iPhone Seeing Some Issues?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Businessweek (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2007/tc20070413_247721.htm) cites an analyst with iSuppli that the iPhone may be seeing some minor delays due to ongoing issues. According to Jagdish Rebello, "various iPhone suppliers have been told that the iPhone may not be available until the end of June."
We're hearing it's mostly an issue with the complexity of the device, and that all the component suppliers are making their deliveries on time
Apple has not specified when in June the iPhone would ship, but some have speculated that the iPhone would arrive near the Worldwide Developer's Conference which starts on June 11th.

Rebello speculates that the delay in Leopard was prompted by an unexpected shift in personnel from Leopard to the iPhone: "It's clear they have found some issues that they need to fix." Another analyst who has tested the phone states that they didn't uncover any problems with it but points out that "Apple wants to get it right the first time."

Meanwhile, Shaw Wu believes that the Leopard delay was due to the "secret" features that have not yet been revealed: "Our analysis indicates that if not for the 'secret' features, the core Leopard operating system would likely have shipped on time,"

[diehardmacfan]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

[Cinch]

I'll read a farmer's almanac before I listen to an analyst!:rolleyes:

[shawnce]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone1) This is all speculation by generally uninformed analysts.
2) This is also a few analysts starting to pickup on what Apple already stated ... jumping in to make it sound like they know something.
3) Apple stated June for the iPhone way back when and Apple stated a few days ago June for the iPhone... lets wait until June or a statement from Apple on a date change.

[job]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

It's hard to do that when you depend on other companies to supply the components.

It's just like when Apple claimed the G5 would be at 3Ghz, but due to IBM's fab problems, they never got to their declared goal.

Don't blame Apple for the shortcomings of other companies.

[bubba451]

This just in:

Due to delays in Leopard, Apple has had to pull engineers from the iPhone, thereby slipping its ship date.

[xenotaku]

There goes my stock!

[stagi]

They never said ready june 11th, just ready in june. Since they also reconfirmed that in their recent press release I bet they will realease it on time (in June) since i can't wait to get my hands on one, june does still feel like a long time

[slu]

I am so sick of iPhone this and iPhone that....until the thing comes comes out, who cares???

[belovedmonster]

Its bad luck for Apple that a few projects seem to have been delayed back to back. I say bad luck because I am sick of reading people saying how Apple has completely betrayed them because of a few delayed products. Get over it. They don't lie on purpose, they try to get the thing done on time and work 23 hours a day when they find out thats not going to happen.

[Sälli]

Apple has not specified when in June the iPhone would ship, but some have speculated that the iPhone would arrive near the Worldwide Developer's Conference which starts on June 11th.

When they announced that Leopard will be delayed, they said that the iPhone is shipping in late June.

[Max Payne]

I have no problem in delaying Leopard nor iPhone. Let them all be released when ready.


I prefer the iPhone not being released instead of having the zune released problems.

[nagromme]

"It's clear they have found some issues that they need to fix."

"Clear," is it? Sound like a bit of a strech to me. I'll go with "possible" :) (No great shock that a new product would have "issues" still unfinished 2 months before release.)


I am so sick of iPhone this and iPhone that....until the thing comes comes out, who cares???

So people should only care when it comes out... after it already IS out? :o

One thing I like to do if a product makes me angry is to not spend time reading stories about it :) Granted, I don't generally get THAT upset about future products...

Its bad luck for Apple that a few projects seem to have been delayed back to back. I say bad luck because I am sick of reading people saying how Apple has completely betrayed them because of a few delayed products. Get over it. They don't lie on purpose, they try to get the thing done on time and work 23 hours a day when they find out thats not going to happen.

But NO other company EVER has delays of weeks (iPhone--wait Apple never said June 11, rumors did) or months (Leopard) or years (Vista--wait, that's not Apple). Never :D

[MacVault]

Why does Apple not just hire a few more engineers/developers/QA people? Sounds like they could use them anyway in the long term.

[GorillaPaws]

Where do I have to apply to get to be an analyst? I'm full of wild speculation, unfounded predictions, and I have a general commitment to keeping the word truth as loosely defined as possible. :D

[twoodcc]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

yeah i know. i hate delays....

[iJawn108]

Honestly is Shaw Wu ever right lately? where is the touch screen full video iPod?

There's more to be done then just the iPhone it's self. I'm sure apple is still working on the iTunes ring tones deal with the recording companies and other things we don't even know about yet. Not to mention the peripherals that go it with it.

bring out those slick little bluetooth head sets promptly pleease apple. :D

[macFanDave]

There goes my stock!

It's not an AAPL stock price drop, it's a buying opportunity :)

*I realize the proper grammar is "Think positively," but I just wanted to riff off Apple's grammatically-(ahem!)interesting slogan.

[macFanDave]

I am so sick of iPhone this and iPhone that....until the thing comes comes out, who cares???

Do your best Jan Brady and scream, "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone!"

[BenRoethig]

Honestly is Shaw Wu ever right lately? where is the touch screen full video iPod?

It's with the other products Apple would actually sell. Taking a backseat to iPhone.

[Stella]

Why should anyone be surprised if iPhone is late? A lot of Apple products have been late.

Apple have a lot of dependencies, e.g., suppliers. If they are late shipping components, thats going to affect Apple.

Sometimes its out of Apple hands. Maybe this time its the complexity of the iPhone software and late arrival of 3rd party hardware components.

[HailToTheVictor]

See you in 2008. Seriously, release things when they are promised. If Apple would, from the onset, add three months to their 'original' ship estimates and then release things *cough* early, Steve would look like a hero, and the stock would soar. Just a thought.

[crees!]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

And the World has now ended. So far Apple has stuck to what they said. iPhone... June. That's it. Leopard, June.. October. Really, I don't care. My computer, running Tiger, still works just as good as it did yesterday. If you're basing your business or personal computing lifestyle on technology that doesn't exist or isn't available yet, you're doomed to fail.

[Naimfan]

The iPhone is a huge bet for Apple, Inc. Accordingly, it would be better to take the time to get it right than it would be to release it with known issues. It has the potential to be another iPod in the impact it could have on Apple, and it is coming out under a LOT more scrutiny--the iPod was nowhere near as anticipated a product.

Best,

Bob

[nagromme]

Why does Apple not just hire a few more engineers/developers/QA people? Sounds like they could use them anyway in the long term.

That's something Microsoft and others have been criticized for. I do NOT want to see Apple make the same mistake. There's a book on this very mistake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Doubling the number of programmers or engineers does NOT halve the time to complete a project--especially when they are dumped in after the fact. Throwing late staff additions at a product can actually reduce quality and make the project even more behind until features have to be cut.

"Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead."

[nagromme]

See you in 2008. Seriously, release things when they are promised.

Apple "promised" iPhone in June. What is your evidence that Apple will not deliver that? Even this latest "dire" rumor says late June.

