Apple's tooting its own horn about some new spec upgrades to its imminent
iPhone. No, it's not 3G, GPS or anything crazy like that, but we'll settle for a battery life upgrade anytime, and screen durability doesn't hurt neither. Apple claims that its
preliminary estimates of 5 hours of talk time, internet use and video playback were a tad conservative, and the iPhone instead will be boasting of 8 hours of chatting, 6 hours of internet and 7 hours of video. Audio playback has been boosted from 16 to 24 hours, and standby is at a welcome 250 hours. Of course, Apple does have tendency to exaggerate slightly on the battery life front, but these are promising figures, and should manage to provide a day or two's worth of solid use out of the thing. On the screen side, Apple has upgraded the original plastic surface of the phone to some "optical-quality glass" to improve scratch resistance and clarity. Check after the break for a handy battery life chart.
Update: Not sure how we missed this little snafu, but no Apple, you aren't
the only one on that chart with WiFi. Update to update: Apple updated the WiFi on that chart, so it looks like that's sorted.
posted June 18th 2007 9:25AM
Stupid apple, a real company would tell the ways the competition beats them...There marketers must be idiots...Any smart company would list the ways that other phones beat theres...GESH apple WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!!!!!
I didn't buy either of mentioned phones. I bought Nokia E61i because it beats all of them (apart from having a smaller screen than iPhone's).
E61i - 9 hours talk time
iPhone - 8 hours talk time
E61i - 11.5 mm
iPhone - 11.6 mm
E61i - more than 6 hours of internet use (my own experience + they quote 4 hours VoIP, which means internet use and heavy processor load at the same time).
iPhone - 6 hours of internet use
And yes, E61i has a real keyboard, so that you can write novels if you need too.
Hmmm…I’m really not sure why all these manufacturers are running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking to produce an ‘iPhone’ killer.
I’m a PC guy but I applaud Apple for raising the bar for handheld devices. It seems to me that they just took the next logical step in their iPod line up and thought about what the consumer would want.
IMHO, most companies can’t come up with a true ‘iPhone killer’ because their priorities are completely out of whack. These huge companies are more worried about trying to push their ‘proprietary formats’ and ‘online media services’ rather than focusing on simply on what people need.
Here’s what the MAJORITY of people need:
- A large screen for a clear view of web pages, video and games.
- A phone with good battery life and clarity
- People play Divx movies and listen to Mp3’s
- People surf the web and need to view Flash, QuickTime and Mpeg
- People need a device with a good form factor, both in the pocket and in the hand
- People need Wi-Fi for using the device freely at homes and cafes
- People like to play video games
- People need a camera
- People need GPS
- A replaceable screen-top, or very scratch resistant
Personally I like using a touch screen. This way I can easily highlight and copy info, plus I like to use it for drawing and note purposes. The virtual QWERTY keyboard and stylus is quite fast. But for the MAJORITY of users aren’t used to touch screens. (Think: college campuses, supermarkets and malls) They sport normal cell phones.
I was recently at a party and someone was talking about how amazing the iPhone was because you could do everything with the touch of a finger. This technology has been out there for a very long time. Apple’s doing it right by getting the message out there to the common people. Not the ‘corporate’ people/market.
I have a Palm TX that can:
- Plays full size Divx movies perfectly
- Plays NES, Gameboy, SMS, Sega Genesis roms perfectly
- Easily browses the web with Wifi
- Has a large Touchscreen surface (that I use with my finger quite a lot)
- Is very thin and light
- Plays Mp3’s
The Palm TX is quite old. It’s through 3rd Party apps (TCPMP, LJP, UDMH) that I can do these things.
Which bring me to my point: Why are all these large companies running around like a chicken with their head cut off, looking for the iPhone killer?
IT’S BEEN A LOGICAL STEP FOR MOST OF THEM TO PRODUCE AN IPHONE-LIKE DEVICE FOR YEARS!
Look at Sony – Why don’t they break out the old Clie crew and combine the PSP team for a PSP phone? Movies and games can be sold on a 1GB SD card – very feasible. Why didn’t the Clie become the PSP?
