And the reality slowly sets in about what the
iPhone is and is not. Noted analyst and Engadget pal Michael Gartenberg stated that the iPhone is first party software ONLY -- i.e. not a smartphone by conventional terms, being that a smartphone is a platform device that allows software to be installed. That means hungry power-users -- you know, those people ready and willing to plunk down $600 for an 8GB musicphone -- won't be able to extend the functionality of their phone any more than Apple (but thankfully not Cingular) dictates. Other unfortunate realities about the device:
- No 3G. We know you know, but still, it hurts man.
- No over the air iTunes Store downloads or WiFi syncing to your host machine.
- No expandable memory.
- No removable battery.
- No Exchange or Office support.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Chris Merchant @ Jan 9th 2007 9:46PM
Reason numero uno why I wish I could pull one of these babies, but it's just not in my league.
I gotta have these features.
Chris
anthonyooo000 @ Jan 12th 2007 1:19PM
actualy this is realy wrong someone mistaken what apple said (i was actualy THERE)apple said that smartphones realy are not that smart and that the iphone was "5 years ahead of ANY phone on the market" including top of the line smartphones that simply "cant do their job right". they also said their iphone was far more flexible and adaptable because of its lack of buttons; mentioning they plan to add "hundreds" of new ideas to it AFTER it hits the streets. you guys already forgoten its the only phone with a REALY desktop software, OSX. in my opinion and from the look in there eyes they where being VERY modest about it.
Nate @ Jan 9th 2007 9:47PM
The IPhone looks like a great phone. What it seems like they may have missed out on is, everything but the phone. If they would have released a 30Gig IPhone, minus the phone. They would have had an awesome piece of hardware that will act as an ipod, but with wifi and widgets. I'm afraid most people aren't in the market for this type of phone. There are too many limitations based off of provider/price/etc.
Anyway, I'm waiting for the day that new IPod will be released based off of this hardware/software.
Derick @ Jan 9th 2007 11:16PM
I agree, Im sure Apple will release their next ipod based on this. Although very innovative Apple only has one phone pitted against companies that are specialized in the phone industry who offer a variation of different phone models. Adding to the fact that the iphone is carried by a crap company like cingular... although it is much improved and has much more potential with the At&t merger. Too many limitations on this peice of technology which would be much better suited as a web browser and ipod.
boooooooop @ Jan 9th 2007 9:50PM
how does Mr. Michael Gartenberg know this? does he have one? Widgets, just as one example, seem like an excellent way to allow developers onto the device. Dashboard is not first party only; why does he have any reason to believe this?
After the release of this product it seems as though MS will stand to benefit more by better complying to open standards than Apple will by begging for access to MS's proprietary ones.
Arno @ Jan 9th 2007 9:51PM
And it costs about double of my car payment. Count me out.
D9 @ Jan 10th 2007 9:11AM
"And it costs about double of my car payment. Count me out."
Well, are you going to pay for the iPhone in 60 monthly payments @ 8% interest? What's that...about $11 a month?
If not, then a $600 iPhone is nothing compared to a single $20,000 car payment. Keep it relative, my friend.
Jonathan Keim @ Jan 9th 2007 9:51PM
I think the that the software "con" really isn't all that big. Apple likes to expand their products and I'm sure they will have software availible, albiet from Apple only probably.
My main grip would be GPS functuality. They already put so much in here in such a slim package, but how cool would it be to use google maps live!
I would buy this today if it would come to verizon (actually in 3 months when my contract expires), but there would be alot of anticipation for iPhone 2.
Regardless of these short commings, it is still Way past other phones. I haven't seen such fluid motions on anything bigger then a paperback book.
Mr.Kaiser @ Jan 9th 2007 9:52PM
Do we actually have conversation that software can't be added? I mean someone is going to have to be able to develop apps and widgets for it right?
Wyatt Anderson @ Jan 9th 2007 9:53PM
I don't really get it, how does anyone at this point know whether or not you can upload third party applications to it? Where has it been said that you can't? Or is this just based off the fact that it doesn't run Palm OS or Windows Mobile and that there's simply nothing been developed for it yet? I think it's pretty irrational to think that Apple won't have a full developer SDK available for the iPhone, given the fact that it does run OS X, there shouldn't be any problem with software developers writing great applications for the device.
