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Apple Announces iPhone 3G
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You already got first dibs a year ago!
Sure, the HQ is located in the US but it's a multinational company. Their stuff is designed by a Briton, manufactured in China, assembled in Ireland (the computers anyway)...
And besides, you have to wait for those countries all the time. You could have watched any Hollywood movie 3 months in advance, but they hold off the premiere until every little bitty country is done with subtitling and/or dubbing.
See... its these types of post that don't get us any close to the phone.
We need your support for the "Battlecry"!
sorry if this has been mentioned before,
but that's why 5th street was closed, at the end shot where the iphone was revealed, you can see the genius bar logo amongst other things in the background!
(one thing though, were those corridors shot at the beginning of the ad really what it's like inside apple?!)
but that's why 5th street was closed, at the end shot where the iphone was revealed, you can see the genius bar logo amongst other things in the background!
(one thing though, were those corridors shot at the beginning of the ad really what it's like inside apple?!)
Um...did you think before posting? The lower price is due to the fact that AT&T is SUBSIDIZING the handset at the point of sale, not because of a decrease in quality or features on Apple's end. It's the standard MO of wireless carriers to subsidize the price of hardware and offer promotional or upgrade prices when signing a service contract to entice new customers and to encourage current customers who may be eligible for an upgrade to remain with the company by signing a new contract. Along those same lines, I would be surprised if everyone gets the $199 or $299 price-I can almost guarantee that unless you're a new customer or a current customer eligble for an upgrade that you'll be paying full retail. It makes no sense for AT&T to take a several hundred dollar hit just so early iPhone adapters can upgrade. Finally, I can't for the life of me figure out where you may have gotten the idea that there isn't a significant speed difference between EDGE and 3G, other than in your own mind.
Ok, so I waited and waited for the new Iphone. My phone is on the brink of going out and needing to be replaced. I thought I would take care of it today. Well I won't and can't wait until July 11th for this phone. I just hope other companies have stuff in the works to compete with the Iphone better. I really wasn't that impressed with the information provided today. Don't get me wrong there is some cool stuff there but I just don't like the wait for them. Guess I have look at some other options.
Welcome to America.
Never told you to run out and buy a cheap phone. Just wish people would stop blaming Apple for not meeting their individual expectations OR that Apple would make the monthly service price cheaper. This phone is a big iprovement over the predecessor, and AT&T (no Apple) is to blame for the service rates. under the new contract, Apple gets none of the monthly revenue.
Finally, for those who have complaints about the iPhone 3G, i bet that Apple sells 5 million of these by year-end ... guess some people will be satisfied.
Hum. My contract with T-Mobile ended in Feb. and I haven't renewed anything yet.
The two main features that make me want to buy one are the 3G and the Japanese Functioning, and the pricing is not bad. Maybe I'll sign a contract with AT&T and see how it goes.
All in all; the only disappointment for me was the memory, but I have an 80GB iPod; so what do I care?
The two main features that make me want to buy one are the 3G and the Japanese Functioning, and the pricing is not bad. Maybe I'll sign a contract with AT&T and see how it goes.
All in all; the only disappointment for me was the memory, but I have an 80GB iPod; so what do I care?
You apparently forgot to include that lousy, useless price cut. Why pay $199 for more features when we could have kept less for $399. I love your logic.
Some people are never happy. Do you agree that overall, the current iPhone is an improvement (no matter how slight in your opinion) over its predecessor? If not, please give definite, specific reasons. And don't say because it was aluminum on the back previously. Aluminum wasn't worth 200 bucks more.
By all means, Mr Maui, the 3G version is better: it incorporates a 3G chip, a GPS and a better battery life. The former two I'd mentioned in my post, but overlooked the third: I admit it. My complaint refers to Apple's resolve to fetch down the price of the iPhone first (and improve on the design of the predecessor by adding only the most anticipated of the second iteration features) and add a feature after another in the course of the coming years (I know: this method is economically more feasible, as the evolution of the iPod - to a lesser extent, any other Apple product - has illustrated). My relative disappointment stems (among other things) from my resolution to acquire an iPhone by mid-June. Two, as a matter of fact - for me and for my wife.
Things like iWork/M$ Office support - no details were mentioned on this upcoming attribute of the version 2 firmware. Does it imply that 3G will have a .pages, .doc, .rt(d)f and so forth editing capabilities, or just be able to view respective documents? If the latter is true, I wouldn't call that much of a "support" in a device potentially as capable as the iPhone.
Also, has it not become clear to Apple that 8 or even 16 GB are not much by today's standards? Many have complained on the scarcity of storage of the device. Yet Apple didn't bother to supply iPhone's second major iteration with greater storage (and instead, say, cut the price by one-third rather than by half).
