SJ squashes rumors of iPhone and Apple PDA

[MacQuest]

[Taken from O'Grady's PowerPage] http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/story?newsID=11046


News from today's Steve Jobs interview in Carlsbad

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

From the User Group Dept.


No PDA in Apple's future -- their research is that people primarily want a small device which has copies of data already on their computer, make occassional small changes. He thinks iPod serves many of those people, and the new generations of cell phones will suit most of the rest. Apple is working with the phone manufacturers to be sure the data syncs.

No Apple brand cell phone. He thinks existing phone makers are too good, Apple can't add enough value.

Not much of a market for watching movies or showing photos on iPods or other small devices. Screen too small until someone invents a great folding screen. However he does see potential to use small device to drive a TV as the presentation vehicle.

Major push with iTunes and music. 3 million purchased so far, half the tracks sold as albums. More being loaded all the time onto the servers.

[MacQuest]

From the news report above:

"However he [SJ] does see potential to use small device to drive a TV as the presentation vehicle."

I call "iPad" [tablet device] !!:)

[DreaminDirector]

here we go again.....

It would be nice if Apple had a phone.


Oh well, let the PDA/No PDA fight begin...

[alset]

If nothing else, we can be glad Apple isn't spreading itself thin. Silver lining in everything, right?

Dan

[Nermal]

I'd much rather have a 970 :)

[stefman]

At least I don't have to wait anymore for an Apple phone and I can get the new Sony Ericsson T610! :)

[mim]

Originally posted by DreaminDirector
here we go again.....

It would be nice if Apple had a phone.


Oh well, let the PDA/No PDA fight begin...

Heh. No PDA doesn't mean no tablet :p

I think he's right about the PDA - some of the newer 3G phones have the same functionality and features as recent pda's. A tablet is a whole 'nother beast though. I'd be suprised if it wasn't possible to take the innards of a current iBook - minus optical drive and keyboard, and with a smaller form factor hd - and cram it into an A5 sized case. This would be a pretty valuable tool I thinks, especially if it could be used as a remote display for a desktop as well.

I'm guessing if something like this is not presented in conjunction with Pather's multiple graphical log-on's, we'll never see it. I'm sure the rumors would continue forever though...:rolleyes:

[gotohamish]

Does anyone think Steve sees a '970', perhaps running a 'vehicle' call 'PowerMac' or even 'xMac', 'XPowerMac' - that would make me laugh...

[Arcady]

Ever since Jason posted a picture of his underwear wrapped around a PowerBook as his rendition of an iBook, I haven't listened to his silly site. It belongs in the same bin as MOSR - nonsense.

His latest ugly disco version doesn't even let you post comments - after the backlash to his fugly site...

[Pancake]

I still hold out hope for a Mac Tablet.

I also think Apple could do a revamp of a rotary phone. The Roto-Mac 970!!!

[RandomDeadHead]

Bummer.


I think All of us knew deep down in our hearts that Apple would never make a phone.

[kiwi_the_iwik]

Seriously - I'm GLAD that Apple aren't going near the phone manufacturing market.

How many mobile phones have you had over the years? Remember your FIRST one? You thought it was soooo cool (MY first mobile looked like a BRICK!)...

Apple KNOW the importance of aesthetics. You only have to take one look at their range of products to see that. It seems that every 5 minutes Nokia, Ericsson or some other mobile phone company are upgrading, to keep in line with the latest trends. It's a never-ending process, and a pretty fruitless task.

It seems the majority of mobile phone users are fickle - no sooner do they get the latest and greatest, when they find that the NEXT generation has more bells and whistles on it - and so the cycle continues...

If Apple made a mobile phone (even IF it were the dog's bollix at the time), it wouldn't be long before it were discarded into the box at the local mobile phone store, placed there for unwanted second-hand phones to be recycled for use in a 3rd World country.

And THAT'S not how Apple products should be treated.

[Thanatoast]

However he does see potential to use small device to drive a TV as the presentation vehicle.
An ipod able to display keynote files? That would be neat. :)

[The Shadow]

I for one, stick to my much maligned prediction of some months ago, amongst all the excitement, that Apple should not bring out a PDA or a Tablet, as either might be a quote "big fat belly flop". :)

Good to see that while Steve clearly did not rule out a tablet, he is at least being considerate of whether they should get into markets where they cannot add considerable value.

