All Things iPhone

With the iPhone release coming soon there is no shortage of stories being submitted. Here is an overview of all of its features and specifics on its technical workings. A list of applications is out and still growing. There are warnings however that some applications and peripherals won't be ready or compatible in time for the release. Finally with all the hype associated with the iPhone, we have a reminder of some previous Apple products that ended with a whimper instead of a roar.

I'm buying.. Friday.

[adam]

It seems TFS has now been corrected from the mysterious future, but I took the time to compose my oh-so-informative post, so I'm going forward anyway, haha. Unless Samzenpus is in Australia (where it wouldn't be night right now), it's still the 27th, which is the night before the night before the iPhone is released. That extra "night before" missing from TFS might seem inconsequential, but remember kids-- if you're buying an iPhone, don't get off work early [thurs] TOMORROW night, get off work early on Friday June 29 [apple.com] to get in line [macnn.com] in time [macnn.com].

I'm going to send one of our employees to get in line (for myself and three others) around noon, heh. Sure, I wish it had GPS and 3G, but since I'm coming from a BB8700, which doesn't have GPS (nor 3G), nor did my Treo before that, I'll live. And so far I'm encouraged by the reviews from Pogue and Mossberg (etc) discussed here [slashdot.org] yesterday. I've been closely watching engadget (etc), and believe the reviews to confirm that many of those sites (such as engadget) spreading negative rumors like "two thumb touchscreen typing was impossible to do, and our anonymous source gave up after a day or two" are really just sensational speculation for driving viewers to the site. It seems the screen takes some getting used to, but not nearly on the level that some "anonymous sources" have characterized. I'm also a bit disappointed in the family pricing.. it's not considerably cheaper for my own phone + my partner's on the same plan, versus individual plans. If they had made corporate/family pricing a little more attractive, I'd be inclined to buy some for our employees. The paltry 200 txt msgs standard to each plan is also annoying (so now I'll have to drop $10 or $20 per phone for extra). But even still, I'm firmly in the demographic that is willing to pay extra for the phone, the service, just for the UI (and non-crashyness) that Apple will bring to the table. This will hopefully have a very nice positive net effect-- I suspect most iPhone users will be very happy, and all other companies will now be pushed to improve their products or lose customers.

Re:I'm buying.. Friday.

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'm going to send one of our employees to get in line (for myself and three others) around noon"

There's a one-per-person limit for purchasing the iPhone on Friday. Unless you mean that you're going to show up later with three other people and cut in line, in which case can you video tape it so I can laugh at you getting punched in the face?

products did not end with a whimper

[nuckin futs]

The itunes phone was not their work. It was motorola's. You could tell because Steve Jobs spent 2 seconds introducing it, and that's it. he didn't sell it like all the other Apple products he introduces.
The Newton is still being used by some, and is more powerful than some PDAs on the market right now.
The original iMac...they sold millions of units and brought Apple back from the dead.
The cube was just overpriced, but it was well designed, and it's a collector's item now.

Re:But will it talk to my car?

[Volanin]

Also important to mention are the things the iPhone DOESN'T do.
(Not bashing the product, I really have high hopes for it.)

What the iPhone Doesn't Have:

- 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)

Stuff we already knew it didn't have:

- 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
- GPS
- A real keyboard
- Removable battery
- Expandable Storage
- Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)

Source:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/what-the-iphone-d oesnt-have-272571.php [gizmodo.com]

Re:All this news, but...

[damian cosmas]

...or all that has already been released.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.ht ml [apple.com]

What a waste of mod points!

Re:How it does not work: Lame and broken article

[gyrogeerloose]

The iPhone touch screen uses capacitance rather than resistance. It's the same technique that Apple uses on it's laptop touch pads, which can sense whether you've got one or two fingers on them.

Re:Don't believe the hype

[Achromatic1978]

Anyone who had watched the apple tour video can tell you the UI is lightyears ahead of Blackberry, Treo, etc. Even the commercials make this apparent.

Oh, come on! Go back and read and re-read that sentence and ask yourself how ridiculous it sounds.

These are the same commercials that show someone clicking a button, and getting directions to a seafood restaurant nearby. Except we know that the phone doesn't have GPS. How does it know this? Oh, yes, you need to show Google Maps where you are. That bit was cut for the MARKETING. But yet if you'd not read a review, but watched Apple's tour video and commercials, you'd think it had GPS.

Re:SSH

[stefanb]

putty is available on symbian. Will the iphone have anything as useful?

AjaxTerm [lesuisse.org] should be running on the iPhone.

Re:I'm buying.. Friday.

[Baricom]

Some of the iPhone's features (such as visual voicemail) require fairly significant architectural changes at the carrier, so whatever carrier Apple went with would have some hefty demands to ensure the investment paid off. I'm sure the 5-year deal was one of AT&T's terms.

Keep in mind that Apple did approach Verizon first; Verizon turned it down.

Re:I'm buying.. Friday.

[kannibal_klown]

Actually, on the list of specs I've seen, the iPhone has a SIM card tray. So assuming they didn't weld the thing shut you could take the iPhone SIM out.

However it will be SIM locked so you can't use non-Cingular SIMs in it.

Then again, this is what I've been reading. So until tomorrow I guess take it with a grain of salt.