Poll: What is your reaction to the Macworld Expo Keynote?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: What is your reaction to the Macworld Expo Keynote? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=530)

[Manatee]

It would be a Wow for me if they didn't lock that magnificent device to one carrier.

It seems ironic to me that only months after I can run Windows on my MacBook Pro (thank you, Parallels!), Apple introduces a brilliant product that is physically 100% useful to a T-Mobile customer (me) but is locked (for marketing reasons) to prevent many of us from from getting any benefit.

As I've said elsewhere here, maybe I can buy the locked device and connect it to the internet though my phone, using Bluetooth. ;) Of couse if $599 is the price with a contract, they I guess I'd have to pay around $900 for it. Maybe I should just buy the new Oqo 2.

I hope the European iPhone is unlocked, so I can bring one back to the US and stick my SIM card in it.

So... I rate this Macworld as "Good". I just can get all teary eyed over a device that meets most of my needs, but is only for one carrier.

[CmdrLaForge]

I think what was announced (iPhone and Apple TV) are really great and I can only say WOW. But I missed a lot of other things like iLife 07 Leopard and in general Mac stuff. Thats the news - no more Mac stuff.

[Queso]

Nothing in there for anyone outside the US, and nothing for Mac users. They may as well have given that speech at CES and not bothered with MacWorld at all.

Not that the iPhone itself is disappointing. I just expected more for other Apple product ranges rather than more than an hour of something that only Cingular customers in the US get any benefit from.

[Daveway]

Lets just say I'm ready for the invitations to an event in late February.

Apple has to show off Leopard and an updated iLife before the spring launch. Apparently the rumors were right in that iLife '07 may be heavily dependent on Leopard.

...I still can't believe he didn't preview Leopard, I'm baffled.

[zelmo]

Great.
Apple TV is a decent start, but there's still plenty of room to advance the line. Won't buy one.

iPhone is stellar, if only it were available on Verizon.

No Leopard preview was very odd to me.

[bigandy]

i'm going to pick on you both for this:

It would be a Wow for me if they didn't lock that magnificent device to one carrier.

iPhone is stellar, if only it were available on Verizon.

Do we have to keep having the same bitching about this situation in the US all the damn time?

I'm probably going to have trouble when it gets across here (It'll probably be on O2 instead of my preference, Orange), but do you hear me bitching? No! That's because everyone's tired of it.. :(

I think I'm going to just stay out of the public forums if people keep mentioning how they hate one specific carrier just because they don't use them.. Grr..

[/rant]

[Bob Knob]

It would be a Wow for me if they didn't lock that magnificent device to one carrier.

It seems ironic to me that only months after I can run Windows on my MacBook Pro (thank you, Parallels!), Apple introduces a brilliant product that is physically 100% useful to a T-Mobile customer (me) but is locked (for marketing reasons) to prevent many of us from from getting any benefit.

As I've said elsewhere here, maybe I can buy the locked device and connect it to the internet though my phone, using Bluetooth. ;) Of couse if $599 is the price with a contract, they I guess I'd have to pay around $900 for it. Maybe I should just buy the new Oqo 2.

I hope the European iPhone is unlocked, so I can bring one back to the US and stick my SIM card in it.

So... I rate this Macworld as "Good". I just can get all teary eyed over a device that meets most of my needs, but is only for one carrier.

It comes with a free two year contract... it is not a two year contract that comes with a "discounted" iPhone. So $599 is the price for the iPhone even if you don't use the contract. The phone uses a SIM, so it isn't actually locked to a carrier, it's just that Cingular is the carrier that gets the first two years exclusive.
Don't forget that is has "G" wifi built in, so there is still tons of functionality to it even if you don't use the phone.
I have Verizon (they bought the company that bought the company that bought the company I was originally with. I will be going to Cingular the day the iPhone come out.

[ChrisA]

My reaction? I have a 1080p TV. I will wait for Apple to make a 1080 version of the Apple TV.

I already have a cell phone. I don't need two.

Nothing related to the Mac? I kept waiting for Steve to get past the iPhone and TV stuff to what I actually care about, computers and software. But nothing.... a total waste of time

[mrsebastian]

wow! iphone is sweet, but expensive for the masses till the unit cost can come down. i agree with the single carrier issue, but like every other exclusive new phone, sooner or later everyone carries them and much cheaper.

to me what's way more important in the scheme of things (go apple stock!!!), is apple tv. this product revolutionizes and vastly simplifies the media center. once two things happen, either apple or someone figures out how to make it a dvr and apple offers a movie rental program, lookout netflix, wallmart, amazon, blockbuster, movie theaters, etc.

