The Apple iPhone
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 9th 2007 12:45PM
posted January 9th 2007 12:45PM
The review
iPhone review
It goes on sale Friday, June 29th at 6PM!
iPhone on sale 6pm "local time"
More iPhone news and information
To keep up to the minute on all the iPhone news and developments, please go here and here (also available in RSS here and here).
Selected news
Apple lays down iPhone purchase rules -- max 2 per person
iPhone facts from the first reviews
How does the iPhone stack up in total cost?
iPhone rate plans revealed, at-home activation announced
New details about the iPhone
Apple iPhone dock revealed: charges Bluetooth headset too?
More news
YouTube hits Apple TV today, headed for the iPhone as well
Apple announces third-party software details for iPhone
iPhone ain't even an iPod without service
Apple takes you on an iPhone guided tour
AT&T preps landlords for iPhone campers
iPhone sightings
iPhones are arriving at stores, being unpacked
iPhone in the wild: French edition
iPhone spottings, "first hand" claims abound
iPhone spotted in public?
Launch coverage
iPhone multi-city lineblog
Video: Interview with Steve Wozniak!
iPhone first hands-on and unboxing
iPhone splayed for your pleasure
iPhone first hands-on in HD!
iPhone stress test: how did it do?
The Definitive iPhone user interface gallery
I despise using the touchscreen buttons for dialing on my PPC 6700!
I agree... the touchscreen for dialing on the PPC 6700 is horrible, but apple claims they have smart touch corrective blah blah.. it'll ignore unwanted touching and be more precise and what not... we'll see though, can't tell until the product actually comes out
I have to agree. The touch screen on the ppc 6700 is a pain in the butt. Apple has a great idea, but I guess we will all see how it goes.
hell yea my ppc 6700 sucked ass i told sprint to shove it up there ass the fucking screen cracked from tapping on the screen with that stupid stick lol now im getting the motorola q WHAT YA THINK OF THAT PHONE
The only bad idea is that the phone will launch as a Cingular exclusive. Where I live, Cingular is sub-par. Hopefully this will come to Verizon by the time I get my "Every 2" credit, which is next year.
VZW wlll get in 3 years
You can switch to Cingular from any cell phone service, even if you are still under contract. Check out http://www.cellswapper.com (just opened to public)
This definitely won't be released on Verizon for a while - Jobs definitely doesn't want to feed it to the dogs and have them load their ubiqutous software, basically ruining every feature on this phone. Verizon's whack, yet I can't let go!
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S CINGULAR EXCLUSIVE!!! I guess I won't be getting one :(
i get my new every two in april, damnit, thankfully ill drop verizon and get cingular just so i can get the iPhone, funny, considering i laugh at people with cingular
It's easy for a hardware mfg to move a phone from Cingular to AT&T to TMobile because the hardware is the same, and it just needs some software configuration and network setting and such. Moving to Verizon requires entirely different hardware because it isn't a GSM network. Apple seems the type that wouldn't bother, I think we'll be seing a GSM network out of Verizon before we ever see a CDMA phone out of Apple.
My 'New every 2' is up in february. I've just found a reason to switch service and wait for something better.
if the iPhone is with Cingular, you'll still need a separate cellphone because Cingular is spotty at best as a carrier. so, i don't see the point in buying this thing until they partner with a reliable cell carrier.
Can't believe it? It is Corporate America, where Monopolies run rampant. Of course Cingular is going to pay for exclusive rights...
Finally a device TOTALLY dedicated to sync with my MAC!!!!!! LJ
cingular edge is not 3g?
well i have a plane old phone and i heard about this and i want it. but i hope that it also comes out with T-Moblie, but it probably wont, cuz they never get kool phones. i wish i could change my provider but i jst renewed my contract a few months ago.
won't come to verizon. they tried to make the deal with verizon first and verizon didn't like it. they felt like apple was 1st in command and they'd be second.
apparently it's a really funky contract, but when they asked cingular next, cingular was all up for it! so if it ever does go to verizon, it'll be a ways down the line and with way different contract terms than originally proposed.
Well, Verizon was offered first go at it, but turned it down. Their loss for sure. I'm willing to bet they will carry it within a year though. All these people who are blasting the touch screen keypad, don't know anything as it hasn't even come out yet. It apparently works very well in all the trials. They probably didn't see Steve using it at his keynote.
One comment I read elsewhere even blasted the texting capabilities saying it had no keyboard. That guy really should pay more attention. The keyboard is easy to bring up whenever you want it.
