Quote :

"Easy. Amazon just offered all AT&T pda/smar..."

Really all the other phones out there cant compete with the features and quality of the iphone. the display and web browser alone blow all other phones out of the water. Giving the phones for free wont do squat IMO. You'll still have to pay roughly the same monthly fee for voice/data - the monthly fee obviously is the kicker in any deal. So if your gonna get stuck with roughly the same fee no matter where you go, why would you not shell out the one time $200 for an experience that is leaps and bounds above the rest.

I'm very interested to see what the other phone companies are gonna do. I'm not a big apple fan, but I dont see how I can resist this one.

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 4:46 PM. Reason : dont = do]

6/9/2008 4:45:20 PM

Quote :

"which is weird because my mom's BB has gps, but she has to pay for the service."

my guess is that she pays a monthly fee for an application probably - the gps signal is free - who would be stupid enough to pay monthly to receive it

6/9/2008 4:47:52 PM

^^

Quote :

"Really all the other phones out there cant compete with the features and quality of the iphone. "

Not really. I don't know if you've kept up to date on phone technology but every feature/spec of the iphone has been out for years before the iphone came out. The only thing the iphone has got going for it is ease of use and sexy interface. In terms of specs and hardware it kinda sucks compared to all the phones that have been out. I mean even the 2nd gen iphone still has a low resolution of 320 by 480 and no expansion port. They're just now getting 3g and gps. You just have to be careful when comparing other phones to the iphone because in terms of specs and hardware the iphone has always been last in line.

I mean when the 1st gen iphone came out, phones had already been out with 640 by 480 resolutions, gps, 3g, expansion ports, stereo bluetooth, etc etc. None of which the iphone had. The 3g iphone still lacks in hardware compared to many other phones on the market. What apple lacks in hardware they defin. make up for in ease of use and interface though.

^yeah but most phone companies want you to pay for it. Don't know why.

6/9/2008 4:51:30 PM

I'm not super on top of cell tech, however I don't feel like I am out of the loop. I'm in market for new phone - what are some phones I could get with the features you mention?

things that are important to me:
-display
-highly functioning web browser
-full keyboard (I dont like the small pda phone keyboards)
-software does not completely lock down phone (like verizon does with ringtones etc..)

I would not say iphone is last in line - others may beat it in certain areas, but i dont know of another phone that is as good in as many areas.

6/9/2008 5:12:42 PM

I didn't mean like at the bottom of the phone list. I meant like out of all the really nice line of phones, the iphone in terms of specs isn't anything special. Normal display, normal camera, no expansion. If any other phone had its specs it wouldn't be anything special. The reason it's great is because of the interface and design.

I'm holding out a few months until the new phones shown off at CES in January are released. Probably the two biggest ones are the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and the HTC Touch Diamond.

If you're about display the Diamonds display is 640 by 480, and the Xperia display is 800 by 480. I'm a big fan of full qwerty keyboards because it's much easier to use than a touch screen. The xperia's has a sexy slide out one, plus a metallic finish:


In terms of a camera the n95 or the sony K850i both have 5MP cameras but aren't as good as the previous. Anyway, i still think the iphone has the least messy, easy to use interface.

6/9/2008 5:56:08 PM

Quote :

"I don't know if you've kept up to date on phone technology but every feature/spec of the iphone has been out for years before the iphone came out. The only thing the iphone has got going for it is ease of use and sexy interface. "

That's what people use to say about the Model T.

6/9/2008 5:58:07 PM

i'm just saying if you list out the iphones specs it's nothing to write home about. It never has been. Apple isn't about new hardware and staying on top of things. They're about design, style, and usability.

6/9/2008 6:00:21 PM

comon why can't you go 32

I have a mp3 player I got in 2002 thats got 20 gigs we can't get 32 gb

yes I know solid state yes I know more expensive but come on

6/9/2008 6:24:04 PM

Quote :

"^yeah but most phone companies want you to pay for it. Don't know why."

phone companies want you to pay for the ability to use their built-in software. the signal has been and should be free since 1983 thanks to Ronald Reagan.

6/9/2008 6:45:35 PM

i thought you were usually paying to use the carriers map data.. Obviously the signal is free and if the phone can receive it, the only thing left is making it useful with the right maps..

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 6:47 PM. Reason : if]

6/9/2008 6:47:28 PM

yes, built-in software and maps, in which they are typically paying a 3rd party for.