[j_maddison]

Nothing in there for anyone outside the US, and nothing for Mac users. They may as well have given that speech at CES and not bothered with MacWorld at all.

I think you're spot on. For me it was a very dissapointing keynote. they basically spent the entire event talking about a product that won't be available in my neck of the woods for at least nine months. The announcement is worthy of a special event, but not an entire keynote at Macworld. I mean its called 'Mac'world for a reason.

Having said that it looks like an excellent device, if a tad on the ugly/plain side.

Jay

[Manatee]

It comes with a free two year contract... it is not a two year contract that comes with a "discounted" iPhone. So $599 is the price for the iPhone even if you don't use the contract. The phone uses a SIM, so it isn't actually locked to a carrier...
I'll have to re-read the details. It sounded to me like it was locked to Cingular (as most phones sold in the US are locked to a specific carrier), and that the price was "with 2 year contract." (The latter from Apple's web site.)

[gauchogolfer]

It's the front page on CNN.com US edition:

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/2130/picture1fy3.png

[Manatee]

...people keep mentioning how they hate one specific carrier just because they don't use them...

I didn't say I hate any carrier. I just happen to have a long-standing account with T-Mobile, and I've been very happy with their service. Apple's GSM phone would work fine with my carrier -- if it weren't locked to prevent it.

Now the CDMA folks have a different issue. They'll have to wait until Apple designs a CDMA version of the device.

[Bob Knob]

I'll have to re-read the details. It sounded to me like it was locked to Cingular (as most phones sold in the US are locked to a specific carrier), and that the price was "with 2 year contract." (The latter from Apple's web site.)

It's an odd wording (semantics) thing... there isn't a contract required, but it comes with a "free" two year contract. It isn't locked to a carrier, but for the first two years Cingular is the only one (they have an exclusive). The only part of the iPhone that really requires cell service is the phone part, but it turns out that 80% of the iPhone's functions don't involve cell service. I bet we see Skype on this thing real soon after its release.

As much as people bitch about carriers in the US, I could never see this on Verizon. Verizon strips all "stock" functions from their phones so you have to use their software and "online" services. Cingular seems to leave the phones closest to what the manufacturer makes.

[StuPidQPid]

The phone uses a SIM, so it isn't actually locked to a carrier, it's just that Cingular is the carrier that gets the first two years exclusive.

No. Not necessarily. Cingular GSM phones are actually also locked to only work with Cingular SIM cards. To unlock the phone you either need to enter a secret code or apply a firmware update. These can be found for most phones on the web. I'd imagine this would also be possible with the iPhone, but Apple or Cingular won't help you.

In most European countries it's illegal to lock a GSM phone to a particular carrier. However, I'd imagine the iPhone being more expensive when it eventually come out there.

[~Shard~]

I have a 1080p TV. I will wait for Apple to make a 1080 version of the Apple TV.

What content do you view that is true 1080p that would take advantage of a 1080 AppleTV?! iTunes movies, d/led movies/TV shows, satellite TV, digital cable TV, DVDs, oh yeah, nevermind, there is none and won't be for quite some time... :rolleyes:

Now the CDMA folks have a different issue. They'll have to wait until Apple designs a CDMA version of the device.

Which might be a while, since it has such a small global marketshare comapred to GSM...

[mark88]

I'm really dissapointed, sure the iphone looks cool, but it's not here for ages yet, poor battery life and it will not replace my iPod as it's only 8GB.

Apple TV is a waste of time, it seems Apples living rooms stratergy is a mish mash. At first they wanted us to use mac mini's and now this. I dunno, I just don't watch movies through iTunes!

Not that you can even get any in the UK.

The fact that there was nothing mac related in the keynote was a huge disappointment. No Leopard Preview, no iLife and no Mac speed bumps :-(

[Pikemann Urge]

No Core 2 Duo minis? Darn. Those things seriously need updating.

[Queso]

No Core 2 Duo minis? Darn. Those things seriously need updating.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happens unannounced tomorrow. The last mini updates were done silently.

More importantly, where are the 8-core Mac Pro and the new screens?

[~Shard~]

No Core 2 Duo minis? Darn. Those things seriously need updating.

