iPhone details uncovered in Sales Training Workbook

Here's some dirt that's sure to heat up the iPhone debates over the next 20 days. According to alleged scans from the "iPhone Sales Training Workbook," we're seeing a vast array of features that we were already fully aware of, but here's the skinny on what you may have not known until now:

• No one-touch dialing (two touches at a minimum)
• Vibrate mode is included
• Voice dialing is not mentioned as a feature, though it's not specifically excluded either
• Users can have a voice conversation whilst browsing the web "when WiFi access is available"
• iPhone users will not be able to conduct IM conversations with instant messaging users
• Emailing videos and pictures are a go, MMS is not supported
• MEdia Mail won't be used for ringtone and answertone downloads
• MEdia Net, MobiTV, and Cellular Video are (unsurprisingly) not available for the iPhone
• iTunes will sync iPhone with the Address Book on Macs or Outlook/Outlook Expess on PCs
• No GPS or TeleNav support, sorry Google hopefuls
  

Of note, it seems that AT&T and / or Apple has conjured up a few canned, customer responses that point out the obvious shortcomings of Apple's handset, so do click on to see what you're up against.

Update: It's worth pointing out that only 15 of at least 33 pages have been published so far.

Alright, so we're sure just about everyone has a bone to pick with Apple's first stab at a mobile phone, but it seems like many of these quibbles have already been recognized and accounted for. Namely, it appears that the Apple is already aware that some potential buyers will be clamoring for more than 8GB of onboard storage, yet the recommended "solution" is just a runaround about keeping your excess data stored in iTunes until you absolutely need it (gee, thanks). Furthermore, a blurb concerning the on-screen keyboard for customers used to "real buttons" lends even more legitimacy to the worries that have cropped up already around this questionable "feature." Lastly, don't think the selling agents will act surprised when you question the lack of integrated GPS. They are pre-programmed with a response of "thanks for the feedback, we'll let Apple know of your interest" which insinuates that someone at Cupertino is fully aware of how beneficial this would be (in a second generation?).

Interestingly, Cindynjgirl79 (the source of these leaks) claims to have acquired this information while not being employed by either AT&T or Apple, but we can't help but question the outrightness of her actions which includes posting a picture of herself holding the manual and stamping her email address on every scanned page. Of course, it would certainly be quite the feat if every single scan here was faked, but you can never ignore that minute possibility. So, now that you're in the know, feel free to sound off in comments.

[harry K @ Jun 9th 2007 6:47AM]

the iphone is going to be a huge disappointment without 3g or gps kinda weak if you ask me I think I'll just stick with my blackberry.......and my se k790

[James @ Jun 10th 2007 6:15PM]

harry K on iPhone June 2007:
the iphone is going to be a huge disappointment without 3g or gps kinda weak if you ask me

CmdrTaco on iPod Oct. 2001:
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
--
Looks familiar, except Taco used capitalization and punctuation. See ya in five years.

[McGinley @ Jun 9th 2007 6:54AM]

Engadget should make a new sister site solely for all the iPhone stories.

[McGinley @ Jun 9th 2007 7:08AM]

Also,it looks like they have to persuade their staff that the iPhone is "revolutionary".

[Jason @ Jun 9th 2007 7:11AM]

Good grief, no MMS! How can they possibly get away with that.

[dLeet @ Jun 9th 2007 11:51AM]

GOOD GRIEF! How did Apple get away with no floppy drive in 1997?!?!?!!!!

Removing a feature sometimes can be a feature to push innovation for a similar service in a better way. Stop crying.

[Laz @ Jun 9th 2007 12:40PM]

I agree with you on that. A lot of my friends don't have access to email on their phone. MMS, while buggy sometimes, is the only way to send them pictues on the go.

Besides how many people ask for your email address as well when you trade contacts?

[Donald @ Jun 9th 2007 1:14PM]

Laz: Every cell phone carrier has an MMS e-mail address (10digitphone#@mms.att.net for example) that you can swap pictures with other devices with through e-mail.

[LegendZ28 @ Jun 9th 2007 1:21PM]

I currently have an 8525 on Cingular/AT&T and I've got unlimited MMS, guess how many I've sent? 5 tops? And three of those were in the first week when I was all excited about having it. I don't think you'll be missing much without MMS.