[HailToTheVictor]

Apple "promised" iPhone in June. What is your evidence that Apple will not deliver that? Even this latest "dire" rumor says late June.

Leopard

[aLoC]

Rebello speculates that the delay in Leopard was prompted by an unexpected shift in personnel from Leopard to the iPhone

It's not speculation, it's precisely what Apple said in their press release: "we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned."

[nemaslov]

why is everyone in such a rush? Apple should get it right and if that takes longer then so be it. You'd hate to be the first one with the phone and have to return it or wait for some software update...wouldn't you? Hey if it takes until the Fall, that's alright by me.

[Troyte83]

well they really didnt say anyhting because june 11th wasnt the offical date it was just a rumor, so late june would still be considered on time, plus if this is true then possibly their will be more features on the iphone and maybe more storage capacity

[nemaslov]

There goes my stock!

if you were planning to sell it in July then maybe you'd have a problem but if you keep it for ten years or longer like most shareholders used to. You will have a very nice nest egg.

[Counter]

Don't blame Apple for the shortcomings of other companies.

It's Apples product.

They're responsible.

For making things happen, getting things in, making judgments of when they can get it released and setting release dates.

[Troyte83]

why is everyone in such a rush? Apple should get it right and if that takes longer then so be it. You'd hate to be the first one with the phone and have to return it or wait for some software update...wouldn't you? Hey if it takes until the Fall, that's alright by me.

i agree alot of new products have bugs, apple is trying to avoid that and i would much rather wait till late june instead of get the phone and have to ship it back for problems. and they might have some new features which would be cool.

[karlfranz]

This is not news. It appears this "rumor" came out a week too late. The first sentence in Apple's Statement clearly mentions:

"iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned."

They have always said June, but have never specified when in June. I'm so tired of people twisting rumors into reality and then claiming Apple is late when their "new reality" doesn't pan out.

People are doing the same thing with iLife and iWork rumors. Apple has never admitted to new versions even being planned, yet people are complaining that they are now late. Just because Apple released previous versions at a certain time in previous years does not guarantee that future versions are to be expected at the same time, folks.

[ddubbo]

Apple just became a big company like DELL, Microsoft etc. and got all theirs illnesses. But in addition to it also they became a liars. Two weeks before launch of Apple TV they perfectly knew that this will be delayed, and said there'll be no delay. Month ago they said Leopard will be shipped this spring, and they knew that it won't. Now they promise that iPhone will be shipped in June, and believe me, somewhere on 20's of June they'll say that it'll be delayed because of third party something. As well as Leopard won't be shipped on October. If you believe all that Apple say, so you should assume that Apple is a kind of company, that have no idea about time framing of project management, that develop products spontaneously and unable to estimate which part of work we'll be done in a month on specific project.

[ddubbo]

It's hard to do that when you depend on other companies to supply the components.

It's just like when Apple claimed the G5 would be at 3Ghz, but due to IBM's fab problems, they never got to their declared goal.

Don't blame Apple for the shortcomings of other companies.
Sure. When Leopard is delayed - it's because of other companies. When Vista is delayed - it's because of Microsoft is piece of junk

[job]

It's Apples product.

They're responsible.

For making things happen, getting things in, making judgments of when they can get it released and setting release dates.

By that logic, Apple can just tell the suppliers to "make it happen" and the parts will be available in time?

That's absurd.

Open up your computer. Open up your phone. Tell me that those devices are *just* products of their respective companies, especially when they are stuffed with 3rd party chips, RAM, and motherboards. Sure, your computer is branded as an Apple, but did they make the CPU? The GPU? What about the RAM? Or the hard drives? If Intel couldn't supply enough C2D for the entire Mac line to be outfitted with them, is that Apple's fault? Of course not.

Apple made judgements as to when they thought they could release the product. They made it believing that the suppliers could provide the required parts in enough volume to make a June ship/availability date possible.

If the suppliers mess up, either through technical problems, mismanagement, or any one of the other possible issues that might come up, Apple has no other choice but to sit on its hands and wait.

At the end of the day, Apple can only ship what it can build.

[edit: the article mentions how all the suppliers are meeting their ship times and goals, so it appears that waiting for the required parts isn't the cause for the delay. my mistake.]

[aLoC]

Now they promise that iPhone will be shipped in June, and believe me, somewhere on 20's of June they'll say that it'll be delayed because of third party something.

I doubt iPhone will be delayed, there's too much publicity surrounding it. If worse comes to worst they'll just launch without a few features and release a software update later.

[job]

Sure. When Leopard is delayed - it's because of other companies. When Vista is delayed - it's because of Microsoft is piece of junk

That's an entirely different arguement.

Leopard is SOFTWARE, which is something that Apple can develop in-house, without hardware suppliers.

Leopard's delay was entirely Apple's fault.

The iPhone delay isn't the same.

The iPhone, just like everything else that Apple offers in terms of HARDWARE is dependent on whether or not Apple can actually get the parts and components it needs.

Apple can't just wave a wand and suddenly produce the chips it needs. It has to depend on other companies to supply the chips.

Do you guys honestly not see the difference here?

[edit: the article mentions how all the suppliers are meeting their ship times and goals, so it appears that waiting for the required parts isn't the cause for the delay. my mistake.]

[nagromme]

I doubt iPhone will be delayed, there's too much publicity surrounding it. If worse comes to worst they'll just launch without a few features and release a software update later.

They WILL delay it if they have to, whether they want to or not. And either way, it won't be any more shocking or criminal than the millions of self-imposed deadlines Apple--and EVERY other tech company, large and small--has missed in the past. An announced ship date is not a contract, not impossible to miss, and nobody is under any illusion to the contrary.

There are no solid rumors of an iPhone delay beyond Apple's stated "June." But even if there were, it's not some new phenomenon. It's the kind of thing that happens--to all companies. It hurts the company and it hurts the users. But somehow, we will survive.

I do agree that Apple will really bend over backwards to avoid that in this case. The Leopard story is plenty of evidence for that.

And of course, the iPhone may well be right on schedule for June with no crisis at all. Just like all the other on-time Apple products nobody remembers because on-time is not a good headline :o

[TheAnswer]

I wholeheartedly agree with karlfranz on this one, this looks like an analyst reading the Apple statement and creatively clarifying it in an attempt to gain credibility:

This is not news. It appears this "rumor" came out a week too late. The first sentence in Apple's Statement clearly mentions:

"iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned."

They have always said June, but have never specified when in June. I'm so tired of people twisting rumors into reality and then claiming Apple is late when their "new reality" doesn't pan out.

People are doing the same thing with iLife and iWork rumors. Apple has never admitted to new versions even being planned, yet people are complaining that they are now late. Just because Apple released previous versions at a certain time in previous years does not guarantee that future versions are to be expected at the same time, folks.