They will probably receive a silent update in the upcoming weeks. Apple is famous for having a string of "low key" announcements every year following MWSF. February always turns into a very active month for updates it seems... :cool:

[dr_lha]

My opinion:

iPhone is amazing. Can't wait to get one, its the dream convergence device I've been waiting for.

Apple TV: Meh.

Main complaint: No Mac stuff, I at least expected a Leopard preview and maybe news of iLife and iWork. I guess Apple will be having another press event soon.

[toontra]

Whilst I'm impressed with the iPhone technology, I wouldn't be buying one at the moment even if I could (UK). If they make it open carrier when they're released here in 9 months then I'll have another look, but I expect them to be too expensive for me to justify - the new features are "fun" but they don't do anything basic my SE phone can't do at the moment (take photos, play mps's, oh yes, and make calls!). OK, they may do it way more elegantly, but it wouldn't be worth the expected £200 - £300 premium to me.

Mind you, I always tend to wait a couple of years on stuff like this, so I'm not the target audience anyway. ;)

[lorien]

Nothing in there for anyone outside the US, and nothing for Mac users. They may as well have given that speech at CES and not bothered with MacWorld at all.

Not that the iPhone itself is disappointing. I just expected more for other Apple product ranges rather than more than an hour of something that only Cingular customers in the US get any benefit from.

Totally agree! This should have been a special event, not a MacWorld keynote. Were they worried stock prices would dive if they didn't announce this over-rumored product?

[odedia]

I mean, come on, the technology is there - you've got much harder apps on the device. How hard would it be to have Preview there to read books before bed?

And after the gruntin' is over, I can say only one thing


W O W . . .

(I actually thought about that vertical/horizontal shifting trick, thinking it'd be a great idea for an apple tablet. I'm glad they did something similar).

Does anyone know what is it made out of? Is it really zarkonium like Leo Laporte thought?

Oded S.

[MikeyTree]

It's an odd wording (semantics) thing... there isn't a contract required, but it comes with a "free" two year contract. It isn't locked to a carrier, but for the first two years Cingular is the only one (they have an exclusive). The only part of the iPhone that really requires cell service is the phone part, but it turns out that 80% of the iPhone's functions don't involve cell service. I bet we see Skype on this thing real soon after its release.
Does this mean that if you buy an iPhone you get free cel and net access service for two years, or does it mean that if you buy an iPhone you're forced to shell out X dollars per month for two years for some monthy plan.

[iRachel]

I agree with earlier posters who commented on the lack of products for our Macs! I'm not disappointed with the iPhone (in fact, I might consider one early next year), but I was hoping to hear about iLife and iWork '07, and Leopard, as well as some hardware updates. Oh well. Maybe they'll be released quietly in the next few days.

[pseudobrit]

What content do you view that is true 1080p... oh yeah, nevermind, there is none and won't be for quite some time... :rolleyes: .

Excuse me while I go fire up my PS3 and watch T2 in 1080p.

:rolleyes:

edit: and the PS3 is the reason I won't be needing an AppleTV

[macfan881]

I mean, come on, the technology is there - you've got much harder apps on the device. How hard would it be to have Preview there to read books before bed?

And after the gruntin' is over, I can say only one thing


W O W . . .

(I actually thought about that vertical/horizontal shifting trick, thinking it'd be a great idea for an apple tablet. I'm glad they did something similar).

Does anyone know what is it made out of? Is it really zarkonium like Leo Laporte thought?

Oded S.

stuff looks cool the new iphone appletv but yeah im shocked at now 1.5 preview or apple hardware besides the speed upgrade in wireless cards im looking to switch to mac but i thought maybe some new lines now im owondering how much longer it will be till the anounce new models i just hope The iphone will be on Verizon by the time my 2 years is up and price drops a lil

[j_maddison]

Whilst I'm impressed with the iPhone technology, I wouldn't be buying one at the moment even if I could (UK). If they make it open carrier when they're released here in 9 months then I'll have another look, but I expect them to be too expensive for me to justify - the new features are "fun" but they don't do anything basic my SE phone can't do at the moment (take photos, play mps's, oh yes, and make calls!). OK, they may do it way more elegantly, but it wouldn't be worth the expected £200 - £300 premium to me.