Always presuming, IMHO, that Steve is not actually a personal fan of my posts. :D

P.S. Please, please, noone make a reply! Go easy.

[deepkid]

Originally posted by MacQuest


No PDA in Apple's future --

No Apple brand cell phone.

Not much of a market for watching movies or showing photos on iPods or other small devices.


I hope this will cure some of the mental illness that permeates discussion boards, articles and op-ed columns about what Apple is set to release.

If you go on ranting about a PDA/Phone/Vpod after this quote, then you need your local insane asylum.

It's ok to get excited dreaming about what may come, but don't keep banging your head against the wall in anger for what's not here today.

[gotohamish]

Originally posted by Thanatoast
An ipod able to display keynote files? That would be neat. :)

Yeah, perhaps cool. But it won't happen. People are happy to take laptops, and no one does enough presentations that they would sell enough.

[ssamani]

Originally posted by MacQuest
Major push with iTunes and music. 3 million purchased so far, half the tracks sold as albums. More being loaded all the time onto the servers.

The 3million is confirmed by an Apple spokesman in this updated article about internet streaming being removed from iTunes:

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/05/27/itunes/

[visor]

I am glad that Apple doesn't mess with current Phone makers. Indeed the marked is pretty overcrowded, and things even get messier with standarts beeing differnetly implemented.
#
Right now, developing for handsets is much worse than creating html durig the climax of NS/MSIE war.
No need to have another player making noise.

As for PDA - I'm almost happy with the iPod as a PDA replacement. It's got hat big HD - thats important, and it's small and handy.
The only thing lacking is the ability to input and edit short texts.
When on the move, I'd like to just be able to add a phone number to the adresslist, make an entry on the Calendar or edit a bit in song descriptions ;)

I'd settle for a clip on input device that connects to the firewire interface.
;)

[P-Worm]

Originally posted by kiwi_the_iwik
Seriously - I'm GLAD that Apple aren't going near the phone manufacturing market.

How many mobile phones have you had over the years? Remember your FIRST one? You thought it was soooo cool (MY first mobile looked like a BRICK!)...

Apple KNOW the importance of aesthetics. You only have to take one look at their range of products to see that. It seems that every 5 minutes Nokia, Ericsson or some other mobile phone company are upgrading, to keep in line with the latest trends. It's a never-ending process, and a pretty fruitless task.

It seems the majority of mobile phone users are fickle - no sooner do they get the latest and greatest, when they find that the NEXT generation has more bells and whistles on it - and so the cycle continues...

If Apple made a mobile phone (even IF it were the dog's bollix at the time), it wouldn't be long before it were discarded into the box at the local mobile phone store, placed there for unwanted second-hand phones to be recycled for use in a 3rd World country.

And THAT'S not how Apple products should be treated.

I think that this is a very valid argument. Apple is known for making trends, not keeping up with them.

P-Worm

[insidedanshead]

Originally posted by kiwi_the_iwik
Seriously - I'm GLAD that Apple aren't going near the phone manufacturing market.

How many mobile phones have you had over the years? Remember your FIRST one? You thought it was soooo cool (MY first mobile looked like a BRICK!)...

Apple KNOW the importance of aesthetics. You only have to take one look at their range of products to see that. It seems that every 5 minutes Nokia, Ericsson or some other mobile phone company are upgrading, to keep in line with the latest trends. It's a never-ending process, and a pretty fruitless task.

It seems the majority of mobile phone users are fickle - no sooner do they get the latest and greatest, when they find that the NEXT generation has more bells and whistles on it - and so the cycle continues...

If Apple made a mobile phone (even IF it were the dog's bollix at the time), it wouldn't be long before it were discarded into the box at the local mobile phone store, placed there for unwanted second-hand phones to be recycled for use in a 3rd World country.

And THAT'S not how Apple products should be treated.

Beautifuly put. It's hard to sum it all up better than this. A lot of my friends and family work for various mobile phone places around the area and EVERYDAY they tell me of this newer bigger badder phone and everday this bigger badder phone had something twice as bigger and badder than yesterday's phone, follow? ha. Apple wouldn't be able to keep up. Companies like sonyericsson, nokia, samsung spend millions in r&d and devote all resources to cell phones.. apple just needs to leave it up to them to provide awesome mobile phones which they are doing already and concentrate on making OS X integrate well with them. An apple phone would LOOK great but I am glad to hear they aren't risking lots of money by entering this market.

