# Iphone no compared to Zune



## MacFreak (Jan 9, 2007)

I couldnt believe how beautiful iphone!


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## lbj (Jan 9, 2007)

i can't wait for the brown version....


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## sheepguy42 (Jan 9, 2007)

I love all the features of the phone, but I hate the Cingular exclusivity. I have Sprint, and I _like_ Sprint. I wouldn't use the cell network for internet access, as I am near WiFi spots most of the time (work and home). It's a shame that they went for that exclusive contract; 1% market would be reached faster if it worked with others.

Also, my experience using other people's Cingular phones is that calls are rarely dropped because they are less likely to connect in the first place. Everywhere I go, my Sprint phone works.


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## Sunnz (Jan 9, 2007)

What's that exclusive contract about? So you can't like just walk up to any hotspot and start surfing?


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## Timotheos (Jan 9, 2007)

I cant believe apple's design team.

I really cant.

A couple of weeks ago when iTunes Store was released in New Zealand there was segment on the news/media type of program on TV where they interviewed a guy that started the first online music store and done all these other great technological related things.... anyways...

He was saying about how it would be so hard for apple to retain their market share in MP3 player sales etc. He said all their competition was catching up and even if they brought out a phone with mp3 features, nokia and others have had years of experience and are too far ahead for apple to catch up.

Well if apple can get this thing selling and make it work for everyone, then how could they not have the market share won with this iPhone?

Amazing product.

The fact that they could have possibly made one of, if not the best products on my generation better is incredible!


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## mdnky (Jan 9, 2007)

sheepguy42 said:


> my experience using other people's Cingular phones is that calls are rarely dropped because they are less likely to connect in the first place. Everywhere I go, my Sprint phone works.



Ain't that the truth.  If Apple wakes up and removes a certain part of their anatomy from another certain part of their anatomy (i.e. drops Cingular exclusivity), then I'll buy one.  Otherwise, its not worth the hassle.  Cingular is too buggy and unreliable, not to mention way overpriced for the amount of minutes I need.

During the keynote coverage I was ready, had it been announced today, to order one and call Sprint/Nextel and get my Nextel service transfered to Sprint.  I think I'll stick with what I got...it works, which is all that matters.  Cingular is still running mobile towers down here because they haven't repaired their network from Katrina (16 months ago).  I lost service for about 43 minutes the day Katrina hit.  No other carrier matched that, none were even close.


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 9, 2007)

yes I must say I was readying my credit card until I saw the fine print -- 2 year contract -- and my heart sank. I despise contracts. $499 USD with contract 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.

btw, am I the only one who would actually like an iPhone without the phone? It would be cool if they made a 6G iPod with all the cool touch features, widgets, etc. but without the phone for a hundred or so less.


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## g/re/p (Jan 9, 2007)

A 2 year contract? Yeah Right - maybe if the phone was discounted 
down to $200, otherwise cingular can go $#@* itself. 

And Cingular (AT&T) sucks......


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## symphonix (Jan 9, 2007)

Thank The Cheese said:


> ...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.


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## gduncan (Jan 9, 2007)

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?


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 9, 2007)

symphonix said:


> 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.


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## fryke (Jan 10, 2007)

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.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jan 10, 2007)

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.


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## monktus (Jan 10, 2007)

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.


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## djbeta (Jan 10, 2007)

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.


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 10, 2007)

monktus said:


> 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?




monktus said:


> 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.


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## monktus (Jan 10, 2007)

Thank The Cheese said:


> 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?
> 
> ...



IIRC Steve mentions in the Keynote that the price is not subsidised by Cingular.

Sorry I might not have phrased the thing about the remote very well. I haven't come across any news of this, I just thought it would be a great idea and something obvious to have available at launch.

I was also just reading a rumour on the MacFormat forums that T-Mobile will be the UK partner and that they'll have the iPhone available on PAYG.


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## Thank The Cheese (Jan 10, 2007)

monktus said:


> IIRC Steve mentions in the Keynote that the price is not subsidised by Cingular.



aah, i missed that. That's a big deal IMO, i just assumed it would cost extra. mind you,the question really is if it will even be possible to buy without a contract. I certainly hope so.


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## Sunnz (Jan 10, 2007)

So, what would their next plan would be?

