January 9, 2007 10:55 AM PST
Yes, Virginia, there is an iPhone from Apple
It's so pretty!
(Credit: Engadget)Pinch yourself, Apple freaks. It's not a dream. The touch screen, wide-screen, media-playing iPod smart phone from Apple is here, and yes, it's called the iPhone. Read our play-by-play here.
The iPhone in off mode.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET Networks)Specs time:
- Cingular, quad-band GSM/EDGE phone
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but no 3G
- 11.6mm thick: apparently thinner than all those other anorexic smart phones
- 2-megapixel camera
- iPod connector, mic input, and speaker jack
- Proximity sensor: when it's close to your ear, the touch screen and display shut down
- "Smart" screen knows which way to orient images depending on how you hold it; wide-screen playback for videos
- Highest-resolution Apple screen of all time
- Mac OS X operating system
- Touch screen interface, no stylus
- Full-on applications--more PC-like than mobile device-like
- "Visual voice mail"
- Safari Web browser
- Google Maps--including satellite and traffic data
- POP3 and IMAP e-mail capabilities--real e-mail, not mobile version
- Widgets!
- Seamless integration between EDGE and Wi-Fi
- Flash memory
- 5 hours of talk, video, and browsing time; 16 hours of audio playback
- 8GB model, $599 with a two-year contract
- 4GB model, $499
- Shipping in June
Listening to music on the iPhone
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET Networks)By the way, Linksys might be ticked.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
Kinda high on the price-side, though.
Especial since The gig is up on GSM and it has way of advancing its speeds and capibilities. CDMA has a lot more options and is a lot faster. I think it is a Great idea and looks beautiful, but a prime example of this being a pain in the ass, is your on a flight and you it as your ipod to listen to music and watch a video, and then you get off the plane to call your ride and the battery is dead, with your friends contact info stuck inside it.
Else, some cell phones use a type of flash memory that's nonvolatile. Your contacts will still be there if u lose power and can be accessed after u recharge it. If not either 1) use it conservatively. I know this would suck on long flights, but it wouldn't be just the iPhone. PSP, DS, PDA, laptop, and PVP users have devices that tend to be on the lower end of battery life and they need to bite the bullet as well... OR 2) get a portable charger with it's own power source made for the iPhone.
it looks incredible.
but being in australia....im hoping that doesnt mean i have to wait until 2008 :
( as oceania is often grouped with asian pacific countries etc.
ill sell body parts if i have to, this thing is miiine
I definitely want one of these eventually but until the price comes down to reality and they include 3G wireless I'll be sticking with my Q.
flash type memory IS expensive. $300 gets you a 8GB ipod Nano. For x2 the money, you're getting a the improved attributes for the screen mentioned above, LOTS of WL options, an actual PC (... or a Mac to be technical). If this performs as well in reality as it does on paper, it could be a steal.
I certainly wouldn't terminate an existing cell plan just to have this phone, and I've been waiting eagerly for the widescreen iPod. When Digg reported that the iPhone would be available in both GSM and CDMA, it made sense. Seeing now that it's a Cingular/GSM exclusive, all of a sudden it doesn't.
Bottom line is that I'm far less enthused about this than I thought I'd be, despite all the upside of having OS X on a portable device. Even though this isn't an Apple MVNO, it still has the contrived feel of a past failure like ESPN Mobile, which proved that expecting cell buyers to switch carriers just for your product can be messy proposition.
The price, however is a problem. Should I use that much money for a PS3 or an iphone ?
People complained about ipod the same reason before; we will see how the market react later.
Anyway, you have to admit, it is a very cool toy. Very very cool.
2)Doesn't fold in middle so will be sticking out of your shirt pocket. Would hate to see what putting this in your jeans pocket will do to it. Display durability is a real question as this is a touch screen
3)being a touch screen ...fingerprints
4)Battery life?
5)Price
6)Would really like to see a thin folding phone with a touch screen interface like this. I don't want an MP3 player
And this just off the top of my head.