John @ Jan 10th 2007 11:18PM
Second this. The article is totally unfunded.
ryan @ Jan 9th 2007 9:54PM
I agree for the most part, but i have been frantically reading everything i can find on this today (all day) and i dont see where the reviewer got the info that you cant install 3rd party software or that there is no support for office attachments... care to list a source? i dont think apple has come out and said so either way to anyone (yet) and i suspect the reviewer is merely speculating and listing his speculation as concrete fact.
Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 9:54PM
How do we know it isn't expandable yet with third party software? One of the things Jobs highlighted was that it was running OS X, and the implication seems to be that one would be able to develop some sort of applications for it.
I have to think that other things (like wifi synching or even being able to purchase music directly from the phone) are things that logically would be implemented at some point; just as with the Zune, they seem like no-brainer features once you have the basic capability.
Billiam25 @ Jan 9th 2007 9:55PM
Thats a deal breaker for me. I need VPN client to connect to the Wi-Fi at school, and for the money its not worth it to be without that connectivity.
Mark Deab @ Jan 10th 2007 12:51PM
I would say it probably has VPN, steve highlighet it has OS X's networking features
Javaflash @ Jan 9th 2007 9:55PM
I believe it's a smartphone. We just haven't gotten accustomed to or gotten a chance to understand the new OS.
Widget is very easy to create on MacOS X. I'm sure Apple, like its usual practice, open that end as a platform for developers to mod the device around.
Like many, I wish Apple releases more details about iPhone.
Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 9:56PM
You seemed to leave out his quote at the end that he thinks Apple is going to be a force to be reckoned with in this space.
I would say that a lot of these shortcomings are things that can be addressed in future versions (just because the first iPhone doesn't have 3G, for example, hardly means that Apple could never make a 3G capable iPhone, for example). All things being equal, considering Apple has never made a phone before, this seems like a pretty impressive first effort.
Smarty @ Jan 9th 2007 11:42PM
You're right on the money! I've reviewed several features of iPhone and they certainly look revolutionary to me - they're just awesome. I was amazed with all the seemingly new things I saw. I just bought a Cingular 8525 more than a month ago, and I loved it. But, man, when I saw the features of iPhone, I couldn't believe how naive my Cingular 8525 is compared to iPhone. Yes, my 8525 is a 3G smartphone, but it surely looks so dumb compared to the iPhone... Whew...
Finite @ Jan 10th 2007 2:21AM
You seemed to leave out his quote at the end that he thinks Microsoft is going to be in a position of leadership with in this space.
I would say that a lot of these shortcomings are things that can be addressed in future versions (just because the first Zune doesn't have wireless song purchases, for example, hardly means that Microsoft could never make a software revision, for example). All things being equal, considering Microsoft has never made an mp3 player before, this seems like a pretty impressive first effort.
:p
Matt @ Jan 9th 2007 9:58PM
Hey engadget!!
are you trying to make us hate the iphone?
well i still want it
applesucksLeo @ Jan 9th 2007 9:59PM
As usual Steve`s minions get sucked in to the Reality Distortion Field(RDF(Reality Distortion Field) is the idea that Steve Jobs is able to convince people to believe almost anything with a skillful mix of charm, charisma, slight exaggeration, and clever marketing)and later realize it isn`t all it`s cracked up to be.My four year old Pocket PC has wifi and lets me make Skype calls and most importantly create and edit Word docs on the fly(with a nice external keyboard I might add)My Epocrates medical reference I use at work every day won`t run on it either:( With Apple it`s all about the big slide show and the sales pitch.I WILL put my money down on the new phone from Verizon (Media-Flo)that has real live TV in great quality...DL.TV says for under $300 :)
mike @ Jan 9th 2007 9:59PM
The iPod was not a "smart" mp3 player, and it still blew the competition away. The iphone, when you think about it, is just an ipod with phone and internet. And I want one.
xtrme782 @ Jan 9th 2007 9:59PM
I have one question to ask...why is it so important that apple made an ipod phone. oops sorry i mean an iphone? I mean are you willing to plunk down as much as $600 bucks for an 8 gig phone that will be obsolete before your 2 year contract is up? I have an ipod and love it but some of these products that have come out are useless.
