Hands on the iPhone, and History of iPhone?

[Maestro64]

Dude! Thank *you!* You got it!. I'm astonished at all the complaints I'm seeing. "It hasn't got this! It hasn't go that!" or "It can't do this! It can't do that! Why can't it do this/that???"

Did you guys miss the two most important aspects of this "phone"?

1) Multi-touch
2) Multi-touch

Not to understate this, but actually it is the over 200 patents that apple took out to make this product. Multi-tough is just one elements that allows them to do things with this phone that no other phone out there can do today. Since the phone is now a computer with an OS that can make it do what they want verses being hardward specific.

 

[SeanMcg]

To quote Marv Albert

...
You're living in a future that others only dreamed about. Can't you be a little excited and happy about it?

!!!YES!!!!

 

[cblackmore]

reinvent all entry

The one thing that I'm surprised not to be reading more about, is the REINVENTION OF UI - not just of mobile phones.

If the iPhone interface proves to be successful and cosmetically durable, the next logical step seems to be reinventing (if not completely remove) the static-keyboard and mouse as well. Computer screens that accept magic Multi-Touch input in addition to a keyboard.

Bye-bye to the beloved mouse, when you can just point/click/drag right on your screen. Try it yourself on your laptop for pretend-sake.

 

[mrmma]

interface

I haven't read the entire thread, so this may have already been mentioned, but it seems to me that it is the interface that Jobs was so excited about, not the phone itself. That the interface is revolutionary not the phone itself, and that this year, we'll be seeing much more of the multitouch technology from Apple in all sorts of areas: the famous non-existent 12" MBP...though it would have to either attach to a keyboard, or have one attached to be practical as a general computer...

Possibly though to a lesser degree, this could appear in the new cinema displays...I would love to have a display that I could remove from its stand, use my fingers to browse the web, read emails, doodle with, etc, and then return to a stand to free up my hands for typing. Of course this wouldn't work for displays much larger than 17" unless they're ultra light, but you get the idea. There are many apps (iPhoto/iMovie) where drag n' drop would be more intuitive with a sophisticated touch screen.

 

[Maestro64]

The emergency services i.e. phone locator in cell phones is based on cell technology, not GPS. GPS is satalite dependent, and this is no satalite phone. You are right about triangulation(or whatever method cell companies use), but I am not sure what the accuracy is of the triangulation. The Google map example used preset locations, so he was not being located by his phone id.

This is not 100% true, there are two solutions out there, the one as you discribed is from a company called truepositon, they measure the time delay between towels as you talk to locate you. The other method uses an actualy GSP reciever chips and gets your location from the satellites. One difference in the systems is the first it requires the cell towels to have the smarts to figure out where you are and tell phone and E911 where you are. Using GPS the phone use the satellites system that already exist and the phone knows where it is then reports it to whom every needs its (i.e. E911 or an applications).

As someone point out this is not too reliable, since GPS does not work well indoors, so many times these phones with the GPS chips remembers the last known location and just uses that position. This is all fine as long as you in same build, if you get on a subway, you could be miles away from that location.

 

[iSee]

I love how everyone is taking this "no third party apps" thing as gospel truth.

ATTENTION ALL MACRUMORS DENIZENS! Who have we heard this "no third party" thing from? Engadget, whose source is "noted analyst Michael Gartenburg." Who the **** is that? Is he from Apple? How did he learn this? Did he talk to anyone at Apple, did he use ESP, or did he use his "analyst powers" (AKA made some **** up)?

We really have NO IDEA if this phone will allow for third party apps or not. Maybe you won't be able to install anything made by Joe Q. Public, maybe apps will be approved by Apple and sold on the iTunes Store. Maybe you WILL be able to roll your own. Maybe you won't, and it will be Apple software only. But until we hear from Apple themselves about this, I think it makes more sense to be cautiously optimistic instead of immediately deciding the sky is falling.

That's a good point. I am going to stop worrying about this.