Mind you, I always tend to wait a couple of years on stuff like this, so I'm not the target audience anyway. ;)

The phone won't cost £200-£300 in the UK, the carrier market over here is different. Cell phones in the UK are more heavily subsidised than in america. The phone is more likely to be priced between £50-£100 to start with, and even free from carries like Phones4u and carphonewarehouse. The pricing that was released today only applies to the US. For the phone to cost two to three hundred pouns in the UK you'd have to turn the $ sign to a £ sign on the prices Steve announced in his keynote.

You should be able to afford this phone quite easily.

Jay

[wmmk]

I mean, come on, the technology is there - you've got much harder apps on the device. How hard would it be to have Preview there to read books before bed?

And after the gruntin' is over, I can say only one thing

I'd assume the web browser will be able to handle PDFs, or accept the adobe reader plug in.

Anyway, I rated the keynote as OK, because the TV won't do much on my family's 19" CRT. As with the iPhone, it's really great, but when I think about it, I could get a nice lens or two for my camera or some quality software. If it didn't have an apple logo, I wonder if it'd just be another product. I don't mean to bash it, it just doesn't make sense for me right now. Maybe when I'm at college in a few years, I'll find it more enticing.

[macEfan]

I really wish they had leopard ready for release.... but if the slow release means leopard will have no bugs, then I'll be willing to wait... also the iphone is too expensive unfortunatly...

[OldCorpse]

What a gutless bore this show was... Why wasn't it held at CES? What did this have to do with MacWorld? What about Leopard? What about displays? What about 12" MBP? What about speedbumps and processor bumps? What about new Mac hardware? What about new Mac software?

And to be honest, the Apple TV thing was unimpresive... they're late to the market, what with PS3 and TiVo and other solutions - what does AppleTV do for us?

The iPhone is a very nice technological achivement, but as a practicality, at $600, meh, not for me.

Overall, I rate this presentation on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being best, a ONE :(

This sucked big time.

[grafikat]

You're right, this was an Apple announcement, not a Macworld Expo noteworthy keynote. Makes me wonder if they'll change the name to Appleworld next year (Please note: W is not capitalized! MacWorld is a defunct magazine)

[MagnusDredd]

Breakdown:

From a Mac perspective the show sucked. No new information worth hearing. This was extraordinarily disappointing. I was hoping against all good sense for a pro-sumer mac with at least one PCIe x16 slot. At least an 8-core Pro for interestingness's sake... Scale of 1 to 5: zero.

From the music perspective it was good. Without the internet or phone features the iPhone makes a pretty cool iPod. It'd be great if it supported DiVX, but... perhaps someone will port VLC to it, I hope. I'm not sure whether I like the clickwheel more since I can use it without looking at it, and I got the hang of doing it in 5 minutes on my mom's iPod. I don't own one. The bad is that there is no hard drive version of this thing, and no slot to add bigger storage. Scale of 1 to 5: 3.

From a new device/cell phone perspective the thing is awesome except for the price, which I expected. Scale of 1 to 5: 5.

[jimthorn]

I mean, come on, the technology is there - you've got much harder apps on the device. How hard would it be to have Preview there to read books before bed?

It's running a "modified version" of OS X. Steve even mentioned Core Graphics and Cocoa are under the hood. So we're talking real OS X here. It would seem that porting Preview to iPhone would be trivial at this point. And if Apple doesn't do it, the developers will. Cocoa wouldn't have been mentioned if he didn't want the developers to get excited about coding for what is essentially a new member of the Mac family.

[jimthorn]

The bad is that there is no hard drive version of this thing, and no slot to add bigger storage.

It has an iPod Dock Connector on the bottom, which could (possibly) be used for transferring data to a USB device such as an external HD. It depends on whether an app could be written for the iPhone that could move files on and off the device. That functionality could even be built-in to the iPhone.

The fact that it appears to be a Mac in the palm of your hand would imply that all sorts of cool apps will be developed for it.

[p0intblank]

I thought it was great. AppleTV and iPhone really impressed me, but there wasn't one actual Mac product shown. :confused: I was really looking forward to iLife '07 and planned to purchase it online tonight. I understand no preview of Leopard, but not even an update to iLife??? :(

[quadgirl]

For me, Steve's Keynotes have been getting gradually worse during the last 18 months, and this one was totally pathetic. Why? 2 Products in 2 hours!. 15 minutes for the Apple TV, ok. but over an hour for the iphone???. Who here felt Steve was really 'milking it' when he got people from Yahoo, Google, and Verizon on stage? Oh and instead of a "One more thing", why not have a muscian on stage to finish a show (to all those John Meyer fans in the audience, NOT)

THIS WAS NOT A MACWORLD KEYNOTE

oh, and one more thing, "there's nothing new available today". Thanks Steve!

