The Evidence for a 3G iPhone... June 2008

[GregA]

What if they dropped the Cell Data altogether in the low end and just had voice and wifi, or at least made it optional allow voice only plans at $20 cheaper.Put's it between iTouch and current iPhone. Even make the screen a half an inch smaller call it a nano. Push the main phone screen size up
iPhone 3.8-4inch - 480x720
iPhone nano 3inch - 320x480

There are a number of options.

Interesting idea. Nice jump outside the box, always like that (even if I don't agree!).

In this case... I think Apple really wants to make the iPhone a mobile computing platform, so removing the data component might not appeal to them.

I wonder how else they can shuffle what we have and present in a new way. The goal is to kick start new people into using this device in a new way. My mind keeps coming back to some sort of .Mac integration... but I'm not sure what. (bundled membership? Forced usage of .Mac mail for low cost plans? Photo integration into web galleries?)... still that may be too "in the box".

Thanks for the spark
(the size difference idea is interesting too...).


edit: Hmmm
The natural extension to the above thought is that Apple jumps into social networking.
Imagine the information every iPhone has, and how easily that could be used in a social network
1. Basic information about yourself to present on a homepage
2. A list of all your favourite music to present in an interests page (complete with music previews and "buy now" from the iTunes store). TV/movies too.
3. Does it have youtube favourites etc? Or could it note down recently watched youtube clips.
4. A camera taking pictures, straight onto .Mac
5. A public calendar of where I should be and when I'm available (in contrast to where I actually am?!)
6. An address book full of other friends and acquaintences. .Mac could automatically make me & my father "friends" simply because we both list each other's phone numbers (or email addresses). In fact, if I had a friend who's not on .Mac/iPhone, and some other iPhone user had that same friend who's not on .Mac/iPhone, it could make a weak link between us.

 

[0098386]

I hope that Apple doesn't fudge it again, and delivers HSDPA/ HSUPA support rather than plain old 3G. That's because here in the UK we can get HSDPA across a lot of the country (3.6Mbit/s), and the high-spec version in parts of London (7.2Mbit/s). It's not quite WiMAX/ WiBRO (up to 50Mbit, even when travelling at up to 70mph), but it's still pretty nice.

"A lot of the country" is the last thing I'd use to describe HSDPA... How many major cities there don't even get coverage?

(purple=HSDPA coverage)

 

[BongoBanger]

I hope that's just an England and Wales map because otherwise it's wrong as central Scotland has pretty good coverage.

 

[zetsurin]

But, knowing Apple, they might just forfeit some profits and keep it at the same price point

Heh, since when do Apple forfeit profit to include more? Everything comes at a price with Apple.

 

[sleepingworker]

EDGE is pretty fast if one is patient!

This post is almost Zen! Growing old goes "pretty fast if one is patient". Classic.

... love the grey emoticons! Happy April Fools Day MR!

 

[mikejd1]

bah....apple store has not gone down in the U.S. by now, no updates today

 

[jonny]

Oh... Canada... *sniff*

Looking forward to WWDC

Don't hold your breath. I don't think Rogers is waiting for 3g in order set a release date for Canada... In fact, they would probably rather us be on slower EDGE devices so we can't use as much bandwidth.

 

[Zwhaler]

If 3G wastes battery, then why not use wi-fi? It wastes battery as well and its pretty darn fast. Why would anyone want to kill their battery with 3G while on the road. 3G is just a hype. An add on to lure people into spending money on a useless upgrade. EDGE is pretty fast if one is patient!

I disagree. 3G will not be a useless upgrade for a huge part of the world other than the states, like Japan, because having a 3G network will enable the iphone to be able to be used there. Also, WiFi is not everywhere, and more often than not the networks require a password. 3G ftw I say.

 

[0098386]

I disagree. 3G will not be a useless upgrade for a huge part of the world other than the states, like Japan, because having a 3G network will enable the iphone to be able to be used there. Also, WiFi is not everywhere, and more often than not the networks require a password. 3G ftw I say.