Look at Palm – Why didn’t they legitimize the 3rd Party applications and show the public everything a Palm can do. Palm should have capitalized on media functions and games a long time ago. Where was the advertising? A lot of people were INTMIDATED by Palm devices – bad marketing.
Pocket PC’s and Smartphones are only STARTING to move with meeting mass consumer appeal due to the fact that the iPhone has everyone’s attention.
Nintendo could bring out a DS phone. Now THAT would be interesting. It IS a next step in the world of ‘mobile devices.’
I guess the thought that scares me most is that the aim of these corporations seems lost. So it may be awhile until someone gets it right.
The bottom line is simple: People want a ‘form factor mobile’ that they can play, surf, talk and work on, using the most common media formats.
We don’t want to change our library. We want to use it. The all-in-one device will be here the day that companies focus on that fact.
Over two years ago I had an idea and put together this little design, looking towards a better mobile future. Please feel free to check it out.
http://www.puredigitalmagic.com/nk/personalprojects/art1/
I’ve got my fingers crossed for a device like this. Until then, thanks Apple for raising the awareness of everyday people and constructing a device that makes manufacturers think about what they’ve been doing wrong. It looks good on them! Dedicated handheld users have been frustrated long enough!
People aren’t intimidated by the iPhone - Apple finally made mobile computing ‘cool.’ All the best with the iPhone Apple!
WHAT??? TWO FREAKING MEGAPIXELS???? How... bu.....wha...for 600 bucks? And 8 gigs??? how can the psp have capabilities for half that of the phone for 170? (Please note: CAPABILTIES)Wow, this phone sucks
Maybe on planet fanboy fantasy does the PSP have a camera and 8 gigs of storage and make phone calls.
I Said HALF that of the iPhone.
iPhone and PSP-Pictures, music, movies, Wi-fi
PSP possibilities for redesign- rumors teetering for around 4 gigs of space, and remember that rumor?: Sony Ericcson PSP Phone. Oh, and it's still up in the air for an included camera. Sony is quote "still seeing if it is beneficial for gamers" It seems to me that YOU are the fanboy, James. Oh, and it has flash, and I believe Japan is getting a GPS doo-hicky, but i could be wrong on that
What freaks me is that this 'announcement' got air time on a local news station here in Canada - and we probably will never see the iPhone sold through Rogers or Fido - the only two carriers that are GSM.
It's also on the front page in the 'Technology' section of CNN.com today.
Geeze people, it's just a phone. It's not going to revolutionise the phone industry; it won't revolutionise how you use a phone - and no, it won't get you laid either.
[And yes, the news station actually used the phrase 'Apple's new phone that will revolutionise the phone industry' in its report. Yes, journalism is dead.]
Apple has become the Paris Hilton of computer companies.
I made my own Competitive Data Chart
http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/competitivedatachart2.jpg
Haha, nice, and just as equally informational on what is missing.
That about says it all.
Way to go on making something as unbiased as the original one by Apple!
You left out a little important note about the N95: its 3G doesn't work in the iPhone's US market. In the US, the N95 might as well not even have a 3G radio, it uses European-only bands, not the US bands.
You also left out aac playback amd a whole bunch of other media options. Way to make your own biased little chart!
You forgot the "Will get you laid" column
OMG,
a well thought out, rational analysis. on the interwebs!!!
unbelievable.
Holy hell some of you are really agro.... End of day, the iPhone isn't competing with the current offerings of Smartphones and PDA's for the modern business person/savvy techhead. It's like the iMac - something for Joe Public that is sexy, easy to use, simply works, and has enough software and hardware to entertain them on an average day.
I'm a Mac fanboy - but I've got a 3G WM5 smartphone and don't plan on buying an iPhone. Even though Windows Mobile is so all-over-the-place and downright aggravating - I need the programmability of it and I need to tether my phone. What good does WiFi do me on my cellphone???? Really??? 99% of the time if I'm in need of WiFi, I need it because I need to do something with my laptop.... And you probably do too. And guess what, google maps works just fine over EDGE data, and most of the website you probably visit are mobile optimized. That's all the iPhone needs to cater to right now.
