Comments on: Apple, AT&T stores prepare for iPhone frenzy

Eager fans are expected to line up outside stores when the new music-playing device hits store shelves June 29.

[deitiphobia]

Personal Body Guard required

Good luck with keeping muggers at bay. To steal a Wii one must first break into your home...to steal an iPhone...a would be mugger need only pimp slap you in opposite cheek while removing the iphone from your face with the other free hand.

It's an easy target when something that is so tiny is so valuable. You wouldn't walk down the street with a $600 wad of $20 bills would you? Well if your using an iPhone I guess that would be a yes!

[protagonistic]

RE: Personal Body Guard required

This has got to be one of the worst responses in here. Let me
guess, you probably drive down the freeway with a phone glued
to your ear, right? While I probably will not buy an iPhone, I can
see why many people will. It looks to be a decent product, but
only time will tell. Apple seems to have discovered that many
people don't want everything including the kitchen sink included
in a product. they just want one that is easy to use and not
bloated with features.

But then most people don't walk down dark alleys at night with a
phone stuck to their ear. Most people are smarter than that.

[john55440]

The iDon'tHaveALifePhone

Let the pathetic, needy, buffoons camp out and stand in long lines. It's no wonder that people laugh at Apple Fanboys.

[sbwinn]

Campers

"Let the pathetic, needy, buffoons camp out and stand in long
lines. It's no wonder that people laugh at Apple Fanboys."

Do these same people laugh at the PS3 fanboys and the Wii
fanboys for lining up too, or is it just an exclusive Apple fanboy
laugh?

I'm sure no one was laughing at the two or three people that
camped out to buy Vista. Oh wait, never mind. They were just
there for the midnight accessories sale.

Then there was that guy who camped out to buy a Zune, but I
think that was just an urban legend, don't you?

[pu2006]

Two year contract - non-replaceable battery?

What's the likelihood of the iPhone actually lasting the full term of
the required contract? I mean, if I'm required to sign a two year
contract to buy something shouldn't I be assured that the device
will remain operable for that term? And if the battery is not
replaceable, doesn't that kinda negate the ability for the seller to
reject a warranty claim on a normal wear and tear basis? So what
will happen when my battery stops holding a charge after the first
year?

[Llib Setag]

battery?

Uh dude, all we have seen is the PROTOTYPE iPhone since Macworld in January...

WAIT UNTIL IT ARRIVES TO MARKET for sale then see if the battery IS / IS NOT replaceable like all the other smart phones.

ATT / Cingular / Apple want this to be a success, so I am speculating that the battery will be replacable just like all the other phones...

June 29 is coming very soon...patience.

[blrhead]

not so true

you see, apple gives you an automatic one year warranty on any
product. the difference here is that phone companies want you
to buy their "insurance" to get a warranty on your phone, but
many people don't realize that the phone manufacturer gives
you a warranty for the actual phone, but they have made deals
with phone companies that requires you to only get it serviced
through the actual phone service provider. Here is the thing, for
the iPhone, apple will give you a warranty without having to buy
this "insurance from At&t. Knowing what Apple did with the iPod
and only charging 59 for an extra year of coverage, this will
most likely apply to the iPhone. So there, the two year limit
shouldn't discourage you from getting an iPhone...

[benjiernmd]

NO KEYBOARD!

Why would I fall in line for a product with no keyboard? A "very
intelligent and popular celebrity" said that it is useless for
businessmen like me! LOL!

[shoffmueller]

Huh?

Are we supposed to guess who the intelligent celebrity (oxymoron?)
is?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Bluetooth keyboard

The keyboard will be an external Bluetooth device instead. I expect different companies to produce it so you should have some selection.

[Llib Setag]

New "Internet ad" for iPhone CNBC

from MACNN & YOU TUBE:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/06/06/fourth.iphone.tv.ad/

[Vegaman_Dan]

Saw it, decent content.

It was a good ad. It demonstrated a lot of features and failures of the unit quite nicely. I think it was a well balanced ad.

[WJeansonne]

This thing will be a flop like the PS3

$600 bucks is just too damned expensive for a telephone. Apple and ATT are dreaming of long lines.

[Thomas, David]

LMAO

I would agree, if it were just a phone. Fortunately, and many
of us have been waiting with great anticipation, it is not just a phone.

I suppose you
can say it will flop, "just like an ipod".

Seems I've heard
that before somewhere ... hmmmmm, I can't seem to remember!
(LOL).

[MidniteRaider]

Maybe so, maybe not

People also said the iPod was too expensive for what you get.
That you could get more for your money with other MP3 players.
That is even true today. But there is more to just the hardware
part of the unit. Take into account the software and integration
across the different features, and you get a very attractive unit.
Apple also hass had a lot of good press lately. Not only if you
take into account of all the iPod owners out there, who are
curious to see what an Apple phone might be like.