Exactly. Plus I'm kinda hoping they go a step further and give it HSDPA compatibility, but with the ability to fall back to plain ol 3G and Edge if need be.
Personally for just browsing and email I think anything more than 2mb would be overkill but the faster the better.

 

[Zwhaler]

Exactly. Plus I'm kinda hoping they go a step further and give it HSDPA compatibility, but with the ability to fall back to plain ol 3G and Edge if need be.
Personally for just browsing and email I think anything more than 2mb would be overkill but the faster the better.

I wouldnt bank on HSDPA, but man would that be cool. But if we did end up getting that, plus new hardware and software features, and 3G, the price would without a doubt be higher than it is today. I would rather have only 3G and some other minor upgrades, but end up with a 16gig for 399 and a 32gig for 499. But even that may be wishful thinking...

 

[Nik]

I wouldnt bank on HSDPA, but man would that be cool. But if we did end up getting that, plus new hardware and software features, and 3G, the price would without a doubt be higher than it is today. I would rather have only 3G and some other minor upgrades, but end up with a 16gig for 399 and a 32gig for 499. But even that may be wishful thinking...

Why would the 3G phone with HSDPA be more expensive?
The chip only costs about 26$, right?

 

[Zwhaler]

Why would the 3G phone with HSDPA be more expensive?
The chip only costs about 26$, right?

I don't know for sure, but what I am saying is that if Apple adds stuff to the iPhone to a point where they are not happy with only getting 400$ for their product, they will likely increase the price.

 

[runningcameron]

I hope they bring mobile tv to this second iteration; after using it on my Voyager, you're sorta addicted! haha AT&T just opened their service, and I can imagine how great it would all look on that huge screen!!

If Apple skips on the mobile tv, I hope they start a partnership with SlingBox to allow the TV to stream your entire iTunes collection, and tv to devices as well. I'm thinking that's one way sales will be sparked; seamless TV integration with iPhone and an ability to access all of your music and videos with a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. (plus live tv, of course) Make it happen Apple!!

 

[chr1s60]

so you think apple would be willing to sell hardly any iphones for almost 6 months so they could get some ads in? the moment they announce 3g no one will buy an iphone until the new ones come out.

Yeah, because nobody wants phones without 3G. I think people will be surprised how little impact the 3G addition will actually add to sales. Similar to hacking and 3rd party apps, it seems the cry for 3G seems much larger with the internet forum users than it actually does to the rest of the world. Sure it will bring new customers and there will be a significant increase in sales at first, but I have a feeling that it is not going to be anything huge like some people seem to think. A price slashed current iPhone would probably sell as many, if not more than the 3G model when released.

 

[Rebel12345]

Yeah, because nobody wants phones without 3G. I think people will be surprised how little impact the 3G addition will actually add to sales. Similar to hacking and 3rd party apps, it seems the cry for 3G seems much larger with the internet forum users than it actually does to the rest of the world. Sure it will bring new customers and there will be a significant increase in sales at first, but I have a feeling that it is not going to be anything huge like some people seem to think. A price slashed current iPhone would probably sell as many, if not more than the 3G model when released.

Apart from USA everyone wants 3g.......

Of course it is going to be big, why else would Apple bring it out......

Watch the sales skyrocket.

 

[havenhamilton]

how fast is 3g compared to EVDO on verizon?

 

[havenhamilton]

Yeah, because nobody wants phones without 3G. I think people will be surprised how little impact the 3G addition will actually add to sales. Similar to hacking and 3rd party apps, it seems the cry for 3G seems much larger with the internet forum users than it actually does to the rest of the world. Sure it will bring new customers and there will be a significant increase in sales at first, but I have a feeling that it is not going to be anything huge like some people seem to think. A price slashed current iPhone would probably sell as many, if not more than the 3G model when released.

i dont think it has anything to do with it being 3G, i think it has more to do with it being something new. most people dont want to spend that much money on a device when they know a new one is coming out.

 

[needthephone]

This
http://nowisgood.com/

is probably as good a reason as any why apple need a 3g phone now. This Samsung effort looks very cluncky (and I would never buy a Samsung anything let alone a phone as they just do Me Too's with a few gimmicky feaures and in the end they are not that good-we have a fridge and a washing machine.) but being Korean, it will sell billions in Asia and steal apples thunder particularly as apple only have iphone in a few select regions, Asia not being one of them.

