While the official announcement wasn't supposed to cross the wires till next week, The Wall Street Journal went early with its story (please don't get me started on this) and published a review of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.
Yes, that's right. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is officially part of the Sprint family; not that it was a complete surprise. The HTC Touch Diamond, as well as the HTC Touch Pro (no announcement on this model yet), were long rumored for a CDMA carrier months before Wednesday's early coming-out party. So now that the floodgates are open, here is what we know.
Word's out on the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.
(Credit: Sprint)There are a number of differences between the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond and the unlocked version we reviewed in late June. First, it sports a purple/burgundy backplate to add more flash to an already sexy phone. The smartphone is also a smidge thicker and heavier at 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.1 ounces, but keeps the same 2.8-inch, 262,000-color TFT touch screen.
Of course, one of the highlights of the HTC Touch Diamond is the TouchFLO 3D interface, which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more.
In addition to the toolbar, there are several programs, such as e-mail, the camera, and music, where you can go flip through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen with a cool animated 3D effect.
Moving on to the features, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, but rather than being content with the standard Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, the smartphone also ships with Dataviz's Documents to Go Suite and the Opera Web browser. We're sure many will be pleased with inclusion of these applications, which are arguably more robust than the former. Wireless options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with A2DP support), EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS with support for Sprint Navigation.
... Read moreOn Sale Now: $199.99
View the latest prices for HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)
Approximately 36 hours after the release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware, existing iPhone customers still can't download it. iTunes says it's unavailable. Apple should have done better.
We already know that on Friday, there were severe activation problems with the iPhone 3G. This isn't exactly a surprise, perhaps, after the new in-store activation procedures and AT&T's dismal performance last year.
What is surprising is that approximately 36 hours after Apple said the new system software would be available for existing customers to access, it still isn't. At least not for everyone.
I have the first-generation iPhone I bought a year ago--and as of midday Saturday, the new v2.0 firmware was unavailable for download. iTunes tells me, incorrectly, that "this version of the iPhone software (1.1.4) is the current version." See the above screenshot.
This is in addition to what my CNET News colleague Erica Ogg reported on Friday: some existing iPhones have been bricked by software update glitches. At least that didn't happen to me.
I'm not exactly desperate to upgrade to the new system software (I'm at a political conference in Las Vegas and am mostly focused on what's happening here).
But this points to a bad miscalculation on Apple's part. Why didn't it come up with a better estimate of how many people would be connecting to its servers and add sufficient capacity? Apple probably is curbing existing customers' access to software updates to prevent its servers from overheating (this is at least a better failure mode than yesterday morning's odd errors).
This is understandable, perhaps, but it's disappointing--especially because this should have been preventable with even a modicum of advance planning.
Update 1:50 p.m. PDT: iTunes is now showing the update as available. I should have noted that I already upgraded to the latest version of iTunes. That wasn't the problem--Apple's servers were.
The Remote App puts control of iTunes--or Apple TV--in the palm of your hand.
(Credit: CNET)We've had a few minutes to play with the Remote App (download) for the iPhone. The (not surprising) verdict? It's an easy must-have for any iPhone or iPod Touch owner who enjoys listening to music at home.
Once you've upgraded your iPhone (or Touch) to version 2.0, just go to the App Store and search on "remote." (Amazingly, that--not "iRemote"--is the program's official name.) You can download it straight to the phone over a Wi-Fi connection (tap the word "free" on the upper right corner), and it auto-installs, adding a new icon to your home screen.
... Read moreIf you're planning on waiting in line for an iPhone, be sure to do your homework and bring all the necessary items with you. Or, watch Wednesday's edition of the Daily Debrief where I talk to CNET News' Tom Krazit about the lines and the purchase process. Apple has finally disclosed that stores will start selling the phones at 8 a.m. The company has also said it will let customers into the stores in groups of 30. This part of the system sounds similar to last year, but this year's big unknown is what the activation process will be like. Simple and easy in 10 minutes? Or mired in paperwork and chaos to the tune of 30 minutes?
