Comments on: The iPhone's secret silicon: A need to know?

Should Apple be more open about the silicon inside the iPhone?

[marswat]

.by faceless128 May 10, 2009
the people who care about specs like this aren't iphone buyers. iphone buyers are like people who own a wii or run windows or drive a toyota camry. they just get the most popular thing and run with it.

You could not be more off target if you tried. I own an i phone, I also ride an Italian motorcycle and have for over 30 years since way before they were "popular", use both apple and windows products, have x box, PS2 and PS3 and a Wii, cause my children want to play them. And while i phones may be popular they are not the choice of every buyer, where I live there are only about 50 users out of a population of 250,000 people. Got those figures from the local shop. The 2 main reasons I bought an i phone are that it is so damn easy to use, ( no 200 page instruction book ) and with all the extras ie., apps, I can leave my blackberry, digital camera, message recorder etc., etc., at home and just use one device.
Sounds a bit like you have issues with people who buy the above mentioned items or is it sour grapes?

[McAdams]

You all sound like a bunch of fifth graders.

I guarantee that the majority of cell phone users do NOT care what's inside... they just want the phone to work as advertised.

So, if you don't like what Apple does or does not disclose--don't buy their products! It's that simple...really.

[aristotle_dude]

I agree. The only specs that I look at are the frequencies that the phone provides. As long as the iPhone continues to support the most popular GSM frequencies on their quad band radio, I'm happy.

[aristotle_dude]

Hardware specs will tell you very little about what the phone is capable of. If you need any proof of this, look at the supposedly higher specs on iPhone competitors and then compare the poor performance of the UI and third party software running on it.

What you should really be looking at is how the OS performs and what sort of functionality the OS provider gives third-party developers in terms of application framework.

I keep on hearing people on the web extolling the virtues of other phones that supposedly multitask but whenever I saw a video demoing that functionality, it seemed that even the application with focus was not as responsive as I would like to see and the video playback on the device in the video was choppy.

[Button Boy]

As a sytems programmer, I want to know. It has nothing to do with my love for the Blessed Steve, I simply want to understand what my compiler is spitting out and what the system is most capable of.

[aristotle_dude]

Sorry but unless you happen to work for Apple, a systems programmer would not be targeting the iPhone hardware. The iPhone comes with a sophisticated application framework which application developers can leverage without having to worry about the hardware underneath.

Here is a handy wiki link for you alleged "systems programmer" concerning what you are supposed to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_programming

A systems programmer would be involved with writing the OS or drivers for hardware. They would not typically be involved in developing third-party applications for a mobile platform.

[tonyDAE]

Most people don't care what processor is in their phone (or TV, or computer). That's a fact. Having that argument among people who are posting to or reading CNET is ludicrous because most people who buy phones, TVs, computers, and other electronics don't read CNET, don't read Engadget, don't know AMD from Intel from ARM from Freescale. They're looking at price, company reputation, features (software & hardware), and how "new" or "cool" the product is. I expect fewer than 30% of computer buyers and 10% of mobile phone buyers care what processor is inside. And people who ask for specific processors (I want an Intel computer - many times don't know what Intel's advantages over AMD, if any, are). I've owned Treos, Blackberrys, and iPhones and never once was the model of processor the deciding factor. In fact, before Intel introduced its "Intel inside" advertising campaign, mass market computer makers didn't even bother to disclose what processor was inside the product.

[curtiskelowna]

the iphone doesnt come close to a pc in capabilities....

if anything, windows mobile comes close to a pc because of its abiltiy to edit and create office docs but even that doesnt come close enough to say it is close to pc capabilities

[aristotle_dude]

There are plenty of third-party apps on the apps store now that will allow you to edit/create office docs.

[montex66]

I don't know of anyone who seriously believes that an iPhone can completely supplant all the functions of a desktop or laptop PC. The iPhone is really meant to enhance and extend the computing experience. There are many places where it is no practicle to take a PC, but an iPhone works out quite nicely.

[curtiskelowna]

still, the iphone is no more an extension of a home computer than any other smartphone. I swear CNET is funded by apple...

[TV James]

When you can only compare Apples to Apples, does it really matter?

Sure, it might be nice to know how many songs it can hold or how long the battery will last (under specific conditions) or how good a signal it has near my home and office, but until anyone can put the iPhone software on their own hardware, do you really care about the more techy stuff?

When I finally buy a new computer for the house (I've been casually researching for several years now), it'll have as much as I can convince my wife to let me have in terms of the specs and I'll have to justify to her why those particular specs are worth the added cost.

But the decision to buy a Nintendo Wii? That took just a few minutes. We wanted Wii Fit and that was the video game system that offered it.

Form matters more once function has been commoditized.

[Hep Cat]

I think we need to know about C|Net's business processes and operations. After all, until you tell us everything, we won't know whether we need to know.

[Hep Cat]

Here comes C|Net, ginning up a fae controversy again. Even though the writers are smart enough to know that this matters not a single iota to anyone developing for the iPhone, they like to run these stories to see how many reload hits they can get.

It's all about selling ads. Not news.

[curtiskelowna]

ironic that you would comment..

[DetectiveBooby]

I'd like to know just because I like knowing what my tech is actually made of...

[DarkerRaul]

I really don't care. And the article on CNet are getting a little lame.

[NotForNuthin]

I don't understand all this talk about "speed". When I put my iPhone on the desk it just sits there. It does not move at all. So how do I judge the speed? Is there something wrong with my phone? Can I donwload an app to correct this?

[epross]

I have a Nissan Pathfinder, but I notice that a lot of the ignition parts are made by Mitsubishi - I sure wish I had known that beforehand......sheesh...do you really need to know every exact component in everything that you own...of course not, as long as it works. This article is nonsense.

[macfuzzy]

I like kool-aid...

[alflanagan]

What! Who cares what it's inside it. It's got Apple's logo! It's the best! We know because Apple said so. What more do we need?

[2009emma]

i have never used iphone before but i have had of people saying it is the bomb. i will like to know what is so special about the phone. you can drop your comment on my blog. http://emma2009-emmanuel.blogspot.com/