i will agree it is a very neat phone, but a complete rip off at that much money, and is hardly a jump from phones in europe and asia. I work at t-mobile and we have 5 phones currently do almost all of those features, as does cingular.
Also cingular and T-mobile very soon will be 3g networks much like europes UMTS. but anyway i read there will be a 3 g version of this phone coming out, so if you want to get it i would wait, other wise you might be mad when your $600 phone cant stream video, do video confrences and many of the other features of 3G
[quote]Freaky Styley wrote:
Y’all sound like the people who said the iPod would never amount to anything.
I think it’s a good idea. I just think the price isn’t practical and locking you into a two year phone contract may turn some people off also.
I also think the future will inevitably allow a combination of all media…which it looks like they just did for the most part.
However, if my iphone falls on the ground by accident…I now get to pay another 600 bucks? How durable is that screen? Something you can touch…you can probably scratch. So, how will your iphone look in 2-3 years? Won’t it suck if the underlying goal is that people will just have to buy a new one when their’s starts to look like crap?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Freaky Styley wrote:
Y’all sound like the people who said the iPod would never amount to anything.
I think it’s a good idea. I just think the price isn’t practical and locking you into a two year phone contract may turn some people off also.
I also think the future will inevitably allow a combination of all media…which it looks like they just did for the most part.
However, if my iphone falls on the ground by accident…I now get to pay another 600 bucks? How durable is that screen? Something you can touch…you can probably scratch. So, how will your iphone look in 2-3 years? Won’t it suck if the underlying goal is that people will just have to buy a new one when their’s starts to look like crap?[/quote]
very good points. People that will buy it are not the ones looking for a practicle/functional phone. They are the ones that just look at price and have to have it because it is expensive, and they are the ones that make me that fat commission check, haha.
[quote]PGA wrote:
Even worse…Contract exclusive with Cingular for years. If there is no out clause for Apple this could doom it from the very start.[/quote]
Well, in the American market, the Sidekick had the same problem. You had to be a T-Mobile customer with a contract to purchase and activate it. There’s a Sidekick 3 out now so I think it’s doing well. And I have a Sidekick II even in today’s market. It’s just awesome.
If the iPhone is THAT good, people will sign with Cingular just to get it. That could happen, and it will pressure Cingular not to be shitty.
[quote]BFBullpup wrote:
PGA wrote:
Even worse…Contract exclusive with Cingular for years. If there is no out clause for Apple this could doom it from the very start.
Well, in the American market, the Sidekick had the same problem. You had to be a T-Mobile customer with a contract to purchase and activate it. There’s a Sidekick 3 out now so I think it’s doing well. And I have a Sidekick II even in today’s market. It’s just awesome.
If the iPhone is THAT good, people will sign with Cingular just to get it. That could happen, and it will pressure Cingular not to be shitty.[/quote]
The Sidekick didn’t launch at $600 either…
If Apple does a significant price drop for the holiday season it will work out for them with regards to reaching their 10mil sold goal. If they don’t, they will struggle.
Its not a bad phone, its actually a beast but the price and locking into Cingular makes it a much tougher road.
[quote]Freaky Styley wrote:
Y’all sound like the people who said the iPod would never amount to anything.
I’m a HUGE Apple supporter *looks at 2 iPods, 2 Dual G5’s, 3 G4’s and a Power book Titanium. But they really missed the mark with the price point and the Cingular exclusive. Hopefully Apple has an out clause with Cingular that allows them to bounce if sales are lackluster. Then they funnel the iPhone out to all major carriers give it a price drop and rape the cellular world.
[quote]PGA wrote:
I have no problem with the screen size for the size of the phone. The resolution is much better than the PSP also.[/quote]
PSP has 480x272.
iPhone has 480x320… a bit taller, but far from “much better.”
Most people were expecting at least 640x480 or somesuch for the iPhone. Nokia has a 800x480 screen. It’s an unfortunate 2.9 inches, but the resolution must be great if you happen to be an eagle.
