"Apple had intended to have the phone ready before Christmas, an insider, who wants to remain anonymous, reported. He himself already held the iPod- cellphone in his hands but was bound to secrecy. He is expecting the device to be presented at MacWorld"
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Wall Street Journal
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"Apple had intended to have the phone ready before Christmas, an insider, who wants to remain anonymous, reported. He himself already held the iPod- cellphone in his hands but was bound to secrecy. He is expecting the device to be presented at MacWorld"
And it could have all been avoided had Apple just sold their phone through their own stores...Oh no, this has turned into yet another boring thread about the inadequate US phone networks.
I assume you mean "on their own" and not selling it through all carriers simultaneously. The reason is because American cell phone service and the companies that provide it are a**-backwards and greedy. They would all refuse to sell the Apple Phone unless they were blessed to be the sole carrier of the Apple Phone, and they got to put their brand name on it somewhere, so even when you're phone was turned off you would be their advertisement and everyone would know who your carrier was.
And they wouldn't be scared that by setting this stance they would be left out while all the other carriers cooperated and reaped the Apple Phone buying storm. Because wireless carriers are like insurance companies and airlines, they all get together in meetings and collude on how they will conduct business. So if one carrier said "No" to sharing the Apple Phone, they can be assured everyone else will also say "no" and force Apple into picking one of them to get exclusivity for the device.
Well the main point to this thread is whether or not the phone will appear.
I am very much looking forward to such a device and will be really interested to see it's design, usability and features.
I don't care if it "may be on cingular" and we can debate that if and when it does get announced. Fortunately it will not be an arguement I will engage or care in as I live in the UK so it will go onto all the major carriers and / or be sold as a device with no bound carrier.
This may well be a great chance for Apple to really stamp their print with high market visibility (in a similar way to the ipod - without the high market share) .
Lets hope there are some great new announcements today at the show and the products actually live up to the billing.
I am very much looking forward to such a device and will be really interested to see it's design, usability and features.
I don't care if it "may be on cingular" and we can debate that if and when it does get announced. Fortunately it will not be an arguement I will engage or care in as I live in the UK so it will go onto all the major carriers and / or be sold as a device with no bound carrier.
This may well be a great chance for Apple to really stamp their print with high market visibility (in a similar way to the ipod - without the high market share) .
Lets hope there are some great new announcements today at the show and the products actually live up to the billing.
I have a nasty feeling the rest of the world (outside the U.S.) will be waiting a loooong time for this to arrive
I have a nasty feeling the rest of the world (outside the U.S.) will be waiting a loooong time for this to arrive
Apple can't afford for this to happen. The device will fail if it does.
...8 hrs to go.
Well here's the big down side to MVNO:
Service Plans, and mobile to mobile. These are questions i'll be really concerned about. For example is it only apple's service that does mobile to mobile meaning that an apple phone can't call cingular without using minutes because while there will be alot with the iPhone not a lot will have it at the same time.
Second service plans. Will apple be able to rent Cingular's network or what ever it is doing and be able to offer competitive plans? Like I have unlimited internet/text for 15 a month. Not to shabby. Will Apple be able to compete since it doesn't have its own network?
Also I have to wonder if alot of people will truly get the phone if they don't offer outstanding service. Yes an Apple phone would be awesome but honestly I won't leave Sprint or any provider I'm with if I'm not getting the best I can' get for my dollar, phone or not. If I wanted the snazy new crap I'd be on cingular and I'd be buying unlocked European phones.
It's not as easy as it looks. Apple would need a pay for licenses to operate and sell mobile/voice/data services in certain countries and in countries where they cannot, they would need to partner with the local telecom provider. It's just too complicated and complex to go through the legalities with the local government and local telco. Furthermore, the roadmap to become an international MVNO will take too long which will definately hurt their sales.
Finally, most telcos don't wholesale their mobile service. Especially in a case like this if they see Apple as a competitor with "disruptive" technology (VoIP, Video Conference etc.).
I really hope all this hype isn't just for an Apple cellphone. We didn't wait 30 years for that!! Besides, if it won't work internationally, it will fail, and Cingular is not international (because they are greedy dundering fools).
The Wall Street Journal completely overlooked the real buzzworthy item in the Keynote speech tomorrow: iPod Socks 2.0!
The Wall Street Journal completely overlooked the real buzzworthy item in the Keynote speech tomorrow: iPod Socks 2.0!
So maybe the iPod Phone is actually just an ipod nano and wifi phone combined. There's a sim slot so you an go with your existing carriers sim (avoiding the whole carrier issue for the moment) but it's not essential for the device to work.