[mangoman]

*sigh*, I'd STILL -- at least -- like to see some input ability with the iPod. Is that so much to ask?

Boohoohoo,

mm

[ac2102]

I personally think that Apple should stick to what it does best, making awesome computers. The 970 should be a priority, not spreading their market. Mac OSX and is still what drives apple.

Having said that, the iPod has taken the MP3 market by storm....

[Jerry Spoon]

Originally posted by visor
As for PDA - I'm almost happy with the iPod as a PDA replacement. It's got hat big HD - thats important, and it's small and handy.
The only thing lacking is the ability to input and edit short texts.
When on the move, I'd like to just be able to add a phone number to the adresslist, make an entry on the Calendar or edit a bit in song descriptions ;)
;)
ALMOST is the important word here. I'd really like the power to input info too in the iPod. Unfortunately, until that happens, I'm sitting here with no iPod and no PDA and too stubborn to spend the money on either with what is out there.:(

[mangoman]

Originally posted by Jerry Spoon
ALMOST is the important word here. I'd really like the power to input info too in the iPod. Unfortunately, until that happens, I'm sitting here with no iPod and no PDA and too stubborn to spend the money on either with what is out there.:(

Exactly. Preach on, brothah!

[cubist]

It should be "quashes" rumors, not "squashes" them.

[edenwaith]

Originally posted by alset
If nothing else, we can be glad Apple isn't spreading itself thin. Silver lining in everything, right?

Dan

...and I'll second that. One of my (among many) irks with The Giant From Redmond is that it has spread itself WAY too thin and tried to become everything for everybody, and not very good at any one of them. What does M$ try and make or weasel its way into: OS, Office suite, ISP, news service, game publisher, game console maker, other home and office software, etc., etc. It just is silly. Even if Office split away from M$, it would still probably be quite a lucrative business. Even Office v. X sold what...300,000 copies at least? At a minimum of $200 per copy (some more, some less), that would $60,000,000 in sales. I think most companies would be pretty happy with selling 300,000 copies of a product. Most computer games never hit that level, and they tend to go for $50.

But I hope that Apple does not follow the M$ or Sony trend to try and become everything for everyone. It just isn't possible, and even if they did try and become too huge, it would just become a very slow and sluggish monolithic company. Apple should remain relatively small and continue putting out a couple of great products.

As for cell phones, my girlfriend gave me her old cell phone, but as long as mine has the various tones, I'm happy. I'm not very interested in the 3,000 and one extra features I can have on my phone. So it would probably be best if Apple didn't try and make its own phone, especially if the companies now are putting out new phones fairly often.

[Mr.Hey]

People please for the love of all that is sweet and jelly filled (accompanied with coffee) SHUT UP about an Apple made table. Its the year of the laptop not the tablet.

[boobers]

its sooooooo painful and useless at the same time. I'm kinda anti cell phone though..but i have tried this feature out on a nokia and....well...it sucked..I'm up for a thin client tablet though..i think its a great idea. I'd want it to have a smaller screen like no bigger than 8" with a small pod like HD...aaaahh what am i sayin..that'll never happen.

[mkaake]

Originally posted by Mr.Hey
People please for the love of all that is sweet and jelly filled (accompanied with coffee) SHUT UP about an Apple made table. Its the year of the laptop not the tablet.

an apple made table could actually be pretty cool. i mean, imagine it. you're sitting down in your living room and you kick up your feet on your silver apple table... in the shape of the apple umm, apple. wouldn't that be slick? of course, you'd still have the whole ipod thing going on with scuffs and stuff...

but it would be neat!

matt

[seamuskrat]

I would think with all the carriers out there that an Apple phone would be a nightmare. Would it work on Sprint, Verizon, SBC, Nextel, etc? No, that means many models.
As much as a stylish Apple designed phone would be cool, I cannot think what Apple could add to it, and still keep the device and service costs reasonable.

[pkradd]

Anybody with some sense of the industry should have known that Apple could not produce a phone at a price that would make it profitable. Most cell phones are sold at cost. The money/profit comes from the service plans offered by the providers. Also, there are so many different systems that an all-encompasing phone would be very expensive. A tablet is NOT a PDA in the current scheme of things, so that kind of product should not be ruled out I believe. Even though Apple has consistently stated that they were not going to produce a PDA, people still insist it is coming. This has been going on for two years now. SJ has made it clear, but wanna bet rumors will continue to be published? Geez!