Some cars already has iPod integration, and the iPhone has an iPod connector... they could do very interesting thing with it.


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## djbeta (Jan 10, 2007)

I  would love to see good handwriting and speech recognition in this device.
Even if the virtual keyboard is awesome, it would be nice to have the option to break out a stylus and write quickly in natural script  or be able to speak into the phone and have the voice decoded into text.


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## scruffy (Jan 10, 2007)

This is actually the first cellphone I might want.  If only it weren't so bloody expensive, and tied to a US carrier (there are cellphone networks in other countries...).

And also, it had better get a terminal and a wireless sniffer...

Anyone else think this finally explains widgets?  I mean, they make absolutely no sense in a desktop OS - in that context they look like someone amended a blueprint with a blunt crayon.  But on a PDA type gizmo, they're in their element.


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## fryke (Jan 10, 2007)

What do you mean in the keynote they said "not subsidized"? *I* only saw 499 and 599 "with 2 year contract", which sounds _totally_ subsidized to me.


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## djbeta (Jan 10, 2007)

Does anyone know the specs of the processor in the iphone processor?
or know anything about it ?


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## fryke (Jan 10, 2007)

They didn't say. But I don't think it really matters - and Apple gets that. The user doesn't (and shouldn't have to) care what processor runs in it at what speed: The interface should be quick and that's it.


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## Qion (Jan 10, 2007)

fryke said:


> They didn't say. But I don't think it really matters - and Apple gets that. The user doesn't (and shouldn't have to) care what processor runs in it at what speed: The interface should be quick and that's it.



I care. I can't wait for the specs on the processor to come out.


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## mdnky (Jan 10, 2007)

gduncan said:


> 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.


Usually when you refer to a "network" in relation to a cell phone, you're referring to the actual phone service more-so than the internet service option.  Their call network is what totally sucks and is what most of us are talking about...at least, that's what I was talking about.


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## dne (Jan 14, 2007)

I faintly recall hearing Steve mention something about some kind of flash expansion.  Still looking at around 2 gigs there.

Also, I am positive that ole Steve said that Apple only had an exclusivity contract with Cingular in the USA ONLY!  So there is hope out there for the rest of the world.  I personally have been a Cingular customer since 2001 and have only had one serious problem.


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## Ferdinand (Jan 14, 2007)

Qion said:


> I care. I can't wait for the specs on the processor to come out.



Most phone companies I know never write what sort of processor is inside a handy - but you know, maybe Apple will - but it _is_ sort of not that important. It could be, since its shipping only in Febuary that they didnt decide yet, or did you check www.apple.com/iphone/specs ? Does it say there?


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## Sunnz (Jan 14, 2007)

Not sure how accurate this is: http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/07/01/13/1746234.shtml

Time will tell.


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## Hundo (Jan 14, 2007)

Thank The Cheese said:


> btw, am I the only one who would actually like an iPhone without the phone? It would be cool if they made a 6G iPod with all the cool touch features, widgets, etc. but without the phone for a hundred or so less.



I would love them to sell one without a phone in it, since I use Verizon. I think it would be more a PDA than an iPod though, but I'd buy it. It would also be cool if the non-phone version could link with a bluetooth phone, but that is probably asking for a bit too much.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jan 14, 2007)

here's an interesting article

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q1.07/4DD0941D-9097-4FAE-A3BB-29DA5CA07199.html


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## chemistry_geek (Jan 15, 2007)

I think that the iPhone is a quantum leap ahead in personal communication compared to the competition, in many ways, but in other ways it falls short.  I think that for personal use it will work well, but for corporate environments, it's not quite there yet.  Many corporate environments forbid camera phones and any unauthorized camera.  Anyone giving a presentation of any kind must lug around a notebook with PowerPoint on it, or at least a USB memory stick with the presentation on it to give to the one person in the room with the notebook (which is connected to the large external display).  It would be nice if iPhone were more or a PDA that would run 3rd party applications like Microsoft Office... you could just plug-in iPhone through the bottom connector to the large display and give your presentation by pressing virtual buttons on its screen to advance or review slides.  The ability to handle 'Office' files will help promote iPhone very far, because whether or not we like, the world runs on MS Office.

