Apple Announces the iPhone
Today at the MacWorld Conferecnce in San Fransico, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a new Apple iPhone mobile phone. The iPhone includes a 3.5" inch touchscreen wisdescreen display, with new mulit-touch support. It includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 2 megapixel camera and either 4GB or 8GB of storage. It is also one of the slimmest smartphones, with dimensions of 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches (115 x 61 x 11.6mm) weighing in at 4.8 ounces (135g).
Details are still coming in but it will apparently run a version of OS X and uses a quadband GSM radio with EDGE. It includes iPod and iTunes syncing software, a Video player, html and push email support, safari web browser, google maps and other new features such as visual voicemail.
The Apple iPhone is expected to become available from Apple and Cingular in June for $499 for the 4GB and $599 for the 8GB version.
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RE: iPhone!
On another note, I wish I could say that I'd like to have seen Ed Colligan's face when the news hit, but deep down I know he's not surprised. Why should he be? Unlike Palm, Apple has built a reputation on not pulling punches on hardware and features, so who would expect any less? Nope he knew it was coming, and he doesn't give a damn, because he's a millionare no matter what happens to Palm.
I think Palm can kiss it's consumer market goodbye, which means PalmOS. There still may be hope for phones like the 750. Speaking of which, it's completely telling and absolutely pitiful to compare the launch of the 750 vs. the iPhone.
I'd like to be optimistic and hope that Palm will make a PalmOS Treo to rival the iPhone, but I honestly don't think anymore that they have the motivation or the capability. It could have been them on top, if they'd only had the balls to try to pull it off...
Peace Out
Alan
RE: iPhone!
Job's first goal is 1% of the cell phone market. There is still lots of room for Palm phones. I would love to have an iPhone but there are a number of reasons I might go with a Treo instead. (Cingular's contract might be more than I would want to handle, lack of network in some rural areas, total cost of owning.) I want to share your optimism and hope Palm will improve its products and expand its markets.
What now Colligan?
Stunning!
I'm STILL slackjawed at the iPhone...it's much, much more than I expected it to be (I was expecting another ROKR rehash).
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
I'm not doing well with tags lately...
Still, before we all go "Boy, dat feeture list sure is tootin' long" let's all pause and think:
1) It's thin yet has a huge widescreen screen, a sh*tload of internal storage, a desktop OS and wi-fi. Put these together with the iPod's notorious battery life woes. Gulp.
2) MESSAGING!!!!! For the generation that has grown up using mobile phones (myself included), especially in Asian and European countries, SMS is arguably far more important than making calls. How exactly do you type out a quick SMS or email on this? Answer: with great difficulty if you have to do it all via an on-screen virtual keyboard. Quoth Jobs:
"I can have multiple SMS conversations. Here's the conversation I've been carrying on [shows QWERTY keyboard on screen]. I've got this little keyboard that prevents error, it's really fast to type on, faster than the little plastic keyboards on all those smartphones."
Bullshit!! Predictive text is insanely annoying and part of the reason I bought a Treo with a real keyboard in the first place.
3) The same goes for URLs on the internet. Are Apple seriously expecting people to touch-tap long and complicated URLs? Puh-lease. Emails? Ha!
4)Quoth Jobs:
Favorites, last century [shows dialer], calendar, SMS texting, incredible photo app, the ability to take any picture and make it your wallpaper. I think you'll agree... we've reinvented the phone."
No, Steve, the Treo already offers ALL those things. Can't wait for the media reports that repeat his meme over, and over.....
That said: the web browser, camera and wi-fi all look awesome.
I'm also never going to buy one. It forces you to sync your contacts with iTunes. Ugh.
Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680
RE: Stunning!
Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 + 4gb MicroDrive + Palm Tungsten T|3 (1100mah)
My T|3 is too [i]sexy[/i] for me.
RE: Stunning!
