fun again, Apple will transform the cell phone business. Remember, Verizon turned Apple's terms down. WHY?

They did so because the last "Killer App" is simply going to be the monthly price. If the monthly bill was over $100/month they wouldn't need extra employees at the stores, because no one would go. Okay maybe a few fanatics. But not me. With the slower EDGE network, the price is going to surprise a lot of people. That pricepoint will bring in the masses.

Oh, and by the way...Microsoft is toast. Just look at the stock price over the last 5 years. Flat. While during the same time Apple's is up 10 Fold, or 1000%. Apple's earnings and market share are currently soaring, Microsoft's have only one direction that they can go and that is down. That's the basic problem with a monopoly.

Apple's share is growing in Music sales (#1 selling in America in 2008 at current growth), Laptop sales, soon to be cell phone sales (hey they are at 0 now, so they have to grow), oh, yeah, that iPod music player thing.

Just wait for the truth of the Vista sales to hit the streets. All those corporate "Vista" sales that shipped from Dell and HP with XP only on the hard drive. Xbox still has about $6,000,000,000 to go to attain profitability. Am I forgetting anything

Oh yes, Microsoft is gaining ground in one market $10,000 coffee table computers...
 

Attachments

  • AAPLvsMSFT.jpg
    AAPLvsMSFT.jpg
    33.5 KB · Views: 160
Chef Medeski said:
The screen is disabled due to a proximity sensor. Five bucks say they disable the buttons too.
Click to expand...

They may not disable the hard buttons, because you might need to use them while on the phone (e.g. to adjust the volume).

I wonder why the screen lock is even necessary - if it is in your pocket, I would think the proximity detector could be used to prevent "pocket dialing".
 
drinkmilk15 said:
wow. you're really still buying into this "full mac osx" thing huh? thats a new one.
Click to expand...
I don't have to BUY anything, DM, and its hardly new. I'm dealing with the facts, as opposed to living in the world of speculation and entirely baseless doubt of Apple's public statements. Here I'm thinking Steve Jobs' unequivocal comment at All Things Digital kind of put this to rest.
"Jobs also confirmed that the iPhone is powered by Mac OS X, not a miniaturised version or a completely different operating system, as some had theorised earlier this year," Computerworld reports.

"'Take out the data [from Mac OS X], every desktop pattern, sound sample. If you look at Safari, it's not that big. It's real Safari, real OS X,' Jobs said. That may explain the controversial decision last month when Apple announced it would delay Mac OS X 10.5, known as Leopard, at least four months to free up enough developers to wrap up the iPhone by June," Computerworld reports.
Click to expand...
But, aside from that, did you have a chance to read this January Arstechnica article about the contributions Apple has been making connecting Darwin and ARM?
The first thing—the thing that points toward this code being for the iPhone and not some other wonky project—is the mention of "darwin/arm ABI." This means there's a port of Darwin to ARM—if that doesn't scream "OS X on the iPhone" then I'm not sure what does.
Click to expand...
So, y'know... let me know when you've caught up, but in the meantime stop selling those magic beans!

~ CB
 
ajhill said:
No, we would not buy a $20 fridge. And this may surprise you, we WILL NOT buy an iPhone that has a contract over $100/month. But the iPhone contract will be no where near that price per month. Just as Steve Jobs made buying your music economical and fun again, Apple will transform the cell phone business. Remember, Verizon turned Apple's terms down. WHY?

They did so because the last "Killer App" is simply going to be the monthly price. If the monthly bill was over $100/month they wouldn't need extra employees at the stores, because no one would go. Okay maybe a few fanatics. But not me. With the slower EDGE network, the price is going to surprise a lot of people. That pricepoint will bring in the masses.
Click to expand...


I hope you are right, because that is a big concern for me! Please Apple...
 
northwesternmac said:
I hope you are right, because that is a big concern for me! Please Apple...
Click to expand...

I believe this as well. It is either going to be very high or very low since the price has been saved till the last moment. I believe also that it will be lower than expected.
 
Deanster said:
Apple has clearly focused this product on consumer users who own a cell phone and an iPod, along with a computer. They've made it compatible with some basic standards like IMAP and CalDAV, but not even attempted (as far as we've been told) to make it compatible with common business protocols like Exchange Server and Blackberry Server, or even vCal.
Click to expand...

Apple is very clearly embracing open standards (IMAP, CalDAV) and not doing anything to empower proprietary technology (Exchange, Blackberry Server) at this time. Why should they do anything to make their enemies stronger, and why does the market benefit when closed standards dominate? If Apple and the open source community can take IMAP and CalDAV and come up with viable alternatives to Exchange Server, would that not be a good thing? (I personally think the pieces in Leopard Server are in place to present a perfectly good alternative to Exchange Server for many small businesses, but that's another thread.)

Also, if Apple is really targeting the iPhone more to the high-end consumer than the corporate user, then Exchange and Blackberry support is less relevant. Hey, I get as annoyed as anyone if a product doesn't do everything I want, but I'm not so self-absorbed as to think I'm the only customer that matters.

Normally I'd say that that's all fine, and the 3rd party developers will fill in the gaps - the folks at PocketMac and Missing Sync have done a great job allowing mobile devices to connect in ways their designers never considered, and Palm developers have created an amazing library of apps both large and small that allow the Palm/Treo's to do some pretty impressive things.
Click to expand...

PocketMac and Missing Sync will be largely irrelevant to the iPhone, as they are only needed for devices that have otherwise non-existent (Blackberry and Windows Mobile) or completely outdated and pathetic (Palm HotSync Manager) sync mechanisms for Mac OS X already.

My experience with third party Palm apps has largely been one of frustration. Too many of them have crashed my Tungsten T3 to count. It's taken me a while to winnow down my Palm apps to a core group that gives me the functionality I need without making my device totally unstable.

I was going to miss Documents To Go the most, but the fact that the Mail application on iPhone supports reading .xls, .doc, and .pdf gives me some optimism, as long as I don't have to email all the documents I want to read to myself.
 
zedsdead said:
I believe this as well. It is either going to be very high or very low since the price has been saved till the last moment. I believe also that it will be lower than expected.
Click to expand...

This is what should (not could or will, but should) happen to with regards to the monthly fees for the iphone.

1. There are none.
2. You buy a subscription to .mac. The end. You're covered. Zip. One entire year, one time fee.

If that wouldn't get one million people to buy the iPhone, I would be VERY suprised. The cell phone market needs a new model, and I believe that the Apple-easy model is a good one to embrace.
 
Does anyone know if Calendar syncing happens when you add an appointment like in iCal with .Mac, or when you sync with a cable?

thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back