It’s not a phone. It’s a hand-held computer with telephony.
And, unless all my reading (AND the employee at the Apple Store yesterday) is much mistaken, the 2 years of Cingular comes with the phone; no monthly bills for those 2 years. True, we have yet to hear what that contract includes; but to hear my friends talk about their monthly fees for cell phones, one of these would pay for itself in 2 years.
[quote]pookie wrote:
PGA wrote:
I have no problem with the screen size for the size of the phone. The resolution is much better than the PSP also.
PSP has 480x272.
iPhone has 480x320… a bit taller, but far from “much better.”
Most people were expecting at least 640x480 or somesuch for the iPhone. Nokia has a 800x480 screen. It’s an unfortunate 2.9 inches, but the resolution must be great if you happen to be an eagle.
[quote]TShaw wrote:
It’s not a phone. It’s a hand-held computer with telephony.
And, unless all my reading (AND the employee at the Apple Store yesterday) is much mistaken, the 2 years of Cingular comes with the phone; no monthly bills for those 2 years. True, we have yet to hear what that contract includes; but to hear my friends talk about their monthly fees for cell phones, one of these would pay for itself in 2 years.
Need more details.[/quote]
Probably going to be in the neighborhood of $100 a month for an unlimited data plan and bottom end to middle of the road voice plan.
[quote]TShaw wrote:
It’s not a phone. It’s a hand-held computer with telephony.[/quote]
Really? Or is that just a marketing bullet.
I’ve seen mentioned that it runs OS X. Can I install a VPN client and then connect to my office? Can I run an SSH terminal on it? That would be an interesting feature.
But if the only thing we can do with that “computer” is install Apple-approved Widgets, then it’s not a computer in the sense most people think. Can I write my own software for it?
If it can be used as a small laptop with a cellular internet link, that opens up interesting possibilities. Even more interesting would be a cellular plan that allows “always connected” behavior without incurring a killer bill every month. Of course, battery life then becomes the issue.
I also don’t understand why they insist on shaping it like a phone. With the bluetooth headsets these days, the shape of the phone is largely irrelevant. You could have a little module you attach to your belt, or keep on your keychain that does most of the processing and communications. You’d use the headset when you’re talking. All you’d need would be some way of dialing numbers and entering text. Either a small keyboard, preferable Bluetooth wireless too, or some kind of speech-to-text solution would do. You could finally offer a variety of screen sizes, depending on the needs of the user. Some might do without screens at all. Most could do with very small screens (who might be included in the base unit) and for film, picture or game addicts, you could get larger screens.
The problem with a one-size-fits-all, jack of all trade device is that it offers more features than most people need or want; and the ones they need are often better met by some other, more specialized device.
It could still work if the price was unbeatable; but they don’t seem to have that either.
Fuck Apple. I am so sick of all their “trendy”, clicky shit products they bring out so spoiled rich kids can look cool. Damn near everyone I know who has an ipod had the battery die on them to have Apple not cover it under warranty. Their computers would be great…if they didn’t run the world’s slowest operating system that puts them in the same class of performance as a PC from 1998.
Besides, the last thing I want is some fruity, hippie looking cell phone that everyone else on the planet has. I’ll take an Onyx. (If it ever gets made)
[quote]TShaw wrote:
It’s not a phone. It’s a hand-held computer with telephony.
And, unless all my reading (AND the employee at the Apple Store yesterday) is much mistaken, the 2 years of Cingular comes with the phone; no monthly bills for those 2 years. True, we have yet to hear what that contract includes; but to hear my friends talk about their monthly fees for cell phones, one of these would pay for itself in 2 years. [/quote]
that is completely false, you will still have a monthly plan, and added to your monthly plan would be a data plan that is $40 per month through cingular.
Need more details.
Personally I’ll stick with my IPAQ, does everything that the IPhone does and they’re cheaper right now.
Personally I found that I needed the PDA functions for my job and the phone being integrated was a bonus. I’ve had the thing a year now and I’ll be buying another when this one dies, not that it’s showing any signs of that.