The internal storage is solid state (flash), meaning that no battery power is needed to either keep data, or spin a physical disk, to the battery is only an issue when reading/writing, just as with any other phone. So that is mitigated. Also, you can bet the the OS is an embedded version, also decreasing the hit on the battery, though not completely. Still, this leaves only the screen as a major battery drain, and it's not even VGA. I think it will do pretty well. The question is, is the battery removable/user replaceable. Also, with only 4-8GB onboard, this is not yet an iPod replacement. It would have been nice to see a card slot somewhere on this bad boy, but that is a minor gripe, really, and may have increased the thickness of the device, which physically is quite stunning. Let's hope it's performance is equally so.
_________________
Sean
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.
RE: Stunning!
My impressions:
It seemed huge compared to the Treo. And too thin. Easy to drop (and Apple has a reputation for building things that like to scratch easily).
Nice bright color landscape screen. No physical keyboard. It would take a miracle for me to type qwerty on a software-only keyboard - they absolutely suck. I can type one-handed on the Treo without even looking at the device - hard to touch-type on a flat piece of glass...
No backup SD slot. Brilliant, Apple. Welcome to Palm's world circa 1999. Maybe people "phone in" their backups?
$600.00 AND a 2-year contract for an 8GB Ipod ($239.00) tied to a phone? And STILL no FM radio. That implementation of OSX had better give regular backrubs at that price.
They will probably sell quite a few of these to Apple/Ipod fetishists with money to burn, but it's no Newton or Palm.
What's most amazing to me about the iPhone is it clearly illustrates how much better the Treo COULD have been by now if Palm hadn't just sat on their laurels the past few years. They've milked the design Handspring gave them years ago as far as they could, made a deal with the Redmond devil and kludged in WinceMob. But Apple has come out of nowhere and made a very interesting multimedia phone out of an MP3 player. If Palm had put it's "LifeDrive" energy into improving the Treo's multimedia instead, they wouldn't be off-loading the Lifedrives as Apple releases a Phone that blows the Lifedrive away AND is a phone. And they did it with FLASH and not a ridiculous Microdrive.
RE: Stunning!
Word, brother.
Battery life might be iffy.
Five hours of full usage seems like it is not enough for use as a PDA. I would want at least 8.
Still, it looks very sexy. As a smartphone it could be a real Treo killer.
"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."
RE: Battery life might be iffy.
It'll also use a single charger connector (standard iPod design).
More tidbits from Engadget & Macworld:
"On one side, the iPhone sports a ring/silent switch, volume up and down controls. On its silver back side is a 2 megapixel digital camera. The bottom features a speaker, microphone and iPod dock connector.
The iPhone also incorporates a proximity sensor that automatically deactivates the screen and turns off the touch sensor when you raise the device to your face. An ambient light sensor will sense lighting conditions and adjust brightness levels accordingly. And an accelerometer can tell when you switch from portrait to landscape mode"
"It also integrates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, and will automatically switch from a cell phone data network to Wi-Fi when it gets in range. "
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
RE: Battery life might be iffy.
wow. could you ever dream of seeing such innovation and technology on a treo?
RE: Battery life might be iffy.
RE: Battery life might be iffy.
RE: Battery life might be iffy.
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
2 batteries, EDGE/wi-fi/BT 2.0/2mp camera/8gb flash in a device that sleek ...and here I sit looking at my antenna-sportin' 700p lagging away with its Seidio "RumpShaker" battery attached and just shake my head...
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
Gosh this thing is pretty though...
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
Pat Horne
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
OK, walk me through this. How could you possibly have a web browser that's less capable than Blazer?
Wait! I forgot AvantGo. My bad.
If you think the iPhone's browser is worse than that, you must have been watching a different demo than I was.
RE: iPhone Demo's on Apple's site
I would really, really love to see the conversation where you float that idea to Steve Jobs.
The Newton was not Jobs' idea. It was the idea of the person who fired Jobs, John Sculley. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton Educate thyself.
Arguably, the Newton is dead today because of Jobs' vendetta against Sculley. Frankly, I think that has been his biggest misstep since returning to Apple.
Palmato started a thread already.
Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 + 4gb MicroDrive + Palm Tungsten T|3 (1100mah)
My T|3 is too [i]sexy[/i] for me.
Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
So long fellas, it won't be the same without you around producing mediocre hardware.