Some critics have already gotten their hands on the phone and have written largely positive reviews. But, for those of you abstaining from the Apple Kool-Aid, one of our CNET News colleagues, Marguerite Reardon, takes a look at seven other smartphones that rival the iPhone.
(Credit:
Apple)
Update at 10:08 a.m. PDT, with clarification on how users' e-mail will be handled.
Apple's MobileMe service is primed to be relaunched this week, ahead of the Friday launch of the iPhone 3G. That means subscribers to .Mac will find the service taken offline for a six-hour stretch as Apple makes the transition, according to a post in MacRumors.com.
The www.mac.com site will go down on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. PDT, leaving .Mac subscribers unable to access the site or use .Mac services, except for .MacMail via their desktop applications, iPhone or iPod Touch. In fact, existing .Mac users may have already noticed the ability to receive and send e-mail at an @me.com address if they so request. Other mac.com subscribers will be grandfathered in, allowing them to continue receiving e-mail at their mac.com address, while also receiving a new me.com address.
When the site relaunches as MobileMe, users will find a few changes, according to MacRumors.com:
The revamped .Mac service will offer Web-based e-mail, calendar, address book, photo gallery, and storage capabilities as well as "Push" sync services.
A one-year subscription to MobileMe will cost $99, which is similar to the .Mac price, but purchasers of an iPhone 3G will be able to score a subscription for $69 on Friday, the report notes.
The line for the Apple iPhone 3G began to form Friday--an entire week before the device goes on sale.
Frankly, one shouldn't encourage such behavior by actually covering it. But if I were in Manhattan--instead of Austin, Texas--I, too, would have interviewed them in person by now.
The queue outside of Apple's Fifth Avenue store, covered first by GearDiary and then Engadget, apparently hasn't been formed by iPhone co-dependents, though.
It is instead made up of a group of people who may want to 1) set a world's record for standing in line to buy a product and 2) have a social-agricultural-political message they want the world to hear. However, it was difficult from the video interview on Engadget to determine what the group actually stands for.
On Saturday, the Apple 2.0 blog seemed to get further with the group's agenda. The group, which started off with about 10 on Friday and was slimmed down to 5 by Saturday morning after a night of rainfall, apparently supports organic farming and sustainability for the planet. According to Apple 2.0, they may be interested in turning the White House Lawn into an organic garden and they may be planning to buy iPhones for the presidential nominees.
The seemingly ad hoc group is certainly savvy in deciding to use the iPhone 3G to garner some publicity. However, to be perfectly honest, most mainstream journalists feel more comfortable interviewing gadget nuts rather than alternative souls hoping to use the media to change the world.
Update at 10:52 a.m. PDT: Information about monthly text messaging added
AT&T reaffirmed pricing for the iPhone 3G on Tuesday, noting that eligible customers can snag the new smartphone for a discount: $199 with an 8GB flash drive and $299 for 16GB.
AT&T will begin offering Apple's iPhone 3G at its retail stores beginning July 11 at 8 a.m. local time. AT&T is the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S.
Under the plan, the discounted price will be available to customers who have purchased any iPhone before July 11, who are activating a new customer line with AT&T, or who were eligible for an upgrade discount at the time of purchase. (Eligibility for an upgrade discount, the carrier said, is generally determined by amount of time remaining on a current contract and the payment history.)
To be eligible, customers must also sign a two-year contract. Apple had revealed the $199 and $299 pricing for the iPhone 3G at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Those who are not eligible for an upgrade discount can buy the iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB version. Both require a two-year contract as well.
Customers who purchase the phone without a contract will pay $599 for the 8GB version or $699 for the 16GB model.
The phones will come with the iPhone 2.0 software preloaded on the devices, which includes such business-class e-mail through Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and the iPhone Software Development Kit for creating customized applications. AT&T will also offer its Yellowpages.com Mobile for iPhone on the devices.
There will be an activation fee of either $18 for existing customers eligible for an upgrade, or $36 for new customers.
AT&T is requiring customers to activate their phones in the stores, as the carrier looks to reduce the number of customers who may try to unlock, or hack, the phones to run on other carriers' networks.