[Object-X]

All this speculation is why Apple doesn't pre-announce products. Makes you wonder why they have done this with the iPhone, AppleTV, and Leopard. Maybe it's a strategic decision, but all this idiotic speculation and commentary makes me wish Apple would go back to keeping everything a secret until it's released.

[macenforcer]

That's something Microsoft and others have been criticized for. I do NOT want to see Apple make the same mistake. There's a book on this very mistake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Doubling the number of programmers or engineers does NOT halve the time to complete a project--especially when they are dumped in after the fact. Throwing late staff additions at a product can actually reduce quality and make the project even more behind until features have to be cut.

"Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead."

Sure... you understand this, and I understand this but when will our stupid retarded bosses understand this? NEVER!

[job]

All this speculation is why Apple doesn't pre-announce products. Makes you wonder why they have done this with the iPhone, AppleTV, and Leopard. Maybe it's a strategic decision, but all this idiotic speculation and commentary makes me wish Apple would go back to keeping everything a secret until it's released.

Agreed 100%.

It was always a nice surprise when Apple released something that no one saw coming. :)

[nagromme]

All this speculation is why Apple doesn't pre-announce products. Makes you wonder why they have done this with the iPhone, AppleTV, and Leopard. Maybe it's a strategic decision, but all this idiotic speculation and commentary makes me wish Apple would go back to keeping everything a secret until it's released.

Then again, the harm of this speculation--harm to Apple and to us rumor-followers--is really pretty minor harm :o

Compared with the pre-sales buzz Apple gets, and the FUN we get from knowing ahead of time, I don't think pre-announcing is such a bad thing.

[hircus]

It's hard to do that when you depend on other companies to supply the components.

It's just like when Apple claimed the G5 would be at 3Ghz, but due to IBM's fab problems, they never got to their declared goal.

Don't blame Apple for the shortcomings of other companies.

According to the analysts, the component suppliers are delivering on time, though. Unless they are wrong on that count as well.

[jellomizer]

Why does Apple not just hire a few more engineers/developers/QA people? Sounds like they could use them anyway in the long term.

Sometimes putting more people behind a job will not help it get done any faster. With the iPhone there is also dealing the FCC for regulation of the product. But if there is other technical problems getting new people may take longer then using the ones who already seen the code and know how to fix the problems

[job]

According to the analysts, the component suppliers are delivering on time, though. Unless they are wrong on that count as well.

I know. I mis-read the initial post. My mistake.

[AaronICT]

Argh. This is getting even more frustrating.

Apple should have made the iPhone the big holiday release for 2007.

Then we would have had Leopard on time and something to look forward to at Christmas.

[p0intblank]

It's not an AAPL stock price drop, it's a buying opportunity :)

*I realize the proper grammar is "Think positively," but I just wanted to riff off Apple's grammatically-(ahem!)interesting slogan.

You know, that's something I have been thinking about lately. Is "Think different." grammatically correct? I doubt Apple would let something as big as that slip.

[~Shard~]

Delays happen. Yes, they should be mitigated and so forth, so I'm not excusing Apple, but the fact is, things like happen. Deal with it. I would rather have a working iPhone than one which is riddled with problems and bugs but was released just to meet a certain date. Do it right the first time. :cool:

[steve jr.]

If there is one thing we can all learn from this is that when Apple builds their new campus, and with all the delays and being what sounds to be a little short-staffed, I think :apple: will be looking to hire some new people with all the new space of 2 campuses! Just in time for me to graduate with my MBA :D

[Peace]

If there is one thing we can all learn from this is that when Apple builds their new campus, and with all the delays and being what sounds to be a little short-staffed, I think :apple: will be looking to hire some new people with all the new space of 2 campuses! Just in time for me to graduate with my MBA :D

Apple already is :

http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExternal.showJob&RID=582

[koobcamuk]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

They should have just released it like "BOOM" and not demo'd it. Would have been so cool. Imagine a world wide release within a matter of weeks of a press release.
Awesome.

[jonharris200]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)
Apple has not specified when in June the iPhone would ship
Really?
When they announced that Leopard will be delayed, they said that the iPhone is shipping in late June.

Exactly. I commented on this at the time (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=3540623#post3540623):

1. A delay of four months is much better than a delay of four (or more) years

2. The iPhone IS a computer. Apple dropped 'computer' because of a popular misconception that computer = desktop/laptop only.

3. Tiger is still streets ahead of Vista on most counts.

4. Has no-one else noticed how iPhone is now 'late June' rather than 'June'. Sneaky Apple!

5. I'm glad I bought my blackbook in February. :p

Keep up people, this is last week's news!

Now feeling rather smug. :p

[icrude]

for god's sake....i know this is a rumor site....but just freakin be patient!

[SiliconAddict]

I've said it before and I will say it again. Anyone stupid enough to use a version 1.0 product that Apple has zero prior experience with is just asking for massive headaches. My phone is a mandatory communications device for my job. It is used extensively throughout the day and week. Most people, not all but most, are jumping on the iPhone because it’s the new shiny in town. That’s all. Heck even if it wasn’t tied to THAT carrier I would still be wary about it. I need something reliable. Not something fashionable and trendy.
Now long term do I think the iPhone will rock? Yes. Sure. No doubt. But I want to see two things. Real world use of this thing by real people and Apple get some real experience under their belt. Wake me on G 2.0. Actually maybe even G 3.0.

[glennyboiwpg]

They should have just released it like "BOOM" and not demo'd it. Would have been so cool. Imagine a world wide release within a matter of weeks of a press release.
Awesome.

you know what? Thats EXACTLY what they should have done. If they wouldn't have demoed it in macworld, they could have silently pushed back the iphone, released leopard ahead of schedule, released the iphone when ever it was ready and BAM, instance all-the-hype-you-can-eat pr! And NO ONE would have known or cared that the iphone would have been pushed back.

But then we would have had to sit here and watch the "iphone almost ready?" rumors come through. can't win I guess.

[shawnce]

The iPhone delay isn't the same. What f'n iPhone delay? Apple originally said June, Apple still says June, analysts say June... :confused:

[job]

What f'n iPhone delay? Apple originally said June, Apple still says June, analysts say June... :confused:

Previous posters insinuated that the iPhone had been pushed back.

I was responding to their claims as such.

I agree, June is June, there is no actual delay, only a perceived one.

[shawnce]

you know what? Thats EXACTLY what they should have done. If they wouldn't have demoed it in macworld, they could have silently pushed back the iphone, released leopard ahead of schedule, released the iphone when ever it was ready and BAM, instance all-the-hype-you-can-eat pr! And NO ONE would have known or cared that the iphone would have been pushed back. You are forgetting that Apple knew other companies had phones under development that had similar look and features to the iPhone. Additionally Apple was starting the process of filing with the FCC which is, as I understand it, a public process. Given these two facts Apple basically had to announce the thing early to trump the competition PR wise and to get it out with their PR spin before FCC watchers picked it up.

