FCC Approves iPhone 230
An anonymous reader alerted us that the iPhone is one step closer to hitting shelves. "The Federal Communications Commission approved Apple Inc.'s iPhone, clearing the way for the combined phone and music player to hit the shelves. Apple expects to begin selling the phones in late June. Some of the FCC documents confirm a few features of the phone, including it will have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and will operate in the 1900MHz and 850MHz frequency bands. The phone uses GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology and the low-speed GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) wireless data standard."
Radio Schematic (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyone else miss the old days when every radio came with a schematic? They were usually under the battery cover or in the manuals. It really helped spark an interest in electronics, at least for me.
Re:Apple will still need lots of luck (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Low tech phone (Score:5, Interesting)
In my opinion, I highly beg to differ (this post is long, so please bare with me if you want).
Apple.com has this introductory product description:
Let's look into this for a moment. Keep in mind that Apple is most likely targeting or at least attempting to re-acquire most of the audience that also bought their iPod products:
For us "geeks," this phone is probably nothing but the ordinary. We have already seen devices that surpass their "revolutionary" claims, at least specification wise. But it has no physical keypad. This is important. How usable is this "screen keypad" (something that has been tried, and has failed, before) and how well will the public receive it? I honestly expect that this technology is indeed "revolutionary," since their staple claims are normally their strongest and perform undoubtedly better than their competitors.
So Apple could market this as a quasi-evolutionary, no -revolutionary, upgrade to their current iPod line and possibly garner their old audience. Or they could entice the many who have been wishing for a touch-screen iPod with widescreen (the Zune finally dies here) with this product and let them have a phone on the side. Speaking as a "geek," I know I've seen oodles of phones with music players and MP3 capability, but it would be a lie for me to say that the majority of them are worth replacing an iPod or similar (for reference, check the RAZR with iTunes line and see what I mean...)
Many people here have already bashed this phone for its somewhat antiquated connections to the Internet. But how many people in the United States use the full power of mobile internet on their phone? I know few who do more than purchase ringtones and other commodities for their device (if even that), and maybe do a quick search for something of the moment, like movie times (which are carrier-catered in most cases). The iPhone integrates this experience straight into the UI so a normal person doesn't even have to really open a browser to do the simple things. Want to search for a location? Just "tap" the search button. Need to find movie times? Can probably be configured there too. I wouldn't even be surprised if there is are OS-wide search functions built-in, which is something that few, if any, independent phone carriers have been able to accomplish (at least not with smartphones, which are still in their infancy).
Its obvious that the iPhone is up against lots of veterans in the field. But Apple is the MASTER of usability, which is what makes the bulk of the phone experience. This phone should and deserves to do very well.
Re:Important Points (Score:5, Interesting)
Very interesting considering what some are predicting for the iPhone.
Re: AT&T just invested tons of money into 3G i (Score:1, Interesting)
another prediction (Score:5, Interesting)
myspace.com
I'm a teacher, and I can tell you that at least 10% of my students have Sidekicks (or knockoffs), and that is all they do with them.
All.
Day.
Long.
This will be the next status item for teenagers and "trying-to-be-hip" parents everywhere. These are the people who buy a $500 purse and take it to the grocery store, or who buy $150 shoes and walk around with the tags still on. This phone costs no more than 3 pairs of pants for them. I already hear them talking about how much they hate their Sidekicks and how much they think the iPhone will rock. It's on their birthday lists. I have no doubt that Apple will be laughing all the way to the bank on this one, big time.
I'm not saying it has to happen, I'm just saying that I saw it happen with iPods and Sidekicks, and this has got all of the same symptoms.
Re:Radio Schematic (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, I haven't come across ANY recent FCC filings where the schematics are public these days.
Take a trolling of the FCC filings of anything these days, and the "summary" view lists schematics, internal theory of operation, etc, but it says they aren't public. The "detail" view (which lets you grab the filed documents) doesn't even list those. All you can get are the test report, test setup, manual, photos, internal photos, and maybe a couple of letters. Try it on your wifi card, or your cellphone, or your wireless mouse. It's a rare product where the schematic is actually available for free download from the FCC site.
Do any of those things matter? (Score:2, Interesting)
Personally I think it'll come down to style and price. They'll win on style, but the price will stop your average joe from picking one up. But who knows, maybe that's what Apple wants.
Their computer division has been competing on style for a long time now. They make a profit on each box they sell. I imagine they want the same thing with the phone, because maybe, just maybe, Apple doesn't consider a checklist of features or complete domination of every market "winning".
Unlike a certain other company that shall remain nameless.
Re:Dev Kit? (Score:3, Interesting)
But I'd be hesitant to call anything that relies on Windows Mobile innovative. I have 3 different devices running some form of Windows Mobile (up to version 5) lying around gathering dust.
Having used the 802.11 "support" in Windows Mobile, it highlights to me *everything* that is wrong with the platform. A multitude of different ways to configure (and misconfigure) it. Patchy support for differing levels of the protocol. Configuration settings that don't "take". Having to download third party applications to just get WPA to work properly with the way the auth is set up on our corporate wireless network. Whereas I suspect the Apple equivalent will be as painless as it is on Mac OS X.
It'll be a cold day in hell before anyone can convince me to purchase anything with Windows Mobile on it again. Microsoft have had their 15 years, and its still a turd.
Re:EVDO is much faster (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Apple will still need lots of luck (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:well-thats-not-very-exciting (Score:3, Interesting)
NiMH, LiON et al just don't need replacing that often
Sure about that? Maybe you aren't as heavy of a cell user as I am but I've noted that every phone I've ever owned has needed a battery replacement. The talk and standby times on my LiON phones are noticeably reduced after 12 months. At 18-24 months it's bad enough to require a new battery or a new phone. And personally, I'd rather buy a new battery if nothing is wrong with my phone.
How much do you use your cell? I'm cell only and tend to log about 3,000-4,000 minutes a month -- plus about 2,000 texts, which actually seem to use more juice then voice -- probably because of keeping the backlight lit for so long -- I can drain my seven hour talktime battery in one day with heavy texting. I'd suspect that with less use the battery wears out less.
massive handset subsidies on contracts
I think the concept of "massive subsidies" is a myth that the carriers use to justify their ETFs and the whole concept of contracts. It would be interesting to see what happened to cell phone prices if people had to buy them first and then get service to go with the phone.
Re:Important Points (Score:3, Interesting)