It might not sell like a Wii, but it wont flop like a PS3. It should
still see strong sales.

[rhett121]

Do you live under a rock?

There are TONS of phones over $600 and they all seem to sell quite
well. I guess if you're cheap, or don't know what a good product
looks like, you won't be in the market for an iPhone. I would gladly
trade my $400+ Sony Ericsson piece of crap for one like this.

I CAN'T WAIT!

[lesfilip]

The typical WJeansonne fartbomb

Will this be yet another instance of cutting a hot one and leaving
the room, never to return to respond to anyone's comments? Only
time will tell whether or not the professional Windows apologist
and Apple doubter known as WJeansonne will ever respond to a
single post.

Have a nice day!

[montex66]

Prepare to Eat Crow

I have copied and iCal-ed your comments and screen name,
WJeansonne. Check back on cnet the first week of July where I will
repost your statment along with the iPhone sales results.

Oh, and, how do you like your crow?

[ahsanfarhan22]

the $2000 PS3 and the $1500 iPhone

if you remember, people did pay crazy amount of money and stayed outside Best Buy for many days and nights for a PS3. I think the same thing will happen to the iPhone. The first month will be heaven for Apple with people trying to sell there iPhone on eBay and stuff, but sooner the buzz will be over and Apples dream of taking over the cell phone market will be crushed.

[Vegaman_Dan]

We all saw what happened to the PS3

I'd like to be the cell phone company version of the Wii. THAT will be the unsung winner of this new round of cell phones, I think.

[chuck_whealton]

Re: This thing will be a flop like the PS3

I'll agree with you. It's WAY too expensive and it's also tied to AT&T.

Why would you want to purchase a ridiculously expensive phone that's going to tie you to a single carrier?

I wouldn't be shocked if the INITIAL sales were great. They'll fizzle out.

I like Apple. I think they're a great company.

Unfortunately, I think this is a bad move on thier part.

Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com

[dansterpower]

Not what the research says

The piper jaffrey research says that the device appeals to a wide
demographic from soccer moms to business (yes, business) who
will not view $499 or $599 as expensive.

[spacydog]

Zomg $500-$600 for privilege of 2-year contract?

Spending that much money up front for something that can easily be lost, plus the privilege of paying even more on a monthly basis for 2 whole years? And, staying out in the cold overnight to do so? I don't think so. I'll let the Apple fanboys enjoy these privileges.

[lesfilip]

Common contract length

People have cell phone contracts. Big surprise there, buddy. How
exactly is a contract for an iPhone any different than for any other
phone?

If $499 or $599 is too much for you then don't buy one. Have a
nice day!

[grtgrfx]

RE: Zomg $500-$600 for privilege of 2-year contract?

Obviously you don't have any friends with Palm OS phones. And
Blackberry owners have paid through the nose for years (phone
service + wifi + email services = huge contract fees).

Everyone who says wow, too expensive, can get lost hasn't looked
at the phone market lately. very few people have no-cost phones
and cheap service contracts except broke middle-schoolers.
Everyone else wants expensive toys with extra service features.

[NewsReader_]

High price = Apple profit

The difference between the iPhone and other smart phones is that with a 2-year contract, most other smart phones are discounted or you can get a rebate or something. There is no such offer for iPhones, not yet anyway.

Comparing it to a PS3 is not fair but it is too expensive for a phone. Apple obviously is not subsidizing the cost of the phone and neither is AT&T. The consumer is getting pinched for the R&D costs of producing it.

I have been using Windows based smart phones for awhile and while I like the look and feel of the iPhone, it does not provide the key features I need in a smart phone such as:
- sync with my companies email server
- SIM swapping; I switch phones based on usage
- replaceable battery; not everyone can afford to be offline while the battery is charging
- No 3G support; web surfing or any downloading in general will be painfully slow with EDGE.

I would imagine BlackBerry users will find similar shortcomings. This phone is not for business users.

I am actually puzzled as to what the target market is. High end iPod users will not set aside their device due to the limit storage. Most people who buy smart phones are business users. Maybe Apple is experimenting with a new type of mobile Mac in response to Microsoft's Origami.

I just fail to see the attraction for the iPhone for phone, music, or smart phone functionality; besides the fact that Apple makes it.

[montex66]

So Don't Buy One

So you fail to see the attraction for the iPhone. So what? Nobody is
out there saying YOU should buy one. Please don't - I want there to
be iPhones available for ME to buy!

Clearly, you have researched the iPhone so well that you know all
the talking points on why not to buy one. Good for you! You are a
wise and frugal consumer. Now, get out of the way so the rest of us
can get one of those a$$ kicking iPhones from Apple!

