What the iPhone REALLY is

[natemonster]

i think the same thing will happen to the iphone as the ipod. it's 4g and 8g now. that how big the ipod started out at 399USD and now it's 249USD and for 30g and can do so much more. at least the iphone will have more capasity. remember that article on mr homepage about cheap flash memory? i'm not going to buy one now. wait and it will be way cheaper and better. and i don't have enough money.

 

[JNB]

i think the same thing will happen to the iphone as the ipod. it's 4g and 8g now. that how big the ipod started out at 399USD and now it's 249USD and for 30g and can do so much more. at least the iphone will have more capasity. remember that article on mr homepage about cheap flash memory? i'm not going to buy one now. wait and it will be way cheaper and better. and i don't have enough money.

That's as close to a dead-on, take-it-to-the-bank guarantee as exists in the industry. It WILL get more powerful, it WILL gain more features, it WILL become more capacious, and it WILL get cheaper.

What Apple (and everybody freaking else) count on is early adopters, strong buzz & reviews, and a sense that the product is worth manufacturing and improving. Can't have a 2.0 if 1.0 is a flop.

So, how do we ensure that the 3rd Gen iPhone will be the gadget goodness we hope for? (Read my future review, it is) We all buy one now, make Apple lots of money, prove Steve right - and generate enough stock movement so he doesn't need to backdate - and in two years, upgrade to iPhone 2.0., then 3.0. Then iEverythinginonedevice!

C'mon, it's only money, what're we afraid of? We can be the hippest homeless people out there!

 

[Mal]

The broke college student in me says I have to wait for version 5.0 or 6.0, but man, I wish I could get one for precisely the reasoning of the OP. I love my Mac, and while I appreciate my Palm, my RAZR, and my Video iPod (spent less than $300 total on those, btw, over several years, for those who point back to my broke status), the iPhone would really make those mostly irrelevant (although I think I'd keep the iPod, simply because I can't fit even just my pictures on a 4GB iPhone, much less those and my music and my videos, plus backup space). Great post, man!

jW

 

[BornAgainMac]

Blackberries are terrible

I think Blackberries are terrible business phones. I read something about it working with exchange but not all businesses using exchange. The interface is what kills it for me. Perhaps it is good for business. Non profitable businesses. This phone is very unproductive.

The iPhone will replace my Blackberry.

 

[natemonster]

The broke college student in me says I have to wait for version 5.0 or 6.0, but man, I wish I could get one for precisely the reasoning of the OP. I love my Mac, and while I appreciate my Palm, my RAZR, and my Video iPod (spent less than $300 total on those, btw, over several years, for those who point back to my broke status), the iPhone would really make those mostly irrelevant (although I think I'd keep the iPod, simply because I can't fit even just my pictures on a 4GB iPhone, much less those and my music and my videos, plus backup space). Great post, man!

jW

if you think we'll be the loser now when the iphone comes out and we don't ahve one, your wrong. just wait two years and they'll be he losers with 4g iphone and we'll have 40g and much more features.

 

[chatster18]

I think Blackberries are terrible business phones. I read something about it working with exchange but not all businesses using exchange. The interface is what kills it for me. Perhaps it is good for business. Non profitable businesses. This phone is very unproductive.

The iPhone will replace my Blackberry.

I have a Blackberry, and the interface sucks, but that being said I love it. I can access email, go online (tethered to my laptop too!). I do love the Blackberry. It is true not everyone has exchange servers, but it works with
IMAP and POP3 servers to. Don't get me wrong it has its flaws, and I will be getting an iPhone [eventually]. I am just saying for some Blackberries work great!

if you think we'll be the loser now when the iphone comes out and we don't ahve one, your wrong. just wait two years and they'll be he losers with 4g iphone and we'll have 40g and much more features.

That is one of the reasons that I am waiting, and I just don't have the money! [yet]

 

[Ben Winship]

At the minute, i think the iPhone is pretty much a novelty, but when i get round to actually using one, i'll probably change my mind and end up wanting one.

 

[Hobofuzz]

iPhone = Newton 2.0

Minus the massive price tag and history of failure, of course.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Valid points for those that have more than a few thousand songs or depend on a handheld device for their video collection. Other than the complete Weird Al collection,

A man after my own heart.