What I don't understand is this, "iPhone users will not be able to conduct IM conversations with IM users". What kind of crap is that? It's MORONIC if they don't include IM tools on the phone, what possible reason could they have for leaving it out?

The only possible excuse is that it will be an early 3rd party app, or an early upgrade you can get.

Either way, I think it's time for me to dump my Apple stock, to rebuy after the release, although I already missed out on that ridiculous temporary swell late last week.

[treetrunk @ Jun 9th 2007 5:39PM]

@dleet:

That comparison doesn't apply at all. Hardly anyone used floppies in 1997, and the emergence of other faster/higher capacity/more convenient options such as the internet, CD-Rs, and even Zip disks meant they were obviously on the way out. To the contrary, MMS is presently the de-facto standard for sending pictures, sound and video between devices over the mobile network, and is yet to be superseded by anything significantly better. Making a mobile which doesn't support MMS isn't like making a computer which doesn't have a floppy drive- it's like making one which can't run Microsoft Office. There is no reason to not support MMS.

@Donald:

So if I want to send a picture to someone whose phone doesn't support email (or if I don't know either way- I know people's names and numbers, I don't keep track of what features their phones support!) I have to find out what carrier they're on (which isn't always obvious from the number as people can transfer a number between networks), find out the equivalent email address to forward to their phone as MMS (assuming there is one for every carrier, including outside the US!), hope my email isn't too big or pictures/attachments in the wrong format so it can actually be sent as MMS, and then send it? And if they want to send me one back they need my email as well as my number and have to find an MMS -> email forwarding service? Man, that sounds much more user friendly than the obvious option of just supporting both MMS and email to give you both options, like most other new phones today.

[cromas @ Jun 10th 2007 12:16AM]

MMS will certainly have to be present for the iPhone that Apple releases in Asia in 2008. They'll never be able to penetrate the market without it. So rest assured, it's coming.

[nigel @ Jun 11th 2007 1:12PM]

actually dleet, MMS is the future. It seems a bit rudimentary to have to e-mail a picture on your mobile to some one computer. especially for a machine that touts picture,video and music access on your mobile.

[chinito77 @ Jun 9th 2007 7:13AM]

Engadget should put most of this on a sister site but trolls, haters, and fanboys are good for business. If you sick of iphone news, don't click the article. Simple right?

Without Outlook Exchange access, this phone will only limit itself to the average joe/jane who has money to burn on expensive phones. One shouldn't have to pay more than $300 for ANY cell phone.

[greg @ Jun 9th 2007 2:59PM]

if you want 8 gig or 4 gig flash memory how in the hell do you expect to buy that for 300 or under. if you dont want then dont buy it. try to have a discussion and not just stupid comments

[machater @ Jun 10th 2007 1:03AM]

hey greg, seeing as you brought up having a discussion and not being stupid, maybe you shouldn't be stupid. It's okay though, its not your fault you speak without doing your research.

I just purchased a sony ericsson w810i, total cost out of pocket for me, 82 dollars and change. then I got a 4 gig memory card for 75 dollars online. not to mention the sony headphones included are much better quality than the lame excuse for headphones apple provides with their products.

I'll do the math for you.

82 + 75 = 157 for 4 gigs

82 + 75 + 75 = 232 for 8 gigs

Sooner or later people will stop paying top dollar for apple's mediocre junk.

iPhones touchscreen keyboard will be its demise. Unless you are anorexic and your fingers are the size of a PDA stylus.

[Jonathan Baldwin @ Jun 9th 2007 7:22AM]

I doubt it can be a 'huge disappointment' if you know exactly what you're getting...
Not sure why the on-screen keyboard is cited as a "feature" with the quotes round it. Little bit subjective, this report. Isn't it?

[Todd @ Jun 9th 2007 7:27AM]

"...iPhone users will NOT be able to conduct IM conversations with instant messaging users."

Ouch. Are they gonna wait until after you purchase it to tell you that?

[Simon Stearns @ Jun 9th 2007 12:26PM]

My SE w810i doesn't "support" IMs and yet I do it all the time. My wife sends me a message from her IM applications at my phone number (with a "+1" in front of the number) and I reply via SMS. She replies, I reply.

It's not IM in that I don't see a list of online buddies, but I'm communicating with my buddies all the same. If they're no online when I try to send a SMS.