Its a cut throat business and all apples obsession with thinness will look pretty hollow if the iphone loses out to these plagerists.

The competition are catching up so apple must keep their momentum and launch 3g yesterday.

 

[Digital Skunk]

This
http://nowisgood.com/

is probably as good a reason as any why apple need a 3g phone now. This Samsung effort looks very cluncky (and I would never buy a Samsung anything let alone a phone as they just do Me Too's with a few gimmicky feaures and in the end they are not that good-we have a fridge and a washing machine.) but being Korean, it will sell billions in Asia and steal apples thunder particularly as apple only have iphone in a few select regions, Asia not being one of them.

Its a cut throat business and all apples obsession with thinness will look pretty hollow if the iphone loses out to these plagerists.

The competition are catching up so apple must keep their momentum and launch 3g yesterday.

I agree wholeheartedly. I tend to think of Apple having a slight lead in the Touch market only because they announced their product two months after the HTC Touch and stole much of it's fire. Now that the competition is learning from Apple's mistakes and improving not only their interfaces but the devices themselves we will find a lot more reasons NOT to go with the iPhone unless you just want an Apple product.

Right now I get faster cheaper service with the Sprint contract and HTC Touch than I could ever get with EDGE. Not to mention that I have tried both touch keyboards and the HTC Touch's XT9 is much better, faster, and easier to use, and that was an improvement that came AFTER the iPhone's release. HTC was listening to people who had a hard time with Apple's keyboard on the iPhone and they answered it very elegantly.

This new phone from Samsung is a sure knock off, but if people like me, who don't want to leave Sprint for lesser service at AT&T want the iPhones new UI and experience they will certainly pickup this phone or the Touch. And once they really see what the differences are, there won't be much appeal to the iPhone. Much like what happened to the iPod.

 

[LiveForever]

I agree they can't rest on their laurels and be all snooty about a beautifully industrially designed product (and they are indeed gorgeous) when 3/4 of the worlds phone market doesn't have access to them. Apple for petes sake stop mucking around and get this thing released.

However the ipod has withstood competiion and I am sure the iphone will too.


Why? Well apple has the complete system integrated into a stunningly simple and effective business model. The SDK selling apps via itunes is the key. The other phones don't have the COMPLETE SYSTEM. Its what the others all miss, all the time.

And I for one wouldn't be content with any other phone unless its iphone. Why settle for second best?I have seen the HTC and this new Samsung and they look horrible in comparison to the perfection that is iphone.

But the billions in Asia don't give a stuff about what I think!

 

[csimmons]

This new phone from Samsung is a sure knock off, but if people like me, who don't want to leave Sprint for lesser service at AT&T want the iPhones new UI and experience they will certainly pickup this phone or the Touch. And once they really see what the differences are, there won't be much appeal to the iPhone. Much like what happened to the iPod.

Right. Which is why after 5 years the iPod is still the dominant MP3 player on the market, despite all of the challengers with so-called better designs and better functionality. The appeal has worn off dramatically since then...


A version of this Samsung phone is already available here in Europe; it's called the F490. After seeing both the iPhone and the Samsung F490 side by side live and in person, it's so painfully obvious that the iPhone wipes the floor with the F490 / Instinct in looks, functionality and UI useability. It's only going to get better (or worse, for the likes of Samsung) starting in june, when the iPhone 2.0 software officially is available. Despite claims to the contrary, the Samsung Instinct is yet another example of how iPhone competitors haven't learned anything from Apple's so-called mistakes.

Reality is sometimes hardest to see when it's right in front of your face.

 

[RackAttack]

Maybe you shouldn't really require an iphone? A $400 phone plan and a $20 a month data plan means that they didn't really intend to target high schoolers.[/QUOTE]
I'm only thirteen and I have an iPhone. I'm commenting on it right now! Lol! Anyways I don't think it matters how old you are I don't think that there is a specific age group that Apple was targeting I think that they just wanted to make a great phone and guess what... They did! It rocks! It's freakin' awesome! Lol anyways I can't wait till software update 2.0 comes out.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I don't know for sure, but what I am saying is that if Apple adds stuff to the iPhone to a point where they are not happy with only getting 400$ for their product, they will likely increase the price.