[sjo]

All this speculation is why Apple doesn't pre-announce products. Makes you wonder why they have done this with the iPhone, AppleTV, and Leopard. Maybe it's a strategic decision, but all this idiotic speculation and commentary makes me wish Apple would go back to keeping everything a secret until it's released.

Leopard: MacPro wasn't quite enough to fill WWDC and because of Vista, too, I'd guess
iPhone: it would have "leaked" in the FCC approval process anyway
AppleTV: they needed to discuss about it with the content owners to get them onboard and were suspecting leaks

[shawnce]

Leopard: MacPro wasn't quite enough to fill WWDC and because of Vista, too, I'd guess Developers have to get access to Leopard early and as you see time and time again some developers cannot be trusted to keep their mouths shut about developer preview releases (lots of screen shot leaks, etc.)... so Apple generally has to do some level of user facing PR related to the next major OS release since aspect of it will leak out.

Also many folks complain that Apple doesn't give folks enough lead time on when an OS releases become available so Apple is attempting to set a release time frame so that organizations, end users, and developers can do some planning ahead of time.

[ortuno2k]

I think Apple said they'd be shipping it late June.
And I honestly don't care, the faster they get that phone out, the better. Maybe Apple will dedicate more time to releasing more Macs and software.

[xenotaku]

It's not an AAPL stock price drop, it's a buying opportunity :)

*I realize the proper grammar is "Think positively," but I just wanted to riff off Apple's grammatically-(ahem!)interesting slogan.

hehe, its not a buying opportunity when you already have a few hundred shares. I want that baby to keep rising and rising! All my money is tied up in other stocks! I wish I had the money to invest more though.

[slu]

Do your best Jan Brady and scream, "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone!"

Done and Done. And you know what, I do feel a bit better. :)

[marmotte]

The total price of the package is what matters, not just the price of the phone, which by itself is irrelevant.

The price to beat for Apple is a standard data+voice plan by another provider. For comparison purpose I looked at T-mobile, Cingular's direct competitor (the only other GSM provider in the US). The result is that you can get unlimited data+text messaging + unlimited week-end minutes + 600 anytime minutes for $75/month and a one time $285 fee for a fairly standard data+voice full keyboard phone (Blackberry 8700g price = $250 + $35 fee, i.e. $285). The first 2 year cost is therefore about $2,085 (on average $87/month). You also have to add taxes, but it's true also for Cingular so let's ignore taxes for now.

Then you need to add some value to T-mobile-specific intangible features, such as the possibility to unlock your Blackberry device at some point in the future (which apparently will never be an option for the iPhone) and change providers. Finally you will have to add the value of a $249 8GB iPod.

Total cost of competitor package: $2,335

You will then have to compare that to the iPhone total plan.

The more the iPhone+Cingular package is above $2,335, the least successful the iPhone will be. In fact (see below), I would even argue that the iPhone package will have to be $2,000 to have any chance of success.

Some of what will go against the iPhone:
- Phone is locked and forces you to stay with Cingular (which in the US, sounds like a terrible idea, based on prior experience of US customers with any provider, not just Cingular)
- You have to get a 2 year contract for a non-3G phone, which is terrible long, considering the speed at which technology evolves
- It's the first generation iPhone and you have to believe in Apple to do it right
- The iPhone is for now locked to third-party applications so power users will be frustrated they cannot do everything they want with that phone

So we'll see where the total price lands....

--------------------------------------------------------------------
T-mobile plan as of April 17, 2007 (New York City):
- Get More Plan with T-Mobile BlackBerry 8700g
* Whenever minutes: 600
* Weekend minutes: unlimited
* Weeknights minutes: unlimited $39.99 per month
- T-Mobile BlackBerry 8700g (Suggested retail $399.99)
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Mail-in rebate -$50.00
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---
Total due today*$249.99
Total due monthly**$74.97
One time activation fee†$35.00

[Analog Kid]

Spin is such a funny thing... Shouldn't this article be "there were issues with iPhone and Apple has addressed them"? Apple pulled trained, skilled personnel from Leopard to address issues with iPhone. iPhone is still on track for June. All of this was in the press release Apple gave on the 12th.

Any analyst who can't or doesn't read a highly publicized press release should be terminated immediately... Since this is Businessweek, I'll give everyone the benefit of the doubt and assume the article was written before the press release went out-- making this article a NOP.

[bfresh]

I was planning on buying a new iMac once Leopard or a new iMac was Released, but it looks like I might have to wait longer.

I hope Apple has something big down the pipeline. I don't want to have to go the MS route again.:(

[slu]

Apple just became a big company like DELL, Microsoft etc. and got all theirs illnesses. But in addition to it also they became a liars. Two weeks before launch of Apple TV they perfectly knew that this will be delayed, and said there'll be no delay. Month ago they said Leopard will be shipped this spring, and they knew that it won't. Now they promise that iPhone will be shipped in June, and believe me, somewhere on 20's of June they'll say that it'll be delayed because of third party something. As well as Leopard won't be shipped on October. If you believe all that Apple say, so you should assume that Apple is a kind of company, that have no idea about time framing of project management, that develop products spontaneously and unable to estimate which part of work we'll be done in a month on specific project.

Apple has been a "big company" since at least the early 80s (whatever that even means). And the rest of this post makes no sense at all...Nice try though.

[Counter]

By that logic, Apple can just tell the suppliers to "make it happen" and the parts will be available in time?

That's absurd.


What you said is absurd. Apple being responsible for their own products ship time is not.

[Macula]

Apple needs Developers-Developers-Developers-Developers

[nagromme]

I've said it before and I will say it again. Anyone stupid enough to use a version 1.0 product that Apple has zero prior experience with is just asking for massive headaches. My phone is a mandatory communications device for my job. It is used extensively throughout the day and week. Most people, not all but most, are jumping on the iPhone because it’s the new shiny in town. That’s all. Heck even if it wasn’t tied to THAT carrier I would still be wary about it. I need something reliable. Not something fashionable and trendy.
Now long term do I think the iPhone will rock? Yes. Sure. No doubt. But I want to see two things. Real world use of this thing by real people and Apple get some real experience under their belt. Wake me on G 2.0. Actually maybe even G 3.0.

Agreed--always wait, if you can, on any new technology.

Except I'd disagree with a few specifics:

1. "stupid": First-generation products have more problems than later ones, true--and that's a principle that guides my own purchases. But "more problems" is relative: MOST people get a perfect unit even with the first version. Better odds if you wait, but still good odds if you buy at the start. Not "stupid" if you need something sooner rather than later.

2. "Apple": The same issues apply to brand-new products from ANY company, not just Apple. (I will refrain from car analogies :) )

3. "zero prior experience": Even if Apple DID have prior phone experience, a new product would still be riskier than an older one. A redesigned MacBook, despite Apple's experience, will still have more problems in version 1 than in version 3.

4. "Most people, not all but most, are jumping on the iPhone because it’s the new shiny in town. That’s all.": My impression it that the iPhone's FEATURES are what make people want to buy--very FEW people are sinking $500 into style alone.


