tOfficial iPhone news and discussion thread

[bulldogg]

Is there an echo in here?

[richwig]

An old saying has it:

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

If you buy an iPhone today, you are buying a Ferrari to drive on dirt roads.

Anyone who understands the history of the Cingular / AT&T network understands why that network is the worst in the United States. Anyone who has spent $500 on a new toy can believe what he wants to believe.

[ErnieMcCracken]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

That is a horrible idea. I have a PowerBook and the form-factor, materials durability and finish all weighed in my decision. There's no way I would give the same coin to Dell and expect comparable value.

Would the computer be a stylish- no. But they would be cheaper. Economies of scale indicate Dell with thier buying power, supply chain network, and internet dealership would produce a far cheaper computer than Apple could ever manufacture. What did you pay for that PowerBook?

[bulldogg]

Originally Posted by richwig

An old saying has it:



If you buy an iPhone today, you are buying a Ferrari to drive on dirt roads.

Anyone who understands the history of the Cingular / AT&T network understands why that network is the worst in the United States. Anyone who has spent $500 on a new toy can believe what he wants to believe.

Explain it to me please, because I understand the history and have no idea what you are talking about. I stand by the fact that I have had the absolute worst experience with Verizon. AT&T has been nothing but solid all-around for our company.

[Trevor Barnes]

Originally Posted by richwig

An old saying has it:



If you buy an iPhone today, you are buying a Ferrari to drive on dirt roads.

Anyone who understands the history of the Cingular / AT&T network understands why that network is the worst in the United States. Anyone who has spent $500 on a new toy can believe what he wants to believe.

Originally Posted by bulldogg

Explain it to me please, because I understand the history and have no idea what you are talking about. I stand by the fact that I have had the absolute worst experience with Verizon. AT&T has been nothing but solid all-around for our company.

Apparently our personal experiences with AT&T and Verizon in our local areas don't matter. The fact that the reception isn't great in LA and NY (where I won't be visiting anytime soon) is what actually matters.

[bulldogg]

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Apparently our personal experiences with AT&T and Verizon in our local areas don't matter. The fact that the reception isn't great in LA and NY (where I won't be visiting anytime soon) is what actually matters.

... and I've had no problems in NYC - I used to go there once a month. Manhattan and the Bronx are covered.

Oh, and it works in London, Paris, Israel, etc. etc. etc.

Much needed in today's business world. (Verizon finally just came out with one phone that can be used internationally ... and I would be pretty skeptical at that).

[schwa283]

Originally Posted by bulldogg

Curious ... what makes it so "far ahead of any other phone out there"?

Ok, now that I am on a real computer I can explain a little more. I AM aware that feature-wise, the iPhone has nothing really spectacular compared to other "advanced" phones such as the Blackberry.....as in internet, e-mail, phone, etc.

What I meant is that I think the iPhone is the first phone I have seen in a while that is different and has it's own style. Every other PDA type phone looks similar in some way, and I have never been a fan of the slide-out keyboards or anything like that.

The iPhone's screen rotates as you turn the phone (from vertical to horizontal view), has sensors in the ear-piece part so when the phone goes up against the ear, the screen shuts off preventing unwanted touching of the touchscreen, has only 1 actual button on the front of the phone and everything else appears on the screen, its actually not too hard to type with, has multi-touch screen allowing for more than just one finger touching(ie. you can use two fingers to zoom in and out by sliding your fingers together/apart on the screen), the texting is cool and shows it as a "conversation" with both sent and received texts showing up in order with each person, updates with microsoft outlook (im sure other phones do this as well...I don't know much about others), allows you to open up multiple pages in Safari (the internet browser) just like a computer, the internet actually appears as you would see it on a regular computer (not simplified version for cell phone which I have seen on others), when you type, it will automatically correct your type-o's without interupting your typing......there is a lot of other cool stuff as well.

After using it for a lot of hours today (driving from Rochester, NY to Michigan for MSU AOP tomorrow), I have realized some negatives though. You cannot really customize ringtones... you have to pick from just the ones on the phone, cannot take video, cannot send/receive pix/flix messages....only text, the battery is irreplaceable (spelling?)....so, like the iPod, if and when the battery goes bad, the phone is done as well.

