Where's the *Official* iPhone thread?

[Syringer]

What company is going to produce the phones?

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: Umberger
bah, cingular ruins it for me... I don't have good cingular service out here. What does it mean when they say they have an exclusive partnership with cingular? It seems like that would be counterproductive. I would be more likely to buy it if I was able to choose my own carrier.

Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever see a CDMA version of this phone. What we *might* see (hopefully) is another, different phone with added/subtracted features for CDMA users.

My guess--a 3G/4G CDMA/WiMax phone in 2008/2009. Make it happen Steve.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
it has the same problem the ps3 has... way to expensive to jump on. damn cool, yes, but $600.. PLUS the 2yr contract?! I don't need a smartphone anyway, just a cell and an ipod. The google maps thing is actually really cool, but do I have wifi available to me all the time? no. Am I going to pay $60+/mo on just data from my carrier? hell no.

i suppose having the touch screen and all.. apple had to go all out to make it worth while to make and still make money. But the market for this seems to be very very small.

This would make a very nice new iPod though.. slap a notebook drive on the back and you got yourself something to sell.

Well, in all fairness they're only targeting 10 million units (1% of the market) so its not too much of a stretch.

I wholeheartedly agree with your second point though--and I imagine any new iPod from here on out better be running OS X with support for CoverFlow, Widgets, motion-sensitive games, 160ppi HD video, etc.

 

[oogabooga]

the big drawback is the carrier. And it isn't a "well deal with it" because first and foremost it is a cell phone, and if i can't have reception most everywhere with decent enough talk quality I couldn't care less if it could pull up a map or play an mp3

cingular just isn't worth switching too

 

[fLum0x]

Originally posted by: Mellman

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: makoto00
No cdma version?

exactly what i was thinking...

exactly why i won't be buying one....

well, my guess would be that the device is cingular only for 90-180 days and then they will branch out to others (tmobile and such GSM carriers) and they will possibly make a CDMA model at that time. I work for the cell phone industry and that is typically how it is done :x That is how razrs did it and that is how krzrs are going so far. I think the Q is moving through the timeline faster than the others.

 

[txrandom]

That looks huge.

 

[Syringer]

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=AAPL

Up 7.5% in an hour and a half.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: brikis98
i dunno why ppl are jumping on this thing... based on specs alone (which is all any of us can tell as no one has tested/reviewed it yet) it's probably the best smart/mp3 phone hands down. 4gb or 8gb of built in flash memory, super thin, amazing (wide)screen, touch sensitive, WiFi, bluetooth (with EDR, A2DP), 2MP camera, OS X (to run widgets, itunes, etc), looks fantastic. the only draw backs, i suppose, are that it's cingular only (although i'm sure there will be unlocked versions and personally, i like/use cingular right now) and the price tag. however, for a device that (based on specs) destroys everything else on the market, a high release date price tag is not that surprising. i'm sure a year or so after release, it'll be nearly free w/ 2 year contract...

we'll have to wait and see what reviews say of this thing once it's out in june, but i personally am very impressed & excited...

it has the same problem the ps3 has... way to expensive to jump on. damn cool, yes, but $600.. PLUS the 2yr contract?! I don't need a smartphone anyway, just a cell and an ipod. The google maps thing is actually really cool, but do I have wifi available to me all the time? no. Am I going to pay $60+/mo on just data from my carrier? hell no.

i suppose having the touch screen and all.. apple had to go all out to make it worth while to make and still make money. But the market for this seems to be very very small.

This would make a very nice new iPod though.. slap a notebook drive on the back and you got yourself something to sell.

well, that's why the vast majority of people (including me) wait a year or so for the price to (significantly) drop, just like with all technology. i'd bet that after 1-2 years, the phone will be nearly free with a 2 year contract, esp. once it becomes available with other carriers. any smart phone - in fact, any new technology - during release time is very overpriced, so it's not at all surprising.

as for the google maps thing, i'm not sure what their implementation is, but virtually all cell phones nowadays have GPS. so my GUESS (if they are smart) would be that the maps are actually all downloaded onto the phone beforehand and using the GPS you can find your way around. that way you only need wifi to update them. this is the way tom tom (i think that's the name) and other well known GPS software works.

and believe me, wifi on a device like this is AWESOME, because it is available in many places that i go: at work, in my house, starbucks, airports, etc...

the market for this thing, unless the competition puts out something better, will probably be huge but not immediately. there's always early adopters for the first year and then, with a more reasonable price, the rest of us will catch on.

 

[LegendKiller]

Here's what I think.


Good

1. Device convergance
2. Great looking
3. Good interface


Bad

1. Device convergance but no "synergies" in cost savings. $600 would buy you an awesome phone + a nice MP3 player. They need to pass those savings on.

2. no real 3g support. The lack of HSPDA means you are using a network at about 1/5th (or less) the speed of Sprint's network or other 3G networks.

3. Limited carrier, sprint has cheap data plans and good speed, yet isn't a carrier. I personally think this locking in of phones is getting quite rediculous.

 

[NakaNaka]

There's a lot of talk about it in the MACWORLD thread. I think it looks great (I have cingular). I'll be picking one up in June.