[GGGlen]

SIM FUD

I don't know where this one originated, 'cuz from Day One - The
Keynote, Mr Jobs quite clearly details the features, points to the
device and states "SIM tray".
It's in the keynote vid online, too, so everyone that says otherwise
can now remove that bit of FUD from their attacks.

[jbelkin]

Crazy to Buy One - I'll Buy 2 and Smash One

Yea, you'd have to be crazy to buy a phone for $600 even though it is 100 times nicer than any phone out there like that Nokia for $740, now that's priced right - yea, I'd much rather have mini chiclet keys than a state of the art touchscreen - bah, who wants new technology?! I know Verizon and Sprint didn't and if they didn't want it, they are never wrong ... and a two year contract, man, that's longer than the two year contract I have now ... or wait, is it? Yea, so don't buy one. I'm just going to stand in line because I'm there to grope kate Moss.

[Thomas, David]

Absolutely Lovely Post

I am still laughing. I needed a good gut wrencher. However, I
am curious. Not about your comment of course, but the poster
you were responding to, and others making similar
comments.

The iPhone is such an obvious winner, yet there
is so much pure, unadulterated crap being posted to try
and make it look unattractive. Even if these people work for
Nokia, etc., it would seem to me they would want something
similar, if not from Apple (due to the lock-in), but from
someone else. I have already seen a few new phones that come
close, thought not in actual functionality, but in
appearance, and touchscreen.

But then again, maybe these
are the same people who lamented the passsing of the
buggy whip.

[Vegaman_Dan]

AT&T also declined the iPhone

When they had the opportunity to sign on with the iPhone, AT&T also turned it down. It was only Cingular that agreed to it and now that AT&T took over Cingular, I do wonder what the lifespan of this product will be when the sponsor AT&T already turned it down earlier.

We've seen it happen before. If AT&T decided they didn't want to carry it any longer, then what will you do? You have a very expensive and very nice looking... um... well, a brick with a touch screen. Okay, a low capacity music player brick with a touch screen. You won't be able to hook up with any other cell service provider.

I certainly hope they don't abandon their customers. Apple certainly can't afford to keep doing that. They already abandoned their OS customers by delaying their flagship product for this cell phone. They really need a new success and they can't ride the iPod wave for too much longer.

This could be their best chance at coming back.

[skipperpma]

80 Gig iPhone

I'll be waiting for a couple of things. First I need my current contract to expire (which thankfully happens towards the end of this year), and for Apple to release a hard-drive based model. The iPhone is nearly perfect as far as I'm concerned, but I have no desire to downgrade my storage capacity to a nano. I don't mind if it's a little thicker - stick a hard-drive in there!
:)

[agb100]

80 Gig iPhone

You are absolutely correct. An 8-16 Gig iPhone is a temporary solution. It is for the most part useless. I own a 160 gig iPod Classic which is barely enough for 300 full resolution CD copying, about 3000 "songs". MP3 is utter useless garbage, it is unlistenable. Buy a Shure 530SE earbud, use 44.1K/16 bit lossless file downloads through iTunes, and you'll be listening to high end audio. Sonic heaven!

I say, wait until a 320 Gig iPhone arrives, and don't bother me until Apple wakes up. Until then I stay with my BlackBerry Curve, a far better and lighter phone, email, and smart device than the current iPhone, the latter a mere gadget.

[Fireweaver]

Apple not taking over

Right. Apple's not trying to take over the phone market. They just want to get in. Start slowly and build up a customer following.
Like what Microsoft wants to do with Zune, right?

[benjiernmd]

Yes, wait for the Zunephone!

It will be the reputable "iPhone-killer" at a lower price. LOL!

[grtgrfx]

RE: Why would Apple want a replaceable battery

Like they don't have competition from battery makers now? Please.
You can buy and have a new battery installed in an iPod today for
less than Apple charges for the part. There are tons of battery
sellers, as well as services that do the replacement for you. And my
iPod's battery worked well for over three years; I only recently
replaced it to get 18-20 hours of use instead of 6-8 hours from
the original.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Opening the unit voids the warranty

If you open the case, you void the warranty. That alone will keep people from wanting to void the warranty on a $500-600 unit.

That does bring up an excellent point though. How long IS the warranty? If it's only 1 year, then battery replacements will be no big deal. If it's 2 years, the life of the service contract, even better.

Interesting.

[sparticusx]

Why Apple, Why not HTC?

HTC Advantage will be out soon, boasting an 8BG Harddrive, flip out keyboard, 5" touch screen and Windows Mobile 6. OR the HTC Shift, with all that plus a 30GB Harddrive and 7" screen running VISTA! Beat that apple Freaks.

[Mystigo]

HTC Shift is a Phone?