-------------------------------
PocketFactory, www.pocketfactory.com
Elitist Snob, www.elitistsnob.com
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Yes, Palm will have the Treo 683. It will ship with Palm OS 5.4.9.99.999.999999, 65MB non-volatile flash memory (32MB user accessible), 200k program execution memory, and...
an antenna nub.
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Don't be stupid. This thing is $600 with a 2 year contract at launch. Get your economics straight. I'm pretty sure that those companies will have something up their sleeves once iPhone debuts in June. That 2 Megapixel Camera will look pathetic once that time comes.
Uh...not quite, Steimie. The entry level model is $499 with contract, which puts it on par with other smartphone devices in this class, or near as anything else can approach. And unless "those companies" can magically pull a full blown Unix platform running desktop class applications out their hats within the next few months, I don't see how anything will touch the iPhone upon launch. PalmOS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian are outclassed by OSX under the hood.
Palm should seek a buyer while their shares still hold value. With Garnet and Windows Mobile as their only Ace, they are holding a losing hand.
-------------------------------
PocketFactory, www.pocketfactory.com
Elitist Snob, www.elitistsnob.com
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
It's an impressive announcement and Steve is a great salesman. When these devices are in people's hands and they're still convinced, maybe then it's time to start writing obituaries. Until then, all we have to go on is hype.
Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Will Palm come up with a treo that does all this by dec 07. Probably not, so paying $499 for a dvice that does all this looks good to me than a device that does half of this for $199.
Just my opinion from a former Palm user.
___________________________________
Casio B.O.S.S --> M100 --> Vx --> M505 --> T3 -->?
Yankees, Steinbrenner,...... I will never turn to the dark side.
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
So long fellas, it won't be the same without you around producing mediocre hardware.<<<
A $500 or $600 smartphone that is not even 3G capable. Give me a break. This phone has some nice features but this is certainly not the smartphone that will end all smartphones.
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 + 4gb MicroDrive + Palm Tungsten T|3 (1100mah)
My T|3 is too [i]sexy[/i] for me.
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Furthermore, the more you create a Swiss Army gadget, the LESS the features are operational. You'll get fifteen gadgets but at half their functionality potential--I'm sticking to carrying my iPod, my T|X and my Cingular ROKR--I may have three pounds of equipment but, they'll be the complete devices they were meant to be!!!
Sharp Wizard 6500> Palm m500> m515> Tungsten T> Zire 71> T|E> T|X
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
Who this is going to hurt in a big way; Palm, RIM, Nokia, Motorola, Microsoft (anyone still want to buy a Zune or a Windows Smartphone?).
Apple has signed a multiyear exclusive deal with Cingular. I certainly wouldn't want to own Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint stock right now.
Here's hoping manufacturers step up to the plate and start building products I would want to buy again. The Palm 680, last year's 650 without the stubby antenna! Wake up call boys and girls. I'm tired of evolutionary products, lets see your revolutionary ones. I think for Palm it is already far, far too late.
Best, James Scherber
RE: Fly your stylus at half-mast to honor the dead
True, the AT&T monster we chopped up over 20 years ago has nearly completely returned, spouting additional tentacles into cellular and broadband duopolies that should make any American Citizen shudder about the future of their Republic. It's a bad, bad sign.
But a phone that plays MP3's and does a few things the Treo does (with a bigger screen but without a realistic keyboard or even a backup slot) isn't going to make *ME* give up EVDO and reasonable rates and great coverage on Sprint. And Verizon seems to have fanboys that nearly claim to have travelled to the earth's core without dropping a call - doubt they'd drop their beloved carrier in exchange for a scratchable MP3 player with a beautiful screen and no keyboard.
lifedrive part two?
RE: lifedrive part two?
Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 + 4gb MicroDrive + Palm Tungsten T|3 (1100mah)
My T|3 is too [i]sexy[/i] for me.
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iPhone!
Also Apple is selling games for the iPod at a fixed $4.99. Some of these games are on Palm OS for more than $10!
Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 + 4gb MicroDrive + Palm Tungsten T|3 (1100mah)
My T|3 is too [i]sexy[/i] for me.