2) PDA owners, and others with concerns of breaking their elec devices that are known to be more fragile than typcial cell phones have this issue too. Buy a hard case. It'll certainly add to the price, bulk, and weight, but on its own and for ppl who aren't in break prone situations like field work, it should last you. If not, then it's lawsuit time!
3) use your fingernails. Despite not coming with a stylus i'm sure they'll be 3rd party ones, or just use a "homemade" stylus like a pen with the point/tip retracted
4) 5 hours talk and 16 audio. I know that's not great batt life, esp. when BT, EDGE, and/or wifi use is kicked in, but I'm guessing running OSX takes a whollap on batt power.
5) Apple ain't the only one to offer great products in the "NOT priced to move" category. Products like the Tiger Gizmondo, Tapwave Zodiac, various Sony Clie, Sega Dreamcast, BetaMax, NeoGoe, and Sega GameGear may have been expensive for the competition they were in, but they were deemed great value for your $$. For sure Apple's brand name reputation will go far for the iPhone, and cell phone are hugely popular. I know high end cell phones (in functionality, not the $100 that cost 10x as much b/c it's laced with 24K gold and diamonds) can go up to $800. If ppl really do go for those as much as luxury cars are sought after, APple will be OK. Else, that sure ain't no impulse buy. It's gonna be a hard sell... even after price cuts.
6) flip phone would mean more prone to breakage with hinges, and not as big a screen since the screen area is folded in half. Splitting the scren in half doesn't bode too well with touchscreen.
As for the MP3 player, it's Apple, the creators of the MP3. They HAVE TO put an MP3 player in there.
Granted, the exclusion of 3G is an interesting choice. I suspect it might have to do with battery life.
flash type memory IS expensive. $300 gets you a 8GB ipod Nano. For x2 the money, you're getting a the improved attributes for the screen mentioned above, LOTS of WL options, an actual PC (... or a Mac to be technical). If this performs as well in reality as it does on paper, it could be a steal.
But yeah, the other poster did have some points. While the competition of "super duper cellphones" is good, it ain't spectacular. It's also an applesTOoranges comparison. THis looks like an extensions of OSX, itunes, browser, etc. Treos are business units, play multimedia, great selection of games (no match for mainstream console/handheld games of course). Blackberries are corporate devices, syncs up/connects with corporate networks, email mania devices, etc. Having the iPHone on the market at least gives us consumers more choices.
8GB Flash memory doesn't seem so bad IF the thing had expandable memory like SD, CF (probably too big to fit, but just an example), USB ports, etc., but no mention of not having it for sure, nor a scolding by Crave editors by its lack of. Having removable mem may be more expesive, but so long as u have the $$, your capacity is practically unlimited
HOwever, Apple ain't the only one to offer great products in the "NOT priced to move" category. Tiger Gizmondo, Tapwave Zodiac, various Sony Clie, Sega Dreamcast, BetaMax, etc. For sure Apple's brand name reputation will go far for the iPhone, and cell phone are hugely popular. I know high end cell phones (in functionality, not the $100 ones that cost 10x as much b/c it's laced with 24K gold and diamonds) can go up to $800. If ppl really do go for those as much as luxury cars are sought after, they'll be OK. Else, that sure ain't no impulse buy. It's gonna be a hard sell... even after price cuts.
you don't have to call people stupid.
Please think about it first, which carry 4G now in US ?
NOBODY !!!
Now, don't feel stupid. Just relax and enjoy the rest of MacWorld.
I'm not saying many of the other feautres aren't advanced, but not much more so than the current 3G Smart phones (Q, BlackJack, E92, etc.) other than it works with iTunes, which is definitely cool.
To many people, myself included, a 3G connection is required for business applications such as tethering it to a laptop.
Please do a little research before you incorrectly throw around a tech term.
- GREAT........BUT
- by Guru_18 January 9, 2007 12:06 PM PST
- itll still be hands down PRODUCT OF THE YEAR. But without 3G its still cellphone useless. all that multimedia functions and they couldnt add that. I have a PPC6700 and mine does all that without this "cool" touchscreen or webbrowsing extra functions. i would get it but congular sux. plus its the price of a laptop. GEEZ cingular must have paid a boat load for that deal.
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