6/9/2008 6:58:16 PM

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/09/technology/applekeynote.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

6/9/2008 7:01:59 PM

Quote :

"and any more news on the $200 front? i think a $200 device with 3g and gps is a pipe dream. could existing customers get it for $200? I'd assume not but maybe so if all we have to do is extend our contracts"

6/9/2008 7:04:52 PM

yeppp, guess that settles that

does it have GPS for sure or no? dont see anything about it on cnn but found other articles that say it does have it..

6/9/2008 7:05:46 PM

Quote :

""We took two other 3G phones -- the iPhone 3G is 36% faster than the nokia N95 and Treo 750 -- and look at the result you get, by the way! Full page on the iPhone, and quite a bit less on the other phones." Big applause."

haha i noticed this in the speech. Stupid people at apple picked 2 old phones with crappy browsers. The nokia n95 and the treo 750 are old phones with older browsers. Of course the new 3g iphone is going to beat them. Faster rendering capabilities.

^^^

Quote :

"CEO Steve Jobs said the new iPhone, which is based on 3G technology, is 36% faster than top rival Nokia's N95 smartphone."

The nokia N95 is NOT a iphone rival. This is marketing for you. Apple can pick 2 bad phones and tell you thier shit is better than theirs and everyone claps! Notice how they don't compare the iphone to any new ppc or smartphones?

Just for shits and giggles i loaded the EXACT same page on my pantech duo with windows mobile and I loaded the national geographic site in 6 seconds using the skyfire browser and about 18 seconds using the built in IE browser. Now i don't know if apple is just fucking with you or what but the first time i read through that it seemed like those times were a little long. In regard to skyfire it prerenders it on a server so that's why it's only 6 seconds, but IE only took a little less than 20 seconds and maybe that's why they didn't show a newer pocket pc or smartphone.

Even though i like the iphone this is one reason i don't generally like apple. They always skew the fuck out of thier marketing.

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 7:47 PM. Reason : .]

6/9/2008 7:41:37 PM

Quote :

"does it have GPS for sure or no? "

yes.

Quote :

"Stupid people at apple picked 2 old phones with crappy browsers"

i don't see how that was stupid on apples part. seems pretty smart to me

6/9/2008 8:03:38 PM

^well yeah on thier part. But they're misleading a bunch of people. Newer smartphones, and ppcs may very well be faster than the iphones browser (mine sure was) but because apple skewed thier tests so much everyone at the apple stores will be convincing people it's the fastest browser out there simply because it was faster than 2 older phones. My friend who works at the apple store at southpark just called me about the new features and said "and the internet is the fastest on any phone!". Now he's gonna go telling all his customers that. I just think that's misleading.

6/9/2008 8:15:47 PM

wow... this was REALLY an underwhelming refresh. I know it's got GPS and 3G, but I was really hoping for a flash for the camera, video recording, and MMS. All features it should've had at launch.

and AT&T raising the data price to $30 is bullshit. "The new iPhone. Twice as fast, half the price." Unless you factor in the extra $240 you're gonna be forking out over the life of the contract for data.

So guess who's really subsidizing the phone... The millions who will see the $199 price tag and bite July 11th.

I bitched and bitched about the lack of 3G, even holding out until February to buy one. Now I don't think I'll be upgrading.

6/9/2008 8:24:43 PM

im probably gonna get one now

6/9/2008 8:34:33 PM

so what are the new rate plans?

6/9/2008 8:34:57 PM

can you still pay $20 for the slower internet in case your area doesn't have it?

6/9/2008 8:36:04 PM

^^ i completely agree. the +10/mo really irritates me. i'm also disappointed by the lack of video recording. i was planning on upgrading, but i just might keep my 2G

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 8:37 PM. Reason : ^ srsly. i assume they can't change existing plans without an escape clause]

6/9/2008 8:36:53 PM

^ huh?

6/9/2008 8:43:14 PM

Quote :

"Newer smartphones, and ppcs may very well be faster than the iphones browser (mine sure was)"

i thought yours took 18 seconds to load the page...thats not faster than ol steve jobs did it.

6/9/2008 9:05:18 PM

Quote :

"and AT&T raising the data price to $30 is bullshit."

I thought that's what it was

6/9/2008 9:19:51 PM

i didnt think there was a separate data price...it was like $60/mo for the basic package, one line. so is it now starting at $70/month?

