Hands on the iPhone, and History of iPhone?

[daysleeper]

Smart Keypad

It does look like typing is a bit of a task.

It looked to me like Steve was absolutely flying on that keyboard. He mentioned that the keypad is 'smart' and error-defeating... if Apple has managed to do something new here, then maybe typing won't be too bad after a learning period.

 

[balamw]

I second that non-serious comment. -notice that when a new keynote slide came up that was of interest, lost of audience members with their camera phones started to light up? I thought that was funny.

I'm glad someone figured out I was being facetious. While at the same time thanking the folks who gave use such detailed live coverage of the event.

B

 

[4np]

Sounds to me like you sync your entire library.

nope, just 1% of it

 

[failsafe1]

It'll probably be done through iTunes. Don't forget that you can put your Address Book contacts on your iPod through iTunes

As for how long it'll take, Steve explicitly said that the FCC "takes a FEW months", not 2. I'll admit, I might have misheard him, but I'm sure he said few and not 2 months. Plus, he said he wanted Apple to announce it, not the FCC so this might have been the latest event they could announce it before the FCC OKs it. I don't know.

Excellent point I forget you can put your contact info on via iTunes. Cool.

 

[Stella]

deleted.

 

[Maestro64]

I was wondering who was going to notice that you can not change the battery. I think this is going to be a big issue. Every cell phone I have owned I had to replace the battery after about a yr of use. I am not sure why but they loss storage capacity so fast. Maybe Apple solved this problem, I would hope.

Next, I can not believe everyone is missing the point with this product, complaint about price and features and it should do this and that and it will be obsolete before it ships.

First, Jobs said it, all the other phones out there require you to update hardware to get the next feature set. Apple phone is based on software, so you will get new feature with the next software update. Guess what you will have to pay for those feature updates so start complaining about that.

Second, this is the first product, not unlike the G1 ipods, they were high end and pricy with little feature, apple sold a few compare to now. They learned with time and we all told them what it should be like, today we have 3 versions at different price points. It would not surprise me if you do not see smaller less featured version with in 18 months.

Third, all the complaints about service providers, face it you can not get away from them and the technology they deployed. You have to deal with what you got, and Cingular and probably T-mobile are the easiest of the providers to deal with when it comes to new technologies. I doublt you will see a CDMA versions and that is for a number of technically reason, (the reason it took two years for the RAZR to come out as CDMA) Plus, Verizon is a control freak and wants you to pay for each and every feature you get. They do not want you to listen to music unless you paid them for it. They do not want you to do google maps and direction unless you pay them for the service.

Again, Jobs said it will support WiMAX which is better then 3G which everyone is saying is better then EDGE. It is known that Cingular (now AT&T again) is rolling out WiMAX and Sprint is also looking at rolling out WiMAX. This technology you get higher data rates which is not offer today.


Lastly, this product is not for every cell phone user out there, it is going after a very targeted market and those people will pay and Apple will learn from it. They will be happy to sell 1 million, if they do that it $500 million to the top line. I can see this product being refined over the next 3 yrs. So you decide be an early adopter and deal with it and help Apple learn or, wait and get the Gen 3 or 4 product which will be better.

 

[CountZero]

I was wondering who was going to notice that you can not change the battery. I think this is going to be a big issue. Every cell phone I have owned I had to replace the battery after about a yr of use. I am not sure why but they loss storage capacity so fast. Maybe Apple solved this problem, I would hope.

I don't think not being able to swap battery is as big a deal as most cell phone users make it out to be. Just think, how many iPod users you know around in the office/Starbucks/wherever just now? A few? And how many of them have with them the sync/charge cable? I bet a few too. Because of the dock connector, you can charge your iPhone as long as you get a charger/computer and the cable!

 

[emotion]

when steve announced the iphone would reach europe by q4, is he talking about q4 of the calendar year of the fiscal year, i sure hope he was talking fiscal year (4th Quarter: July 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007).

I'm pretty sure the Quarters he refers to are not fiscal. Q4 starts in October. Intel work this way too.

Edit: In fact Steve says q4 calendar year in the keynote.

 

[sishaw]

I was wondering who was going to notice that you can not change the battery. I think this is going to be a big issue. Every cell phone I have owned I had to replace the battery after about a yr of use. I am not sure why but they loss storage capacity so fast. Maybe Apple solved this problem, I would hope.

Where did you hear that one cannot replace the battery? One can replace the battery on an iPod--either Apple or 3rd-party vendors will do it, or even send you a new battery to install yourself--so why wouldn't this device be similar?

There was a few years ago a complaint that iPods did not have replaceable batteries, and they're not the easiest to replace, but that complaint proved to be false (but it did spur Apple to introduce their battery replacement program).

 

[mtrctyjoe]

The Newton is Reborn!

I hate to say this.... but we have a great product here, that will be a flop. Can you say "Newton"... ahead of its time - but died a slow death.

If this was proced at $299 & $399 there "might" be a chance.

 

[RichP]

Some of the idiocy on here amazes me.

We know LITTLE about this phone. Lets not assume its going to be some crippled brick. I am certain there will be 3rd party apps, IN TIME. Its not even going to be released for half a year, after FCC appoval. Lets not get in a panic that this is going to be the downfall of apple.

Like some have mentioned, the processing power in this thing is incredible. I have a samsung blackjack, and it is INCREDIBLY slow. Even with "3G" which is nonsense.

Syncing, in a dock, is so obvious, and yet brilliant. You need to charge the thing, you need to sync the thing. You dont need a wall wart charger in your kitchen that plugs into the side of the phone and looks like a mess.