The fact that this will be the fist phone with full on web browsing capabilities is awesome. I've played with others like the treo and the browsing is so, so.
The Mac OS with Safari is the best OS in the world and is a perfect match with the iphone.
Yay, the widescreen Video iPod is here....
But, yea, a touchscreen?
And, whats the battery life on that thing? Huge 3.5 inch display = no room for batteries = not good for battery life.
Well, Now the the content has been updated AFTER I make my reply, of course I want one. I just wondering about its 500-800 dollar pricetag and poor battery life. It has to have a hardkeys for talk/end, otherwise it going to go wacy with the touchscreen next to the ear.
8GB is a little small for the "widescreen video iPod" title, don't you think? That pales in comparison to the 80GB they currently offer.
I think the battery life is an issue but we'll have to see the impact of it when the first iPhone's arrive in the hands of the reviewers.
I think you wankers screaming about touch screens and screen res ought to go blow your wad somewhere else, You couldn't design a usable and efficient cell phone if you're life depended upon it. when I see how they have designed the user interface for this iPhone, I have to asked why, after 10 or 15 years, haven't any other manufacturers been able to give us anything more than CRAP. I've owned them all and they are the worse examples of commercial design Klunky. Linear. Poor organization of menus and basic repetitive functions. I don't care if it is Mortorola, Noika, Blackberry... whatever, it is astonishing how poorly conceived and executed these phone are a doing basic things!
And they guy above who said the iPhone is BIG hasn't seen it and is a fool. Inform yourself before you speak out of the side of your head.
The two biggest drawbacks the iPhone will face is battery life and Cingular 2-year plans. These phone plans are the death of innovation and consumer choice.
The iPhone has a 5 hour video, phone, web browsing battery life.
Why do you think that touch screens are BAD? What problems could a touch screen make? the iPhone has sensors that actually will turn off the screen when it's close to your face, and when there are "pop-up" buttons on the screen, there is room for a larger screen = better to watch movies and see pictures :)
Well, battery life will only be about 5 hours for video or talk and around 16 for music. That doesn't really matter though. I personally keep my current ipod plugged into a DC charger on my motorcycle while I'm using it and I'll do the same for the iphone. At least I will be able to play 2 videos in a row without a recharge.
no qwerty keyboard? ojhsdodsagfadhjldgs!!
OMG, I'm crying; I really am!
lol last i checked many companies tried the tap to type and tap to dial ... IT DOESNT WORK STEVIE, people dont like non-tactile typing, its a simple fact, this isnt a phone its a mac pda wow yippie....
I mean it looks pretty but its not something i forsee being the next ipod for the phone industry...
and its funny how people are "orgasming" when you havent even seen it being used or a real presentation of it just a mockup graphic on the screen, yes its thinner than the q and the samsung, guess what those were 2006 phones, this is a 2007 apple phone, what did samsung and motorola stop developing last month or something?
It took apple how long to develop this ONE PHONE, samsung and motorola release new phones every few months lol, and constantly innovates and gets better, im sorry but if im sending text messages i'd rather have my thumb keyboard than some weird finger tapping on a screen crap.
You're a hypocrite, slamming people who are orgasmic over the product before they've had a chance to actually see it and use it and then you slam the product for being a touchscreen without seeing it and using it. You might want to keep an open mind long enough to see for yourself. If anybody can pull off a non-tactile product it would be Apple and a simple audile click would be a noticable step in the right direction. I have the WM5 6700 and I agree it's worthless as a touchscreen dialer but most times I use my phone book/contacts and with an iPod wheel it would be even easier to navigate and dial. I'll try it and then decide.
You are obviously an idiot and didn't even bother watching the Keynote video. It wasn't just an onscreen mock-up, he had a live working model that he used through-out the show while wearing a head-mounted camera so we can see his fingers working it!
And this multi-touch screen is completely new and different touch technology than anything else that's been out before... so how do you know it won't work if you havn't tried it? Moron...
The reason Motorola & Samsung put phones out every few months is because their product doesn't usually last more than a year. How many cool phones did Motorola make? one. How functional is it when you try to sync wirelessly to your mac? not very. Don't compare apples to orange peels.
I do have to wonder how well that touch screen will hold up after living with your keys in your pocket for 6 months. And you can't protect it with a skin if you want to use it as a touch screen. It does also look mighty big to fit in a pocket, even if it's thin. It definitely is a tour de force for the engineering team, but I'll have to play with it before I buy one.
Jason
The iPhone's display is glass, so says David Pogue, so it wont scratch.