...7 1/2 hours to go
...7 1/2 hours to go
I always assumed Apple already has billing, credit, and collections systems in place. Granted they would have to expand on this and the system would need to be much more elaborate. They would only need to expand as quickly as they gain new customers. They don't need a Verizon sized billing department when they are first starting out.
It would all depend on how the MVNO was implemented. Would it be Apple just reselling airtime or would it be more of an 'invisible to the consumer' partnership between Apple and Cingular where Cingular would handle these things under the Apple Wireless name? Who knows.
I guess we will see tomorrow. It just seems so un-apple like to go with a current cell provider. Confusing pricing schemes, crippled features, a lack of integration. Everyone knows cellphone companies frequently anger people and are complicated. Jobs does not want the Apple brand name associated with all that complexity and negativity.
An MVNO would be a HUGE business venture and undertaking, I wonder if Apple has the audacity to do it??
I guess we'll see in short time.
Also, why would a phone fail if it isn't international? This makes no sense at all. It limits to a smaller market but does not guarantee failure. Anyways, the US already doesn't have as nice of phones as other countries.
The iPod was initially only available for Macs even though it was a very small market and it wasn't a 'failure'.They could go pre-paid and sell air-time and/or data packages through the iTunes store.
ps: I miss Minnesota, how's the weather this winter?
Well have to agree with the guys from the uk dont think its gona make much difrance to us out here.. Either vodaphone will get it as a carrier exclusive or Carphone warehouse will have it as an exclusive as a phone u can buy out right .....
Now what soding goodies will it have thats what i want to know
Now what soding goodies will it have thats what i want to know
Hmmm, well.
- not enough storage (8GB)
- low magapixel camera (1.3M)
- slow network access (no HSDPA)
- small screen
- too expensive
BUT, really well integrated into OSX and a nifty interface.
We'll see how close I am to the mark this afternoon (morning for you us-centrics
).
Also, why would a phone fail if it isn't international? This makes no sense at all. It limits to a smaller market but does not guarantee failure. Anyways, the US already doesn't have as nice of phones as other countries.
The mobile phone market is insanely competitive. Way more so than any mp3 player market. If this isn't international then Apple are much more likely to lose out.
I expect a slight delay in getting it to territories other than the US but anything more than that jeopardises chances of success imo.
err hello i live in the uk! theres no such thing as cingular or verizon over here! what the hellam i gunna do!?!?!? we dont have the same range of phones as you..i.e. we have never seen the sidekick here! although we had te razr first if apple dont release this unlocked im gunna do some apple bashing.
if apple dont release this unlocked im gunna do some apple bashing.
err hello i live in the uk! theres no such thing as cingular or verizon over here! what the hellam i gunna do!?!?!? we dont have the same range of phones as you..i.e. we have never seen the sidekick here! although we had te razr first
We get quite a few phones before the US market does (sometimes not, like the Samsung Blackjack and that's down to a Cingular tie in, I digress but I was hoping Apple might step outside that kind of thing).
A part of me (the part who can afford a 200 quid phone) wants unlocked Apple phones. The other part of me (that would like to see Apple make a success of selling these things) looks at the "cost" of a SE k800i ie. 'free' and thinks Apple _has_ to go the carrier subsidised route to compete on the same terms as the competition.
If Apple do decide unlocked is the way then they'll have to market these as iPods that just happen to be phones too, surely (to justify the price). Otherwise people will just go with whatever they can get that is 'free'.
Hmmm, well.
- not enough storage (8GB)
- low magapixel camera (1.3M)
- slow network access (no HSDPA)
- small screen
- too expensive
BUT, really well integrated into OSX and a nifty interface.
We'll see how close I am to the mark this afternoon (morning for you us-centrics
I think you're right.. And it will probably sell like hotcakes too..
I think you're right.. And it will probably sell like hotcakes too..
I forgot that bit.
See, iPods aren't the most featureful mp3 players out there but it's all about the 'experience'. Apple are likely to do this with the phone too. The margins are bigger for a start...
It won't be called iPhone.
So if I'm right and it's an iPod Phone loosely based on the Nano. Then I'd expect that kinda pricing for the 4GB (maybe 8GB) version.
We're wildly stabbing in the dark now though aren't we?
hard to say - in a couple of months, when the phone will be available in Europe, you might get an unlocked iPhone for that money. I doubt there'll be more than one version of each model, but I'm still hoping there's going to be a "pro" model with a PDA part.