Its a cool phone. I am glad I got to play with one for 2 days before buying it. I don't think I will buy it, there needs to be some things changed/fixed...which is expected for any new product. I don't really think its worth the 600 as it is now though. I'd rather just have a simpler phone anyways, if I need to go on the internet, I will use my computer. I like my phone to fit in my pocket nice as well.

[bulldogg]

Originally Posted by schwa283

Ok, now that I am on a real computer I can explain a little more. I AM aware that feature-wise, the iPhone has nothing really spectacular compared to other "advanced" phones such as the Blackberry.....as in internet, e-mail, phone, etc.

What I meant is that I think the iPhone is the first phone I have seen in a while that is different and has it's own style. Every other PDA type phone looks similar in some way, and I have never been a fan of the slide-out keyboards or anything like that.

The iPhone's screen rotates as you turn the phone (from vertical to horizontal view), has sensors in the ear-piece part so when the phone goes up against the ear, the screen shuts off preventing unwanted touching of the touchscreen, has only 1 actual button on the front of the phone and everything else appears on the screen, its actually not too hard to type with, has multi-touch screen allowing for more than just one finger touching(ie. you can use two fingers to zoom in and out by sliding your fingers together/apart on the screen), the texting is cool and shows it as a "conversation" with both sent and received texts showing up in order with each person, updates with microsoft outlook (im sure other phones do this as well...I don't know much about others), allows you to open up multiple pages in Safari (the internet browser) just like a computer, the internet actually appears as you would see it on a regular computer (not simplified version for cell phone which I have seen on others), when you type, it will automatically correct your type-o's without interupting your typing......there is a lot of other cool stuff as well.

After using it for a lot of hours today (driving from Rochester, NY to Michigan for MSU AOP tomorrow), I have realized some negatives though. You cannot really customize ringtones... you have to pick from just the ones on the phone, cannot take video, cannot send/receive pix/flix messages....only text, the battery is irreplaceable (spelling?)....so, like the iPod, if and when the battery goes bad, the phone is done as well.

Its a cool phone. I am glad I got to play with one for 2 days before buying it. I don't think I will buy it, there needs to be some things changed/fixed...which is expected for any new product. I don't really think its worth the 600 as it is now though. I'd rather just have a simpler phone anyways, if I need to go on the internet, I will use my computer. I like my phone to fit in my pocket nice as well.

So, it sounds like basically a different interface - I haven't heard of any functionality that is not there on other phones (minus the ipod capability, although the Blackberries and WinMobile phones support additional flash memory to store and play MP3s)

And you have to live without:
• Exchange sync
• Songs as Ringtones
• Games
• Any flash support
• Instant Messaging
• Picture messages (MMS)
• Video recording
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
• 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
• GPS
• A real keyboard
• Removable battery
• Expandable Storage

Don't get me wrong - I'd try one if it had Exchange sync (I'm a phoneafile - trying a new phone about every 4-6 months. Need to for my company). But to say that it is far ahead of every other phone seems like a bigtime stretch to me.

[ErnieMcCracken]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

Dell notebooks for all their extra weight, pathetic battery life and ginormous, fugly design are no cheaper than comparably specced macbook pros out the door.

So what you pay out for your PowerBook?

[bulldogg]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

Dell notebooks for all their extra weight, pathetic battery life and ginormous, fugly design are no cheaper than comparably specced macbook pros out the door.

Stop it. We've been here before. You can argue anything you want except $$$.

By the way, please don't turn this into a Mac v. PC thread. If you want to talk about that again, bump one of the hundred threads on that topic.

[rob]

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Verizon turned Apple down. Big mistake.

Not at all....apple is a pain in the ass.....phone will have a limited market and is too expensive for the average buyer/user. ATT service sucks..

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

That is a horrible idea. I have a PowerBook and the form-factor, materials durability and finish all weighed in my decision. There's no way I would give the same coin to Dell and expect comparable value.

You wouldn't; you would give them 1/3rd the coin and have a comparable system that doesn't have quite as good of an external housing. If that is your major qualm, then just have Apple include a clause that says they will design the exterior case, and Dell has to build around that.

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by richwig

Anyone who understands the history of the Cingular / AT&T network understands why that network is the worst in the United States. Anyone who has spent $500 on a new toy can believe what he wants to believe.

I too would like this explained to me, because I know all about the history of Cingular/AT&T, as well as the world-standard GSM network that they use, and I'm just as confused as the other poster.