I am repeating myself here, but what about the keyboard orientation problem? Mail.app, Notes, Calendar, Address Book and so forth are all significantly crippled due to this, at first sight minor, issue. Logic dictates that horizontal keyboard orientation is at least as indispensable for the afore-mentioned applications as it is for Safari.app (I would expect that one types more in Mail.app and Notes than in Safari).
These were the primary objects of my critique regarding the news. The truth is, I am an Apple devotee (that's mildly put) even if I disagree with Apple here-and-there. The points related above may all be too specific, for as one who plans a purchase - and can't wait for the successor of the upcoming model - I have my expectations. They were met, in part, but I'd anticipated more...
Morning here in this part of Asia... just read the news for iPhone 3G. At USD199, I bow to the Steve and going to get one when it reaches these shores! By freight or by submarine
Concur with you perfectly! After all, it's the loyalty of the Creative User, not the Consumerist (denotes a particular mentality that the word "consumer", being a rather general term, fails to convey) that has led Apple through to Glory in the worst of its days.
I respect your position and acknowledge that I too had hoped for more than was presented here. However, I am very happy with this iteration of the iPhone and what it offers over its predecessor, in conjunction with the significant price cut. It appears that an awfully large number of complaints have come in so far about everything that was NOT on the latest iteration as opposed to focusing on what was, and more importantly, forgetting that it was at a significantly lower cost thatn its predecessor.
Apple will continue to offer improvements and iterations into the future (likely to include 16 and 32 GB models) which will require little, if any, modification to the current design.
It is my belief that Apple's focus with this iteration of the iPhone was to reach as large an audience as possible as opposed to just offering every conceivable feature hoped for at a much higher cost to the user.
Bear in mind that Apple had set a goal to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, and at a $399 and $599 price point, especially with EDGE, it was unlikely to happen. At the present price point, with the 3G and GPS technologies, and being sold in 70 countries, with Exchange access, Apple whould easily sell the necessary 4-5 million additional phones before the end of 2008 and will meet their original projections.
Indeed, Copy/Paste functionality is imperative (and still missing)!
Also, Autofill (optional) and Search functionality (difficult go implement, but essential nonetheless) for Safari is a potential time-saver, too... this may be introduced by a 3rd party developer, I believe.
On a different note, roaming charges... I wonder if the matter in question has been addressed (in my case, roaming charges through West European countries). It may be a tricky matter since the SIM card is not swappable. Does anyone know if there are solutions?
While i welcome an iPhone with a 3G chipset, I am a bit disappointed with Apple. I am particularly concerned that the product is nowhere near competitive.
Its almost as if last year, Apple simply said "Okay, where here. *snore*" and is not very interested in improving the product.
Slapping in a 3G chipset, which was on a migration path anyway, not to mention the fact it was a 3G phone to begin with, is quite lack luster. True, half of the broken 3G equation wasnt really apple's fault...and i guess its better that they at least get the product to where it should have been released last june.
What else should have been added on? Probably a $0.50 CIF camera on the front. Maybe a 3D compass for "pointing" would have been a good idea too. But really Apple, you showed me i needed things ive never even dreamed of.. (multi-touch, visual voicemail, etc) .. surprise me.. innovate.
As far as the iChat AV concept, with these crazy trend-breaking numbers like 98% of iphone users using the mobile web (as opposed to the industry standard of less than 10%), carriers and apple could have sold "video sending" and "video calling" to the public as a premium service..they would have eaten it up!
But lets go back to the very basic of software features. The phone has a very boring, basic bluetooth stack. Why not add a couple of profiles such as OBEX and A2DP? OBEX is a bit niche, but apple is getting beat up by competitors with A2DP. Its an iPod with bluetooth .. so where is the wireless audio? There are some great premium headsets that simply cannot be used easily with this handset.
How about having the network handling MMS on the back end so people with $99 phones who send me pictures don't laugh at me when i tell them i cannot get their messages? Yes, MMS is a thing of yesterday, but a lot of other subscribers do not have full email abilities. Backwards capability please?
I could complain about the lack of video (The N95 is going to be murder as not only does it capture video, but has a full titling/editing suite, which can upload videos to youtube OTA). That is quite innovative. If Apple would have *at least* had an API for video, a couple of third party developers could have ran that entire topic into the ground...but it does not seem like apple puts much effort into the iphone as they probably should.
Apple is at a big risk of being blind sided by one or two handsets mid-product cycle. Once these guys figure out what that capacitive is better than resistive, and possibly work in multi-touch, and hire a UI guy or two worth his salt, it could be downhill for apple's young mobile division.
