My thoughts on Apple's plans for the iPhone this summer...

[Renegade89]

Ok, here are my thoughts/feelings about the iPhone this summer.

The hardware part of the iPhone is pretty much as good as it gets. So if they do release a new iPhone, I think it'll just be a CPU Upgrade, a longer lasting battery, more memory, and possibly a better camera or a flash. But nothing extremely major, because like I said, the hardware part is pretty spot on in my mind.

I think their major pitch will be software related. So many of the complaints have been about this. I think Apple will release the 3.0 software, where they'll integrate Copy & Paste, MMS, stereo bluetooth, Video Recording, landscape texts/emails, background apps, and I think they'll loosen up restrictions on the SDK. People have been begging for most of these things from the start, and Apple is going to advertise this as Incredibly more awesome iPhone.

Doing that stuff wouldn't be hard at all, as individual developers have collectively done most of those things.


I dunno, just my thoughts, seems to me like the best way to get iPhone hype up this summer, after all this competition has sprung up.

 

[motoracer1486]

Like you said, the hardware is perfect. There is a lot to be asked for as far as software updates though.

 

[KingHuds]

So the hardware is perfect? Then why did you list most of the hardware to upgrade? CPU? Hardware, Battery? Hardware, Camera? Hardware....

 

[Small White Car]

The hardware part of the iPhone is pretty much as good as it gets.

This is half-right.

I think over the next 2 years just about everything in the iPhone will change. A different kind of processor. A different kind of RAM. A different kind of touch-screen.

The "better battery" you speak of will mostly come from these kind of changes and not an actual better battery.

What you're right about, is that these aren't changes that they'll brag about on Apple.com. They probably won't talk about them at all, actually! So in a way these are 'hidden upgrades' that will matter, but you'll never see a TV ad about them. In that sense, the hardware won't "change" as far as most of us are concerned.

 

[Aea]

So the hardware is perfect? Then why did you list most of the hardware to upgrade? CPU? Hardware, Battery? Hardware, Camera? Hardware....

These are ultimately minor upgrades though. I'm pretty sure Apple will change the appearance of the case very slightly to differentiate models.

 

[michael31986]

i dont think any one who has the 3g or hasnt' gotten the 3g will even upgrade to the new one unless they are an apple fanatic. the big sellin gpoint was the 3g. after this. what are you going to put on a commercial. now with "brand name" ram and new cpu. like serously. i think most stuff now will be soft ware,which they will give us and they will change appearance.

pretty much just like ipods change each year, but apple will give the iphones the new software unlike apple does with ipods.

 

[kdarling]

An electronic compass chip, like the G1 has, would be handy for virtual views.

 

[Donz0r]

they'll integrate Copy & Paste, MMS, stereo bluetooth, Video Recording, landscape texts/emails, background apps, and I think they'll loosen up restrictions on the SDK.

This is really what you think will happen? Those are not thoughts, those are Dreams!! I would love to see all of those things happen, but they won't not by a long shot. No way.

maybe copy and paste
no mms
hopefully background with upgraded hardware
no stereo bluetooth
no landscape text
hopefully video recording

 

[dave12345]

whats with the lack of bluetooth ? every crappy phone i've had for ages has been able to play music and share files over bluetooth...

 

[Alisstar]

Ok, here are my thoughts/feelings about the iPhone this summer.

The hardware part of the iPhone is pretty much as good as it gets. So if they do release a new iPhone, I think it'll just be a CPU Upgrade, a longer lasting battery, more memory, and possibly a better camera or a flash. But nothing extremely major, because like I said, the hardware part is pretty spot on in my mind.

I think their major pitch will be software related. So many of the complaints have been about this. I think Apple will release the 3.0 software, where they'll integrate Copy & Paste, MMS, stereo bluetooth, Video Recording, landscape texts/emails, background apps, and I think they'll loosen up restrictions on the SDK. People have been begging for most of these things from the start, and Apple is going to advertise this as Incredibly more awesome iPhone.

Doing that stuff wouldn't be hard at all, as individual developers have collectively done most of those things.


I dunno, just my thoughts, seems to me like the best way to get iPhone hype up this summer, after all this competition has sprung up.

That's a good assumption that really goes more on wishful thinking. Now, I'm not saying apple won't deliver on some or most of those features -- they have to -- but what if they only deliver on just one of those features?

