Tadros86 said:
I think the iPhone 2 will be out sooner than later. Apple is a horrible cellphone company, why? Cellphones get updated every few weeks, not software updates, HARDWARE! Sidekick 3 has had 3G for how long now? I know I am waiting for 3G, and more space. I think its hurting Apple more than helping not having 3G out right now. And points have been made that other companies will be further ahead then Apple if they wait. Heck Apple is already pretty far behind. So I say April-May latest June.
I think that Apple has a different style than say Nokia or Motorola etc. Apple does a few things well, and does this specifically: puts a few products out in areas of their choice, refines them and updates them, and creates product lines around.
The refresh rate for any particular model in say Nokia's range isn't weeks, but months (e.g. the launch of the N95, and it's successor the N96)
Seeing as currently there is only 1 style of iPhone (there's no iPhone Nano/Clamshell/tablet etc) refreshes have currently been bumps in capacity 8Gb-> 16Gb ->-> 32Gb soon
Painful though it is, Apple did get it right to not have 3G in at the start- the baseband chips were just to much of a hog for the kind of use they'd go through. Also it has to be remembered that they paved the way to an extent in terms of contracts with the networks, and a 3G iPhone will spark a huge data usage and data plans for this I'd imagine will start looking more like low end broadband connections than a few Mb data plan. How do you do a reasonable "All you can eat" data plan, if the customers suddenly were able to eat 5 times as fast, and eat say 20 times more? Apple will at some point soon have to crack that problem.
Apple did not release 3G not due just to the draining of the battery, but he and his associates knew and believed that they could reach the profit goal with using just EDGE. However anyone looks at them as a cellular company, the bottom line is that it's a strategic, smart way to release a revolutionary product. The software updates are a revolution in itself, and bringing them out once every few months is enough for people to hold over for a new hardware update. Cellular phones do not get updated hardware-wise every couple of weeks; therefore, Apple will not either. <Snip> The time will come when the time comes; I am just waiting very patiently for it.
They've reached it so far, but it might be below expectations, as tech savvy users are aware of the value of 3G. Unfortunately, I know of no decent polling of people (O2 could easily do an exit poll from the shop of customers) to show the level of knowledge, and the reasons for purchase or in this case non-purchase due to lack of 3G.
I'd agree that Apple's had to do a lot of strategic decisions. As Ford I think was quoted If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. Apple does things like enforcing no background usage of applications, so the phone is usable and doesn't drain due to programmers' resource greed.
Apple is breaking new ground, and they need time to do it. Popping a 3G chip in aint hard, it'll give them physical space. Whether they will wait a bit longer to have other components to pop in there is another matter.
I would imagine Gates will be able to bring on a fair few BIG names showing their apps that they've built to be ready come WWDC. And what with the court case finished, unless there's another hearing for an time dragging appeal, McCartney might be able to finally get some Beatles music ready for WWDC? Gotta dream.