You're all acting like some new football jock is transferring into town and he's going to take all the hot chicks away from you. Well, to be fair, you're Blackberry isn't going to draw the attention of girls at a the bar like an iPhone... but if you're opening line depends on a gadget then you're hopeless anyhow.
A better name for the iPhone would be the LIEPhone! Like so much of what Steve Jobs offers, he bends the truth quite a bit.
Robert @ Jun 18th 2007 2:39PM
A better name for the iPhone would be the LIEPhone! Like so much of what Steve Jobs offers, he bends the truth quite a bit.
Please enlighten us on your point, otherwise we may have to call you LieRobert.
Where's the Cingular 8525 comparison??? Business vs. Pleasure I guess, but I'll have both :)
No kidding, the 8525 cleans shop in that little chart. Once the Kaiser arrives in the fall, nothing will really compare.
Everyone take a step back and a deep breath. I am tired of speculators. No one has even physically used this product yet. So everyone that is speculating...STOP. When it comes out, go play with it. If you still hate it, then write your rants, until then, sit quietly and absorb the information handed out. As for a few comments back to the nay-sayers:
Battery Life: Given previous lawsuits against Apple over iPod battery life, I suspect the figures listed will be very accurate, otherwise they'd face another bout of lawsuits.
Camera: 2 mpxl's is more than enough to simple point and shoot purposes, especially if the optics are good allowing it to take crip photos.
No Keypad: Flip out keypads sacrifice space and weight, not to mention includes more moving parts. Moving parts will break more readily. iPhone capitalized on gain of space by offering a larger battery and advanced sensors. As for the touch screen capabilities, none of us have tried it so we won't know how that compares to the tactile response of physical keypads until it's released.
3G: Are you people really so anti-social that you need high speed data so you can e-mail/im your friends instead of using your phone to make a phone call?
It should also provide a comparison based on
- Skype support
- Available SDK for third-party development (allows any VOIP support)
I love how some folks say "This non-Apple mp3 player is bad because it doesn't work with iTunes."
Uh, how in the world is it fair to judge the worth of a product by its compatibility with its competitors software?
NEGATIVE FIVE MILLION POINTS TO THE IPOD FOR NOT BEING COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER OR WINAMP!!!
So quit being retarded and saying the N95 sucks because its not compatible with iTunes...
8 hours?!! I smell BS... Subtract 25% from all those battery life figures and then you'll probably get a more realistic battery life estimation...
weight would be an interesting dimension, plastic to glass, extended batery, and the added storage might add quite a bit
Simple and plain... you either like the iPhone or not. No one will know what it can really do and how easy it will be until it comes out. What Apple product do you know that is hard to use? Battery Life... who knows until you start using it. It will be different for everyone. I've used plenty of products...battery life is usually an issue from some...regardless. What makes the iPhone great to me is that the software can be upgraded at anytime and change the functionality... just like an OS to a computer. Since it has no buttons...(like keyboard, etc...) they can add whatever they want later.
Okay, since nobody has posted a weight chart, I'll try my best to. I also have added the Treo 755 and the Prada for comparison as well. Please keep in mind that these may not be accurate:
iPhone: 135g
N95: 120g
Blackjack: 99g
Blackberry Curve 8300: 111g
Palm Treo 750: 154g
Palm Treo 755: 160g
Prada: 85g
I for one am relieved that the iPhone has a glass screen. Yes, it means that the screen has the potential to break instead of scratch, but considering the only way to input data on it is via the screen, it's rather more important that it doesn't scratch than it is on other phones. And frankly, aren't the rest of you as fed up with plastic screens scratching to uselessness within the first few months as I am? I have never been a fan of consumer products that degrade significantly (read scratch) with normal use. If someone would invent a scratch-proof plastic I would be all for it, but until then I will be happy with the glass screen.
Funny how u guys only compare the iPhone with the N95. To be honest, I think Sony's upcoming W960i is much better than both. Can someone post up comparisons with this item aswell please?
