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Apple and Softbank to develop Cell Phone iPods?

Dr.Gargoyle said:
First of all, I dont think Apple will integrate a camera in the "iPhone". One reason for that is that many places (Gyms, Embassies, R&D facilities,...) just doesnt allow people to bring a camera with them.
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MBP anyone

Dr.Gargoyle said:
As I see it, an iPod with phone ONLY would be the best bet for Apple at this point. I mean how many of you guys actually use all that crap you have in your cellphones? For example, I have had a sorry excuse for a camera in my cellphone for years now and I have used it perhaps once or twice. It just doesn't cut it.
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i have an alright camera in my phone 2mp and i use it all the time, not for picture taking, but i use it to copy diagrams and notices when i am in a rush between lectures. Really is quite useful.

It would have to be really good to make me upgrade from my 4th gen and my w800, but when they die or my O2 contracts runs out and if it is on O2 they i would maybe sell my old ipod on ebay and get it, but currently i am not upgrading my ipod because i need at least 80 gb. the video features are nice but not compelling
 
xUKHCx said:
MBP anyone
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Well, what can I say... I think most people would notice if you used a MBP to take snapshots of people undressing.
There is a noticable difference in size between a laptop and a cellphone, wouldnt you agree? :rolleyes: ;) :D
xUKHCx said:
I have an alright camera in my phone 2mp and i use it all the time, not for picture taking, but i use it to copy diagrams and notices when i am in a rush between lectures.
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This is exactly why cameras are not allowed at many places. People take snapshots of documents, facilities, projects, and situations for other reasons than a nice photo.
Moreover, as you indicate yourself, 2MP with a really crappy optics doesnt make much of a camera. I suspect that most people have slightly higher demands on picture quality, but hey that is just my opinion...
The bottleneck when it comes to photos with a cellphone is the optics, not the MP. The size of high quality optics are about the same today as it was 90 years ago. High quality optics just doesnt fit into the form factor of a modern cellphone.
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
Well, what can I say... I think most people would notice if you used a MBP to take snapshots of people undressing.
There is a noticable difference in size between a laptop and a cellphone, wouldnt you agree? :rolleyes: ;) :D

This is exactly why cameras are not allowed at many places. People take snapshots of documents, facilities, projects, and situations for other reasons than a nice photo.
Moreover, as you indicate yourself, 2MP with a really crappy optics doesnt make much of a camera. I suspect that most people have slightly higher demands on picture quality, but hey that is just my opinion...
The bottleneck when it comes to photos with a cellphone is the optics, not the MP. The size of high quality optics are about the same today as it was 90 years ago. High quality optics just doesnt fit into the form factor of a modern cellphone.
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thats why i dont use my phone for pictures, i use my slr for that.

obiouvsly in certain situtaions th mbp would stick out like a sore thumb, the gym example, however if you were working on it a desk, you could quite easily just hold a document up in front of it as if you were reading it and take the picture.
 
xUKHCx said:
obiouvsly in certain situtaions th mbp would stick out like a sore thumb, the gym example, however if you were working on it a desk, you could quite easily just hold a document up in front of it as if you were reading it and take the picture.
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Well in theory perhaps... If you work with sensitive projects you are more or less restricted to your own work, in the sense that you would be able to take pics with a MBP. However, this would lead back to you rather fast, with unemployment and (in best case) a hefty lawsuit. Besides, you dont need a MBP to get a pic. I have heard of a novelty called xerox machine that actually would handle duplication much better. But again, if you are working in a highly sensitive enironment, you would not be allowed to have any sort of cameras with you, including the MBP and all documents would be on papers that can't be photocopied. Still now we are talking about extremes.
The bottom line was just that cellphones with a camera are surounded with a lot of restrictions where and when you are alowed to use them. My point was that this "cost" is IMHO too high compared with the added value you get from a 2MP camera with crapppy optics. Don't you want to be able to use your iPod at work even if you work in R&D?
 
Scruff said:
Just slap an iSight on an iPod, :p. They look small enough on those MBPs xD.
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Why on earth would you need an iSight on an iPod?:confused:
Ok, so you have videophones capabilty on 3G phones. My previous cellphone was a 3G, so I have tried it, but I seriously dont see the point in paying ten times as much for a call with crappy video. On a computer when it is free, yes But not when it cost you almost $1/minute. Besides, a built in iSight would
a) kill the batteries fast
b) result in a larger iPod
It is just waste of space in my book
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
... an iPod with phone ONLY would be the best bet for Apple at this point.
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Answer: No. Not in Japan.

If Apple wants to sell a phone in Japan, it needs to be feature rich like all other phones are. That includes the camera (Which is required to use Vodafone 3G's "TV Call" service). If it's not feature rich, nobody will buy it and will fail for sure.