6/9/2008 9:35:57 PM

i dont remember the numbers but i know with unlimited texting it was around $99 on the old version

i think the price is now the same as the blackberry unlimited data plan

6/9/2008 9:41:03 PM

ok forget unlimited texting, what is the new base rate? (i.e. the cheapest you can pay for service for an iPhone)

6/9/2008 9:44:37 PM

unlimited texting was $20 on the old one.. you do the math

6/9/2008 9:48:46 PM

jesus christ do i have to spell it out for you? i'm not asking about the unlimited texting package, or some fancy data package. what is the minimum total cost per month to have service for the new iPhone? (before, it seemed that the base package included unlimited data, but a set # of SMS and minutes...what are the details on that now?)

Here, this is the old matrix...so is this going to change?



[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 9:53 PM. Reason : ]

6/9/2008 9:52:03 PM

add 10 fucking dollars

6/9/2008 9:54:34 PM

haven't read any of the thread, but if i just got an iPhone in April, is there gonna be a software upgrade so our internet will go faster? or are we pretty much screwed

6/9/2008 10:23:00 PM

^ how is a SW update going to add a 3G radio to your phone?

6/9/2008 10:24:18 PM

Quote :

"i just got an iPhone in April"

why the hell would you do that

6/9/2008 10:50:32 PM

$70 a month seems like an obscene amount to spend for one line of cell phone service.

Though really I'm just bitter because allegedly my State discount allegedly doesn't apply to the iPhone services.

6/9/2008 11:02:43 PM

you know, that is a question I have. Based on what I read this afternoon, it seems like the subsidies that AT&T is paying to apple have stopped and they are treating the iPhone like every other AT&T phone. does that mean that the iPhone will finally be eligible for corporate discount? Because I would REALLY love my IBM discount to kick in.

6/9/2008 11:11:59 PM

Quote :

"i thought yours took 18 seconds to load the page...thats not faster than ol steve jobs did it."

The new 3g iphone took 21 seconds to load the page. My phone took 18 seconds to load the page on IE, but only 6 seconds to load the page using the beta version of Skyfire. My 6 seconds beats the shit out of "ol steve job's" 21 seconds.

-just did it again. took between 4-5 seconds to load. Skyfire is crazy fast. I mean seriously, 21 seconds to load a page on an iphone? That sucks. 3g is supposed to reach lower end cable speeds. Pages should pop right up, not take 21 seconds to load. I don't have time to wait 21 seconds to load a damn page. I would have lost interest by then.



21 seconds=weak. Here's some marketing for ya. I'm 76% faster than the 3g iphone using Skyfire beta. It just depends on the browser and the phone. And what's funny is the skyfire website has the Nokia N95 on it (the one jobs compared to the iphone) and it runs skyfire which is way faster than the iphone's browser. Also because it pre-renders it on a server it supports pretty much anything your desktop does. Flash, java, etc etc.
http://www.skyfire.com/

Oh and they didn't upgrade the iphone's camera. It's still 2 megapixels.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 2:01 AM. Reason : .]

6/10/2008 1:32:07 AM

^

Dude, calm down.

People bought the old one and it was BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLS SLOW.

6/10/2008 8:07:31 AM

Looking into buying a new iPhone has only made me realize just how much I overpay for cellphone service as it is.

What'd be great is if they came out with a plan that was unlimited data, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls, 200 texts, 100 anytime minutes, 1000 night/weekends for about $50 - $60. What the hell do I need 450 anytime minutes for when everyone I know owns an iPhone?

6/10/2008 8:21:45 AM

Quote :

"Also because it pre-renders it on a server it supports pretty much anything your desktop does."

are you saying it has only certain pages "pre-rendered" on their servers, or it pre-renders pages on the fly or something...so every page you ever visit on the internet will be pre-rendered on their servers?

Quote :

"What'd be great is if they came out with a plan that was unlimited data, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls, 200 texts, 100 anytime minutes, 1000 night/weekends for about $50 - $60. What the hell do I need 450 anytime minutes for when everyone I know owns an iPhone?"

well their current plan has everything you describe, but includes the 450 anytime minutes, and is in your price range at $60. We're assuming that the new plan will be $70 since the data packages are $30 instead of $20, but still that's only $10 over your range

6/10/2008 8:28:02 AM

Good summary of the WWDC conference with Iphone highlights.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/06/liveblog-steve.html

6/10/2008 8:29:18 AM

^^^^Yeah but this time they're using thier "apparent" browsing speed advantage to market when it's complete bs. I mean even 17 seconds to load a page on wifi is horrible.