[jbelkin]

There was no mention of it being locked and Apple will be selling it in their own stores - I doubt Apple is going to let Cingular set up a tiny booth within their store - and since Cingular is not likely (at least for 3 months) to offer a rebate or to subsidize it (they will sell every one for three months!), the reason they sell a locked phone is they are 'paying" you to 'lock' you in ...

Plus I believe the FCC ruled that all carriers had to unlock a phone if a customer requested - what was that ruling again?

MACWORLD is NOT Defunct - you might be referring to MacAddict which changed their name to Mac Life.

As for people who wanted upgraded machines - you don't need Steve Jobs to announce with a presentation it's an 8-core or hell, a 16-core. Nice, yes but a big deal - no, not really - same with any line extensions or updated software - that's all fine for NAMM, or the WWDC.

As for the price - you are basically getting AN 8 GB IPOD, a PHONE with an Apple UI and really Mac Nano ... the ipod will cost you $249 (maybe $199 in June) so is an Apple phone & a nano Mac-like features (or more? can you add software?) worth the difference? Your call. Exceedingly expensive - no. But hey, if you are happy with your phone and your nano now - DON'T BUY IT ... your needs are set - as for me, I'm getting in line as soon as the line coeses.

[SeaFox]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happens unannounced tomorrow. The last mini updates were done silently.
More importantly, where are the 8-core Mac Pro and the new screens?
And the iSights, I mean, they got rid of the old ones, they pretty much have to introduce something new to replace them.

I didn't say I hate any carrier. I just happen to have a long-standing account with T-Mobile, and I've been very happy with their service. Apple's GSM phone would work fine with my carrier -- if it weren't locked to prevent it.
Exactly my position. What was the point of making it a quad-band phone (normally a function reserved for true world phones) if the thing is locked to Cingular? The idea is you can swap in a European Sim card when you're overseas for calling while there. But with it locked to Cingular, two of those four frequencies will be a waste of time and money.

Main complaint: No Mac stuff, I at least expected a Leopard preview and maybe news of iLife and iWork. I guess Apple will be having another press event soon.
I was under the impression these topics were pretty much guaranteed for the Keynote, especially given the Amazon leaks.

I mean, come on, the technology is there - you've got much harder apps on the device. How hard would it be to have Preview there to read books before bed?

You're listing PDF reading as the big missing feature? Please! How about the lack of iChat? It's not like using instant messengers over a cell phone is anything new. This would have been a great opportunity to add Yahoo Messenger support to iChat.

[Ugg]

They will probably receive a silent update in the upcoming weeks. Apple is famous for having a string of "low key" announcements every year following MWSF. February always turns into a very active month for updates it seems... :cool:

I agree. The keynote was all about Apple Inc. and its divergence from computers but at the same time its convergence with what's happening next, ie, 802.11n, phone/pda/handheld computer/webbrowser, email, etc and the TV.

[~Shard~]

Excuse me while I go fire up my PS3 and watch T2 in 1080p.

That sounds more impressive than it actually is. The fact is the picture quality of Blu Ray movies is only moderately better than that available on standard DVD and definitely not rising to the level of anything one could call "high definition". Blu Ray discs show somewhat better contrast and detail over their DVD counterparts, but the difference is not nearly as dramatic as the comparisons between DVD and HD-DVD, as an example.

So in a way, you're kind of fooling yourself by being proud of 1080p in this example. :cool:

I can explain the technical side of things for you in case you're not aware of it, just let me know and I'd be happy to enlighten...

[Lixivial]

As I've said elsewhere, I had a "Wow."

Even if the iPhone were to flop, it was easy to tell that this was history-in-the-making for Apple. This was the 30th anniversary celebration we were hoping to see. I thought Steve had lost the high-pitched voice made so evident in 1984, but there it was. He was nostalgic about the past, while pushing the future forward, too. The crowd was electrified, Steve was enthusiastic about the products and everything formulated well. Didn't even use liner notes for the iPhone, like he usually does for products.

If the keynote had dragged, I'd be upset about the fact that I didn't see Leopard, or any Macintosh-related stuff. Having said that, I'm happy to trade all that for this performance. It was truly a sight to behold.