 

[NakaNaka]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: brikis98
i dunno why ppl are jumping on this thing... based on specs alone (which is all any of us can tell as no one has tested/reviewed it yet) it's probably the best smart/mp3 phone hands down. 4gb or 8gb of built in flash memory, super thin, amazing (wide)screen, touch sensitive, WiFi, bluetooth (with EDR, A2DP), 2MP camera, OS X (to run widgets, itunes, etc), looks fantastic. the only draw backs, i suppose, are that it's cingular only (although i'm sure there will be unlocked versions and personally, i like/use cingular right now) and the price tag. however, for a device that (based on specs) destroys everything else on the market, a high release date price tag is not that surprising. i'm sure a year or so after release, it'll be nearly free w/ 2 year contract...

we'll have to wait and see what reviews say of this thing once it's out in june, but i personally am very impressed & excited...

it has the same problem the ps3 has... way to expensive to jump on. damn cool, yes, but $600.. PLUS the 2yr contract?! I don't need a smartphone anyway, just a cell and an ipod. The google maps thing is actually really cool, but do I have wifi available to me all the time? no. Am I going to pay $60+/mo on just data from my carrier? hell no.

i suppose having the touch screen and all.. apple had to go all out to make it worth while to make and still make money. But the market for this seems to be very very small.

This would make a very nice new iPod though.. slap a notebook drive on the back and you got yourself something to sell.

well, that's why the vast majority of people (including me) wait a year or so for the price to (significantly) drop, just like with all technology. i'd bet that after 1-2 years, the phone will be nearly free with a 2 year contract, esp. once it becomes available with other carriers. any smart phone - in fact, any new technology - during release time is very overpriced, so it's not at all surprising.

It's really not overpriced. It's expensive but not overpriced. It's a cell phone + iPod for music and videos and an internet device + solid camera. iPod's are already a few hundred dollars. I think it will be a huge success, and so do investors as Apple's shares have skyrocketted today.

 

[TheGizmo]

no verizon? no iphone for me.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: NakaNaka

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: brikis98
i dunno why ppl are jumping on this thing... based on specs alone (which is all any of us can tell as no one has tested/reviewed it yet) it's probably the best smart/mp3 phone hands down. 4gb or 8gb of built in flash memory, super thin, amazing (wide)screen, touch sensitive, WiFi, bluetooth (with EDR, A2DP), 2MP camera, OS X (to run widgets, itunes, etc), looks fantastic. the only draw backs, i suppose, are that it's cingular only (although i'm sure there will be unlocked versions and personally, i like/use cingular right now) and the price tag. however, for a device that (based on specs) destroys everything else on the market, a high release date price tag is not that surprising. i'm sure a year or so after release, it'll be nearly free w/ 2 year contract...

we'll have to wait and see what reviews say of this thing once it's out in june, but i personally am very impressed & excited...

it has the same problem the ps3 has... way to expensive to jump on. damn cool, yes, but $600.. PLUS the 2yr contract?! I don't need a smartphone anyway, just a cell and an ipod. The google maps thing is actually really cool, but do I have wifi available to me all the time? no. Am I going to pay $60+/mo on just data from my carrier? hell no.

i suppose having the touch screen and all.. apple had to go all out to make it worth while to make and still make money. But the market for this seems to be very very small.

This would make a very nice new iPod though.. slap a notebook drive on the back and you got yourself something to sell.

well, that's why the vast majority of people (including me) wait a year or so for the price to (significantly) drop, just like with all technology. i'd bet that after 1-2 years, the phone will be nearly free with a 2 year contract, esp. once it becomes available with other carriers. any smart phone - in fact, any new technology - during release time is very overpriced, so it's not at all surprising.

It's really not overpriced. It's expensive but not overpriced. It's a cell phone + iPod for music and videos and an internet device + solid camera. iPod's are already a few hundred dollars. I think it will be a huge success, and so do investors as Apple's shares have skyrocketted today.

well, it's tough to do a direct comparison, but we can consider a few of the devices available today:

* 8gb ipod nano costs ~$250... of course, the screens on them aren't as nice, but they serve as reasonable starting points for a price comparison...
* a very decent mp3 phone can be had for FREE with a contract... for example, the Sony Ericsson w810i gets rave reviews, can do many of the things the iPhone can and can be had for a grand total of $0...
* you can also get a very decent smartphone, such as the Samsung BlackJack and BlacBerry Pearl - which probably have more "smart" features than the iphone - for ~$200 with a contract...

while the iPhone's specs fit my tastes better than the other smartphones out today, and i would think it's worth more than most of them (at least for the 8gb of flash memory), i can't justify - even on release day - it's price being 3 times as much as the other options available. so, i say again: it IS very overpriced, but i believe the price will drop significantly to the point where even i can afford it

 

[Known Unsoldier]

I might buy one, for the following reasons:

My two-year contract w/ Cingular will be up around June; My iRiver is on the fritz and I was thinking of getting a new mp3 player (iPod mini) anyways; I need a new phone and would like it to have internet browsing capabilites; I wouldn't mind having my mp3 player and phone combined.

Overpriced? Yes. Luckily I have enough expendable income to waste a bit here and there.

I'll probably wait a while past initial launch for bug fixes and to see how the market balances itself out.