I think apple realizes that they've sold enough iPhones already since the release of the 3G. I think that in order for them to lure people to buy new iPhones they're probably gonna have to deliver a little more than that. Otherwise you're not gonna have original iPhone owners signing up for another 2 year contracts, and you're not giving a reason for 3G ownwers to upgrade either.

I think apple will have to revolutionize the phone again if they want to stay competitive in the phone business. I base my opinion based on apple's marketshare in the phone industry. Yes it has created immense buzz, and a lot of people supposedly want one but it still rovers around 5% marketshare or something like that.

One thing is certain and that is that we will all be watching  closely and certainly expecting a lot from them! 

 

[The Californian]

Anyone ever think that this new iPhone for the summer might just be a slightly different but mostly the same CDMA version to finally reach out to another provider? I think that is really Apples only option to really reach out to more people, I mean the main reason I didn't get an iPhone for so long was due to my lack of excitement for AT&Ts inferior quality ... eventually I gave in and while I do not regret it, I still do notice the obvious change in my call quality from Sprint. Regardless, while I would love to see all of the aforementioned changes, I think it will be something more along these lines, especially with Apple hiring all of those CDMA technicians a few months ago. But that's just my thought.

 

[Hutch1]

Anyone ever think that this new iPhone for the summer might just be a slightly different but mostly the same CDMA version to finally reach out to another provider? I think that is really Apples only option to really reach out to more people, I mean the main reason I didn't get an iPhone for so long was due to my lack of excitement for AT&Ts inferior quality ... eventually I gave in and while I do not regret it, I still do notice the obvious change in my call quality from Sprint. Regardless, while I would love to see all of the aforementioned changes, I think it will be something more along these lines, especially with Apple hiring all of those CDMA technicians a few months ago. But that's just my thought.

There will not be a CDMA version now or ever, the vast majority of the world is GSM, the vast majority of CDMA providers have plans to switch to the new 4G standard. So why would they make CDMA phones now? If they were going to do it the time would have been 2 years ago not now.

 

[dccorona]

This is half-right.

The "better battery" you speak of will mostly come from these kind of changes and not an actual better battery.

Actually I think they'll sue their new battery technology from the 17 inch mac book pro

i dont think any one who has the 3g or hasnt' gotten the 3g will even upgrade to the new one unless they are an apple fanatic.

guess that means I'm upgrading

 

[kdarling]

There will not be a CDMA version now or ever, the vast majority of the world is GSM, the vast majority of CDMA providers have plans to switch to the new 4G standard. So why would they make CDMA phones now? If they were going to do it the time would have been 2 years ago not now.

Because...

There's going to be probably another decade of CDMA (and GSM) phones.

Verizon's LTE will be used for ONLY DATA for the first few years or even longer. And not VOIP data, either.

Handsets will continue to use the CDMA network both for voice, and as a fallback for data when you leave an LTE area. GSM carriers will need a similar fallback.

Verizon sees LTE mostly embedded in cars, homes, even cameras... (reminds me of the Eye-Fi memory/wifi card which I love). Read here.

 

[Renegade89]

Yea, most of my thinking is very wishful, lol. But I can't really see what else they're going to do to push the iPhone this summer. I mean, if they did those things, they would certainly stop 95% of the criticism of the phone, and would hopefully entice people who are debating to buy to go for it.

I think Apple has positioned itself very well, the way they deliver software updated through iTunes, syncing with iTunes, ect, and the hardware is pretty good. To me, its all about the software now.

 

[eplchamps0304]

This would be the killer iphone for the summer "Apple lifts all sdk restrictions".
Then we could see
slingplayer
windows media player
Garmin
southpark
opera
explorer
kinoma player
Alternatives to the ipod app
copy and paste
accsess to the iphone hard drive
etc
etc
etc
The possibilities would be endless.

 

[Hutch1]

Yea, most of my thinking is very wishful, lol. But I can't really see what else they're going to do to push the iPhone this summer. I mean, if they did those things, they would certainly stop 95% of the criticism of the phone, and would hopefully entice people who are debating to buy to go for it.

I think Apple has positioned itself very well, the way they deliver software updated through iTunes, syncing with iTunes, ect, and the hardware is pretty good. To me, its all about the software now.