[Squire]

Nothing in there for anyone outside the US, and nothing for Mac users. They may as well have given that speech at CES and not bothered with MacWorld at all.

Not that the iPhone itself is disappointing. I just expected more for other Apple product ranges rather than more than an hour of something that only Cingular customers in the US get any benefit from.

Normally, I read the whole thread before posting but this post just about sums it up. When I was fixated on the MacRumors stream (Thanks, by the way...it was fantastic), I was in awe over what the iPhone was capable of. But after my MWSF "hangover", I realized that, yet again, this was another US-centric demonstration. (Rogers in Canada won't have this until the fall at the latest, and iTV appeals more to those who can actually download movies and TV shows.)

I expected to see some subtle updates (iLife, iWork, and some Quads), but came out disappointed.

In short, my original "Wow" quickly faded into a "Wait a minute...this is no good to me?!"

-Squire

[~Shard~]

Normally, I read the whole thread before posting but this post just about sums it up. When I was fixated on the MacRumors stream (Thanks, by the way...it was fantastic), I was in awe over what the iPhone was capable of. But after my MWSF "hangover", I realized that, yet again, this was another US-centric demonstration. (Rogers in Canada won't have this until the fall at the latest, and iTV appeals more to those who can actually download movies and TV shows.)

I expected to see some subtle updates (iLife, iWork, and some Quads), but came out disappointed.

In short, my original "Wow" quickly faded into a "Wait a minute...this is no good to me?!"

I know what you mean. I think the iPhone is amazing and revolutionary, and the AppleTV is quite cool as well, however I then have to ask myself, what did Jobs really reveal today? A STB that ships in a month and a phone that ships in June - nothing was actually released. Furthermore, as you say, how will this iPhone work for someone such as myself in Canada? Will the AppleTV be crippled for me due to the limits of iTMS Canada with respect to videos and the like? Can I even play my divx and AVIs on it? What about more universal things, such as iLife, iWork, Mac updates, etc.?

I was still impressed with everything, but have the same sentiments as you do. :cool:

[Squire]

I know what you mean. I think the iPhone is amazing and revolutionary, and the AppleTV is quite cool as well, however I then have to ask myself, what did Jobs really reveal today? A STB that ships in a month and a phone that ships in June - nothing was actually released. Furthermore, as you say, how will this iPhone work for someone such as myself in Canada? Will the AppleTV be crippled for me due to the limits of iTMS Canada with respect to videos and the like? Can I even play my divx and AVIs on it? What about more universal things, such as iLife, iWork, Mac updates, etc.?

I was still impressed with everything, but have the same sentiments as you do. :cool:

<Completely off-topic: ~Shard~, let's get a/some beer and steak if/when I stop off in "The City that Rhymes with 'Fun'".>

Umm..yeah, so are we still expecting quads?

-Squire

[~Shard~]

<Completely off-topic: ~Shard~, let's get a/some beer and steak if/when I stop off in "The City that Rhymes with 'Fun'".>

You're on. Heck, I'll buy. :cool:

Umm..yeah, so are we still expecting quads?

I should hope so. Apple needs to keep pace with the rest of the industry. Furthermore, since this relates to the high-end Mac Pro where utilizing the most recent technology is even more crucial due to the majority of the user base (i.e pro users), I think Apple can't afford to let the line fall behind with respect to updates.

[LizKat]

I am thrilled. A great web browser, PDA, cellphone, camera, ipod-with-video, tape recorder, mail, a Mac OS on it, widgets, and did I leave anything basic out? Plus an easy sync with iTunes like we have now for music, books, videos.

When I was watching the keynote I was praying for the iPhone not to be $800. I'm so happy! I can hardly wait to plunk down my $600. And that's knowing that I live in a dead zone for both Cingular AND Verizon. I have contracts with both of them now, and have to drive fifteen miles northwest or eleven miles southeast to use either of my phones at all. At least with the iPhone, there's plenty of true iPod functionality in the thing regardless of whether I'm in range of a cell tower. And having WiFi mode, that's brilliant.

So... I am giving up Chinese food, bottled water, lattes, pizza... and the cats are going to eat Dad's Special Mix until June to pay for the iPhone. Bring it on!

[Squire]

I am thrilled. A great web browser, PDA, cellphone, camera, ipod-with-video, tape recorder, mail, a Mac OS on it, widgets, and did I leave anything basic out? Plus an easy sync with iTunes like we have now for music, books, videos.