My question is how gunky will the screen become after you're constantly touching it with your fingers. I'd be constantly trying to clean it, and I wonder what the longevity of the screen will be.
Regardless, I'll give Apple more credit than lousy Microsoft any day, and this product looks fantastic!
Unfortunately, I live in Canada and I didn't read anything about when it'd be released here, or what cell phone provider will support it. (With my luck, not the provider I'm with. Ie: Telus)
fit your house & car with SSL IP controlled magnetic locks and make yourself a widget using dashcode. That way if somebody goes to meet you, and you're late, they can call you and you can let them in. Plus your screen doesn't get scratched.
We're now building all of our clients' ecommerce solutions around the iphone. It's deadly. Anybody who works with us, we just tell them to buy one when it's out. Full stop.
I've got touch screen buttons on my Samsung i730 and it sucks.
Thank god I've got access to the 'real' keys with the slider.
Someone is stealing your pictures? ;-)
http://www.mactechnews.de
Well, the pics keep rolling up here. Actually doesn't look too bad. If it will sync with my Outlook and include a pdf viewer it may work for me.
so, its for cingular, that fscking sucks.
i have verizon and i want it so bad.
Is this W-CDMA capable?
Well... it beats the hell outta my Nokia 6030. :p
Honestly though, it looks pimp as hell, and if it truely disables the keypad when you hold the phone to your face and stuff, that's pretty ingenious. If these come out on Cingular, I'll get one when I get my income tax return. lol.
Touchscreen phones are not that bad. I had the motorola A388c. Tiny as hell, crapy voice, however the touchscreen was good. I had no issues with the touchscreen. http://motoinfo.motorola.com/motoinfo/products.asp?product=A388c&y=2003
Wow very nice, trying to focus on the positive stuff and worry about the negatives later (battery life, my contract with sprint, etc.) but I am sure many people will be breaking contracts for this one!
show him writing a txt msg! i wanna see steve jobs fumbling with an on-screen keyboard. bah!
He did type during the presentation and did it quite well. Either he is a screen typing ninja or it really is easy to type with.
HELLO WORLD!
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE!
DAMN! If you think it's big, look at the picture with Steve holding it close up, its like a Razr!
Wifi! Everything, good BYE every phone company in the world.
@Sam
"good BYE every phone company in the world"? What makes you think companies like Motorola and Nokia are going to go out of business?
At the very worst they will be supplying phones to the major networks that aren't partnered with Apple and those people who don't want to shell out $500 to $600 for a phone.
I see Apple gaining a 1% share of the cell phone marketplace, but little else. Cell phones are a commodity which the public usually gets for free when they sign-up with a carrier.
Plus, Apple isn't jumping into a new market here like they did with the iPod. They'll actually have competition with this product. For an example, look at how well they've won the personal computer wars, what with their 5% market share.
"I see Apple gaining a 1% share of the cell phone marketplace, but little else. Cell phones are a commodity which the public usually gets for free when they sign-up with a carrier."
1% market share = 10 million units = $500 million. I think Steve will take 1% market share with a smile. I sure would.
"Plus, Apple isn't jumping into a new market here like they did with the iPod. They'll actually have competition with this product. For an example, look at how well they've won the personal computer wars, what with their 5% market share."
People always throw that "5% market share for personal computer sales" figure to prove some point. When trying to compare Apple's 5% market share to Microsoft, you're most likely making the assumption that Microsoft is scoring the other 95%, or at least a huge part of it. Microsoft and Windows should not even be conisdered in this figure. Doing so is like comparing Ford to Exxon. Ford makes cars. Exxon makes gas. Not the same thing. Apple makes computers. Microsoft makes software (and some other things, too).
Now let's compare Ford to GM (not literally, so don't go there):
The 5% market share refers to new computers distributed during the year. 5% market share translates into over 4 million Macs. Since HP (the highest hardware vendor) is at 17.4% market share, for every 3 or so HPs sold, a Mac is sold. 3 to 1. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
Another thing to look at is the installed base. Since the average Mac buyer upgrades their computer every four years, and the average HP buyer replaces their computer every 6 months, the Mac installed base number of 16% is actually higher than any other hardware vendor. That means there are more Macs in use than there are HPs in use. WOAH! I'm not saying that there are more Macs in use than Windows machines, though. But I hope that explanation actually helps solve the "low numbers" question.
As far as the iPhone, I want one. It's just cool, and you can't argue on that point (mostly because it is MY opinion).
Sources:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2007/01/18.9.shtml
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5933/
http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/05/06/05/0548225.shtml?tid=3
wi-fi?
bluetooth?