This thing is going to be coming out right around the developer's conference in the summer. That would be the logical time to announce generally available 3rd-party development tools.

 

[cblackmore]

Internet + OS X, but no iTunes Store downloading?

At first it does seem awkward not to have mobile acces to the iTunes Store - especially if it really runs OS X. But then that raises the need to run iTunes on the device, which would seem to require a slightly crippled smaller version of iTunes, which maybe isn't the best thing for the iTunes 'easy-to-use' model?

- Can't download songs directly from iTunes Store
- Can't sync iPhone with a computer wirelessly.

 

[Rustus Maximus]

I haven't read the entire thread, so this may have already been mentioned, but it seems to me that it is the interface that Jobs was so excited about, not the phone itself. That the interface is revolutionary not the phone itself, and that this year, we'll be seeing much more of the multi-touch technology from Apple in all sorts of areas:

Absolutely correct. Another person who paid close attention to the keynote yesterday! Cheers to you mrmma! You are looking at the coming interface for all iPod products from here forward. You are looking at a UI that will in one form or another become the new Desktop/Laptop UI. This is only the beginning. A few years from now we will all remember with quaintness the days when we had to use the keyboard (alá Scotty in Star Trek IV ).

And speaking of Star Trek this Multi-Touch Interface is so reminiscent of the LCARS system there .

 

[Rocketman]

It would be nice but that's not Apple's game plan.

Then again this is only a 1st generation device, maybe the v2 of the iPhone will feature some upgrades.

- 3G support
- Removable battery (to allow quick swaps if you can't recharge)
- User installable 3rd party applications
- Removable slot for additional media
- Integrated GPS
- High res camera

A slick interface is nice, but you also need applications and the hardware to support your requirements.

If Nokia could fit a N95 in a 770 tablet form with a tactile screen and upgrade the Symbian interface with something slicker, IMO it would make *my* perfect phone.

I mostly disagree.

Wimax superceeds 3G and 4G cellular
Battery dongle extends temporal power over removeable battery
No removeable slots, this is an all-in one
Net attached storage and net synch
Existing res camera also able to capture as a movie (1080-HD).

Yes, user installable 3rd party apps, as disclosed on Leopard release.
Yes, GPS, I for one want that feature disableable or private.

Rocketman

 

[guzhogi]

The one thing that I'm surprised not to be reading more about, is the REINVENTION OF UI - not just of mobile phones.

If the iPhone interface proves to be successful and cosmetically durable, the next logical step seems to be reinventing (if not completely remove) the static-keyboard and mouse as well. Computer screens that accept magic Multi-Touch input in addition to a keyboard.

Bye-bye to the beloved mouse, when you can just point/click/drag right on your screen. Try it yourself on your laptop for pretend-sake.

This reminds me of the computers in Star Trek (not including the original & Enterprise): all of it is done by touch. Plus, you can reconfigure the buttons on the screen and everything.

There are also some keyboards out there where instead of having the letters/numbers permamnently set on the keys, they have little OLEDs on each key. So if one day you do something in English, the keys would display the English alphabet and the next day you use Chinese, it'll display the Chinese alphabet instead. Also, they can be used as hot-keys for different apps. Only problem with that is it means each program would have to know what to do when each key is pressed. Or, there could be a "default" thing in the system and an application can just override it. But I like the idea of being able to reconfigure the keyboard/display/whatever input device to meet the needs of the user.

 

[balamw]

I would love to have a display that I could remove from its stand, use my fingers to browse the web, read emails, doodle with, etc, and then return to a stand to free up my hands for typing.

FWIW Microsoft had a product like this some number of years ago. IIRC the screen was Windows CE based and ran Remote Desktop back to your PC.

It was short lived.

B

 

[mrmma]

And speaking of Star Trek this Multi-Touch Interface is so reminiscent of the LCARS system there .

Yes, and add a reliable voice interface for pesky text entry, and you've got a keyboardless computer.