[pyrotoaster]

It's about time Steve gave us a nice reality check. Apple isn't making a phone. That's just the way it is.

What's interesting is that Steve made no comment about the tablet market (which he has approached with skepticism before). While Apple can't compete in the cell phone and PDA markets,

Steve can pave completely new ground in the tablet market. Instead of a mutant laptop with a write-on screen, I think we should be thinking about a mini-tablet (yes, al la MacWhispers).

[Cappy]

If Apple is not going to enter into making their own pda or cell phone, I would like to see them license their technology out to others. Handwriting recognition and Quicktime on pda's and cell phones courtesy of Apple's tech would be a good thing IMO.

[vniow]

Originally posted by P-Worm
I think that this is a very valid argument. Apple is known for making trends, not keeping up with them.


Not always true, they weren't the first to come out with a portable MP3 player for example so they didn't exactly create that trend, but they sure as hell rode it out..

[noel4r]

if SJ squashed the rumors of an Apple pda and Apple cell phone, cant we do the same too? let it go people, it's not gonna happen...

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by vniow
Not always true, they weren't the first to come out with a portable MP3 player for example so they didn't exactly create that trend, but they sure as hell rode it out..
Exactly, but when Apple can't revolutionize something, they evolve it. The iPod is so evolutionary, that it's much better than anything else in the MP3 player market right now (of course the cost is a bit of a premium :rolleyes: )

Steve's comments directly say that there's just not a practical way for Apple to evolve cell phones or PDAs. It looks as if he's thinking more revolutionary, working with something that isn't mainstream yet (for example, 64-bit desktop computers, tablets, etc.).

Personally, I can't wait to see what Apple's got coming later this year, and what happens with the Mac's 20th anniversary in January. :D

[CountZero]

Originally posted by Cappy
If Apple is not going to enter into making their own pda or cell phone, I would like to see them license their technology out to others. Handwriting recognition and Quicktime on pda's and cell phones courtesy of Apple's tech would be a good thing IMO.

They have in a way already done that with MPEG-4. MPEG-4 is developed by Apple, Cisco, IBM, Kasenna, Philips and Sun Microsystems as the A/V codec for 3G devices.

Apple - MPEG-4 (http://www.apple.com/mpeg4/)

[gopher]

Remember those 5 x 7 screens? Just the right size for photographs. Apple may be developing a camera like the iPod.

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by gopher
Remember those 5 x 7 screens? Just the right size for photographs. Apple may be developing a camera like the iPod.
Apple did make a camera, the QuickTake. It took mediocre QuickTime pics. It was a great innovation, but a great flop, too.

I think Apple's more likely to make a multi-purpose device. Something like a "Digital Lifestyle" Mini-Tablet. It does all sorts of stuff, such as picture taking (stored on a iPod-thin hard drive, of course).

Something like that seems right up Steve's alley.

[Blackcat]

Originally posted by Mr.Hey
People please for the love of all that is sweet and jelly filled (accompanied with coffee) SHUT UP about an Apple made tablet. Its the year of the laptop not the tablet.

No, it's the year of the *portable* (this must be the most common misquote of 2003).

Tablets are portable, as are iPods.

[icsedge1]

Hum...I guess I'll have to hold out for someone to create a Wild Eep ringer for my A500 then...

Sedge

[mim]

Originally posted by icsedge1
Hum...I guess I'll have to hold out for someone to create a Wild Eep ringer for my A500 then...

Sedge

COOL! An Amiga 500 - as a cell phone! Lucky for me I've been working out in the gym recently.

Now, where did I put my Workbench 1.3 floppies...?

:rolleyes:

[xDANx]

Originally posted by kiwi_the_iwik
If Apple made a mobile phone (even IF it were the dog's bollix at the time), it wouldn't be long before it were discarded into the box at the local mobile phone store, placed there for unwanted second-hand phones to be recycled for use in a 3rd World country.

And THAT'S not how Apple products should be treated.

...and boy wouldn't it just suck for people in the "3rd world" to be able to use apple products...let them collapse under a mountain of 286s running windows 3.1...i know, i know, that's not what you meant... ;)

anyway...did anyone actually believe apple was ever going to make a phone? i would think that even a cursory glance at that industry would make it pretty obvious that it would be foolish for apple to attempt something like that.