When I was watching the keynote I was praying for the iPhone not to be $800. I'm so happy! I can hardly wait to plunk down my $600. And that's knowing that I live in a dead zone for both Cingular AND Verizon. I have contracts with both of them now, and have to drive fifteen miles northwest or eleven miles southeast to use either of my phones at all. At least with the iPhone, there's plenty of true iPod functionality in the thing regardless of whether I'm in range of a cell tower. And having WiFi mode, that's brilliant.

So... I am giving up Chinese food, bottled water, lattes, pizza... and the cats are going to eat Dad's Special Mix until June to pay for the iPhone. Bring it on!

Steve saw you coming, LizKat. ;)

Maybe I should move to Maine. :(

-Squire

[SMM]

As I watched the refreshes take place, and the time elapsing, I began to get a sinking feeling that much of what was anticipated was not going to unfold. For me personally, the phone was at the bottom of my 'wish list'. However, I knew many were interested in it, so I was happy for them. When the keynote ended, I thought about this forum and anticipated a substantial negative backwash (along with some serious trolling). So, in that regard, I was not disappointed.

The things I am interested in, mainly related to video post-production, are really fine the way they are. But, (seemingly) like most Mac folk, I am always waiting for the next great thing. I can wait. It will come in good time.

[cornfedgrowth]

That sounds more impressive than it actually is. The fact is the picture quality of Blu Ray movies is only moderately better than that available on standard DVD and definitely not rising to the level of anything one could call "high definition". Blu Ray discs show somewhat better contrast and detail over their DVD counterparts, but the difference is not nearly as dramatic as the comparisons between DVD and HD-DVD, as an example.


I know this is off topic but...

I was under the impression that the quaility of Blu Ray and HD-DVD were about the same but Blu Ray has greater storage limits. How is HD-DVD better in quality than Blu Ray?

Now back to the topic...

So my two cents on the keynote... I like the iPhone and Apple TV, but the keynote wasn't that exciting. I've been anticipating the iPhone for so long, it seemed bound to be announced. The way Jobs announced it though, I was very excited, but then felt a little like it was over hyped. Paraphrasing: "Three new devices from apple!" WHOOO HOOO! sweet! three new things... oh wait, they're all one and thats what I expected...

I guess i can't always be 'wowed' by apple, but they're goal of 10 million units at this price point is down right stupid. Everyone under the age of 25 that lives in a first world country has an iPod for 300 bucks, but how many of them are going to put up 600 for a smartphone/ipod that is locked into 100 dollar a month contracts (voice+data) for two years? I sure as hell dont have that kind of money.

As for the apple tv, I want one, but i have a tivo and an airport express. with toast 8, i'll know be able to use TivoToGo, the tivo can browse photos over the network and and i can send music to my speakers. Tivo's maybe not as seamless as apple, but its gatta do more for me.

-Alex

[solvs]

I wanted a mini MacBook, but I didn't expect it, so I'm not really disappointed. Quads will be out soon and other updates will follow. Santa Rosa will bring updates to iMac/MB. iLife/iWork will come when Leopard is out in the Spring. Phone looks nice. AppleTV looks nice too. But I don't need either.

Fun, but personally it was a meh. Not that I'm whining. Like I said, I didn't expect much.

[Passante]

I would love to vote but I have not seen the keynote yet. I can't remember a time that I could not play the keynote the day after. Wow.

[wrldwzrd89]

I am utterly baffled by the total lack of computer-related previews and announcements, software and hardware. Sure, the iPhone and Apple TV are nice, but I expected more.

[Detlev_73]

So iPhone is nice; it is neat how FINALLY someone got a clue and united three commonly used appliances in an innovative way. But, it seems to me that Apple is running out of ideas...no other announcements at the keynote besides an iPhone, that 1% of the entire cell phone market will be able to use? C'mon, GET REAL. It's a flop. If you do a "time machine" back to the few days before the keynote, and go to the poll that many users voted on, there were PLENTY of other things that were on the "I'm interested list". Sure there may be additional announcements throughout Macworld, but instead of making the iPhone a silent announcement, and concentrating on computer stuff, software, we get this bone thrown at us.

Apple, Inc. you have gravely disappointed me. :mad:

[Cybergypsy]

I am utterly baffled by the total lack of computer-related previews and announcements, software and hardware. Sure, the iPhone and Apple TV are nice, but I expected more.