All I could think of was those HP commercials where the actor/celebrity is drawing stuff in thin air, opening emails, pushing things away, all with his/her hands.

 

[thirteen1031]

At first it does seem awkward not to have mobile acces to the iTunes Store - especially if it really runs OS X. But then that raises the need to run iTunes on the device, which would seem to require a slightly crippled smaller version of iTunes, which maybe isn't the best thing for the iTunes 'easy-to-use' model?

Good point! But as I said before, changes can be made. I'm absolutely sure that Apple's long-term goal with this phone is to make it so that customers can have exactly what they want on the phone.

So, YOU may not have any desire to download new songs onto your phone. You use the phone primarily for talking to friends and making business arrangements. When you listen to music it's just on the way home. Maybe you like to really browse the iTunes store and take your time, so you don't need that option.

BUT, your teenage kid uses the phone in place of an iPod. He listens to a lot of music on it, and if there's a new song, he wants to be able to type in the name and download it instantly onto his phone. LIKELY, in the not too distant future, there will be that option. An addendum to the phone that allows instant music downloads.

That's the beauty of this phone. Such changes and options can be made and easily added.

 

[goosnarrggh]

It might help some readers to view iPhone as this:

Apple Tablet Nano (with no compromises whatsoever)

This radical thing has some features some have disregarded:

- Full access to net storage via 802.11g (soon to be n)

802.11 integrated in a smartphone is not revolutionary. Adding 802.11n would be an evolutionary step forward. Does anybody know about its power consumption profile?

- Multi-tasking

Multitasking is already possible in Windows Mobile-based smartphones. A more efficient process of shutting off the media player during a call and restarting it after the call is over might be nice. (I've only ever used Windows Mobile in a PDA, so I don't know how well it deals with multitasking within the context of a phone.)

HD resolution

320x480 is not HD.

- Full desktop app capacity with a low overhead OS (not quite full swiss army knife, but minimal compromises)

We don't know enough yet to judge whether this is true or not. Saying that the phone runs "OS X" doesn't necessarily mean any more than saying that a Windows Mobile Smartphone runs Windows.

The Windows Mobile user experience is comparable with a "typical" Windows experience, and some applications have been developed which look a lot like their desktop cousins. But the underlying programming interfaces are different.

I really want to read more details about what's really under the hood of this so-called "mini OS X". Maybe it really does provide the OS X programming API (that is, they ported Darwin to it). If that's the case, then they'll eventually have to come clean about it because Darwin itself is open-source.

 

[Poff]

"Typing is difficult"

I was afraid so..

 

[MrCrowbar]

HAHA I am sure it will come, but how are we to do video conference on the iPhone through skype when the camera is on the otherside of the phone?!

d'uh, mightyMirror.

 

[blybug]

At first it does seem awkward not to have mobile acces to the iTunes Store - especially if it really runs OS X. But then that raises the need to run iTunes on the device, which would seem to require a slightly crippled smaller version of iTunes, which maybe isn't the best thing for the iTunes 'easy-to-use' model?

There's little doubt that this will come eventually, maybe even with the initial release in June. Ever since the last version of iTunes added the "feature" of backwards sync-ing of iTMS songs, I've been expecting an iPod-based method of purchase. I mean really, in the current climate, anyone who has multiple music-purchasing networked computers is probably sophisticated enough to pass purchased tunes from computer to computer without using the iPod as an intermediary.

But if you purchase the song with an iPod/iPhone, of course you need this function to get it onto your computer. iTunes is ready!

The iTMS wouldn't have to be that crippled on the iPhone...same search & scroll (maybe this should be called "fling") interface Steve demonstrated for playing music, also drill-downable in iPod-style menus by artist, genre, new releases, etc. Wouldn't be your first choice of interface for casual browsing for something to buy, but perfect if you knew exactly what song or new album release you wanted while on the run.