Apple has done too much gymnastics with the price already, I think they will maintain the $399 starting price.

I'm sorta half expecting/hoping that Apple really knocks it out of the park here, and adds both 3G and more storage at the same price points as before. But that would also have ramifications across their product line (starting with the iPod Touch), I think it's more likely they add 3G to the iPhone but don't change storage capacities or price.

Then in September, we see refeshes across the board, so now they can bump iPhone storage capacities. iPhone goes to 16GB and 32GB at $399 and $499, plus additional updates (faster CPU, maybe thinner body, more battery life, etc.) We also get similar updates to the Nano and Touch, the typical stuff we get every year from Apple.

It's very possible they also introduce say a 8GB iPhone model at $299 that might be inferior in other ways to the more expensive models. They have to walk a fine line between cutting price points to increase potential market size, and maintaining/growing revenue and profitability. But for sure over the long run, the starting price for the iPhone line will go down.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Right. Which is why after 5 years the iPod is still the dominant MP3 player on the market, despite all of the challengers with so-called better designs and better functionality. The appeal has worn off dramatically since then...

You totally missed the point, especially since I didn't say anything BAD about the iPod or the iPhone. But since you insist on pushing the fanboy agenda I will break it down for you.

1. The iPod is a great music player for both Windows and Mac fans
2. Some people have SOME issue with the iPod and can't come to terms with throwing down the money for it.
3. Those people look elsewhere and find a device that may either be a knock off (Samsung) or a totally new device that doesn't have that issue (Zune)
4. Once that person uses that device and compares it to the iPod they don't really see what all the hype is about, and even with the perceived limitations of either product find that the device fits them perfectly.

Now let's look at it from the cell perspective... I will take my time.

1. iPhone means signing up for AT&T which is far from the best cell provider
2. iPhone will have software and pro features but not now.
3. But iPhone has slick UI and great usability in a flashy new way to interact with your phone.
4. Other phones don't have exactly what the iPhone has, but run on a better network, and have software for consumers and pros.
5. UI of other phones isn't as good, but once you use both devices you can see that the iPhone isn't perfect either, especially compared to other phones that improve on certain areas where some feel the iPhone fails.
6. Those users will pick up other phone and be satisfied with their choice.

iPhone is great, AT&T isn't, and there are people that would like to have some kind of word processing application on their phones, along with other software without having to jailbreak/hack/destroy their phones. Other people want a different provider, some want a better keyboard, some want more security, some just don't like Apple.

There are plenty of reasons, and now that there are other options (Samsung phone), some that have come way before the iPhone (HTC Touch), people won't have to compromise. And the competitors have learned from apple's mistakes. As I said with the Touch, the keyboard is probably the biggest reason for the purchase. It's hands down a far superior feature that gives five different ways to enter text. Only the XT9 function is actually better, since writing on your screen isn't that effective, but that feature came to the US version after the iPhone was released. Samsung may not be learning a thing though.

Sorry for the long post

 

[Dimwhit]

1. iPhone means signing up for AT&T which is far from the best cell provider
2. iPhone will have software and pro features but not now.
3. But iPhone has slick UI and great usability in a flashy new way to interact with your phone.
4. Other phones don't have exactly what the iPhone has, but run on a better network, and have software for consumers and pros.
5. UI of other phones isn't as good, but once you use both devices you can see that the iPhone isn't perfect either, especially compared to other phones that improve on certain areas where some feel the iPhone fails.
6. Those users will pick up other phone and be satisfied with their choice.

iPhone is great, AT&T isn't,

I would dispute that. I think AT&T is great. Never a problem with reliability, network, or service. And I've heard a lot of bitching about Verizon, Sprint, etc. Easily as much as I've heard about AT&T at the least. So while I wouldn't say it's necessarily the best, it's no worse than the others.