That HTC Shift looks kind of big. Makes Maxwell Smart's shoe
phone look elegant:

http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?
title=471470195&channel=339169502

Are you sure that is in the same product space as cell phones?

[thedreaming]

Reality Distortion Field

Is online and working perfectly. Everyone is foaming at the mouth for an iphone. There are phones with features like the iphone, but with the iphone, you have the "cool" factor working for you. As soon as you say, "I got an iphone" hundreds of nerds have an orgasm at your feet, following you around, asking 1000 questions about it!

[trueview]

Is this true?

It is too bad Steve Jobs failed for his company, and created trust behavior related issues. Apple should dissolve its company and reduce the scope of its illegally leveraged OS platform on stolen XEROX plans. What that means is, there is not a big future for Apple. Not as big as it could have been. It's designs are late, duplicatable, and associated to illegal behavior and conduct. How do you break that? If you say it doesn't matter with a straight face, then that isn't coming from truth from the heart. Kids learn from this!

[Thomas, David]

No It is Not!!!

I thought i was done on this thread, as a few might wish.
Me to.

I can't tell if your comment was a joke, or
you really meant it.

How did Steve Jobs fail Apple?
Since he has come back, the company has practically risen from
the grave. When they were in dire straights, I was among many
faithful who yearned for a change, who were critical of their
decisions, and unhappy with the strange product line
that decidedly mimicked every other PC manufacturer. That
period is now officially over, thanks to Steve Jobs.

The
trust behavious related issues you are referring to must be the
backdated options scandal. He had nothing to do with
this, except being the recipient of the options, which he did
not exercise. There were at least three levels of
investigation, one of which was by the SEC. He was cleared on
all levels. He did not request, plan, or design any of
it.

This false story of Apple stealing XEROX plans, has
always been a complete fabrication. Apple gained insight, and
even researchers from Palo Alto, which they licensed, or outright
paid for. That particular detail I would have to look up.
Bottom line, they did not
steal XEROX plans.

The "late" designs you
speak of are an arbitrary point. Smaller companies are always
performing R&D, as well as the larger companies. If you look at
the market place, as a whole, and the significant players, their
designs are not late.

STRAIGHT
FACE:-|

[anarchyreigns]

Congratulations, you are now officially a moron!

If you're going to post, at least have some semblance of clue as to what you're talking about. <rolls eyes>

[nonameneeded]

Was this post serious?

Kids learn from this? Was that a serious comment? Hysterical. Kids
learn from the President as well but that doesn't stop him from
illegal behaviour and conduct. It's a freakin' phone, relax Francis.
p.s. thanks for the post - I needed a good laugh

[makakalo]

Hasn't this already been done?

Seems like Sony already has a small computer that can do all of this, plus run the full version of Windows Vista. I think it's the VAIO UX series, and because someone will inevitably mention it, yes I do use Windows and I have a Motorola razr and they both work fine and I have no intentions of getting rid of them. Apple stuff just seems to be consistently overhyped and the Apple fans will tear anyone down who doesn't think that Apple is the best at everything. Getting back to the point, we already have touch screens, we already have full mobile operating systems, and we already have cell phones. You can't go around putting "i"'s in front of everything and calling it revolutionary. Frankly, it's insulting to those of us who have an education and are able to see past the marketing and evaluate the product for what it actually is, an expensive, nice looking phone, that lacks the revolutionary technology that the fans and marketing would lead us to think it has.

[nonameneeded]

Serious question...

....when you say "we already have touch screens" do you mean touch screen using a stylus? Because the screen on the iPhone is such that you literally "touch" the with your finger so as to avoid replacing/losing your stylus all the time. This is patented technology so I was just curious if your mobile device is using that technology as well. I am seriously asking. Also, when you say "we already have touch screens, we already have full mobile OS, and we already have cell phones. You have a mobile system that has all three things rolled into one unit? Just curious. Thank you in advance for responding.

[Kings X Rocks!]

Warm and Fuzzy: being an Appleite!

Apple makes good stuff. You all know it. Their attention to usability is unmatched.

The real issue is the fact that owning an Apple product for some reason elevates you to some sort of a walking-god-on-earth status...in your own mind.

They're just (wonderfully designed) electronics devices, for crying out loud.

[Now, where did I park my CL600?]

Why not talk about the whole required 2-yr...so we can recover our costs...contracts that are pervasive in the US? Give me a break...

[yalebulldogs]

Win a FREE iPhone

Heavy.com, an entertainment website, is having a promotion for its new users in which the website gives away a free iPhone everyday. Here is the website:

http://www.heavy.com/channel/2605

Enjoy!

[Seaspray0]

I Predict....

That it will sell more units that the Zune.

Yep, that's my prediction.