^^^Don't some companies have that? I think it's waaay more expensive than that though. like 100-130$ for unlimited calling, text, and data. I think verizon's is 139$ for unlimited calling, text, and data which is too much.

^^For example IE for windows mobile is a true html browser because it renders things on the fly. For skyfire you sign up and log into thier site on installation. The server than transcodes or pre-renders every page you visit on the fly and sends it to the phone. Because it has a server transcode it, you can view pretty much anything on it; streaming video and sound, flash, java. Anything. I want to test it out on a larger pocket pc because my smartphone isn't touch and is more difficult to browse using only the directional keys. I would imagine this thing would be crazy on a larger touch-screen, the pages just like appear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWUoxiLZFc

about 50 seconds into that video he brings up cnn in like 3 seconds. Not to mention google maps through html and native youtube and espn popping up in a couple seconds. They just need to integrate a more fluid zoom system into it now.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 8:44 AM. Reason : /]

6/10/2008 8:32:28 AM

Quote :

"well their current plan has everything you describe, but includes the 450 anytime minutes, and is in your price range at $60. We're assuming that the new plan will be $70 since the data packages are $30 instead of $20, but still that's only $10 over your range <!--"

I'm fine with it at $60, but $70 is pushing it. I'm already sitting on over 4,000 rollover minutes and handing me unlimited data is going to make that even worse. Plus, it's seemingly the most expensive part of the phone plan and it's the one I barely use; so spending $30 just to finally get to a feature I will use seems silly.

Basically, I'm cheap.

^ I have absolutely no interest in unlimited calling. In fact, I'm currently paying about $0.25 per minute of cellphone talk. Christ, a GoPhone would be cheaper.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 8:36 AM. Reason : .]

6/10/2008 8:34:07 AM

neodata686: those are some slick phones. That X1 looks amazing. I am also a fan of the full qwerty keyboard with physical keys. However that is gonna be one expensive mother when it comes out in the US. What do you think? $500 with long term agreement?

6/10/2008 9:26:45 AM

^i read somewhere the xperia would be AT&T which is good. I have no idea how much it'll be. I'm sure it'll be like 500-700$ w/o a plan, but i'm hoping it'll be like 200-300$ with a plan.

Some nice photos on here:
http://www.engadget.com/photos/sony-ericssons-xperia-x1-qwerty-with-windows-mobile-and-hsupa/633586/


Those keys and that metallic finish just look so hot.




oh and sony is using htc to make it, so we know it'll be good. (for those htc 6700/6800 fans)

Also it has a trackpad. No directional pad, but a mini trackpad like on a laptop. Plus 800 by 480 means full resolution dvds!

10 hours of talk time, 580 hours of standby time.
3.2 MP camera w/ flash (5 would have been nicer).
640 by 480 30fps video!
FM radio. 3.5mm jack.
Wifi
h264/mpeg4 support built in!
Microsoft exchange, Imap/pop3/SMTP.
microSD/microSDHC.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 9:54 AM. Reason : I'm getting off topic. ]

6/10/2008 9:30:56 AM

http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9095358&pageNumber=2

Quote :

" How much will 3G rate plans cost? Again, each mobile carrier that's inked a deal with Apple will price its own plans, but in the U.S., where AT&T has exclusive rights, plans will start at about $70 a month for consumers, a fee that will include unlimited data access and a voice plan probably in the same league as the current low-end of 450 minutes (5,000 night and weekend minutes) and 200 text messages. AT&T will release more specific information about rate plans closer to the July 11 roll-out, said company spokesman Mark Siegel today. Unlimited data plans for business will run $45 a month. "

How does that read? Is a business plan cheaper? Or does the data part for a business iphone $15 dollars more?

6/10/2008 10:01:38 AM

That's weird. How can an unlimited data plan differ on the same phone? There has to be added features for business if it's 15$ more.

6/10/2008 10:09:02 AM

I thought business plans were just about always more expensive..

6/10/2008 10:12:28 AM

Unlimited texting is up to $20 a month? I remember when it was $5. After bullshit fees thats going to be ~$100/month for the base minute plan with unlimited text. Fuck that.

6/10/2008 10:15:19 AM

^x5 thats windows mobile tho right? not a fan of windows moble on devices i've used to date.

6/10/2008 10:39:28 AM