A "Cell Phone" may be a phone with a lot of useless features, but a Keitai is pretty much a "Handheld computer" with lots of useful features. au already sells a Music Keitai with a 4GB HDD from Toshiba. I don't see why Apple can't do the same using Flash Memory.

The Japanese view cell phones in a very different way... that's one of the reasons Vodafone failed in Japan. They didn't understand the "Japanese way" ;-)
 
Well, they were just talking about Apple Cell phones, and an iPod with Phone features... just figured if you wanted a digital camera as well... just one purchase. :p

It's a was a joke more than anything else, I don't really expect they'd make an iPod/Phone/Camera/Kitchen sink.
 
KTYS said:
Answer: No. Not in Japan.

If Apple wants to sell a phone in Japan, it needs to be feature rich like all other phones are. That includes the camera (Which is required to use Vodafone 3G's "TV Call" service). If it's not feature rich, nobody will buy it and will fail for sure.

A "Cell Phone" may be a phone with a lot of useless features, but a Keitai is pretty much a "Handheld computer" with lots of useful features. au already sells a Music Keitai with a 4GB HDD from Toshiba. I don't see why Apple can't do the same using Flash Memory.

The Japanese view cell phones in a very different way... that's one of the reasons Vodafone failed in Japan. They didn't understand the "Japanese way" ;-)
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Well, they do buy iPods in Japan, right? If so, why wouldn't they buy an iPod with phone capabilities?
I agree with Scruff, I too doubt that Apple will make an iPod/Phone/Camera/Kitchen sink... Apple is about simplicity, less is more. If you want a full enchillada, there are plenty of manufacturers that do that already.
I believe that phone capability is a nessecary move for Apple, since more or less all people have one and people just don't want to carry around with more gadgets than they have to. But that is a far cry from morphing the iPod to a PSP/PDA device.
 
iKnow !!

The new iPhone will be available in red, white and black, and it will be released next tuesday along with the new Macbook, the real video iPod and the iNewton
 
I am totally excited about this. My wife wanted an iPod but when I told her about this she said, "let's wait and just buy the iPhone". She wants an iPod but doesn't want to carry both.

Japanese have long commutes on trains so iPods have sold, but young people don't want to carry both so they are going with AU's or NTT DoCoMo's phones. DoCoMo recently released a phone with camera (still & Video) and can hold lots of music. It has a port has stereo speakers and lets one listen to the music without headphones. If a call or message (far more common in Japan) comes in, it holds the song.

I have a Vodafone (formally known as J-Phone) and I use the video chat, short message, long mail, phone, video camera and still camera regularly. If I want to take a photo and don't have my digital camera, I use my Keitai. If you go out on a weekend in Japan, you will see parents taking photos with their keitai. They take the camera home, pop out the sd card, connect it to their computer and upload the pictures. The pictures are high res and full screen with no degradation.

Apple will need to be full features and need to be stylish. Also to really wet the appetite of Japan, Music video download would be a nice as well. Many Japanese phones can receve TV so, why not put that in as well. When you are on the train and don't want to miss the baseball game, you watch it on your phone.

Note: My father told me last night he bought a RAZR and that I would be impressed with it. I didn't want to bust his bubble that my phone which is one year old can do more that his little RAZR. Phones in the US are outdated and the network is about 2 to 3 years behind Japan.
 
I heard today that Apple was planning on entering the market of mobile netwok carriers in the US and Europe by buying some bandwidth from the bug ones along with shipping their own handhelds. Kinda like Macs and .Mac. Again, it's what I was told. I actually doubt this will happen that soon even if I'd love it.

Actually I really hope for an Apple phone (iPhone sounds so dumb...) that has a lot of storage (>10GB) and serves as a music player and basic organizer (iCal) too. Kinda like a thing between the iPod Nano and the 5G in size with phone feature and some way to input text and numbers in there. I wonder how many phone numbers you could store on 10GB... :rolleyes:
 
CBS 60 Minutes MarketWatch Newsbreak Announced This As Fact

CBS 60 Minutes MarketWatch Newsbreak Announced This As Fact. Russ Mitchell did the honors making it a real thing and no longer a Rumor. :D
 

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kashimo said:
Apple will need to be full features and need to be stylish. Also to really wet the appetite of Japan, Music video download would be a nice as well. Many Japanese phones can receve TV so, why not put that in as well. When you are on the train and don't want to miss the baseball game, you watch it on your phone.
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Yes, I totally agree. There's absolutely no point for Apple to release their FIRST mobile phone without all the bells and whistles that come standard in today's mobile phones (at least here in Asia, also Europe). Things like audio/video playback, at least 2MP camera and video camera for 3G video calls are basic/standard features for a 3G phone. An Apple phone with ipod capabilities or vice-versa, WITHOUT the basic/standard features of a 3G phone, WILL NOT sell in Asia and Europe. It just wouldn't be "cutting edge" technology for Apple, and imagine what people would say, especially people the mobile phone industry.