Now that it's sunk in for 24 hours, I really don't understand why they called this "iPhone". It really should be "iPod phone" or "iPod Pro" or "iPod Extreme" or "iPod wifi" or "iPod 2" or "iiPod" . Isn't it clearly the next (r)evolutionary step of a device they specifically chose NOT to name in association with music in the first place? Obviously Jobs knew in 2001 that the iPod would eventually do much more than play MP3s. And to not capitalize on the still iconic iPod branding...seems odd...

I plan to buy one the first day.

 

[Rocketman]

Multitasking is already possible in Windows Mobile-based smartphones.

320x480 is not HD.

2 megapixel is. The camera, not the display.

I was not comparing to any windows device because the markets and features are nearly mutually exclusive due to the improved simplicity and integration of the released Apple device.

Also many (perhaps a majority) windows users have a bias against Apple and visa-versa.

Rocketman

 

[barbpassman]

4 GIG or 8 GIG?

Time.com was given some information about the development of the Apple iPhone. Of particular interest, especially to those who follow Apple rumors, is a tidbit about how the iPhone interface came to be. According to the author, "a few years ago" Steve Jobs noticed all the research money spent into Tablet PCs and had a team of Apple engineers working on a tablet interface with touch screen.



- Can't download songs directly from iTunes Store
- Can't sync iPhone with a computer wirelessly.
- "Web speed was OK—not great, but OK."
- "Apple went through numerous iterations of the glass surface, trying to find one that’s not too slick or too rough, or that shows grease and fingerprints too much. "
- "It feels amazing in your hand"



I am troubled by the small amount of memory in Applephone.
If this device is supposed to replace our cell phone +iPOd, don't we need more memory?
8 Gig will not hold a music library or many vdeos plus photos etc.

The current iPods sold for Video use have considerably more memory-
So, for the money, should not Applephone come with 20Gig or 30Gig memory?

If I purchase an ApplePhone, I will still need an iPod to carry my music (I currently)have about7 Gig of music- classical and folk- on my three year old iPod.
That does not make sense.

 

[SeanMcg]

They are capitalizing on the iPod

...Obviously Jobs knew in 2001 that the iPod would eventually do much more than play MP3s. And to not capitalize on the still iconic iPod branding...seems odd...

As I said before, they are emphasizing the iPod features first and taking advantage of the iPod ecosystem. Just look at their web page.

 

[cblackmore]

the younger audience

Ah yes, true, I can't forget the instinct of the younger audience to be so ultra adaptable and multi-tasking.

They could care less about minor things like the iTunes on their handheld being different from the iTunes on their laptop/desktop.

They'll eat this iPhone quicker than a Twinkie, then burp and yawn and be ready for the next innovation

Good point! But as I said before, changes can be made. I'm absolutely sure that Apple's long-term goal with this phone is to make it so that customers can have exactly what they want on the phone.

So, YOU may not have any desire to download new songs onto your phone. You use the phone primarily for talking to friends and making business arrangements. When you listen to music it's just on the way home. Maybe you like to really browse the iTunes store and take your time, so you don't need that option.

BUT, your teenage kid uses the phone in place of an iPod. He listens to a lot of music on it, and if there's a new song, he wants to be able to type in the name and download it instantly onto his phone. LIKELY, in the not too distant future, there will be that option. An addendum to the phone that allows instant music downloads.

That's the beauty of this phone. Such changes and options can be made and easily added.

 

[goosnarrggh]

2 megapixel is. The camera, not the display.

Hum. Most digital cameras only record the intensity of one of the 3 primary colours per "pixel" in the sensor. So a 2 megapixel image only captures the RGB intensities of 666666 composite regions in space.

I was not comparing to any windows device because the markets and features are nearly mutually exclusive due to the improved simplicity and integration of the released Apple device.

It seemed reasonable that you would have been comparing Apple's Smartphone to other Smartphones already on the market. Obviously I was wrong. If you don't mind my asking, what were you comparing it with?

Also many (perhaps a majority) windows users have a bias against Apple and visa-versa.

Possible. Probable, even. But I don't like to consider myself to be one of those people.

