Not like this is groundbreaking, but we'd hate to see people worked up in a lather over the gizmo sleeping in front of the wrong store on launch day...
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Not like this is groundbreaking, but we'd hate to see people worked up in a lather over the gizmo sleeping in front of the wrong store on launch day...
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I don't know what other $600 smartphones you've used except the E-ten, but the ones I've used -- like Treo and Blackberry -- haven't had GPS or Google Maps built in, haven't had decent Bluetooth support, haven't had WiFi, haven't been unlocked, are a pain to sync and require third party $$ software to do it decently, etc...
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It cannot find you the nearest susi restaurant, though it claims to even though there is no gps.
A $600 smartphone has a gps reciever in it...
You can see the "real" web, but its cost you like $100 per megabyte. Most $600 smartphones have wifi.
You cant even use bluetooth for what it was mean for....wireless headphones/microphone...
Most $600 smartphones can do that, actually, they support all of the Iphone transfer profiles and the headphone daisychain profile....they also support lan over bt, which is an uncommon feature...
PEOPLE, for $600 you can get an E-ten m700 that:
+Can do everything the iPhone can
+Has real GPS
+Supports 3G
+Has wifi support
+Has a slideout backlit keyboard[wait...should apple have that too]
+Full audio bluetooth profiles that support bluetooth stereo headsets....hey...there is a new on for apple....you dont need a wire for your headset...and 2 people can listen at the same time
+4gb of music on solid and cheap[sd] storage
+You can actually sync it with anything
+quad band support
+Comes unlocked...versus the iphone being locked to ATT for $600
+removable and replaceable battery
+optional car dock so you can use it as a talking navigation system
So there is really no good functional reason in buying an iphone, other than the fact that you wanna blow money at something that looks pretty.
]]>Nice work, Apple. Very Microsoft of you.
As for the discounts, they have never applied to features, only the voice portion of the primary line, which will not change for the iPhone.Many -- but not all -- FANs do discount data and messaging add-ons; the one I'm on does. (Answer Tones/etc. aren't discounted.)
The "internal SIM" rumor has been debunked; heck, even the Sidekick, which is intimately tied to T-Mobile, has a user-accessible, although well-hidden, SIM slot.
]]>I couldn't have said it better myself.
]]>I know that feeling. Back in high school, I was working at a game store for the Xbox and GameCube launches. That was one of the craziest weeks that I've ever had in any job. I wish I could've taken that time off.
Of course, they both paled in comparison to the Super Smash Bros. Melee release day. That brought out all of the scary Nintendo fanboys.
]]>I think that is going to be hard to stop
]]>@roamer1 - The SIM card is also internal, and you are not able to get to it without disecting the phone itself.
Sorry, but the sim is accessible via sim try on the top of the phone. Steve even says so in his keynote. If you visit the apple iPhone page and watch the iPhone introduction, via quick time, at 12:52 Jobs is showing the controls on the phone and gets to the top. He points out the headphone jack, and then says " we've got a place, a tray, for your sim card"
I have no idea how this inaccessible sim card rumor got started, but it completely untrue, and driving me crazy.
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Maybe announce at WWDC or other event, and release in October when you might have enough units to actually get to the local AT&T stores.
For me, if the bluetooth doesn't work with the 760i, I'm not pulling the trigger, so online is not an option, and I think the crowd at ANY Apple store will be insane. So it seems to me like even finding an AT&T store that has it on the 29th is going to be a real pain in the ass.
Nice work, Apple. Very Microsoft of you.
]]>@something_amazing - Check for company owned stores near you. All company owned stores will receive the phones on the 29th in time for the 6pm launch time.
@skyyguy - It has been made obvious this phone isn't geared to the business crowd. I also work at AT&T, and haven't heard anything about what plans will be available. (not saying your source is wrong). As for the discounts, they have never applied to features, only the voice portion of the primary line, which will not change for the iPhone. After all, it has very little to do with the voice plan, but instead will have it's own data plan.
@roamer1 - The SIM card is also internal, and you are not able to get to it without disecting the phone itself.
@GruffPelt - The launch date is indeed the 29th, but will not be availabe until 6pm local time for the stores. This was announced by S.J. as the recent WWDC on Monday during his keynote.
whew that was alot of typing... :)
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Rumor has it that the phone won't even arrive in stores until the morning of the 29th to reduce theft and early sell issues.
]]>On the 29th, or before, so that they arrive on the 29th, a la Tiger or other big releases?
]]>No Premier/FAN discounts -- WHAT? It might not be possible to buy an iPhone on an existing line with a discount (why AT&T would do that I have no clue), but I'd expect that one could still activate a new line of service with no discount, then go to the Premier web site and sign up for a discount that way, unless they specifically block ilnes with iPhone IMEIs or data plans from it. (I took exactly that route when I switched my main line from T-Mobile to what was then Cingular, as I already had a Treo and just needed a SIM.)
No MMS -- taking a page out of T-Mobile's Sidekick playbook, I guess :(
No IM -- eww. *scratches head*
No removable battery -- if the iPod and earlier Sidekicks are any indication, it's less of a concern than some make it out to be
No 3G -- given that even some large cities (Denver, and most of L.A.)have no 3G, I'm not surprised!
(I have no intention of getting an iPhone; I have a Treo 680, which does pretty much all the iPhone does and then some.)
]]>The iphone will also not be available with rate plans that have additional discounts; only retail plans. So if you have a company discount; military; or educational discount; say good bye to that additional % off discount.
So.. No mms, no IM, no removable battery. No additional storage; so number of movies on that big screen will be limited. Oh, and it's EDGE. Not 3G. So why would you want the full internet at dial up speeds?
Notice on the TV commercials; they never show a page load?
Quality of Service info [wikipedia.org]
]]>I want one :(
]]>What does seem to have changed is that, even though a dealer may not be able to sell the iPhone, they can still sell some services. The mention of FamilyTalk also points to AT&T offering something similar to it's plans for other cellphones and not a simplified plan just for the iPhone (although I still hold out hope).
I firmly believe that it's AT&T that will determine the success or failure of the iPhone. Regardless of the ease-of-use, technical superiority, or overall capabilities of the iPhone, if AT&T service or pricing is outrageous, people will stay away.
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