A couple of things, Softbank and especially Japan market would plainly tell Apple to stick to ipods and building computers if Apple's first phone were just a simple call/receive only mobile phone with ipod capabilities. Vodafone Japan flopped in the Japanese market because the phones they had were not "feature rich". Softbank would not want to repeat that after buying them out, so going with a NON "feature rich" Apple phone simply of Apple branding would just kill them...both.

In saying that, the partnership between Apple and Softbank should reveal a few things about the phone. It will have audio/video playback just like an ipod. It will be a World phone + UMTS. Softbank should be streaming video content via their Net TV and Apple through Apple's iTunes Japan service so data will be over UMTS or possibly wi-fi. The screen will have hi-resolution, maybe VGA for clean video playback viewing. It will have both still and video cameras to utilise 3G video calls or iChat feature? It should have Bluetooth for handsfree devices/headphones and to synch with iTunes, iCal, iPhoto, Mail on a Mac. It should have wi-fi to synch with .mac service.

Sounds too good to be true? Just maybe. But Apple would need to include all of the latest/future phone technology and "killer" value-added services to compete against all the mobile phone makers just to get their foot in the door with local carriers around the world for partnerships. At the moment, I think they've already accomplished most of that with the iPod and iTunes and heading into the right direction and I think a phone like the one above is immanent!
 
I hope this is true as well. I would love to see a sexy mac interface on my cell phone along with a built in mp3 player and isight ;)
 
I want an iPod camera cell phone that is built into a BASEBALL CAP :eek: :eek: :eek: :D

OR a POCKET PROTECTOR iPod audio recorder cell phone would be cool :cool:

How bout BOTTLE CAP GLASSES with transperent OLeDs on both sides so my glasses can WINK AT THE GIRLS WHILE I CRUSE THE WEB ON MY INTEGRATED iPod CELL PHONE !!!
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
Well, they do buy iPods in Japan, right? If so, why wouldn't they buy an iPod with phone capabilities?
I agree with Scruff, I too doubt that Apple will make an iPod/Phone/Camera/Kitchen sink... Apple is about simplicity, less is more. If you want a full enchillada, there are plenty of manufacturers that do that already.
I believe that phone capability is a nessecary move for Apple, since more or less all people have one and people just don't want to carry around with more gadgets than they have to. But that is a far cry from morphing the iPod to a PSP/PDA device.
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No one will replace their full featured keitai with a phone with only a music player feature. If Apple does release a phone with only the iPod feature, it doesn't connect with how you said "people just don't want to carry around with more gadgets than they have to", because then we'll need another phone for the features not included in the Apple phone.

If Apple is going to sell the phone in the U.S., maybe Phone+iPod may be fine. But in Japan, a phone that is not feature-rich is not acceptable. It would result in a complete failure, and may even lead to people moving away from Apple entirely. (That's what happened to Vodafone. Lost a lot of customers because they didn't do the Japanese Way)

Like I said, to us, a cell phone is a "Handheld Computer". You wouldn't replace your current Mac with a typewriter, just because it's simpler to use, would you?

Edit: Well, SoftBank says it's not true: http://www.softbank.co.jp/news/release/2006/060515_0001.html
 
KTYS said:
Edit: Well, SoftBank says it's not true: http://www.softbank.co.jp/news/release/2006/060515_0001.html
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Translated http://translate.google.com/transla...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools

"Placing on the news media of portion of 2006 May 13 date, there was this corporation and reporting regarding the American apple computer, but these are the guess article by the news media. It is not something which the agency it decides the contents which are reported, as this corporation and announces."

Well, it's natural for Softbank to come out to deny the rumor at this point in time and most likely Apple will make a statement as well. So there's a 50% chance this whole thing could very well be a hoax and 50% true. I hope it's the latter. :D
 
Nihon Keizai Shimbun confirmed it...
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4287/127/ said:
Japans' Nihon Keizai Shimbun appears to have confirmed the persistent rumours that Apple is planning to launch a cellular phone with iPod functionality, claiming it is being developed in conjunction with Japanese company Softbank, which has just purchased Vodafone Japan.
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irmongoose said:
Actually, the Softbank spokesperson simply stated that the article is "speculation" but did not deny their involvement with Apple.

Perhaps Steve got on the phone with Mr. Son and told him to shut his trap?




irmongoose
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Do you know how to read japanese? The original press release was in japanese, and it would be nice if we had it to go from rather than an interpreter from another news site.

original press release can be found here: http://www.softbank.co.jp/news/release/2006/060515_0001.html
 
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