Now, about that MMS bit.
MMS is broken anyway, IMHO.
People can't MMS from comp to phone or phone to comp (that I'm aware of).
You can't retrieve an MMS that was sent to a different device (i.e. if you grab another phone or are in front of your comp.)
I can't even get correct MMS from people on other carriers. Pictures comes through, video and sound don't.

I'd MUCH rather have that stuff emailed to me.

Here's the caveat. I'm a Mac user, so I'm kinda' used to "work arounds" ;)
Flame on.

[Adam @ Jun 9th 2007 2:50PM]

Why on earth would you need for the iPhone support IM? Ok ok.. actually it would be great.. especially since Apple SHOWS someone having IM conversations in their demos ads and other videos. But with every major IM provider that I can think of, MSN, Yahoo, AOL etc. They all have webbased apps that you can IM with. With iPhone supporting a full Safari browser, all those Java apps shouldn't be a problem right?

[Greg @ Jun 9th 2007 3:46PM]

Your W810i does support IM. If you go under the Messaging menu, you will find IM, from which you can configure your IM client.

If you're on AT&T (since you have the W810i), your IMs are billed as SMS.

[Simon Stearns @ Jun 9th 2007 5:21PM]

Dang! I just learned something! :)

I'm so scared of being anally raped on AT&Ts data plan that it never occurred to me to try their IM service. That, and SMS has been bloody easy.

[ITR @ Jun 9th 2007 7:28AM]

Cindynjgirl79 is a Macrumors reg.?
So I doubt the scans are fake. Shes a big iPhone groupie so to speak.

"iPhone users will not be able to conduct IM conversations with instant messaging users"

Now if iChat is missing then no IMing's and SJ lied about it being a complete OSX OS.
If it does have iChat then the training guide is kinda misleading.
However iChat could be added if Apple makes it downloadable from them only.

[smilespray @ Jun 9th 2007 7:44AM]

"Now if iChat is missing then no IMing's and SJ lied about it being a complete OSX OS."

Yeah, and where's iMovie and Garageband?

First, Apple never promised a complete Mac OS X. Also, there's a distinction between the OS and bundled applications.

[Mike @ Jun 9th 2007 9:27AM]

@^^^^^
I believe Sir Jobso did specify either at D or another iPhone plug that it "is OSX, just striped down so it can run on a mobile device." That isn't the exact quote, but I do believe he mentioned that and something to the effect that of course it wasn't the same visuals as OSX on traditional Macs, but that the underlying OS was still OSX and that the visual layer had been reworked. I'll look for that quote...

Mike

[Mike @ Jun 9th 2007 9:33AM]

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/13800/

First quote box in the article:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/05/steve_jobs_ipho.html

Mike

[Ryan @ Jun 9th 2007 1:02PM]

"Yeah, and where's iMovie and Garageband?

First, Apple never promised a complete Mac OS X. Also, there's a distinction between the OS and bundled applications."

iChat is part of OSX. It is included as part of the Operating system, like Mail and iCal.

GarageBand and iMovie are part of iLife, which although is usually bundled with the computers, is not a part of OSX.

Your point is invalid.

The iPhone not having IM features is inexcusable. IM is a very useful and basic features that all "smart" phones should have.

[Chris @ Jun 9th 2007 1:08PM]

"
Now if iChat is missing then no IMing's and SJ lied about it being a complete OSX OS."

Wrong. He didn't lie about anything. You just made a assumption. He said the iPhone runs OS X. AS in the operating system. iChat is not part of the operating system.

[eddy baby @ Jun 9th 2007 7:45AM]

surely the IM need will be catered for by a third party app? there is no reason not to have it on the phone. of course there are online clients that could be used but an integrated solution would be preferable, IMO. Enterprise integration seems pretty poor to me, it seems apple isnt going after the business market so much. The inclusion of an integrated gmail app would be great though. Im sure GPS will be added in a future revision

The sort of phone the iPhone is really up against is the N95 (*bias alert* i own one). another kind-of smartphone. both have wifi, display the web naturally. the key difference is input method, and i think the iphone keyboard is a risky idea that while looking futuristic will be down to individual preference. I have fat thumbs :-(.

[Surur @ Jun 9th 2007 8:52AM]

Yes, if Stevie feels kind enough to let that 3rd party program though his 'quality assurance service' (more like revenue assurance service)

[BrianC @ Jun 9th 2007 7:58AM]

Does the iPhone support Adobe Flash Lite content? Would the built-in browser be able to view Flash web sites? I don't see it mentioned anywhere at all.