What you said is absurd. Apple being responsible for their own products ship time is not.

Crazy idea: maybe Apple is PARTLY in control of when things ship, and OTHER parties are partly responsible too :)

It's not ALL under Apple's control, and it's not ALL suppliers (or FCC or employees leaving or a million other factors that can change from week to week). It IS fair to say that outside forces have an impact on Apple's ship dates which Apple can't control. That's not to say the iPhone is delayed by components (it's not delayed at all, so far, and if it was, we don't know ALL the components). But you're talking about Apple in general being solely responsible for ship times, and that's too simple.

[lord patton]

The iPhone could slip a few more weeks and it wouldn't make Apple liars. In the southern hemisphere June runs until August 32nd.

[baddaddy]

This is stupid. Apple already announced that they weren't shipping iPhone till late June on their website under "hotnews". One would hope that Macrumors and the analists had read the press release before putting something like this up.

iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us.

[inkswamp]

When they announced that Leopard will be delayed, they said that the iPhone is shipping in late June.

Well, maybe they meant 10 PM of June 11. That's kinda late. :rolleyes:

[inkswamp]

The total price of the package is what matters, not just the price of the phone, which by itself is irrelevant.

I appreciate the depth of thinking that you're putting into this but bear in mind one thing: price will be absolutely irrelevant if Apple nails the cool factor and gets teenagers and young adults on board. Leo Laporte hit it on the head in the last episode of This Week in Tech. There are loads of moms and dads out there with lots of cash to spend keeping their kids happy, and the iPhone only needs to succeed there in the same way the iPod did (and hell, since it's the next big step of the iPod and the iPod is still a hot item, they're halfway there.)

I see people bringing this topic up but I really doubt the price of the iPhone or its contract is going to be a barrier to its success.

And I'm fine with that. The more spoiled, rich kids who get an iPhone, the quicker Apple can bring the cost down or introduce lower priced models for those of us for whom price is an issue.

[williedigital]

if you were planning to sell it in July then maybe you'd have a problem but if you keep it for ten years or longer like most shareholders used to. You will have a very nice nest egg.

My mom's stock is still at 15% of it's 1999 value. It's all about timing.

[Data]

That's something Microsoft and others have been criticized for. I do NOT want to see Apple make the same mistake. There's a book on this very mistake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Doubling the number of programmers or engineers does NOT halve the time to complete a project--especially when they are dumped in after the fact. Throwing late staff additions at a product can actually reduce quality and make the project even more behind until features have to be cut.

"Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead."


Plus i think apple would want to keep as much of the info on there products indoors, hiring paople for a period of time will not work then.

[inkswamp]

See you in 2008. Seriously, release things when they are promised. If Apple would, from the onset, add three months to their 'original' ship estimates and then release things *cough* early, Steve would look like a hero, and the stock would soar. Just a thought.

Oh get over it. Apple usually does ship things on time. Given that we just watched them switch their entire computer line-up and OS over to a new processor (not exactly a trivial undertaking) several months ahead of schedule, I'd say they deserve a pass on slipping a few times here and there. Criminy, I love Macs, but Mac fans can be ridiculously demanding at times. "OMFG! I have to wait three months longer for Leopard. It's the end of the world!" Boo hoo.

[Maccus Aurelius]

And so it follows. The world comes to a screeching halt, Apple is woefully late on all of their future products, and mac fans everywhere will be given special Kool-Aid at the next WWDC. Whoda thunk it. :rolleyes:

Anyway, as mentioned before, Apple did shift their entire lineup to Intel processors in a relatively short amount of time, and ahead of schedule. They gave very welcome upgrades to their laptop line. But then a product or two are a projected to be a little behind, and suddenly Apple has betrayed us all, despite the fact that neither of the release dates have even passed yet!

The increase in the rate of mass adoption of new technology and the buzz from rumors and pre-announcements sure does attract impatient crybabies

[Dean812@msn.com]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say


Or maybe, just maybe you need to remind yourself that these are all just "RUMOR" sites that print r u m o r s. This isnt an Apple site that prints truths, Its only what they THINK may happen and in 80% of the cases they are wrong. So dont fret and remember GRAIN OF SALT, my good man. Grain of salt.

[Dean812@msn.com]

See you in 2008. Seriously, release things when they are promised. If Apple would, from the onset, add three months to their 'original' ship estimates and then release things *cough* early, Steve would look like a hero, and the stock would soar. Just a thought.

My, how little you understand about stock prices. This is just silly.

[spotlight07]

I don't think that they will delay the iPhone beyond June. I'm confident of this. Apple has already received so much praise from the press that being late would be a mistake. As much as it is important to get it right (without bugs), it is important for them to be on time. Entering a mature market (cell phones) is a huge gamble for Apple. They gotta make sure the iPhone is insanely great and insanely punctual.

[EagerDragon]

They never said ready june 11th, just ready in june. Since they also reconfirmed that in their recent press release I bet they will realease it on time (in June) since i can't wait to get my hands on one, june does still feel like a long time

Umm, did the Apple statement said June or end of June?
I got the impression from somewhere that they were targetting end of June.

There was also some rumor about a change to the screen material, this may or may not have something to do with that.

Your guess is as good as mine, LOL.

[nagromme]

They gotta make sure the iPhone is insanely great and insanely punctual.

With "great" being the more important of the two, if anything should interfere with achieving both :)

Remember, many members of the press will be standing by ready to blast the iPhone and turn the slightest hint of anything into a huge "crisis."

Two isolated reports of people having to turn their phone off and back on to make the letter "g" look smooth would become "Increasing reports of display bugs with Apple's risky iPhone experiment: Can the once-respected maker of music players survive yet another blunder?" :rolleyes:

And of course there WILL be such problems. There will be flat-out hardware failures, some experienced by more than one person--and fixed of course under warranty. Furthermore there will be scratches because the iPhone is not made of magic. So, Apple doesn't need to give the press any more fodder for abuse than it can help.

[GanleyBurger]

.

[skinnylegs]

Maybe I'm an exception to the rule but.....

I am *really* excited about Leopard and the iPhone but I figure they come out when they come out. I'd rather they were both released tomorrow but the fact that it isn't 'gonna happen doesn't diminish my excitement one iota.

[Maccus Aurelius]

Amen to that. Patience is a virtue, and what we have currently is still top shelf.

[job]

What you said is absurd. Apple being responsible for their own products ship time is not.

Look, I'm not trying to get into a tit-for-tat arguement here, but did you even read what I wrote in that post? You left out everything about the companies that supply Apple with all the chips it needs to produce its products.

Granted, it's a non-issue since the supply chain isn't at fault here, but you can't possibly tell me that Apple is the ONLY one responsible for whether or not their hardware ships on time. Apple is entirely dependent on other companies to supply chips and parts needed for Apple's wide variety of products. Apple can't force IBM to magically produce 3Ghz G5's if IBM simply can't do it. Likewise, if there are delays in fabrication or transport, Apple is forced to delay products until those parts become available. Apple itself has no control over those issues.