And the battery is replaceable' look at pics of the back of the phone, it has a removeable door on the back, for SIM and Battery.

Everyone just relax.

 

[sishaw]

I hate to say this.... but we have a great product here, that will be a flop. Can you say "Newton"... ahead of its time - but died a slow death.

If this was proced at $299 & $399 there "might" be a chance.

This post is just going to be funny in a couple of years.

 

[Xyl]

Next, I can not believe everyone is missing the point with this product, complaint about price and features and it should do this and that and it will be obsolete before it ships. [...]

Second, this is the first product, not unlike the G1 ipods, they were high end and pricy with little feature, apple sold a few compare to now. They learned with time and we all told them what it should be like, today we have 3 versions at different price points. It would not surprise me if you do not see smaller less featured version with in 18 months.

I too, don't know why everyone is complaining about this first-gen product. This first-gen phone from Apple is so many times better than the first-gen iPod, and even that many times better than the first-gen Zune.

This first-gen phone from Apple is definitely a competitive (note that I did not say better, because it's difficult to tell at the moment) product in the mobile phone market. Apple should be given credit for just that. I mean, look at the Zune, it went into an MP3 player market without being competitive, and it seems less people complain about that than this phone .

 

[mi5moav]

iPhone CAN be synced wirelessly using iSync/Bluetooth for
Address Book, Address Book Pictures, Calendars, To Do Items, etc...

 

[uNext]

Apple officially divorced professionals and married consumers.

The newton when released appealed to professional mac users
how many pro users can really say this phone is everything they need?

Dont get me wrong the phone is awesome but i think apple gets loose with the whole "reinvented the phone" phrase.

I love my palm treo 680 so off to the iphone with full os x capability waiting line.

 

[Starflyer]

Yeah the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will definetly be used. Think iTunes shared libraries. Think IT departments being able to service a computer remotely while being on the phone with one device in hand. etc. etc.

I too don't understand limiting it to a phone by name. But the initial market is such so be it. Apple marketing will have to work a little harder to get the message across that it is more than just a "smartphone".
Price...well who here paid $249 for an 8GB nano? Is it really hard to justify $349 more for phone, video, internet, and a bigger display, not really. And there is much more to it than that.

p.s. how many more accidents is this thing going to cause?

I really dont see price being a huge factor (to some maybe). Realize that it cost $500 for a 10Gb iPod a few years ago.

 

[mi5moav]

Newton was only ahead of it's time because we didn't have the Tech toy craze that we have now, people are much more comfortable with technology. Heck look at the RAZR that thing was the strangest fattest phone I ever saw but I paid $449 bucks for that when it came out and I bought the next version for $399 when that came out. I just spent $899 on an O2 phone which looks like the iphones ugly sister and that doesn't have 3G either in it.

 

[Digital Fury]

Again, Jobs said it will support WiMAX which is better then 3G which everyone is saying is better then EDGE. It is known that Cingular (now AT&T again) is rolling out WiMAX and Sprint is also looking at rolling out WiMAX. This technology you get higher data rates which is not offer today.

True but it will take years for WiMax (which is still in its infancy) to have the same kind of coverage (US or otherwise) that 3G networks have outside the US.

The iPhone right now is mostly a US-specific product targeting US consumers. Apple better upgrade it with 3G before trying to sell it in Europe and Asia.

For my $600 I rather have a Nokia N95, which not only will be available much sooner than the iPhone, but also has 3G, a built-in GPS and mapping software, a card slot, a removable battery and that allows applications to be installed on it.

 

[nostaws]

I think the iPhone has the potential to be a gaming machine depending on the internals. It could be powerful against the psp, or ds.

Also, I know most will think this is lame, but I wouldn't mind a palm emulator for the iphone. Palm apps would look like crap, but I have several apps that I would really like to take with me forever.

My one dissappointment is the price.

 

[alec]

4 & 8 GB? That's like Life Aquatic, a couple of episodes of the Office, and ~ 5% of my music collection. Bleh. I guess an affordable, all in one solution is implausible.

 

[mi5moav]

What I need my smart phone to do and what iPhone offers

IMAP/POP Yes
Push email Yes
Stock Quotes Yes
WAP or better Browser Yes
Calendar To-Do list Yes
Read PDF Yes
Instant Message/SMS Yes
World Phone Yes
SpeakerPhone Yes
MP3 capability Yes
Bluetooth Yes
iSync Compatible Yes

Plus I get WIFI which is awesome since I have wifi at home and work and don't have to use stinking Cingulars slow 3G network, plus I can go to any starbucks or airport and connect. Wifi is 10x more important then 3G

 

[Starflyer]

The big thing to remember is that this phone will last longer than most other phones. Like Jobs said, If they want to add features just update the OS. This is more like a computer than a phone.

 

[emotion]

The big thing to remember is that this phone will last longer than most other phones. Like Jobs said, If they want to add features just update the OS. This is more like a computer than a phone.

Hmm, software isn't going to change the resolution of the camera, add more storage or add 3G or GPS.

 

[guzhogi]

I know Steve said you don't need a stylus, but I wonder if you could use one anyways? I don't know if anyone will want to use one, but it'll be nice if it's available to those that do.

 

[StuPidQPid]

"Typing is difficult"

I wonder if they could implement some sort of magnification of the type keys, something like the Dock?
Like you move your finger across the keyboard, the letters get bigger, then you tap the screen to get the letter. I know I'm all fingers and thumbs on a Blackberry sized keyboard (and my eyesight's not getting any better with age...), and this would help me find and see the keys.
Of course the iPhone, being software based, would be ideal for this.