I have less than a gig of music, myself, although I'm planning to buy quite a few more Weird Al CD's. Love his stuff.

I've got basically all his music videos on my iPod.

 

[Sylvester]

You had a minor gramatical character....... Or maybe you meant apiphony...

Remember the wise words of the late Frank Zappa: "What is your Conceptual Continuity? Well, I told him right then, it should be easy to see, the crux of the biscuit is the Apostrophe!"

 

[JNB]

Remember the wise words of the late Frank Zappa: "What is your Conceptual Continuity? Well, I told him right then, it should be easy to see, the crux of the biscuit is the Apostrophe!"

Although that wasn't my reference, I'm gladdened that someone else out there picked up on the alternative meaning as well.

So, would Frank have owned an iPhone? Maybe that should be another thread, "rockers/celebs and their gadgets." Just for the record, I'm willing to bet Alice Cooper WILL own an iPhone.

 

[chatster18]

How much?

 

[JNB]

How much?

Having met and spent some time with him on a flight, I can attest that the man is both a true gentleman and a serious gadget freak. It's a sucker bet, I couldn't take yer money...

...but if you really want to get down, I'll meet'cha at a Cingular store in June. Say, $599 plus tax?

 

[JNB]

Whatever, I need one. I can easily adjust my life so my wants become my needs. Ha! I don't 'need' one either, but... I do! Everyone in my family expects me to get one cause I'm the tech geek... so in a way, I do need an iPhone.

I just reread that part. So true! I have exactly the same issue of credibility/expectation/reputation to uphold!

You know what? Screw it. My Treo is so not useful anymore, and I can (kinda) afford a bleeding edge toy. As soon as they're available, I'll get one. I'll be the first guy on the plane/in the President's Club with one. That'll be good for at least a couple of weeks of geek glory.

Who cares if it's a piece of crap. I have one of those already, and I'm surviving just fine. I still wish I had gotten a Newton, so I don't even care if the damn thing fails. Which it won't.

 

[yg17]

I love my BlackBerry, and you couldn't pry it from my cold, dead hands. Nothing, not even the stupid iPhone, will replace it. Except maybe another BlackBerry a couple years down the road

 

[chatster18]

Having met and spent some time with him on a flight, I can attest that the man is both a true gentleman and a serious gadget freak. It's a sucker bet, I couldn't take yer money...

...but if you really want to get down, I'll meet'cha at a Cingular store in June. Say, $599 plus tax?

HaHa, well I guess that this would be a rigged bet....but the stakes are nice!

 

[asherman13]

It's not a business unit - by design (not a Crackberry)
It's not a laptop replacement (WinCE? Win Mobile? Palm? Puhleeze!)
It's not just an iPod (More than tunes)
It's not just a phone (Beyond voice)
It's not a tablet (Too small, and too useful)

It's an EXTENSION of my Mac. (i- or -Book).

It's what I can actually USE, dare I say, really need?

It allows me the full functionality of the phone I have (whose "features" I gave up on months ago) and more.

It allows me to grab my mail, change my flight, hotel, or rental car effortlessly - at least compared to firing up the Dell in the airport, or punishing myself with the Sprint network on the 650.

It allows me to ditch my 4GB Nano and Treo, and consolidate my gadget bag.

It lets me carry ALL my tunes, photos, contacts, calendar, mail, a few shows to catch up on, maybe an audiobook or two. In one device. That will FINALLY FREAKING COMPLETELY AND SEAMLESSLY SYNC WITH SOMETHING!

I spend over 150 days a year on the road, >500 hours a year in a plane, countless hours in between flights cooling my heels, tens of thousands of miles in rental cars.

If it saves me just 10 minutes a day in frustration, and gives me a piddling extra 10 minutes in convenience and enjoyment, that's 20 minutes a day to my benefit, that's 3000 minutes a year, just on my travel days. 50 hours a year - minimum. At my current salary, that's at a value proposition of at least $1500.

Is it perfect? Not even close. It's just so much better (if only in concept, granted) than anything else out there I have tried and suffered with. I'll spot $600 for a couple year's trial, easy. I've had $650 phones that totally sucked, so how bad off can I be?

You should share your opinions/story at http://www.apple.com/iphone/share/ ASAP!

If I were them, I'd publish what you said.