Ditto!!!!

[simuljustus]

I simply cannot understand all of the comments on this page that are negative about this presentation. Yes we are all concerned about our own little world, but this product is 10, 100, maybe 1000 times as important as the next generation of OS X or an upgrade in a desktop computer system. The way we interface with technology is changing. The iPhone is one vision of how that interface will look (based on Apple's track record, I would say it is a realistic vision). My 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son sat and watched the entire keynote presentation and could not take their eyes off of it. They were calling friends, relatives, and planning already the things they could sell or trade to get an iphone. With a device like this, our desktop iMac will be next to obsolete for my daughter. Yes it is a lot of money. No we will not be buying one when they first come out. So in my own world, there wasn't much in this keynote for me short-term. But in the long run, this presentation is on the same level or perhaps even above the one that introduced the ipod. That product shifted the culture of the entire world in only 5 short years!! What will 5 years of the iphone do? :)

[ksz]

I know this is off topic but...

I was under the impression that the quaility of Blu Ray and HD-DVD were about the same but Blu Ray has greater storage limits. How is HD-DVD better in quality than Blu Ray?

This is because most HD-DVD movies are compressed with Microsoft's snazzy VC-1 codec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD#Video), whereas the initial batch of BluRay movies are compressed with standard MPEG-2, the same codec used in DVDs.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BluRay#Codecs
Initial versions of Sony's Blu-ray Disc-authoring software only included support for MPEG-2 video, so the initial Blu-ray Discs were forced to use MPEG-2 rather than the newer codecs, VC-1 and H.264. An upgrade was subsequently released supporting the newer compression methods so the second wave of Blu-ray Disc titles were able to make use of this.

[Squire]

I simply cannot understand all of the comments on this page that are negative about this presentation...

Like I said, I was wowed by the presentation and I will buy an iPhone as soon as I possibly can. But I'm in the market for both a mobile phone and a computer right now. The keynote announcements don't really address my current needs as a consumer. And again, the folks outside the US are left watching on the sidelines, hence my disappointment.

-Squire

[ksz]

Steve mentioned at the outset of his keynote that several exciting Mac product announcements will be made in the coming months.

We may hear something about Leopard, iLife and iWork in February, shortly after Vista's release. Microsoft's release party for Vista will of course appeal to the masses, and Apple can launch their counterstrike shortly afterwards.

For now, Apple seems to want the iPhone to sink into everyone's minds without any distractions -- nothing else is sharing the stage with this announcement.

I fully expect this to be a banner year for the Macintosh, one that is even more exciting than 2006. Some speculative thoughts:

1. Leopard won't be released earlier than springtime.
2. Adobe CS3 won't be released earlier than springtime either.
3. iLife and iWork updates may come earlier and not necessarily depend on Leopard. There are millions of Tiger and Jaguar users, and zero Leopard users. Why limit the release to a non-existent Leopard user base?
4. Apple is waiting for next-generation Intel chipsets before announcing iMac, MacPro, and laptop updates. Some chipsets will ramp up in February (Stoakley-Seaburg for MacPro) and others in April (Santa Rosa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Santa_Rosa_platform) for iMac and laptops).

Hence, I would expect to hear new product announcements in this order:

Late Jan or early Feb: iLife, iWork
Late Feb: New MacPro
April/May: Leopard
April/May: New iMac / New Laptops

[jac.blue]

That's was my reaction. I was applewowz'd :eek:
But then it is not out til June in the US, then over across the pond.
I won't see it here in Canada for about a year...:(

The PLAN:cool:
I drive over to the US and purchase the phone. Bring it back and find someone to unlock it! And forget about the contract with cingular. I find a wireless keyboard and voila a super small laptop with wi-fi.

It was beyond my expectations (the phone)

I have a dvd player for watching movies... I don't see the need for appple tv, unless I can record and use it like PVR.

Anyone who did not get wow'd by the keynote, is lying!

I wish it wasn't tied to a provider... probably cost $100/mth for service... too much for me.
:) :) :) :) :) :)

[flyinmac]

Vote: Poll: What is your reaction to the Macworld Expo Keynote? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=530)

Disappointed. No real surprises (except for the lack of surprises).

And, the whole thing seemed to drag on, and on, and on, and on about an overpriced phone that won't work anywhere in my state anyway (Cingular doesn't offer service in my state).

Almost 2 hours on a single device was a bit much.