Apple iPhone

Rico · June 12, 2007, 04:37:21 AM

So, does anyone love this thing enough to spend $599 at the end of June for one of the first batch to go on sale? I like some Apple stuff, but this just seems to be destined to not live up to the hype. Plus, that's a pretty hefty price tag. What does everyone think?

Bryancd · June 12, 2007, 05:59:54 AM

That demand will far outstrip supply. You need to remember that the original iPod was a VERY expensive MP3 player when it was introduced and the EXACT same criticism was leveled against it. Well, it turned out to be a game changer and so will this. Bet against this company at your own peril. The product momentum Apple is building for the 2nd Half of this year is going to be incredible. Apple is in talks to bring movie rental services to iTunes which could be downloaded and broadcast via AppleTV to your living room, their web browser Safari is now available for Vista, their new operating system Leopard is coming out in October, look for the touch screen technolgy in the iPhone to show up on new iPods and even their desktop PC's....I'm breathless!

The iPhone is just one part of their overall strategy and it is going to be a huge success based on the early sales indications and projections, not based on "hype". Like the iPod, as the phone is adopted by the high end buyers, Apple will eventually bring the price points down and offer models allowing for different entry point along the cost scale, just like they did with iPod. They also will expand the cellular servicing companies which you can sign up with.

We see iPhone's shipping 150,000 units in their Q3 ending Sept. and Q4 of 800,000 for a total of 950,000 sold by the end of the year. For 2008, 8,100,000 world wide iPhone sales.

Rico · June 12, 2007, 06:47:56 AM

Oh, I'm sure it will be a success. But Bryan with all that you said - are you buying one? That's the real question.

I'm pretty gadget crazy and tech oriented and have a certain amount of extra cash. And even I am not buying one - at least for a long while.

Geekyfanboy · June 12, 2007, 07:45:35 AM

I think it's awesome... but even if it was cheaper I wouldn't buy the first version of it. They always say never buy a first version of anything. I'll give it a few years to get the bugs out and for the price to go down.

jedijeff · June 12, 2007, 07:59:40 AM

I will be interested in seeing how this does. It will not be available in Canada when it is first released, but I suspect it will be in time. I have no doubt that it will be immensely popular at the start. I just wonder how Apple will handle it when competitors release products with similar or more features. The competition in the Cell Phone business seem very fierce, with companies releasing new features and technology every few months. Apple has already given the competitors a look at what they are planning to release, so they might not have the top phone for very long. There will always be the prestige of owning an Apple phone, which I am sure Apple is banking on, but others might release phones that are similar at lower prices, and a lot of companies have been in the Cell Phone business for a very long time, so better equipped to compete with Apple. So it will be interesting to see if Apple will be into continually developing the phone at the pace that others do. I know at the time when Microsoft came out with the X-Box, some wondered if they were willing to stay in the gaming business long term, and to date they have, so it is possible the same will happen with Apple, I guess time will tell on this.

Bryancd · June 12, 2007, 08:33:43 AM

Quote from: Rico on June 12, 2007, 06:47:56 AM
Oh, I'm sure it will be a success. But Bryan with all that you said - are you buying one? That's the real question.

I'm pretty gadget crazy and tech oriented and have a certain amount of extra cash. And even I am not buying one - at least for a long while.

No, I won't be buying one. I'm into my triathlon gear more than tech gadgets. I don't even have a plasma or LCD TV yet and an 8 year old surround sound system. The only relatively new tech item I own is a 2 year old iMac. I've never been an early adopter. :)
Having siad that, as to weather or not I or you or Kenny are going to buy one isn't the point. The point is that there is a massive market out there for people who will, it's just not us but that isn't an indictment of the product, we are to small a sample. Limited availabilty will keep interest and demand at a fever pitch going into the holidays. It will be a MUST HAVE item. The thing with us is that we are not MUST HAVE trendy guys, we are geeks. That is a generalization I think you can make about sci fi folks, we tend to be very anti-trend.

Bryancd · June 12, 2007, 08:35:38 AM

I aslo agree with Jeff, and would add that there already are a plethora of product out there that's similar and cheaper. But like I said, remember the iPod. It faced a ton of cheaper competition which did the same task and yet people paid up for the iPod due to its cache and excellent form and function. So to shall the iPhone go.

Rico · June 12, 2007, 09:36:47 AM

I think the clincher for the iPOD was iTunes. That and it's great and solid interface. Even now, there isn't a better overall portable music player, in my view.

But at the price, (keep in mind $599 is a lot more than $250 for an iPod) I don't think your average person will be buying the iPhone. Everyone it seems and your grandma has an iPod these days. That's market penetration. While the iPhone I'm sure will sell well, I really don't think it's the next great thing.

Bryancd · June 12, 2007, 10:17:40 AM

Market penetration for the iPod only came through lowering of price over the years. We'll the same thing happen with the phone.

Bryancd · June 18, 2007, 06:01:52 AM

Press Release Source: Apple Inc.

iPhone Delivers Up to Eight Hours of Talk Time
Monday June 18, 8:30 am ET
Now Features Durable Glass Top Surface

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AppleÂ® today announced that iPhone(TM) will deliver significantly longer battery life when it ships on June 29 than was originally estimated when iPhone was unveiled in January. iPhone will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback.* In addition, iPhone will feature up to 250 hours-more than 10 days-of standby time. Apple also announced that the entire top surface of iPhone, including its stunning 3.5-inch display, has been upgraded from plastic to optical-quality glass to achieve a superior level of scratch resistance and optical clarity.

Rico · June 18, 2007, 06:10:19 AM

Sorry - not buying it. I still think the battery use will be the one big flaw of this item. Apple insists on making the battery built in which means you can't carry a spare. That's just silly to me.

Again, love the ads on TV, it will sell like crazy, but battery life will still be an issue.

markinro · June 18, 2007, 06:32:13 AM

Nope - way too expensive unless someone wants to give me $500.
For now, got my iPod, cell phone and its not even a blackberry. Yes, I can cope.

Bryancd · June 18, 2007, 07:03:20 AM

Quote from: Rico on June 18, 2007, 06:10:19 AM
Sorry - not buying it. I still think the battery use will be the one big flaw of this item. Apple insists on making the battery built in which means you can't carry a spare. That's just silly to me.

Again, love the ads on TV, it will sell like crazy, but battery life will still be an issue.

When you say "not buying it" do you mean the iPhone or the statement in the press release? I'm confused.

Rico · June 18, 2007, 08:01:23 AM

Well - you already know I'm not personally buying one. So yes, I meant the press release. I have followed tech products and their battery life specs for a long time. Laptops, PDA's, cell phones, MP3 devices, etc. Almost in all cases the battery life is not as good as they initially say. In some cases it's actually much worse. When some real world test reports come in under normal use I will feel a lot more confident in the numbers.

I still really think they needed to make the battery easy to remove and replace with a spare.

Bryancd · June 18, 2007, 08:22:36 AM

'Gotcha. Certainly the iPod had some major battery issue's a few years ago which Apple handeled poorly. Part of the problem is that consumers would simply buy another iPod, so the companies motivation to revamp the entire product is diminished. I think they learned a lot of lessons from that.
Now the iPhone originally specd' out with a much lower battery life expecatation. This release is actually new information as the company tries to get ahead of the issue and address it prior to the release. As you said, we'll see how real world usgae plays out....June 29th!

Apple iPhone

markinro