iPhone 4G?

[Bryancd]

I've used PDAs for decades, first Palm and then Windows and now Apple so I'm somewhat insulted by a lot of the above. In my view, while the others can do the same as the iPhone (and more), Palm has been left to rot and Windows takes too much management.

iOS just works which means I actually use the thing where before I would spend hours trying to fine tune it. Call me technically illiterate or whatever you like, that's the way I see it (and make sure you don't fly an aircraft with any of my work in the navigation systems since technically illiterate people like me shouldn't be allowed in technical jobs!;))

My point exactly, cheers Mike. And if it's any consolation, I'm actually certified technically retarded...I have a paper work attesting to the fact.

Wait what?

King

Come on King, try and keep up. ;) I'm bad at using technology, not at learning. It's a joke playing off what I said earlier and what Mike said. We really can't stop all these threads in the future to keep you up to speed.... ;)

[KingIsaacLinksr]

I've used PDAs for decades, first Palm and then Windows and now Apple so I'm somewhat insulted by a lot of the above. In my view, while the others can do the same as the iPhone (and more), Palm has been left to rot and Windows takes too much management.

iOS just works which means I actually use the thing where before I would spend hours trying to fine tune it. Call me technically illiterate or whatever you like, that's the way I see it (and make sure you don't fly an aircraft with any of my work in the navigation systems since technically illiterate people like me shouldn't be allowed in technical jobs!;))

My point exactly, cheers Mike. And if it's any consolation, I'm actually certified technically retarded...I have a paper work attesting to the fact.

Wait what?

King

Come on King, try and keep up. ;) I'm bad at using technology, not at learning. It's a joke playing off what I said earlier and what Mike said. We really can't stop all these threads in the future to keep you up to speed.... ;)

A har har har.  You so funny.  I thought you were being...slightly...serious.  *sigh*.  In other words that pretty much flew over my head. 

Continue thread. 

[Meds]

Al sent me a brilliant review of iPhone 4. I hope he posts it here.

[Bryancd]

1.7 million sold through Saturday, the 26th, making it the single biggest product launch in the companies history.

[Rico]

Found this chart for the first quarter of 2010 (US only, sorry).  Interesting how much Microsoft still has of the smart phone market.  And I do know many that still love their Blackberry's too.  Anyway, I'm sure this will spark some more discussion.  ;)

From article:
RIM Still The King

On Friday, June 4, The Nielsen Company released data on the USA Smartphone Market Share for the first quarter of 2010.  The release was titled "iPhone vs. Android" aka Apple vs. Google.  The pie chart is below yet the first data that jumps out is the RIM Blackberry OS is #`1 with 35% of the market, followed by #2 Apple iPhone OS 28%, then #3 Microsoft Windows Mobile with 19%.  Google Android OS is #4 with a mere 9%, still distantly trailing #3 Microsoft..  If there was a pie chart for hype and buzz, then obviously Apple and Google would be in a nose-to-nose race for first place.

The trend has been that RIM is losing market share, and so has Microsoft.  Meanwhile Apple and Google have been gaining.  Yet, both RIM and Microsoft have substantial shares of the market and a combined 54%.  Apple and Google are global giants with devoted followers, a four way battle is in progress as the smartphone revolution proceeds.  Google and Apple are gaining, no doubt.  There are uncertainties about RIM and how long they will be #1.  Microsoft has vast resources, including billions in cash, and should persevere and be #2 by default, behind the eventual #1 Apple.  Google still has a long way to go.

Overall, Nielsen states: "As of Q1 '10, Nielsen data shows that 23% of mobile consumers now have a smartphone, up from just 16% in Q2 '09".  Every report this year has projected a huge increase in smartphone sales year-to-year in 2010, 2011, and out to 2012, doubling, even tripling current sales.  Therefore the stakes are high, and profitable, for all four of the key players.

source:
http://ospreyflyer.blogspot.com/2010/06/usa-smartphone-market-share-q1-2010.html

[Bryancd]

A lot of RIM's market share comes from enterprise customers, corporations that have been on the Blackberry system for their employee use. One my initial points to clients about the iPhone when it was introduced was that if Apple could dominate the consumer space, they would begin to make inroads into the enterprise space, which is HUGE. Well, they have succeeded in the consumer space and now many companies are considering or switching over to the iPhone platform. I anticipate that trend to continue in Apple's favor, which will also decrease Microsoft's share percentage. Of course, you also need to consider how powerful it is that Apple makes both the device AND the OS. Remarkable.

[X]

A lot of RIM's market share comes from enterprise customers, corporations that have been on the Blackberry system for their employee use. One my initial points to clients about the iPhone when it was introduced was that if Apple could dominate the consumer space, they would begin to make inroads into the enterprise space, which is HUGE. Well, they have succeeded in the consumer space and now many companies are considering or switching over to the iPhone platform. I anticipate that trend to continue in Apple's favor, which will also decrease Microsoft's share percentage. Of course, you also need to consider how powerful it is that Apple makes both the device AND the OS. Remarkable.

I highly doubt that the iPhone will make significant inroads in the business sector. For one, the apps that draw people to them would be counter productive to the work environment. Secondly, the durability of the iPhone on the general blue collar worksite is in question. I also know that a huge pull for the blue collar jobs are the cost of the machine and the cost savings of push to talk.

How many outdoor companies or construction companies do you see providing their crews with apps and a touch screen? How many business do you see giving their employees iPhones with time sucking apps? Or employees that will want an iPhone when they can't get any apps on it or it's neutered to prevent the visit to certain sites?