[stompy]

Originally posted by Blackcat
No, it's the year of the *portable* (this must be the most common misquote of 2003).

Tablets are portable, as are iPods.

I don't know that I would read so much into the use of the word 'portable.' Apple has preferred the words 'portable' and 'notebook' over 'laptop' for some time now. SJ was specifically talking about PB and iBook sales (as I recall) when he made the now infamous 'year of' quote.

[icsedge1]

Originally posted by mim
COOL! An Amiga 500 - as a cell phone! Lucky for me I've been working out in the gym recently.

Now, where did I put my Workbench 1.3 floppies...?

:rolleyes:

I just can't seem to get out of the 80's. Guess that is what happens when you turn 10 in 1980, and 20 in 1990. And yes...I did have an Amiga. And a Vic 20. And paisley sportcoats. Etc.

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by stompy
I don't know that I would read so much into the use of the word 'portable.' Apple has preferred the words 'portable' and 'notebook' over 'laptop' for some time now. SJ was specifically talking about PB and iBook sales (as I recall) when he made the now infamous 'year of' quote.
I wouldn't let the whole "Year of the _____" rule your speculation.

If we're so rigid about the "Year of the Portable/Laptop" deal, we can't have any new desktops (sorry IBM!). :rolleyes:

Sure, we'll see some cool new laptop stuff, but we're going to see a lot of other stuff, too.

[Scottgfx]

Originally posted by mim
COOL! An Amiga 500 - as a cell phone! Lucky for me I've been working out in the gym recently.

Now, where did I put my Workbench 1.3 floppies...?

:rolleyes:

Naaah, you have to have the Kickstart 2.04 ROM installed and a Fat Agnus!

[xDANx]

Originally posted by Scottgfx
Naaah, you have to have the Kickstart 2.04 ROM installed and a Fat Agnus!

i never had an amiga, but when i was a kid my dad had an zenith heathkit...a 'build your own computer' kind of deal. i still laugh everytime i think of the external disk drive for that beast. zenith's solution for storage was to make giant 9 or 10 inch floppies (i'm not sure of the exact size)...the disk drive was as big as the computer.

[edit: yeah, i know it's extremely off topic, but i just can't help myself when it comes to old, hulking computer equipment...]

[GregA]

Originally posted by RandomDeadHead
I think All of us knew deep down in our hearts that Apple would never make a phone. Better to make a deal with all the phone manufacturers.

I still want Apple to use BlueTooth to my mobile phone, so I can use it as my cordless phone around the home. :)

[AhmedFaisal]

I think Jobs is loosing his feel. With iPod he was right on the mark. There were others but they were crap, unusable, bulky etc etc.

Its the same damn thing with cell phones. Take the T68i as an example or any other modern cell. The buttons are so small and disorganized its hard to work them and the symbols on the function tabs are telling me most of the time nothing. Navigation is a nightmare and the "features".... don't even get me started on those. 90% nobody uses or knows how to use and the rest no one finds without extensive searching among the other crap. Apple could do a TON to improve cells!

And PDAs... Don't even get me started on how much even the old Newton beats tha t usability nightmare from Palm or Handspring.

Steve wake up! We need to be delivered from all that junk!
Cheers,

Ahmed

[stompy]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster
I wouldn't let the whole "Year of the _____" rule your speculation.

If we're so rigid about the "Year of the Portable/Laptop" deal, we can't have any new desktops (sorry IBM!). :rolleyes:

Sure, we'll see some cool new laptop stuff, but we're going to see a lot of other stuff, too.

Sorry if my post wasn't completely clear. I agree that everyone has made mountains out of SJ's 'year of' line--notice the 'infamous' in my post. I was pointing out the absurdity of speculation based the choice of the word 'portable' rather than 'laptop.'

The quote was a throwaway tagline, not a product strategy.

[eric_n_dfw]

Originally posted by xDANx
zenith's solution for storage was to make giant 9 or 10 inch floppies (i'm not sure of the exact size)...the disk drive was as big as the computer.
They were probably 8" - a somewhate popular format back "in the day"

I remember the typesetter machine at the Kwik Kopy that my mom worked at has a dual 8" floppy drive. High tech for the time!

BTW, American Airlines' automated ticket machines from the 80's ran on NCR hardware (CPM OS I believe) with a pair of 8" floppy drives and no hard drive all the way up to the mid 90's!!!