[APPLENEWBIE]

Hey, I've got an idea... Lets all get together on 6/12/07 and take stock of where we are... Then, we can deal with facts, not rumors.

[furious]

Take it with a grain of salt.

[spotlight07]

With "great" being the more important of the two, if anything should interfere with achieving both :)

I just think that, (and someone else has already said this), they'll remove extra features rather than delay shipment. Besides, we don't even know all of the planned features, so how easy it would be to shelve some we don't know about. That would be the best way to arrive on time, without a buggy product. Then there's no bad press (except, like you said, maybe hardware, like scratches on the screen).

[TheSlush]

Update 2: A speculative Mac Observer post by John Martellaro (ex-Apple employee) attributes some of the timeline issues to poor staffing by Apple.

Apple, despite being a large and wealthy company these days with likely more than 18,000 employees, is actually a very lean organization. And that lean configuration has been maintained, even though the demands of the iPhone, the Apple TV and Leopard would have suggested a moderate increase in staffing. Despite all better judgment, Apple hates to ramp up to meet these kinds of expansions in the product profile.

This sounds like a likely explanation, given that Apple (and its CEO) is an entity that likes to keep tight quality control on all its projects. I could see how Steve and the upper management might see temporary staffing up as a risk of getting a little fatter, a little slower, and losing a bit of control as more new hands touch a project. Clearly, their preference to stay lean despite larger demands is not a "prudent" approach in a strict business, speed-to-market sense. But when has Apple ever done anything based on a conventional business outlook?

At the end of the day, I trust however they see fit to proceed. They have more than earned the benefit of all doubts.

[karlfranz]

this is just great

apple delays leopard and now the iPhone

apple really needs to stick to what they say

I challenge anyone to show me a SINGLE place where Apple has given a specific date for the release of the iPhone beyond "end of June". If they never gave a date, then how could they have "delayed" it now? So, if they never "said it", then why do they "need to really stick to what they say"?

Stop being so damn naive. Just because you read a rumor on the Internet, doesn't make it true.

"It must be true! I read it on the Internet!" :rolleyes:

[EagerDragon]

That's something Microsoft and others have been criticized for. I do NOT want to see Apple make the same mistake. There's a book on this very mistake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Doubling the number of programmers or engineers does NOT halve the time to complete a project--especially when they are dumped in after the fact. Throwing late staff additions at a product can actually reduce quality and make the project even more behind until features have to be cut.

"Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead."

Very true, however assigning the right number at the start of the project and dividing the work properly, helps projects stay on time. If they run too lean, they can easily get in trouble, which correctly or not may have happend here by all apearances.

[Hunabku]

Now long term do I think the iPhone will rock? Yes. Sure. No doubt. But I want to see two things. Real world use of this thing by real people and Apple get some real experience under their belt. Wake me on G 2.0. Actually maybe even G 3.0.

My sister recently went into a Apple store in Phoenix. An Apple employee there told her not to buy the iphone when it comes out because its version 1.0. On one hand you gotta appreciate that Apple employees (being more non-conformist than others) feel that free to speak their mind.

On the other hand he is only a store employee and it does seem like Apple is making serious efforts to raise the quality of the iPhone toward a viable and solid version 1 product. I guess will have to wait and see.

And please everyone no more execuses for apple's delays. ITS NOT THE SUPPLIERS!!! My personal preference is to avoid execuses like -> "apple is not so bad because look how bad microsoft is." Apple needs to grow it's employee base vigorously if it is going to be a serious player in now three giant markets Computers • Music Players • Mobile Phones.

[jakebot]

uhhh, late june isn't late. They said it's being released in June.

and I LOVE the line:

"Our analysis indicates that if not for the 'secret' features, the core Leopard operating system would likely have shipped on time."

it's like saying "if they didn't put any new features in, then it would be shipped on time" the bugs in the seeds are in regards to what we already know is going into it.

[eenu]

what i think is funnier is you lot are all willing to pay $75-$100 (before tax) a month for an iPhone!

[GanleyBurger]

This looks rediculous now. hoo - rah...:mad:

[jesteraver]

adios apple stocks

[JGowan]

I am so sick of iPhone this and iPhone that....until the thing comes comes out, who cares???If I were you, I'd surf elsewhere. Going to macrumors.com, Thinksecret.com or a myriad of other like-minded sites devoted to everything Apple, you're going to be frustrated to no end for a long time to come.

Oh, and I certainly wouldn't POST to one of those awful iPhone threads.

[Chupa Chupa]

Hey wait a minute, what happend to all the joviality a few months ago by people here who were predicting that the iPhone was already in production would ship early (as in April!) and were chastising those of us who said it would ship when Apple said it would...June?

Now it's shipping in late June (does two weeks really make a dif?) and everyone is so dour and down on Apple. Maybe this is why Apple doesn't like to give ship dates. I hate to pour more bad news on, but I'm predicting when the iPhone does ship in late June supply will be severely constrained (Think Wii).

[nagromme]

This looks rediculous now. hoo - rah...:mad:

Why? Because Vista hit shelves 4 years late, first expected in 2003, and couldn't even manage to catch up to Tiger which was out in 2005? :p Or because Vista had so many features cut along the way, while Leopard hasn't? :) (Or maybe because Tiger is rock-solid, mature, and costs less than the less-capable Vista?)

[bretm]

That's an entirely different arguement.

Leopard is SOFTWARE, which is something that Apple can develop in-house, without hardware suppliers.

Leopard's delay was entirely Apple's fault.

The iPhone delay isn't the same.

The iPhone, just like everything else that Apple offers in terms of HARDWARE is dependent on whether or not Apple can actually get the parts and components it needs.

Apple can't just wave a wand and suddenly produce the chips it needs. It has to depend on other companies to supply the chips.

Do you guys honestly not see the difference here?

[edit: the article mentions how all the suppliers are meeting their ship times and goals, so it appears that waiting for the required parts isn't the cause for the delay. my mistake.]

So where do you draw the line? I can make the same argument about leopard.... Leopard won't be available because Apple's suppliers (employees) are unable to produce the code by the supplied date. It's not Apple's fault after all, it's the employees. Suppliers are very much employees. They were chosen for their ability to deliver a product just like an employee. They are paid for their goods and services supplied to the company. They are both and expense and a liability to the company and it is the company's duty to investigate the abilities of each to meet a deadline or demand. It's that simple. Chain of command. If a supplier can't supply a part or a programmer can't perform, it is Apple's fault. They chose poorly. If it were someone else's fault then a stockholder would have recourse with that person or company. It doesn't work that way. We vote with our feet or dollars and Apple does to.

