Iphone no compared to Zune

[symphonix]

Originally Posted by Thank The Cheese

...will be around $800 AUD with contract. So I'm guessing without contract (if that will be possible) it will be upwards of $1300+ AUD. That's a bit insane for a phone, an iPod, or both.

True, but then I know plenty of management types who would consider it a more convenient alternative to carrying a laptop around, and knowing what some people spend on mobile phones, laptops, PDAs and iPods, the price tag doesn't sound all that bad at all.

btw, am I the only one who would actually like an iPhone without the phone?

For some reason that comment makes me sad.

[gduncan]

I watched the keynote this evening after I got home from work. I don't remember Steve specifically saying so (I was doing other things while listening so I may have missed it) but I've heard it reported that internet access is available through Cingular's network however, the iPhone will automatically switch to WiFi if it senses a network available. If it's a free hotspot then you have free access. You are not obligated to use Cingular's network at the point.

Now, I have my question. Since it uses a micro-version of OS X, would it be possible for third parties to add Palm or Pocket PC type functionality to the iPhone? In other words word processing, database, spreadsheet, or other specialized apps?

[Thank The Cheese]

Originally Posted by symphonix

For some reason that comment makes me sad.

Didnt mean to bring you down symph

I guess my point is that the iPod line is really falling behind its competitors such as the Zune, with a small screen and no wifi etc.. Try and Apple might to present the iPhone as the new iPod, it's not IMO. They are separate products (4GB-8GB, for a start, is not going to store enough podcasts, movies, or TV shows to compete with the regular iPod for a start). So whlie the Zune and Creative increase the capabilities of their large-capacity MP3 players, the iPod is going to look the same, have the same smaller screen, and start to look very limited in comparison.

@gduncan
A good question. We don't know at this point just how much of OS X is in the phone. He said, or at least implied, it ran OS X in its entirety, but from what I saw it looked extremely stripped down. I'd have liked to have at least seen an iPhone version of TextEdit, for example.

[fryke]

Why do we assume that the normal iPod will stay _exactly_ the same? Nobody said that would happen. I'm pretty sure that _some_ ideas of the iPhone might make it into the iPod.

Apart from that: I _like_ that I didn't see TextEdit or any other full OS X app running on the iPhone. I like that they're special apps, made to fit the iPhone's paradigm, the iPhone's use of touch. But there should've been a *loud* call for developers. Say: "Here's the SDK. We want at least 10 great apps to be ready for download when the iPhone arrives in June!"

Then again: Apple still has time to do that outside of yesterday's timeframe.

[Lt Major Burns]

the zune may have a bigger screen than the current 5G ipod, but it's the same resolution, so it's no different. the iPod is still a smaller, slimmer, lighter package by a long way. creative are still rubbish. the 5G ipods still hold up, and the only reason they seem not to is that apple have made it harder for themselves ...

i like to think the wordprocessor wasn't shown because it's just so obvious that it would have it. it's features were shown in email, sms etc.

[monktus]

The iPhone looks awesome, I want one even more than I want a Wii. However I'm disappointed that it's been compromised my America's weird mobile market.

Firstly, EDGE is uncommon outside of the US. To be fair, I don't use 3G on Orange in the UK anymore because it's ludicrously expensive and my WM5 PDA was rubbish as a phone so I went back to an old 2G SonyEricsson, but it would have made sense to go with the prevailing technology.

Secondly, a two year contract, or in fact, a contract at all. Contrary to what many people are assuming, the iPhone's price is not subsidised by Cingular and I see no reason to tie in features into any one network. A two year contract is also very long outside the US, 18 month contracts are becoming more common in the UK and you can go for two years if you want some heavy subsidising of a handset or certain deals, however I hope and assume that the situation will be different for the European release. Steve did mention that a 3G version was on the way (which I assume is the reason for the later release) however it would be nice if the contract terms, if any, will be more favourable when I get one. I read somewhere that there was a possiblility of Apple teaming up with O2 in the UK.

There's also a killer app that I assume will be available at launch, at least from a 3rd party if not Apple; the iPhone will make a great remote for the iTV or your media server.

[djbeta]

I honestly don't care whether Cingular is an inferior service. I'm ready to toss Verizon (who has a habit of crippling their products) in the trash and switch over to Cingular.

In my opinion, the iPhone is, hands down, the best product I've seen in a very, very long time, electronic or not.

concerns I have:

it looks like it might be slippery to the touch, my Treo was a real pain in this sense, and I *had* to opt to get a leather case to keep from dropping it.. iPods don't tend to slip out of your hands, so I hope the iPhone is the same.

8Gb ??? um... why ? c'mon, couldn't they squeeze find a way to ship the initial product with 20Gb or 40Gb?
I personally don't want one at 8Gb.. but I'd probably get one if that was my only choice.

No expansion card ? though I can see that it might ugly up the design, wouldn't it have allowed for interesting add-ons?


my biggest concern is whether we're going to see iphone incarnations of MORE cool applications, notably:

FileMaker (a relational version please!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Audio Recording application

there was no mention of the camera specifications.. I wonder how good it is, and whether it takes decent video..

also, i'm not sold on the virtual keyboard (yet), I'm dying to try it.. It didn't seem terribly easy to type on but very well might be.

[Thank The Cheese]

Originally Posted by monktus

Contrary to what many people are assuming, the iPhone's price is not subsidised by Cingular and I see no reason to tie in features into any one network.

How do you know it's not subsidised? I sure hope you're right. The thought of adding an extra $200 or so on top of the current price for an unlocked phone puts it over my tight-arse threshold

What makes you think that?

Originally Posted by monktus

There's also a killer app that I assume will be available at launch, at least from a 3rd party if not Apple; the iPhone will make a great remote for the iTV or your media server.

care to elaborate on this killer app?


I'm hoping there will be some kind of skype (or iChat) extension to allow calls to normal phones via wifi.