I'll agree that they are doing good in the public sector, but I don't see the iPhone winning over the corporate sector.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

I think that the article highly overestimates Microsoft as that mobile software is terrible.  Maybe #3, but not #2. 

[Bryancd]

Wow, Chris, you couldn't be more wrong. The PDA biz market is in white collar jobs like my industry of financial services, banking, accounting, legal, and coprorate. I was unaware that construction companies providing their pipe cutters with a smartphone was such a big market, who knew?! LOL! Companies which provide PDA's and smartphones to thier employees can control the content their employees access, just like they do here on my workstation when I access the internet. You can doubt it all you like, but you will be incorrect. 70% of Fortune 100 companies are testing and considering the iPhone as thier smartphone choice. Hosptials and the education market have also been early adopters of iPhone as well as potentially iPad.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/01/a-new-era-for-corporate-cultur.php

[QuadShot]

As Meds mentioned, I sent him my review of the iPhone 4, of course, just my personal opinion, so take it for what it's worth!

Well, after standing in line for nearly 4 1/2 hours (and yes, we even reserved our phones the week prior) we finally made it to the Apple Store.  It was like queueing for the Indiana Jones Adventure ride in Disneyland! When we finally saw the entrance to the store, we felt like we'd been waiting in line for ever and our patience was about to pay off.

When we actually got into the store, our transaction only took about 15 minutes, from purchase to activation.  Not bad at all and the folks were great. So, on with the phone....

The new phone is great. I've read and heard on the news of quite a few issues, reception problems because of the antennae band wrapped around the exterior of the phone (the silver wrap you'll see in the photo) and some yellowing of the display. Knock on wood, we've encountered neither of these issues.  Restoring the phones once we got home was simple and painless.  We just plugged them into our respective iTunes, and about an hour later, all of our data from our old iPhones was now on our iPhone 4's! The display is nothing less than awesome. Crystal clear.  It's like going from a VHS tape to Blu Ray. Unbelievable. The OS is fast as well. Must faster and smoother than the previous models.

Some of the new features you probably already have seen since you have iOS4 on your iPhone, but they are all amazing.  The multi-tasking is a simple addition, but totally cool.  The ability to shoot HD video is great as well, and together with the iMovie app ($4.99 US), it's capable of producing some impressive videos for future video podcasting! Now, the iMovie app isn't as powerful as iMovie on the Mac, but really, that would be a bit of a resource hog if it were.  It's competent enough to do an amazing job. The front and back camera's are great as well, in fact, it's hard to imagine digital life without them now! Although the front camera is the Apple standard 3MP, the back is a whopping 5 and it shows.  

Now, to the most awesome feature of these new iPhones....Face Time! This is unbelievable cool. My wife and I've been trying it out and it's so fun that you won't want to use a regular webcam again. Basically, it's the future of phone calling - the video call.  Star Trek envisioned, Apple makes a reality. Now, Face Time doesn't use your cellular network, so it doesn't use your calling plan minutes, which is cool, but, it completely relies on Wi-Fi, which can be a bit of a hassle if you're not near a hotspot, or your company's Wi-Fi network blocks this port, but still, not bad at all.  And, Apple is feverishly working on upgrading the Face Time to run off the cell networks as well.  This will most likely tap into your calling minutes, but who cares? As it is, my wife and I never even touch the plan limits, so this would be great.

Just to add to this, my one biggest peeve (besides the dropped calls that seems to be the norm with ATT lately) is that the new phone was advertised with "finger print proof glass"...uh huh.  Right. If by finger print proof they mean you'll need to wipe it down 85 times per hour, then they're right! All in all, I like it...

[Feathers]

The thing that intrigues me (and Al mentions it again) is the whole load of fuss over dropped calls. Everyone seems to blame the phone but it's something I've never seen so I assume it's really an AT&T issue that is being pushed as a hardware fault. How does it manifest itself?

[Rico]

The thing that intrigues me (and Al mentions it again) is the whole load of fuss over dropped calls. Everyone seems to blame the phone but it's something I've never seen so I assume it's really an AT&T issue that is being pushed as a hardware fault. How does it manifest itself?

From what I have been now reading they are thinking it's both a software issue AND a hardware issue with the new phone.  There is suppose to be an update coming for the OS, but the antenna issue is another matter.  Some techs out there seem to be suggested a two antenna system which would basically cross inside the shell and eliminate the "holding your phone in the wrong way" issue.  I'm sure they will fix this in a future update.

P.S.  Thanks for the great "hands on" review Al.  Sounds very cool.

[Jobydrone]

Al which phone did you upgrade from?  Did you have a 3GS?  I'm wondering how much faster the OS and web browsing is compared to the most current gen model?

[QuadShot]

Al which phone did you upgrade from?  Did you have a 3GS?  I'm wondering how much faster the OS and web browsing is compared to the most current gen model?

I had the 3G, which was a pretty decent phone, but, I must admit, I'm a bit of an early adopter and jumped on the new one.  The phone itself is much faster, and smoother.  The display is outstanding.  The issue is the lack of service.  ATT doesn't serve my home area very well (a fact not disclosed to me when I first signed up...but my bad for not researching) and recently the ONLY tower servicing my area went offline (no proactive information, only reactive).  But as far as the phone, I like it a lot.  Al

[Bryancd]

iPhone on Verizon by early next year. You heard it here first. :)