Apple iPhone

[Geekyfanboy]

Got the article from Yahoo News, Christopher Null The Working Guy

[Rico]

I didn't realize it could do so much.  I can totally see why it costs $599 now. 

Check out all the cool features:

[youtube=425,350]1xXNoB3t8vM[/youtube]

[Bryancd]

 :roflmao


....but all true....... :innocent

[Rico]

Conan is just the best!

[Geekyfanboy]

 :Bow: That was way to funny  :roflmao

[moyer777]

excellent, I'm gonna get one!   :luke

[Bryancd]

And the reviews are coming in!
Walt Mossberg at the WSJ with a great review including a very positive test of the battery life:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118289311361649057.html
NewsWeek:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19444948/site/newsweek/page/0/
USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2007-06-26-iphone-review_N.htm

[Bryancd]

This was posted on the RPF from a NYT article today:

From David Pogue's NY Times Circuits Column, June 28, 2007

1. From the Desk of David Pogue: Often-Asked iPhone Questions
================================================== ========

With its new iPhone, Apple pulled off two masterful feats:
creating the machine and creating the buzz around it.

That machine, and that buzz, have inspired a lot of
questions. Just how much of a phone, an iPod and an Internet
machine is this thing?

Here are the answers to the most frequently asked iPhone
questions. Consider them a companion to my review yesterday,
which covered the big points like the touch-screen keyboard
(adequate with practice), the AT&T Internet network
(painfully slow) and the iPhone's overall character (fun,
powerful, amazing).

Before you dive in, though, a note about the "Does it
have...?" questions. Apple has indicated that it intends to
add features through free software updates, so the real,
secret answer to some of the "no" answers is actually,
"Coming soon."

Phone

Does the touch screen work if you're wearing gloves? Will a
stylus or pen tip work? No. Skin contact is required to
operate the buttons. Fortunately, most tappable elements on
the screen are big and broad, designed for fingertip access.

Does the iPhone have a speakerphone? Vibrate mode? Airplane
mode? Yes, yes and yes. The speakerphone and the vibrations
are both weak, though.

Can I dial without looking? Can I dial one-handed? You can't
do much on the iPhone without looking. Then again, few people
can operate a cellphone without looking. Dialing the iPhone
one-handed, though, is easy. As your fingers grasp the
iPhone, your thumb is free to tap buttons, scroll lists and
so on.

Can I use a SIM card from another phone? The iPhone comes
with an installed SIM card, the tiny circuit board that
stores your account information and phone number. Apple says
that you should be able to replace it with any recent AT&T
card, once you activate it in iTunes. No other company's SIM
card works in the iPhone.

Will the iPhone work overseas? If you mean to use your AT&T
account, yes; call AT&T to turn on international roaming, and
then prepare to pay big roaming charges. If you mean to
insert some other country's SIM card, no.

How about voice memos, voice dialing or call recording? No.

Do I need an AT&T account? Yes. The iPhone won't work at all
without a two-year AT&T voice-plus-Internet plan (and no, you
can't use it as just an iPod, no matter how tempting the
bigger screen and longer battery life is).

iPod

What iPod features does the iPhone have? Password protection,
Shuffle and Repeat modes, ratings, audiobooks, audiobook
speed control, podcasts, SoundCheck, equalization, volume
limiter, on-the-go playlists.

What iPod features does it lack? Games, lyrics, video output
to a TV and disk mode (when the iPod acts as a hard drive for
transporting computer files).

Does the iPhone work with iPod accessories? Some of them. The
iPod radio receiver works, for example, but FM transmitters
may not work. Existing speaker systems trigger the iPhone's
airplane mode (wireless and phone features turned off) to
avoid interference with the music. Starting soon, iPhone-
compatible iPod products will bear a "works with iPhone"
logo.

Can you use your iTunes songs as ring tones? Can you download
new ones? No. At the moment, the iPhone's 25 ring tones are
your only choices. (They're really good.)

Can you use your own headphones? Fortunately, the iPhone has
a standard miniplug headphone jack; unfortunately, its
plastic molding prevents most headphone plugs from seating
properly. Inexpensive adapters are available from Belkin and
others.