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Apparently our personal experiences with AT&T and Verizon in our local areas don't matter. The fact that the reception isn't great in LA and NY (where I won't be visiting anytime soon) is what actually matters.

I was in Manhattan two weeks ago, and I think the lowest reception I had was dropping down to one bar when I was in the hotel bathroom, reaching under the sink to grab something. In the main room I had 3-4 bars, and on the street, I consistently had 5 bars. At no time did I ever drop a call, or even have trouble talking to the person on the other end. I spent probably 2-3 hours on the phone during the trip, and called from the hotel room, hotel lobby, the street, inside B & H PhotoVideo, in a taxi, on the train between NY and CT, and on the terminal of the airport, in the plane.

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

You are hallucinating.

I'm not. Please feel free to list which Apple computer with a price under $600 beats what you can get from Dell. Make sure to include a display in the price, if you think that matters.

[ErnieMcCracken]

Originally Posted by Top Dog

Every time someone brings up price they cannot spec a similar WHOLE PC machine for cheaper than a Mac. Sure, the build it yourself types can piece together something from the bargain bins and get lucky with some special parts deals, but for a whole machine, that works together...give me a break.

I like Apple and I support Apple but the fact is they use the same hardware components as any other manufacturer which makes thier total computing experience a little missleading. Thier macbooks have intel duo processors, integreated intel graphics just like everyone else, uses the same ram and hard drive, and their screens are manufactured by someone else. Fine they got the software, which they should be sold out to everyone since it is now used on the same hardware but no....Apple would rather be selfish.

[hexydes]

Somewhat on-topic, having used the iPhone now, compared to my phone, the iPhone is indeed better (wi-fi, interface, included apps), but if I had AT&T service right now and had to pick a phone for the price (say I was upgrading my contract right now), I would still pick my phone (Cingular 3125, rebranded HTC StarTrk). You can get the refurb version from AT&T for $29.99 right now...

Cingular 3125 (Refurb) Cell Phone - AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless

It gets about 7 hours of talk time, has Windows Mobile (so 3rd-party apps that can emulate everything on the iPhone), etc. It is a much better deal. Just to head off any detractors, yes, this phone does not have as good of an interface or wi-fi, the iPhone has it there. But for the price, this is a much, much better deal.

One other thing I've noticed is that AT&T is dropping the prices on many of their SmartPhones, and I think that most of the companies know that they can't compete with the iPhone on features, so I think we're going to see their prices start to plummet. At the end of the day, if the release of the iPhone simply means that most consumers can get a SmartPhone that cost $399 a year ago for $149, then I think everyone is going to be better off because of it.

[yatta08]

I agree. I've spent a total of 20 dollars on buying cell phones in my lifetime.

[Ozymandias]

Yeah, it's not like those things are gonna be cheaper down the road. Big ****ing deal if you get it the first day it's available. That and $2 gets you on the subway.

[the Junkyard Dog]

Originally Posted by Tui

are some of the biggest idiots on the planet.

That Is All.

Actually, the biggest idiots are the ones who bought 5 PS3s to sell them on ebay, and couldn't get jack for them.

[the Junkyard Dog]

Originally Posted by Tui

Comperable, but not quite the same.

true...the ones who camped out for Star Wars for 3 months straight are on the iPhone level.

[CORNER BLITZ]

Originally Posted by the Junkyard Dog

Actually, the biggest idiots are the ones who bought 5 PS3s to sell them on ebay, and couldn't get jack for them.

You could get $$ for PS3's if you sold them right away

much dumber to put the iPhone on eBay

[the Junkyard Dog]

Originally Posted by Tui

getting closer

no..this is even more idiotic. You camped out 3 months to see a 2.5 hour movie.. the iPod will keep you company for atleats 2-3 years.

[SAVspartan]

Originally Posted by the Junkyard Dog

Actually, the biggest idiots are the ones who bought 5 PS3s to sell them on ebay, and couldn't get jack for them.

i waited for a day and a half for my PS3 and sold it the day after for a 1000 dollar profit. i think i did pretty well considering it was such an overrated machine to begin with....

[Spartan Al]

Spending that sort of money on a phone is ridiculous. Do you know how many Coach purses you could get?

Sincerely,
Mel