Quick quiz... are you a liberal or conservative?... If you are self employed, and personally couldn't turn in a project on time because your computer crashed because of a defective part and you lost the job is it your fault or the computer manufacturer's?

Answer A. - your fault. Conservative. You understand it's your job to choose the most reliable computer and have a backup plan. Your work is too important.

B. Computer makers fault - liberal - You have no personal responsibility in the matter. There should be a government agency ensuring the reliability of computers with a new computer reliability tax which should be placed upon those that can afford it. (hint: they can afford the tax because they take personal responsibility for their actions and knowning that, are more successful)

You won't see Apple at a press conference stating "hey, it's not our fault, so and so couldn't provide enough hard drives, don't blame us. Sure, I guess it could easily happen again. We have no control over things like that. Gosh, I hope our next product isn't delayed too. Everybody cross your fingers. This is all just a big game of luck you know. Like rich people. They all inherited the money or won the lottery or something."

What you will see Apple say, especially to stockholders, "We realize our poor judgement in hard drive suppliers and are retooling our hard drive supplier choosing methods to ensure this doesn't happen again"

Putting the blame on another company for your own company's misfortune would be immature at best.

[bretm]

My mom's stock is still at 15% of it's 1999 value. It's all about timing.

Apple's stock is up over 1100% since 1999. A share's price as of closing this day in 1999 was 8 bucks. It has split twice along the way. Meaning the price of the stock was actually 32 bucks in 1999, but equal to $8 because twice it split and twice the price was cut in half and the shares doubled. Perhaps your mother doesn't realize she's rich? If she had ten grand in stock then, she has over a hundred grand now.

FWIW a fantastic stock increase would be 10% a year, in which you double your money in roughly 7 years. So you buy 10000 bucks of stock, it increases 10% a year, and in seven years you have 20000 bucks. Your mama's stock (AAPL) did a little better than that. Instead of 20k, it's worth 110k. Freakin' awesome.

[SRSound]

So where do you draw the line? I can make the same argument about leopard.... Leopard won't be available because Apple's suppliers (employees) are unable to produce the code by the supplied date. It's not Apple's fault after all, it's the employees. Suppliers are very much employees. They were chosen for their ability to deliver a product just like an employee. They are paid for their goods and services supplied to the company. They are both and expense and a liability to the company and it is the company's duty to investigate the abilities of each to meet a deadline or demand. It's that simple. Chain of command. If a supplier can't supply a part or a programmer can't perform, it is Apple's fault. They chose poorly. If it were someone else's fault then a stockholder would have recourse with that person or company. It doesn't work that way. We vote with our feet or dollars and Apple does to.

Quick quiz... are you a liberal or conservative?... If you are self employed, and personally couldn't turn in a project on time because your computer crashed because of a defective part and you lost the job is it your fault or the computer manufacturer's?

Answer A. - your fault. Conservative. You understand it's your job to choose the most reliable computer and have a backup plan. Your work is too important.

B. Computer makers fault - liberal - You have no personal responsibility in the matter. There should be a government agency ensuring the reliability of computers with a new computer reliability tax which should be placed upon those that can afford it. (hint: they can afford the tax because they take personal responsibility for their actions and knowning that, are more successful)

You won't see Apple at a press conference stating "hey, it's not our fault, so and so couldn't provide enough hard drives, don't blame us. Sure, I guess it could easily happen again. We have no control over things like that. Gosh, I hope our next product isn't delayed too. Everybody cross your fingers. This is all just a big game of luck you know. Like rich people. They all inherited the money or won the lottery or something."

What you will see Apple say, especially to stockholders, "We realize our poor judgement in hard drive suppliers and are retooling our hard drive supplier choosing methods to ensure this doesn't happen again"

Putting the blame on another company for your own company's misfortune would be immature at best.

Bringing political orientation into this matter is asking for trouble - I wouldnt be so quick to associate feelings on personal responsibility with feelings on government

[EricNau]

Battery life issues? Interesting. Apple was having the same problems when developing the iPod.

[ogee]

Why does Apple not just hire a few more engineers/developers/QA people? Sounds like they could use them anyway in the long term.


Maybe because it would divert to many resources away from the projects to train all these new people. A year or so ago perhaps they should/could have done so, but not now.

[ogee]

An Apple employee there told her not to buy the iphone when it comes out because its version 1.0.

If he worked for me he would be on a warning for making such a statement.


If a supplier can't supply a part or a programmer can't perform, it is Apple's fault.

So you are saying, in effect, that if Apple chooses a supplier who delivers good quality items on time, and then say 3 years down the road the supplier has problems and cant delver, its Apples fault.

[quantman]

what i think is funnier is you lot are all willing to pay $75-$100 (before tax) a month for an iPhone!


Well, FIRST of all how does this compare to restaurant/nightlife spend per month?

I guess for most people the $75/mth first of all is NOT incremental.

The incremental portion is about ONLY $35-40/mth vs. current voice plans.

So, then one needs to make the tradeoff vs. the INCREMENTAL $35-40/mth!!

The upfront cost is a one-time cost and will be a barrier for some. Others will try to save that $500 in 4-6 months. So, after the first few months, if the Iphone works as advertised for web surfing and pinching and zooming into parts of the websites using multi-touch, I believe the Iphone will be a hit!!

[xenotaku]

if you were planning to sell it in July then maybe you'd have a problem but if you keep it for ten years or longer like most shareholders used to. You will have a very nice nest egg.


Well, I meant in the short term of course! Most things end up on top if you keep them long enough!

[ddubbo]

Why? Because Vista hit shelves 4 years late, first expected in 2003, and couldn't even manage to catch up to Tiger which was out in 2005? :p Or because Vista had so many features cut along the way, while Leopard hasn't? :) (Or maybe because Tiger is rock-solid, mature, and costs less than the less-capable Vista?)
Vista was firstly expected (not announced) to be shipped at the end of 2005. When XP was released, there were a lot of rumors about new operation system to be released somewhere at 2003. Finally it embodied as SP2 for XP. Firstly on September 2003 Bill Gates announced that Microsoft working on a new operation system.
Leopard was firstly expected at the end of 2006(2 years ago, when tiger was released). After that it've been said , that Leopard will be released at the beginning of 2007. At January Apple officially stated that that release date is a spring 2007. Now it October. I don't believe that leopard will be released at October. Best case - end of 2007

[louden]

Why would they be considering a rebate if they haven't even released the phone, and they're adding secret, valuable features?

They haven't released it because it's not baked, or it because it isn't doing the things its supposed to do, or it isn't doing them well. I'll bet it has something to do with the three major issues I see in the iPhone:

- no way I can type on a screen keyboard with my fat fingers
- no way will I accept a PDA that doesn't have access to my corp email/contacts/calendar
- no way am I going to spend a premium on an non-HSPDA, Edge phone

[rdrr]

Poor Battery life is the real iPhone killer. If this speculation is true, and the iPhone does have issues with battery life after the release...