My primary computing platform has always been Windows, and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. I also consider myself something of an Apple enthusiast though: I love my iPod, and my notebook is a Mac.

 

[cblackmore]

"Phone" seems so last-century.

Hmmm, I'm starting to agree with that! iPhone does seem a little beneath it now. I like iPod Pro best; it matches their existing branding. Or iPod X (since it runs OS X).

But I'm sure all of those were on a whiteboard somewhere in a branding meeting, and got thrown out for various reasons.

There's little doubt that this will come eventually, maybe even with the initial release in June. Ever since the last version of iTunes added the "feature" of backwards sync-ing of iTMS songs, I've been expecting an iPod-based method of purchase. I mean really, in the current climate, anyone who has multiple music-purchasing networked computers is probably sophisticated enough to pass purchased tunes from computer to computer without using the iPod as an intermediary.

But if you purchase the song with an iPod/iPhone, of course you need this function to get it onto your computer. iTunes is ready!

The iTMS wouldn't have to be that crippled on the iPhone...same search & scroll (maybe this should be called "fling") interface Steve demonstrated for playing music, also drill-downable in iPod-style menus by artist, genre, new releases, etc. Wouldn't be your first choice of interface for casual browsing for something to buy, but perfect if you knew exactly what song or new album release you wanted while on the run.

Now that it's sunk in for 24 hours, I really don't understand why they called this "iPhone". It really should be "iPod phone" or "iPod Pro" or "iPod Extreme" or "iPod wifi" or "iPod 2" or "iiPod" . Isn't it clearly the next (r)evolutionary step of a device they specifically chose NOT to name in association with music in the first place? Obviously Jobs knew in 2001 that the iPod would eventually do much more than play MP3s. And to not capitalize on the still iconic iPod branding...seems odd...

 

[zimtheinvader]

This gets a negative

The iPhone is good news, and will no doubt enjoy sucess, but it feels like too little too late for power users, the UMPC has already upped the ante, albeit clumsily at this point. Apple is positioning itself to compete with PalmOS, but WM5 already does almost all this and then some, and, like I said, UMPCs almost this size feature WindowsXP Tablet, a really powerful OS. Or look at the GP2X, it can do so much because it features an open OS (linux). Even Windows Mobile was decent, due the plethora of 3rd party apps and syncability. Frankly, I was hoping for something far greater, like ACTUALLY featuring the REAL OSX. Not some scalled-down locked out version. Even if it was bigger, (ie. ibook/tablet form). This does nothing for me as a student, the screen is too small for effective notes and the lack of keyboard/Office support or even a spreadsheet App so far means its a cool ipod at best, not a professional device yet.... does it even have TV-out?

That is what I use most on my current 5.5G ipod. I guess its lucky I got my ipod for Christmas, since Macworld SF was pretty dissapointing. I guess I'll go ahead and order my MB now, since I won't be getting an OSX Tablet or ultralite...

Why are editors gushing about its brilliance? An ipod taped to a newton can do MUCH more than it can do at this point, except for some fancy album artwork browsing....

 

[thirteen1031]

I actually had some questions that I don't see being asked here:

1) The keypad--do you have to use one finger? Text-messaging kids often use more. Could you, for example, tap away with two thumbs?

2) I assume, as on other phones, you can take a picture and e-mail it. Does it get added into your photo album? Can you manage it like those other photos? (Again, I assume the answer is "yes" but there was no such demonstration).

3) How smear proof is this phone? You hold it up to your ear--will you get smears on the screen? How do you clean it?

4) How fragile is it? How well does it withstand being dropped? Does it fit in your pocket or, like a blackberry, do you need a to carry it in a bag?

5) Those 5 hours of battery life--does that mean 5 hours when the phone is in use, but not when it's not in use? Or 5 hours period? If it's only when the phone is in use, how long does it last without recharge if you don't use it? (i.e., I go all day without using my iPhone. Is the battery still charged or does it low and needing a recharge?).

Any answers to these questions?