[Dman @ Jun 9th 2007 10:29AM]

The promo's and info say Safari so I'd assume it include the most recent flash and other plugins, just short of Flip4Mac that is...

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 10th 2007 10:06AM]

;^)... Nuff Said...

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 10th 2007 10:13AM]

Holy isht, I know what you're talking about and just pee'd my pants! Wonder if Steve will mention it Monday?

[Carmelo Lisciotto @ Jun 9th 2007 8:07AM]

Does it support third party Voip Applets?

Carmelo Lisciotto

[Marc @ Jun 9th 2007 8:20AM]

Does anyone find it odd or inconsistent that the iPhone will have Yahoo push email but not .Mac push email?

[Thomas Ricker @ Jun 9th 2007 8:27AM]

Just speculating here, but I think .Mac's days are numbered. I would not be surprised to hear about it being replaced with a like service from Google in the days ahead. There's little reason for Apple to be in this type of business anymore. Again, just my personal speculation.

Thomas

[Ryan @ Jun 9th 2007 11:17AM]

The iPhone will support pop and imap protocols. Your .mac mail will still work with your iPhone.

[Marc @ Jun 9th 2007 12:00PM]

Ryan,
Thanks for the comment but my point was specifically about PUSH email. The iPhone will support almost all POP and IMAP protocols. Yet they are actually going beyond that with Yahoo email and instead of having "scheduled pulls" they are having Yahoo Mail "pushed" to the device. For those of us that are dependent on Blackberry and also have .Mac accounts it seems weird that Apple would not support push email of its own IMAP service.

[Slvrgun @ Jun 9th 2007 8:28AM]

How do you suppose I text?

[enohpi @ Jun 9th 2007 8:28AM]

The european version will be with UMTS support.

[lifesuk @ Jun 9th 2007 8:42AM]

iPhone is no way near N95. it's not a smartphone. it's lack of 3rd-party. apple deliver a platform that works like the existing iPods, so some software will likely never show up. and no 3G no wifi, what a marvellous masterpiece.

[Will @ Jun 9th 2007 12:33PM]

only if you knew what you were talkin about...it has wifi, you idiot

[TJ Johnson @ Jun 9th 2007 1:16PM]

Nice call Will. Also, your claim of a lack of third-party support isn't entirely true either. It's speculated that Apple will release the developer kit at WWDC on Monday which means new apps are soon to follow. Even though Apple will regulate them, I sincerely doubt an application which can support external bluetooth GPS devices for iPhone, for example, would be blocked by Apple.

The Google Maps app for Blackberry which I use now doesn't currently support GPS but I do know that Google is working on getting it included. RIM has their own mapping application that does support GPS and they've just recently released their SDKs so a third party application with GPS support can't be far away if it hasn't arrived already. This will be the same case for the iPhone assuming Apple does release the dev kits.

[Shpendee @ Jun 9th 2007 8:43AM]

What is UMTS?
No MMS,no IM...hmmm!!

[enohpi @ Jun 9th 2007 11:05AM]

UMTS is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS

[Brian @ Jun 9th 2007 8:44AM]

do NOT buy this phone. It doesn't even have high speed data... it's crippled. Wait for iPhone: part deux.

[Ohanes @ Jun 9th 2007 8:47AM]

no mms? this is probably a fake, why would apple skip an important feature like mms?

[Scott @ Jun 9th 2007 8:49AM]

The iPhone is a really exciting product, but I share the concerns about the touch keyboard. Particularly because I've never seen anyone (Jobs or commercials) use it with thumbs. I don't want to have to stab emails out on my phone.

[Kevo @ Jun 9th 2007 8:53AM]

For my purposes, without MS Exchange, the phone may as well not have email access.

I'd bet there are a lot of Blackberry and Windows Mobile users that'd be willing to move over to the iPhone (me for example) that can't unless they start supporting Outlook. Synching contacts is good, but email and calendar is what I want. Plus, we are basically the only cell phone users used to paying hundreds for a phone.

My gen2 wishlist: 3G, GPS, MS Exchange support.

[Taylor @ Jun 9th 2007 8:55AM]

I was a potential iPhone buyer till I read this article. No MMS makes this phone a complete failure, instantly, in my mind.