The one thing that has made me nuts over the past few years, is the next gen phones that have worse battery life than my circa 1995 phone.

[Clive At Five]

Leopard was firstly expected at the end of 2006(2 years ago, when tiger was released).

I've been closely following rumor sites for at least 2 years and I remember no such statement. Can you find a report on that one for me?

As for the early '07, that was an analyst fabrication. Apple never once stated that time frame... of that I am certain.

-Clive

[MonkeyClaw]

... Answer A. - your fault. Conservative. You understand it's your job to choose the most reliable computer and have a backup plan. Your work is too important...


Hold on, I see a small issue with this post, let me correct it for you:

Answer A - Conservative - You blame your computer's failure on terrorists and launch a war with a coilition of the willing based on a handful of unsubstantiated intelligence reports from the CIA stating that the terrorist might have computer breaking WMDs in the backs of vans.

And if you don't support the war against the computer breaking terroritsts, then you are unpatriotic. Then, in order to help the new war on computer breaking terrorists, you decide its a good idea to lower taxes in favor of the upper class thereby screwing the rest of the nation.

In the meantime, you stand on a boat saying that we have won the war against the computer breakers, but we really didn't because a group of computer breaking insurgents are now attacking the supposed computer breaking terrorist nation.

Then you out a couple of CIA agents, screw the environment, try and privatize social security, and sell off national forest lands to your old logging buddies.

All in the name of freedom and justice and patriotism. And if you don't agree (or if you're gay, an athiest, or a democrat), then you're a computer breaking terrorist.

There, thats a bit better ;)

Oh wait, were't we supposed to be talking about Apple?

[Maccus Aurelius]

This looks rediculous now. hoo - rah...:mad:

They should've just put "Tiger" in that banner, and all would be well. :D


Poor Battery life is the real iPhone killer. If this speculation is true, and the iPhone does have issues with battery life after the release...

The one thing that has made me nuts over the past few years, is the next gen phones that have worse battery life than my circa 1995 phone.

Remember though, those older phones have far less powerful processors, and most have the most elemental of LCD displays. I'm willing to bet the battery lives of smart phones will go up as more energy efficient components are implemented.

[c.joe.go]

it would be interesting if there was a battery issue on this project. the original ipod had battery issues that were discovered right before it was released....... so apple engineers should be well practiced for this issue.

[akac]

you know what? Thats EXACTLY what they should have done. If they wouldn't have demoed it in macworld, they could have silently pushed back the iphone, released leopard ahead of schedule, released the iphone when ever it was ready and BAM, instance all-the-hype-you-can-eat pr! And NO ONE would have known or cared that the iphone would have been pushed back.

But then we would have had to sit here and watch the "iphone almost ready?" rumors come through. can't win I guess.

Except for the FCC that leaks info and contractual agreements with AT&T :)

[hayesk]

Why does Apple not just hire a few more engineers/developers/QA people? Sounds like they could use them anyway in the long term.

It takes time to train people. If you don't already work at Apple, chances are you are not familiar enough with neither the iPhone nor the inner workings of MacOS X enough to just jump onboard.

[hayesk]

Apple "promised" iPhone in June. What is your evidence that Apple will not deliver that? Even this latest "dire" rumor says late June.

I'm not even sure Apple "promised" it. Saying "we expect to deliver in June" is not a promise - it's an estimate. People take estimates way too seriously.

[Bosunsfate]

That's something Microsoft and others have been criticized for. I do NOT want to see Apple make the same mistake. There's a book on this very mistake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Doubling the number of programmers or engineers does NOT halve the time to complete a project--especially when they are dumped in after the fact. Throwing late staff additions at a product can actually reduce quality and make the project even more behind until features have to be cut.

"Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead."

I was wondering when someone was going to bring up Brooks law...

Its the absolute truth...

All that said, the difference here is if the resources being added are already familar with the issues, or if they need time to ramp up.

Not having the details makes for bad speculation..

[EagerDragon]

If that Smarthouse article is correct, these are major issues. If significant changes are made, it may need to go back to the FCC or what ever the goverment entity is. There is the potential for a major delay.

[pale9]

let me guess, the average apple engineer works 60+ hours a week under 'nornal circumstances'. if they really are not hiring extra manpower with all the new products the weekly work load might be pushing 70.

guess what, if i was there i would have walked a while ago because there really is more to life than work, even work you love.

[SaenOne]

im actually more concerned with the display...i wonder how it will handle scratches etc...im not good at keeping cell phone and keys seperated in my pockets so that could be a problem...plus if i have a problem now with one button or anything i can find a way around it, but if theres something wrong with the whole display...well good night...you can throw the whole thing away

[05elstonc]

The screen will scratch, it is not made of diamond. Apple knows this, they know the outrage that ensued with the whole nano fiasco. I would expect Apple has been scratching the hell out of every iPhone prototype they have and trying to find better glass and coatings. This will always be an issue, and must be accepted by consumers. I prefer scratches over super bulky cases.

[Cult Follower]

After the leopard delay apple will definately want to get the iphone out in time.

[05elstonc]

Because of the Leopard delay iPhone will come out in the month of June.

[Counter]

They need user replaceable screens / screen covers.

Big time.

Something thin that slides over the master screen or something and locks into place.

I need to be able to care a lot less about my phone....this rules me purchasing the iPhone out.

[Bosunsfate]

Hold on, I see a small issue with this post, let me correct it for you:

Answer A - Conservative - You blame your computer's failure on terrorists and launch a war with a coilition of the willing based on a handful of unsubstantiated intelligence reports from the CIA stating that the terrorist might have computer breaking WMDs in the backs of vans.

And if you don't support the war against the computer breaking terroritsts, then you are unpatriotic. Then, in order to help the new war on computer breaking terrorists, you decide its a good idea to lower taxes in favor of the upper class thereby screwing the rest of the nation.

In the meantime, you stand on a boat saying that we have won the war against the computer breakers, but we really didn't because a group of computer breaking insurgents are now attacking the supposed computer breaking terrorist nation.

Then you out a couple of CIA agents, screw the environment, try and privatize social security, and sell off national forest lands to your old logging buddies.

All in the name of freedom and justice and patriotism. And if you don't agree (or if you're gay, an athiest, or a democrat), then you're a computer breaking terrorist.

There, thats a bit better ;)

Oh wait, were't we supposed to be talking about Apple?

Brillant.:D

[crees!]

Leopard was firstly expected at the end of 2006(2 years ago, when tiger was released). After that it've been said , that Leopard will be released at the beginning of 2007. At January Apple officially stated that that release date is a spring 2007. Now it October. I don't believe that leopard will be released at October. Best case - end of 2007

Analysts, bloggers, and rumor sites have thrown out the idea of Leopard showing its face in late 2006/early 2007 to beat Vista to the market. Apple never gave such a date. The first thing Apple said was "Spring 2007". Now it's been bumped to "October" with a full preview at WWDC this June.

Don't believe everything you read.