The W960i seems to pretty much be a 3G iPhone with a slightly better camera and a slightly smaller touchscreen based on the Symbian OS that is not so great. In exchange you ket a standard cellphone keypad (no full keyboard).
So the plus is the 3G and 3rd party apps, but the negative is the interface and screen. If the price were the same as the iPhone, I could see some people preferring it, but mostly for the 3G.
I agree in part, but the screen is big enough to feel similar, and the resolution is still great on the w960i.
You also forgot to mention that the w960i (9hrs talk) has a better battery life than the iPhone (8hrs talk).
Including the price differences, I would put the w960i as the winner overall.
To Steve "God" Job`s fanboys - Aka Iphreaks:
http://nymag.com/news/features/33524/
Or Mac-acos don`t read NYTimes?
"Apple does have tendency to exaggerate slightly"
Hahaha, sure. Apple doesn't lie, it "exaggerates slightly". Wouldn't be different with the iBrick.
I love how everyone is calling the iphone UI simply a touch screen. Its is so much more than simply a touch screen. Its called multi touch. Multi touch is totally different.
Another thing, the N95 is possibly the ugliest cell phone ever. Its also cheaply made, and way too expensive.
Don't forget the N95 lacks a qwerty keyboard
because it can still be faster. why not add it? would you complain if they did? as far as the internet is concerned faster is typically better.
p.s. as some have pointed out, technically its not day one for safari yet. its a beta.
WiFi cost less than EV-DO per Bandwidth specially if is a free hotspot or at your own house.
Come on people, I don't believe with "glass" they actually mean that type of glass beer bottles are made of but more like the type of glass windshields and windows of cars are made of. A windshield is very scratch resistant and only starts crushing at high velocities.
About that other hi-tech material mentioned earlier. I think that would be way too expensive.
Nice work Apple. I for one welcome our new messias-phone!
So I'm wondering what's the best way to extend battery life 20-30% AFTER the product has been manufactured...
Underclock the CPU in software perhaps? Reminds me of the PSP.
I'm sure that won't stop anyone. It's got a shinier screen now!!!
i think it's more fair to compare the iphone to sony ericsson's recently announced w960i
to me w960i looks (almost) as cool as the iPhone, but i bet it will beat the iphone in almost
every aspect: better camera (3.2 mp +autofocus+flash, nice video recording), EXCELLENT walkman 3.0 player, EXCELLENT battery life (no less than iphone), it also has a touchscreen (bot not as big as iphone), wi-fi, built in 8gb of memory, voip, 3rd party applications; smaller & lighter than the iphone, almost as slim as iphone (not a problem for me).
it might be a little more expensive, but hey, its sony ericsson, and it's just really good (check it out on the news, or even youtube)
Not sure if iPhone has a 'handicap' mode, otherwise my one-hand fellas are going to sue the fruit company because they for sure are discriminated.
Handicap-Mode meaning you can control it with your tongue or peniz? Okay sorry that was mean :C
Looks like no technological advanced solutions out of the box, but I believe Job did try to experiment with his parts at home, but alas, failed.
Wow. That's so funny. I wonder if we add columns for Office support, 3G, GPS etc if iphone will still lead the pack.
Secondly, how come Engadget doesn't get an iphone for review??? I mean, we certainly aren't going to trust Walt Mossberg's review--that seems like a bit of a setup. We need a fair and honest review from someone like Engadget.
Let's all e-mail apple and petition them to send an iphone to Engadget! My e-mail is going out right about now.
Wouldn't the HTC Touch be a main competitor?
Hmmm... i own a blackjack and i'm pretty shure it does have WiFi!! (and gsm, umts and hsdpa)
I guess there are different versions out there: mine is from Europe (NL)
http://web.mac.com/wolfiemac/iWeb/iPhone/Track%20iPhone%20/Track%20iPhone%20.html
The Question is are you tracking your iPhone?
I just kind of want my phone to ring, I have a zenvision for my video, mainly because Ipod video doesn't support 90% of my video collection. Most of my music is ogg, raw, and m2k. Apple is the best producer of all in one peripherals, there is no denying that, but they lose serious points with me because they have veritably no support compared to most of the market.