Wireless

Does the iPhone work with Bluetooth computers, printers,
stereo headsets or keyboards? No. At the moment, it
communicates only with hands-free devices like Bluetooth
headsets (including Apple's very tiny one, coming in July)
and a car's dashboard system.
Does the iPhone alert you when it detects a wireless Internet
hot spot? Yes. In fact, if it's a hot spot you've used
before, the iPhone hops onto it seamlessly and quietly.

Can the iPhone serve as a wireless modem for my laptop? No.

Can the iPhone receive songs, files, calendar appointments,
contacts or software updates wirelessly? No, only from your
computer through the U.S.B. charging cradle. But this is kind
of neat: Unlike the iPod, there's no "do not disconnect"
message during syncing. You can yank the iPhone out of the
cradle whenever you like - to answer a call, for example;
syncing resumes when you're done. You can also operate the
iPhone while it is charging.

Internet

Can you make phone calls while you're on the Internet? Yes -
if your iPhone has a Wi-Fi connection. When it's using AT&T's
Internet network, no.

Why didn't Apple use AT&T's faster 3G Internet network? Apple
says that today's relatively unpolished 3G (third generation)
radio chips would drain the battery too fast - and at this
point, wouldn't provide enough of a speed boost to justify
that trade-off. Apple will release a 3G iPhone model when the
time seems right.

How snappy is the real iPhone, compared with Apple's ads?
It's identical, with one exception: Apple never shows the
iPhone when it's on AT&T's cellular network. That would just
be embarrassing.

What kind of e-mail can it get? The iPhone comes with presets
for Gmail, AOL and Yahoo Mail. You can also set up standard
POP3 and IMAP accounts.

Is there instant messaging, like AIM or MSN Messenger? No.
Text-message exchanges appear as sequential, colorful text
balloons, just as in Apple's iChat program. But they're still
cellphone text messages, not chat.

Does the iPhone synchronize bookmarks with your computer?
Yes: with Safari on the Mac, or Internet Explorer on Windows.

What does the Web browser have? Multiple open pages (like
tabs), fonts, layouts, pop-up menus, checkboxes, clickable
links and dialable phone numbers (tap with your finger).
What does it lack? Java, Flash, stored passwords, RSS,
streaming audio or video (except for some QuickTime videos).

What about V.P.N. (virtual private networking)? The iPhone
works with several common V.P.N. systems (that is, secure
connections to corporate networks). A Settings screen lets
you fill in the configuration details.

Software

Does the iPhone synchronize with my computer's calendar and
address book? Yes. It can sync with Address Book or Microsoft
Entourage on the Macintosh, Outlook, Outlook Express on
Windows, or Yahoo's address book on the Web. If you add
appointments or phone numbers to the iPhone, they are added
to your computer the next time you sync.

Do To Do items show up on the iPhone? Do memos in the
iPhone's Notes program show up on the computer? No.

Does the keyboard rotate when you rotate the iPhone? Only in
the Web browser. That's a shame, because the rotated
keyboard, stretching the full length of the screen, is much
bigger and easier to use than the narrow version.

Can you type with two thumbs? I've seen Apple employees flail
away with two thumbs as though on a BlackBerry, but it takes
loads of practice. After two weeks, I'm still tapping with
one index finger.

Without cursor keys, how do I edit something I've written? If
you hold your fingertip against the glass, a magnifying loupe
appears around it. You can now slide you finger through what
you've written, moving the insertion point as you go.

Can the iPhone replace a BlackBerry? It's not really even in
the same category. For example, only Yahoo Mail accounts
offer "push" e-mail like a BlackBerry, in which new messages
appear in real time. For other accounts, the iPhone checks
either periodically (every 15, 30 or 60 minutes) or when you
tap the Check button. Similarly, you can view e-mailed Word,
Excel and PDF attachments on the iPhone, but you can't create
or edit them. The iPhone doesn't work with corporate Exchange
e-mail systems, either, unless the administrator turns on
IMAP (the administrator presumably knows what that is).

Hardware

Is there an ambient light sensor? Yes. A light sensor lies
camouflaged behind the black glass. Each time you wake the
phone, it adjusts the brightness - to make it brighter in
sunlight, for example. You can also adjust the brightness
manually.

Does the camera have a flash? Zoom? Self-portrait mirror?
None of the above. The chrome Apple logo on the back is not a
self-portrait mirror.

Are there any secret features? When the screen is off, the
glossy black glass becomes a handy makeup mirror.