Seeing Safari run in full screen mode with ability to zoom-in to read the text and see pictures is really very nice, and the interface to do it is nice as well.  The iPhone just needs a little more Newton in it make it an excellent product.  Perhaps the next iteration of high-end iPod will share those features - editing contacts, calendars, and notes and syncing them with your Macintosh when connected through iTunes.

Another feature that the iPhone should have is true GPS Global Positioning integrated with Google Maps - this would be a killer feature!

There needs to be a way to make truly recordable movies with sound... There's nothing quite like talking to your family long distance, placing them on hold (or not), and taking a small movie of your toddler taking his or her first steps and sending the movie via e-mail or syncing with .Mac to your webpage.  Would be pretty to have a camera on the same side of the display with granda on a video conference call telling the baby to 'come to grandma' as the toddler takes its first steps towards iPhone and recorded for posterity.


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## Ifrit (Jan 22, 2007)

I just hope the rework the glossy finish. A PDA or a phone is a device which is more "prone" to heavy usage and therefor: scratches.

Usually you select your playlist on your iPod and put it away. Even watching movies doesn't require much interaction with the device. But still the latest generation (5) of iPods gets scratched like there is no tomorrow. I remember that just putting mine out and back into the pouch created marks on screen and the frontside. Personally, I treat my electronic devices like raw eggs - but in this regard the iPods are really annoying - hopefully not the iPhone. I don't really want to put a "skin" or a similar protection measures on it. 



> I think that the iPhone is a quantum leap ahead in personal communication compared to the competition, in many ways, but in other ways it falls short. I think that for personal use it will work well, but for corporate environments, it's not quite there yet. Many corporate environments forbid camera phones and any unauthorized camera.



Well then good luck with the latest Apple notebooks. There isn't one without build-in isight


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## Qion (Jan 22, 2007)

I was personally surprised that Apple didn't fix the scratching issue with the last revision of iPods. It's just soo annoying, and cause of so much fire in Zune supporters. I know that the iPod is so popular that it doesn't really need to evolve, but it is of course evolving and the scratching issue *****definitely***** needs resolved in a device that's the centerpoint of your life.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jan 22, 2007)

yeah, have you seen a well used zune?  no scratches but it's filthy.  it doesn't scratch, but it picks up dirt instead.


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## Ifrit (Jan 22, 2007)

Lt Major Burns said:


> yeah, have you seen a well used zune?  no scratches but it's filthy.  it doesn't scratch, but it picks up dirt instead.



Which doesn't sound to bad to me. Dirt can be cleaned -
If you are picky: scratches are like minor damage to the device - which can't be repaired.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jan 22, 2007)

my 2 year old ipod is no more scratched than my 5 month old phone, and both get equal use.  because i take care of my things.

apparently the zune picks up dirt in a very irritating way which is very diificult to clean, it more stains the plastic than actually getting clogged with dirt.


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## Qion (Jan 22, 2007)

Lt Major Burns said:


> my 2 year old ipod is no more scratched than my 5 month old phone, and both get equal use.  because i take care of my things.
> 
> apparently the zune picks up dirt in a very irritating way which is very diificult to clean, it more stains the plastic than actually getting clogged with dirt.



Not to follow suit with the guy already kicking the dead horse, but you can *change* the case on the Zune. Hehe.


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## ApeintheShell (Feb 3, 2007)

So did the "iphone no compared to zune" title bug anyone or do people here just continue from where they left off in another thread? I do not understand whether you are endorsing the Zune over the iphone or the other way around. Please clarify.

I think the whole point of the iPhone is that it combines an iPod, Personal Digital Assistant, and a Phone. This was stated by Steve Jobs in the keynote. I like the integration of a touch screen, a feature I use everyday at work, because I can push buttons faster than I can write with a stylus. No wonder the keyboard is so popular!

I am sure there are power users out there who do work for large corporations in which their employers are concerned about camera phones. I am also sure there are employees who work out of their home offices or travel across the country and consider the features of the iPhone to be a vast improvement over their current Blackberry PDA/Phone.

The Zune...The Zune...The Zune....The Zune...Hmmmmm
This competes with the iPhone how? It looks more like a competitor for the iPod 5G / iTunes which from the reviews I have read has a better purchasing and sharing system than the Zune.


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