Look around the vast majority of the whiners are professional complainers. The iPhone could be given away for free make you dinner, take you to a movie and give you a BJ and these people would still complain.

I'm sure Apple is thankful that with all your business acumen you think that they have positioned themselves well.

This would be the killer iphone for the summer "Apple lifts all sdk restrictions".
Then we could see
slingplayer
windows media player
Garmin
southpark
opera
explorer
kinoma player
Alternatives to the ipod app
copy and paste
accsess to the iphone hard drive
etc
etc
etc
The possibilities would be endless.

Yea then you all can complain when the battery dies in an hour and the removed restrictions lead to an unstable platform that locks-up and crashes every few minutes.

Personally I like their restrictions, it ensure that the phone works and that some dorks fart app doesn't screw it up.

What iPhone hard drive? You mean the nand memory (which isn't RAM either). You guys are asking for crap and you don't even know what it is you're asking for.

You want Explorer and Windows Media, I suggest you get a Windows mobile device, it sounds like you'd be much happier.

 

[eplchamps0304]

Look around the vast majority of the whiners are professional complainers. The iPhone could be given away for free make you dinner, take you to a movie and give you a BJ and these people would still complain.

I'm sure Apple is thankful that with all your business acumen you think that they have positioned themselves well.



Yea then you all can complain when the battery dies in an hour and the removed restrictions lead to an unstable platform that locks-up and crashes every few minutes.

Personally I like their restrictions, it ensure that the phone works and that some dorks fart app doesn't screw it up.

What iPhone hard drive? You mean the nand memory (which isn't RAM either). You guys are asking for crap and you don't even know what it is you're asking for.

You want Explorer and Windows Media, I suggest you get a Windows mobile device, it sounds like you'd be much happier.

It already locks up and crashes. It would provide more choice, it would be up to the user what he wants to install.

 

[Hutch1]

It already locks up and crashes. It would provide more choice, it would be up to the user what he wants to install.

Mine hasn't in the past nor does it now, if yours is I suggest you get it fixed.

Apple has never been about the freedom to do what you want. Apple has always been about control to ensure that the users device functions as it was designed. They have always controlled the hardware and software to insure that design philosophy. Those that want the freedom to screw around need to look somewhere else because it's not going to happen no matter how loud you scream, hold your breath and turn blue in the face.

The only choice they give you is to buy their product or not.

 

[southerndoc]

I would be happy if the iPhone had voice dialing. That's my biggest wish for the new iPhone (whether it's hardware or software implementation).

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

I think we will see a more major revision in terms of hardware and software because Apple wants to keep all of the current 2G iPhone owners hooked as their contracts are ending in June.

 

[mavis]

I think we will see a more major revision in terms of hardware and software because Apple wants to keep all of the current 2G iPhone owners hooked as their contracts are ending in June.

I see your point, but you're assuming that there's something better on the market now that 2G iPhone owners might switch to. The Palm Pre looks promising, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, what else are they going to switch to? The 2G iPhone is still head and shoulders above the competition and one of the best phones on the market. IMO.

 

[NT1440]

These are ultimately minor upgrades though. I'm pretty sure Apple will change the appearance of the case very slightly to differentiate models.

If upgrading all the components are considered a minor hardware upgrade what do you consider a big one? Please for the love of god do not tell me the look of the phone, thats the least important hardware aspect.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

I see your point, but you're assuming that there's something better on the market now that 2G iPhone owners might switch to. The Palm Pre looks promising, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, what else are they going to switch to? The 2G iPhone is still head and shoulders above the competition and one of the best phones on the market. IMO.

I agree, but I think some of the 2G owners held off upgrading to the 3G because they were wanting a more major revision. If you think about it, all that was changed about the iPhone last revision was the 3G chip addition and case redesign. The rest was software.

I guess the only phones that would seem worthy competitors for those ending their 2G iPhone contracts would be the Storm, G1, or another Blackberry. There is also the possibility that the Palm Pre or a new Android phone will hit the market around the same time as others have said.

 

[=MuLti-CeLL=]

I hope to see atleast a faster processor and more RAM at the very least.

I believe this because as a lot of other folks have mentioned in other threads such as this, the iPhone is still running with technology 2 years old correct?

I think its time for a little boost!