[Bryancd]

Jobs hints at iPhone corporate e-mail support

By Aidan Malley

Published: 07:00 PM EST
Apple Inc.'s chief executive has confirmed that iPhone will ease its way into workplaces after all, according to a new interview.


Speaking alongside AT&T's recently promoted CEO Randall Stephenson about the iPhone's release in a joint interview, Jobs delivered a small but significant hint that Apple would quickly address concerns about integrating its phone mail client with business e-mail systems.

"You'll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks," he said. "We have some pilots going with companies with names you'll recognize. This won't be a big issue."

Access to work e-mail has frequently been cited as one of the primary roadblocks to the iPhone's acceptance beyond personal use. Many, though not all, companies with larger-scale e-mail systems currently use Microsoft Exchange -- a service which Apple will only partially support with the shipping version of its handset, which so far connects to Exchange only through the IMAP e-mail protocol.

The concern that workers may pressure employers to integrate the iPhone regardless of actual support has prompted some to develop workarounds, such as a web-based service from Visto.

Jobs' interview time also provided the executive an opportunity to publicly comment on the expected turnout for the Friday iPhone launch. There have been no serious concerns about lineups getting out of hand as most Apple fans have been "respectful" in the past, he said. The 6PM lineup was also chosen to give as many people as possible a chance to buy the phone during daylight hours without leaving work.

When asked about the growing possibility that the iPhone will sell out by the weekend and that people might clamor for paid pre-orders, the Apple CEO was direct in advising eager buyers to wait for the next shipment.

"You're going to have to come back in," Jobs said. "When you start taking people's money and can't deliver the product, there are lots of legal issues. It's easier to disappoint people."

[Bryancd]

My brother just called me from the Apple Store in White Plains New Your from an iPhone! They have them ut to demo. He said there are lines 3 deep to try one and he said, and I qoute, "I have never seen a store more crowded".

[Jen]

I love the idea of this phone and if I traveled a lot I'd probably buy it. But I don't travel. Its too expensive right now for me to even consider it. Heck, I have a G4 Power Mac running Panther and a dinky View Sonic monitor at home that I can't even afford to upgrade right now. Why would I drop 600 dollars on a phone that I won't use?

I am positive this gadget will be a success. There are many folks who could use something like this, but its too much bang for too much buck for me at this time. I'll just save my money for a quad-core Mac Pro Work Station with and 23" Cinema HD Display instead.

[Bryancd]

I'll just save my money for a quad-core Mac Pro Work Station with and 23" Cinema HD Display instead


Be still my beating heart, I think I'm in  :love with Jen! She KNOWS her Mac!   :Bow:

[Rico]

Cali Lewis who does the excellent Tech video podcast over at www.geekbrief.tv bought two iPhones on Friday.  She is a big Mac fan, and even filmed purchasing them in the Apple store.  But on her recent video cast she said she is probably going to return them for a refund.  She didn't like that she couldn't share minutes and have unlimited data on both in one household.  She said she could do it, but would have to pay an additional $29.99 on top of the $80 service plan for each already.  It will be interesting how all this plays out.  I see many on eBay going for retail or even lower right now.  That seems odd.

[Bryancd]

Gee, the Newsweek, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today all had a different opinion. It also appears that all AT&T stores have sold out of thier initial allotement and Apple stores report being sold out as well. You can hope for the failure but this is for real, you probably said the same thing when the first iPod came out. ;). The main issue's this weekend have been some people having trouble with AT7T activating the phones, especially when they are transfering #'s from a different carrier.  All in all, the phone is being very well reviewed. Yes, it's not perfect and it wille volve just like the iPod did, but right out o the box, they have a winner. It really is a remarkable little device.

PS- I just went down the list at e-bay and it does not seem to confirm what you said at all. The lowest selling price I have seen is $700. These are only going to be rare for the next week. Our understanding is that Apple ramped up a lot of production heading into this release, so there should be a lot of availability.

[Rico]

Bryan, again I am not hoping for failure.  I am far from anti-Apple, iPOD's, etc.  My iPOD is one of the best purchases I ever made, but I am also glad I didn't buy an early one.  I've even been looking to buy a Mac computer for a secondary machine.  I was just passing on another reviewers comments.  Also, most of the reviews that I have read have been talking about the functionality - which I have never doubted.  They all seem to agree the calling plan agreement and pricing is not the best and limited.

P.S.  Interesting for such a slick device how many are being pawned off on eBay.  ;)