iPhone, iPhone!!!!

I wonder how the problem of fingerprints is solved ? At first I thought the finger only has to come *close* to the screen, but after watching the Jobs demo, It seems like he touches it.

I'll be one the first to play with the phone when it hits the stores, but even if it works as well as the demo suggests, will wait on purchase for a larger storage capacity, high speed internet, and carrier choices.

Even so, I can well imagine people selling the phone at a high price on Ebay for a few months leading up to Xmas 2007.

 

I agree with viking31; there are always people out there who believe they are above others because of their ideologies.

pinto girl, are you sure you aren't from Berkeley? They believe they are true environmentalists, but they are far from being good to the earth. The homes they live in are a testament to their true uncaring nature as they are an inefficient use of resources, making them sprawl-like in energy use.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jan 9 2007, 06:01 PM) [snapback]373343[/snapback]</div>

I think bugmenot's point was that manufacturing a Prius uses up 1000x resources that an iPhone would use. And after that, driving the Prius obviously uses more resources than using an iPhone, but even if you don't drive it (which is kind of wasteful in a way - all those resources went into a car and now it's not available to anyone), you've already consumed more resources than a person just buying an iPhone. It's like somebody with a big woodpile complaining about somebody else's walking stick. Of course, this assumes a person buys either an iPhone (walking stick) or a car (woodpile), but not both. So that argument is a bit facetious.

Personally, I like the the iPhone idea because it combines an iPod, a cell phone and a digital camera, all of which most people would otherwise buy separately. So now there's just one small device, instead of several. Let's just hope they all get recycled properly and the heavy metals of the electronics don't get into the groundwater.

I try to live with a light footprint as well, so I applaud your steps, but logically buying a used Corolla would have been better for saving money and using fewer resources. However, buying a Prius does show the world that there is a market for better designed, fuel efficient cars in the future. So hopefully, new cars will be less wasteful than cars currently in production. Also, I produce fewer GHG in the meantime, plus my wife would be hard-sell on a used Corolla idea. I'll just have to keep it ten years or more to make up for buying new.

Isolation is another issue, but hasn't changed since the popularity of cell-phones and walkmans.

 

A few notes, EricGo:

Storage capacity should go up in the next few years... unfortunately, space requirements for storage and the slim form factor means that you would need a hard drive based product for more massive storage, instead of the flash it uses now. there are pros and cons to both methods, and i wish they would come out with just the iPod portion of it with a hard drive in 40-80 gigs...

high speed internet is already available on the device - it can utilize the 802.11 b/g standard, where g is pretty much as fast as you need for most things (you can view webpages in an instant, play MMORPG's, whatever). Additionally, the Cingular EDGE network is considered to be pretty much the fastest nationwide high speed data network. As it stands, the EDGE network is about 3 times faster than dial up - however distance to the towers, signal strength, and inherent latencies make it feel slower.

It'll probably be a long time before we see cross-carrier compatibility for the iPhone... There are technical differences between the different networks that don't make it very feasible to distribute cross carrier (for example, EDGE is Cingular only). It's frustrating, but unfortunately thats just how it is, and Apple has to deal with it.

So, by all means wait... it just means i'll be fighting one fewer person for mine when the time comes

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Jan 10 2007, 03:29 PM) [snapback]373731[/snapback]</div>

EDGE is actually a GSM standard... T-Mobile uses it, Rogers (in canada) uses it, and a number of Euro GSM carriers use it. EDGE is not Cingular only.

Additionaly, EDGE is becoming a bit outdated. Most of the newer '3G' Cingular phones are about 5-10x faster than EDGE, which is, as you said, about 3 times faster than dialup.

I still don't see how APPL can charge 499 for the phone without including any 3G.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Jan 10 2007, 01:42 PM) [snapback]373739[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, forgot about T-mobile, didn't know about Canada, and figured most people here don't really care if something that is offered here is also available a couple of thousand miles away...

anyways, here's a more accurate picture of things:
0G

* PTT
* MTS
* IMTS
* AMTS
* OLT
* MTD
* Autotel/PALM
* ARP

1G

* NMT
* AMPS/TACS/ETACS
* Hicap
* CDPD
* Mobitex
* DataTac

2G

* GSM
* iDEN
* D-AMPS
* IS-95/cdmaOne
* PDC
* CSD
* PHS
* GPRS
* HSCSD
* WiDEN
* CDMA2000 1xRTT/IS-2000
* EDGE (EGPRS)

3G

* W-CDMA
o UMTS (3GSM)
o FOMA
* TD-CDMA/UMTS-TDD
* 1xEV-DO/IS-856
* TD-SCDMA
* GAN/UMA
* HSDPA
* HSUPA
* HSOPA

4G

* UMB


In this chart, 3G is better than 2G is better than 1G... but the point is, carriers can't agree on a single standard, and for the most part each carrier has developed their own standard (which is why there are so many for each generation). It would be really nice if IEEE could come out with a single standard for everyone to follow, kind of like the 802.11 standard that is used for wireless routers.