AT&T is launching four voice and unlimited data plans for the iPhone 3G.
The AT&T Nation Unlimited plan will include unlimited anytime minutes for $129.99 a month, while the AT&T Nation 450 plan includes 450 anytime minutes and 5,000 night and weekend minutes for $69.99 a month.
The carrier is also offering its Nation 1350 plan, which includes 1,350 anytime minutes for $109.99 a month, and Nation 900 plan that includes 900 anytime minutes for $89.99 per month. Both of these plans include unlimited night and weekend minutes.
And for folks who engage in tons of text messaging, AT&T is charging $5 for every 200 text messages; $15 for every 1,500 messages; and $20 for unlimited text messages.
For more details on the device, see Crave's iPhone 3G FAQ.
After talks broke down earlier this year between Apple and China Mobile over the (non-pirated) introduction of the iPhone, Apple's concession to non-U.S. carriers that they don't need to share revenue has apparently restored progress with the world's largest carrier.
This comes as China's government reports mobile accounts are nearing the 600 million mark. China Mobile alone has more than 400 million accounts. These numbers don't mean there are that many people with cell phones, however. I and many others have multiple SIM cards. I use one for visiting friends, but others use second cards, which can be purchased for under 10 USD, to keep various types of calls separate.
China Mobile said Friday the main obstacle keeping iPhone out of the world's largest mobile phone market had been cleared now that Apple has dropped its revenue-sharing demands.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said this week he would like to see the device introduced in China later this year, and a senior China mobile executive confirmed the two companies were back in talks.
"We've broken through the biggest obstacle and we are negotiating at the working level," Gao Songge, deputy director of China Mobile's general department, told AFP.
Now if only the U.S. iPhone would allow choice of carrier...
Talks about how to bring the iPhone to China have moved from hard-line negotiations to the logistics phase, Reuters is reporting.
During an interview at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs hinted to CNBC that Apple might soon add China to its list of countries where the iPhone will become available. But working out the details of exactly how that will happen hasn't been easy.
Now, talks with Chinese wireless carrier China Mobile have cleared their biggest hurdle, Apple's insistence on setting up a revenue-sharing agreement, according to Reuters. Apple has reportedly given up on that idea in favor of a model by which the carrier will subsidize the phone up-front, like the deal Apple now has with U.S. provider AT&T and the vast majority of its carrier partners around the world. That has allowed the two companies to move forward with plans and move on to working out the logistics. However, there is still no timetable for when the iPhone will be released there, a China Mobile spokeswoman told Reuters.
It will cost you north of the border.
(Credit: Apple)If you think AT&T's iPhone 3G service plans are expensive, just consider what Rogers is forcing on our Canadian friends.
Friday, the carrier announced its service plans for the iPhone 3G, none of which include unlimited data use. Instead, Rogers will cap data each month at a certain amount, which will range from 400MB for the cheapest service plan ($60 Canadian or $59.23 U.S.) to 2GB for the most expensive plan ($115 Canadian or $113.64 U.S.).
Though 2GB is a lot of data, we're not sure how a customer is supposed to know what 2GB even means in real-world use. True, you can track your data use on the iPhone, but it's not like tracking calling minutes.
In its press release, Rogers does provide a convenient chart to gauge your data usage--apparently, 2G amounts to 16,000 Web pages (who knew?)--but we don't approve of such an arrangement at all. The iPhone's Web browser is one of its top attractions, particularly on a 3G network, and asking users to limit their data certainly isn't putting the "Internet in your pocket." Rogers is offering unlimited Wi-Fi access at all Rogers and Fido hotspots, but that in itself is limiting if you have to be in one place.
What's more, the data restrictions aren't the half of it. While AT&T's cheapest iPhone 3G service plan ($69 per month) includes 450 anytime minutes, the cheapest Rogers plan (the one with 400MB of data) only gets 150 anytime minutes. Ouch. Similarly Rogers' most expensive plan includes only 800 anytime minutes while AT&T's priciest plan ($129 per month) includes unlimited anytime minutes. Double ouch.
Come on, Rogers, you have to give your customers a little more. Especially when your contracts run three years.