Doesnt jobs rememer the ill faded motorokr. Granted it did have itunes with a 100 song limit but once the nostalgia wore off no one really cared for it. How many people need a phone that is a computer, and plays tv shows and movies. isnt the point of a phone to be a PHONE? Not to mention it is on one of the worst cell providers. If Jobs was smart he would have just came out with a "real" widescreen ipod with bluetooth headphones and called it a day
Bart @ Jan 9th 2007 10:28PM
Hey Leo, I call bullshit on your little PocketPC fantasy. Why don't you talk about how you have to push that little reset button in the back every other day, or how your little shit box slows down by the hour, little by little as you open and close apps and fragment the memory....??? I've owned more PPC and Palm devices than I even want to think about, and I for one WELCOME our new mobile phone overlords.
LittleJoe @ Jan 9th 2007 10:06PM
"How many people need a phone that is a computer, and plays tv shows and movies. isnt the point of a phone to be a PHONE?"
Ummm I do.
Why do I want a REAL option for a DAP and a Phone? Because I only have so many jean pockets to fit odd and uncomfortable objects into as I go about my day. If I have a slim iPhone that slides into one of those back pockets... there goes my bulky phone and my ipod.
Now if I can just get my keys and wallet into the iPhone too. Hmmm.
Again... as hot and expensive as this phone is... its a average consumer product.
Mike Street @ Jan 10th 2007 12:45AM
i have to agree with you on this point. I was really ready to ruck to the Apple store for the touch screen Video iPod but when he added all that extra stuff I was like naw i don't need that. I just started a new plan with Verizon and to buy a $600 and switch to Cingular is just something I won't do. I think the phone looks great but being limited to just one carrier is the ultimate deal breaker.
bobics @ Jan 10th 2007 7:34AM
"faded"? LOL
LittleJoe @ Jan 9th 2007 9:59PM
This is what the future of the CONSUMER PHONE should be. And now that Apple has put it out, the price will EVENTUALLY come down and you will see even better, smarter phones from Apple and those Windows toting handsets.
David @ Jan 9th 2007 10:02PM
We are still months away from it being for sale right? I mean.. things COULD still possibly change. Even though it is missing a couple of big features this is the FIRST phone EVER made by Apple so it will only get better when the gen 2 comes. Did the first iPod have every single feature a person could want? This is an amazing first step so stop focusing on the bad!
mike @ Jan 9th 2007 10:05PM
How do you know it won't run OS X software? At work we have the same deal, but there's a VPN client for OS X, and I'm sure your school has one. Who's to say that the phone won't be able to run that client? Michael Gartenberg? I'll wait and see.
Ryan Gardner @ Jan 10th 2007 1:14AM
@mike: "How do you know it won't run OS X software?"
Unless that phone has a PowerPC processor or an Intel x86 processor in it, I can personally guarantee you it will not be able to run OS X apps without being recompiled.
John @ Jan 10th 2007 11:18PM
It has intel chip
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2377
mike @ Jan 9th 2007 10:07PM
"Thats a deal breaker for me. I need VPN client to connect to the Wi-Fi at school, and for the money its not worth it to be without that connectivity."
How do you know it won't run OS X software? At work we have the same deal, but there's a VPN client for OS X, and I'm sure your school has one. Who's to say that the phone won't be able to run that client? Michael Gartenberg? I'll wait and see.
steve @ Jan 9th 2007 10:07PM
woah a non removeable battery
when is apple just gonna make it removeable
i wouldnt want to be without a cell phone (if i had one) for 6 weeks just because apple likes money
Bloobie @ Jan 9th 2007 10:58PM
Where did he get this information that the battery is non-removable?
Javaflash @ Jan 9th 2007 10:07PM
If those widgets on iPhone is as easy to create as ones on Mac OS X, as easy to upload as games on iPod Video... we are looking at a whole new ecosystem of softwares to be developed quickly and cost-effectively on a cellphone platform, like Palm.
Let me point out, from the demo iPhone UI on Apple.com, if those widgets shown today are the only widgets allowed, won't it be better for Apple to fill the entire screen with a balanced number of widgets for a design standpoint. It looks like 5 more widgets are missing to waiting to be developed.
GenOve @ Jan 9th 2007 10:09PM
Have anybody noticed that the iPhones UI Resembles The lifedrive & treo 680 tab buttons?
It looks like to me apple took a que from the lifedrive design-slimmed it down and evolved the palm UI to
what we now know as Mac Os x mobile.
Unfortunetly while it seems like an awesome phone/,p3 player i think i will wait until the beta testers report back and welcome the version 2 with open arms.
Leomar @ Jan 9th 2007 10:09PM
I could see myself living without some of these missing features but honestly I really would have wanted an expandable battery and service on Verizon...cuz...you know...Cingular sucks!
Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 10:16PM
It seems really unlikely that a phone like this could end up on Verizon. Doesn't Verizon like to really lock down the features of a lot of their phones, even change the UI, etc. so that they can really control the featureset and what you can and can't do with it? It seems like one of the big reasons Apple is partnering with Cingular is because they were willing to be more flexible (i.e. Cingular being willing to enable the "visual voicemail" functionality). I just don't picture Verizon letting the iPhone do everything that Apple wants to let it do.
Jeff @ Jan 9th 2007 10:09PM
engadget dissing one of the best gadgets ever, who would have thunk it?!
Considering it's their first phone it's incredible!
Miranda Kali @ Jan 9th 2007 10:11PM
Ya know...
Looking at that main menu, there seems to be room for five more icons. I don't think Apple would allow such a lack of aesthetic into the UI for this baby. They could have easily spaced out the icons for a better look to the main menu. (and we all know Stevie's all about perfection in design).
No, I don't think we have the whole picture here, kiddies. I believe we are definitely in for "One more thing.." (if not "A few more things")
A lot can happen in five months, peeps.
Clayj @ Jan 9th 2007 10:11PM
No Exchange support = no thanks.
My Cingular 2125 (so yes, I am already on Cingular and I wouldn't have to switch networks to get an iPhone) ActiveSyncs perfectly with my Exchange Server. And while it may not be anywhere near as sexy as the iPhone, I don't have to worry about getting my phone's screen all scratched up and it losing touchscreen functionality as a result.
Chris G. @ Jul 13th 2007 10:50AM
My iPhone is syncing just fine with my Exchange Server (Windows SBE 2003 with SP2) account, as well as a gmail and aol account.
I get all my exchange account message folders and subfolder, but they don't download message headers unless I open the folder. thank goodness because I have alot of saved mail! Inbox syncs just fine, scheduled and whenever I open the inbox.
Cheers!
Chris G.
Keaton @ Jan 9th 2007 10:12PM
No over the air iTunes downloads? WTF!?!?! Talk about a bad decision on Apple's part... I can't tell you how many times I've been in a store, heard a song and was like "OOO I want that song!" It could be a way to boost sales for the iTunes store... What are you thinking Apple!
Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 10:14PM
Maybe just maybe it is something that Apple will add later? Just as everyone expects MS to eventually add that functionality to the Zune?
thomas_malkin @ Jan 9th 2007 10:15PM
It isn't the future of the phone. It's the future of the PC.
rob @ Jan 9th 2007 10:17PM
1. Since when does Apple care about the business market? I don't see them pushing "enterprise" very hard, other than by having a low-end server line.
2. For what its worth, I think Safari will probably be pretty good at running corporate intranet and webmail content (at least as good as pocket IE), and IMAP support is a step in the right direction.
3. I agree with the others that by using the dashboard widgets they have suggested that the device will support some add-on content.
4. I think it will be approximately one week between release and the day there's an Outlook plugin, at least for notes, contacts, and calendar (hell, maybe one day - there might already be a plugin for iTunes).
5. For all of its capabilities, 5 hours talk time or 16 hours of music seems like a lot of battery life. There's no PocketPC that can match that performance in the same form factor.
Tortri @ Jan 9th 2007 10:17PM
At first I was very excited about the iPhone.. I still am.. its a retrogamer dream(assuming you can make apps for it). But if you listen to his keynote, he said they are going to make it 3G.. So 2nd gen must be 3G which is what I'm gonna wait for, and by then(assuming we can't develop for it) It should be hacked to make apps and run emulators on it. I'd be nice to use it to play SNES, NES and what not and able to connect it to the TV(assuming thats possible). And 2nd gen shouldn't cost as much..... *sigh* Looks like im gonna wait for another year before I get the iPhone...
bobics @ Jan 10th 2007 7:42AM
Jeez, just get PSP or a GP2X.
Chris Mason @ Jan 9th 2007 10:17PM
It's obvious that you will be able to add additional widgets by the intial display there's room for more icons.
Ipod games will easily play on this device and with the advanced video and bigger screen more games are coming
Widget development is already a huge 3rd party ability and with Leopard Apple is making it even easier for users to create their own widgets.
What wasn't introduced today? Leopard. Leopard merging with the iPhone is yet to come.
We know that all the i Apps will integrate with this device not just iTunes.
Note no iCal demo, yet.