Its almost as if last year, Apple simply said "Okay, where here. *snore*" and is not very interested in improving the product.
Slapping in a 3G chipset, which was on a migration path anyway, not to mention the fact it was a 3G phone to begin with, is quite lack luster. True, half of the broken 3G equation wasnt really apple's fault...and i guess its better that they at least get the product to where it should have been released last june.
What else should have been added on? Probably a $0.50 CIF camera on the front. Maybe a 3D compass for "pointing" would have been a good idea too. But really Apple, you showed me i needed things ive never even dreamed of.. (multi-touch, visual voicemail, etc) .. surprise me.. innovate.
As far as the iChat AV concept, with these crazy trend-breaking numbers like 98% of iphone users using the mobile web (as opposed to the industry standard of less than 10%), carriers and apple could have sold "video sending" and "video calling" to the public as a premium service..they would have eaten it up!
But lets go back to the very basic of software features. The phone has a very boring, basic bluetooth stack. Why not add a couple of profiles such as OBEX and A2DP? OBEX is a bit niche, but apple is getting beat up by competitors with A2DP. Its an iPod with bluetooth .. so where is the wireless audio? There are some great premium headsets that simply cannot be used easily with this handset.
How about having the network handling MMS on the back end so people with $99 phones who send me pictures don't laugh at me when i tell them i cannot get their messages? Yes, MMS is a thing of yesterday, but a lot of other subscribers do not have full email abilities. Backwards capability please?
I could complain about the lack of video (The N95 is going to be murder as not only does it capture video, but has a full titling/editing suite, which can upload videos to youtube OTA). That is quite innovative. If Apple would have *at least* had an API for video, a couple of third party developers could have ran that entire topic into the ground...but it does not seem like apple puts much effort into the iphone as they probably should.
Apple is at a big risk of being blind sided by one or two handsets mid-product cycle. Once these guys figure out what that capacitive is better than resistive, and possibly work in multi-touch, and hire a UI guy or two worth his salt, it could be downhill for apple's young mobile division.
Umm... I have been looking through all the info and couldn't find anything about video chat..
And now I just figure out that's because the iPhone 3G doesn't have one! Are you kidding me? That's like the main point of 3G phone and every major cities in Asia have been using it like 2 years ago.
Seriously, US phone technology are like a century behind everywhere else. It's funny to see some forum posters here get excited over something so dated in other countries. It's like someone from 1890s time travel to 2008 and shock at what a television is.
And now I just figure out that's because the iPhone 3G doesn't have one! Are you kidding me? That's like the main point of 3G phone and every major cities in Asia have been using it like 2 years ago.
Seriously, US phone technology are like a century behind everywhere else. It's funny to see some forum posters here get excited over something so dated in other countries. It's like someone from 1890s time travel to 2008 and shock at what a television is.
I saw this on a Gizmodo post, where they had 15 mins of hands on. It was one of the things that I would have hoped they would have fixed/added, but it looks like they did not.
I wonder if one of the 3rd party developers is writing one. That could be the killer app from the AppStore.
Same. With the increased monthly cost, I'm quite tempted to stay with my 1st gen. It will still be pretty awesome with the 2.0 firmware.
Phones such as...? Features such as...?
I've never in my life sent or received an MMS, nor wanted to. In fact, I don't know a single person who (to my knowledge) has ever sent or received an MMS. It amazes me that people consider this a significant feature.
But what amazes me far more is the gripping about the camera. Do you honestly think any of those cameras in phones are good cameras? I don't care how many megapixels they have - they can't take pictures anywhere near the quality of even point and click digital cameras. All camera phones are good for is taking a quick shot when you don't have a real camera available, and the iphone does a good job of that.
But what amazes me even MORE is the whining about a front facing camera. Why on earth would I want that? I cannot envision any conceivable scenario in which that would be a useful feature. You're going to video chat on your cell phone? Seriously?
I agree with the subsidizing point. However, I have a question. Is the plastic backing on the new iPhone better than the material that was on the original iPhone? To me, this is not the same quality.
what i cant believe this, Israel wont have the iphone and other middle east countries will?!
its not fair!
israel is the most demanding and also as 3g for a long time
http://www.apple.com/iphone/countries
its not fair!
israel is the most demanding and also as 3g for a long time
http://www.apple.com/iphone/countries
Do you want to see my Sharp 903SH pictures? It beats most point and click cameras. CCD lens, absolutely amazing photos.
Why make it thinner, keeping the same bull**** camera? So annoying.
O2 UK still, so I can't get it.