 

Many photos of new IPhone from Engadget.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/the-apple-iphone/

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Jan 10 2007, 04:05 PM) [snapback]373750[/snapback]</div>

Some of us care. And that's part of this whole communications revolution, bringing people together, whether they're next door or thousands of miles away. Or even in another country.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Jan 10 2007, 04:05 PM) [snapback]373750[/snapback]</div>

Half of those standards are just... well, not used.

GSM and CDMA carriers have (for the most part) standardized on their 3G. With GSM it's UMTS/HSDPA, and most new Cingular phones are 3G capable... so it's odd that Apple didn't add this in.

Which leads me to believe their cellular chipset is Moto based... Moto has a lot of trouble doing a proper EDGE implementation. Just a guess, but a pretty good one...

 

It doesn't look like it has a camera, which is good, in a way. I had a day of Federal jury duty and cameras were not allowed in the jury waiting room. That meant I couldn't have my e815. If I were relying on that one thing for entertainment, I'd be really bored.

 

[attachmentid=6209]

It looks like it does have a camera from the picture. The website also says this:

Photos
iPhone features a 2-megapixel camera and a photo management application that goes far beyond anything on a phone today. Sync photos from your PC or Mac, and you’re ready to browse or email them with the flick of a finger.

 

I really hate the lack of expandable memory. Would it have been so horrible to include an SD card slot? And it's pretty cruel that apple isn't letting Cingular subsidize the phone cost.

If my friends can have an intervention and stop me from getting it as soon as it comes out, then maybe I'll be able to wait till they come out with a second generation iphone that will hopefully contain anything that's missing from the first and a lower price tag.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jkash @ Jan 10 2007, 03:23 PM) [snapback]373832[/snapback]</div>

You're right.

BTW I wasn't allowed into a sneak preview once until I put my phone (with camera) in the car.

 

It would appear that iPhone is a registered trademark belonging to another company:

Cisco sues Apple over use of iPhone name

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jkash @ Jan 10 2007, 05:23 PM) [snapback]373832[/snapback]</div>

But the button shown in the photo is the "Home" button. During the demo Jobs showed the camera lens, it is on the back of the device (so you see on the LCD screen what you are shooting).

 

I don't own an iPod. I don't own a cellular phone. But *if* for any reason I felt the need to own either, or both, *this* is the phone I would buy.

However I would wait. I want to see what the battery life is like. How many times will it recharge? How long does it take? How long does it last? Can it be replaced or is it like some of *those* iPods? It says 5 (talk/video/browsing)- 16 (music) hours. Yeah. Well, my laptop battery is supposed to be 4 hours but even just typing and doing nothing else I get maybe 2:30.

Currently, it only works with Cingular.

Of course, the longer I wait, the more accessories will become available. I am a touch typist so want a keyboard. I have an expandable travel keyboard for my palm. I this phone does as much as it does, I want a keyboard because that is what I use my palm for; to take notes so I don't have to lug around my laptop. Hmm. It says there's a full qwerty keyboard. Calls it a 'soft keyboard'. I don't know if that means it's an add on that you plug in or not. I hope it not one of those tiny things on the device where you have to use your thumbs. I will not do that. I have an external keyboard for the Palm because I will not use the stylus to type.

I bet vendors are scrambling to make "skinz", shells and cases for it. Can't wait to see what Griffin comes up with.

If I wait long enough, they'll put an iSight camera on it and add iChatAV.

They'll probably add GPS eventually too.

 

Simply put, as a hippie, and one that wants to watch out for the planet as much as reasonably I can, I will get this phone. Then, I will hand me down my current Cingular phone to my younger brother.

I still have a old manual non electronic typewriter. Do I use it? No. But I could if I had to. I love old technology. I don't see why I can't enjoy new stuff as well. I'm about to order the Apple®TV as well. Why not? Enjoy life while we are here.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jan 10 2007, 09:24 PM) [snapback]373896[/snapback]</div>

They'll settle.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jan 11 2007, 01:38 AM) [snapback]374015[/snapback]</div>

I still have my Smith Corona electric typewriter. I bought it when I was in High School with my first paycheck.

I also have a small, manual typewriter I recently inherited from my late Aunt. I bought a ribbon for it and it works fine. I use it to type the labels for the VHS tapes. Yep, still have the VCR too. I also have a turntable for my stereo and plenty of vinyl. I have new. I have old. The trick is to balance them so you have stuff that works for you. Sometimes newer isn't necessarily better.

I own a Singer Featherweight circa 1954. It's my prized sewing machine although I own others. Yes, I own more than one sewing machine.

I watched the iPhone video on the apple sight. About 90 min. of it. It was really neat what this phone can do.

It won't ship until June. We'll see what's offered with it. (I want to see that soft keyboard.)

I think it's more likely to get an iSight camera and GPS than a memory card. What do you need a card for? It's got a 4 GB or 8GB harddrive. It's got enough memory to handle video. What more do you need?

 

A few notes for questions poised:

Yes, it does have a camera (2 megapixel, on the back)

the "soft keyboard" they're talking about is really a virtual keyboard that displays on the bottom portion of the touch screen when needed. It's a full QWERTY layout, and the buttons appear to be larger than the plastic keys you find on current smart phones.