iPhone: what you need to know

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Danny Gorog24 June 2007, 11:19 PM

6 days to go:ATT reveals how much it will cost to sign up for the iPhone in the 'States, then cancel the contract ... hint hint.


With less than 6 days to go before the iPhone goes on sale in the US, anticipation is reaching fever pitch.

Probably the biggest iPhone related event last week was the release of a 20 minute 'how-to' tutorial on Apple's website covering how to use the iPhone's main features. The tutorial answered some big questions about the iPhone interface and left just as many unanswered.

iPhone Tutorial and more multi-touch

We still haven't seen the calendaring functions that the iPhone provides. But we do know that you can customise the shortcuts at the bottom of iPod application and also got to see some of the new multi-touch gestures the iPhone uses, like a 'left flick' that lets you delete email.

In fact, if you actually take the time to watch the demo you'll never look at your current phone the same way, and you'll quickly realise that the iPhone is the start of something big.

Revamped iPhone website

In posting the video Apple also revamped the rest of the iPhone website - it now includes lots of high-res photos and even a 3D Quicktime VR movie.

More importantly, Apple has also announced that it'll be selling the iPhone via apple.com as well as Apple and AT&T stores. We also know that Apple and AT&T will be closing their stores at 4pm, and re-opening at 6pm for the iPhone launch. This comes as good news for those who don't have all day to queue. But if you do order online there is no guarantee as to when you'll actually get your phone.

What we still don't know

Lastly, AT&T still hasn't announced the data/voice plans that iPhone buyers will be able to choose from, and how the sign-up process is going to occur. It did, however, announce that there will be a US$175 contract cancellation fee if users decide to opt-out of the 2 year contract.

There will be lots of foreigners (me included) that would happily arrange for someone in the 'States to sign a contract, and then pay out the $175 cancellation fee just to have the iPhone before 2008 (when it's due to hit our shores).

That's why there are still rumors afoot as to the availability of an unlocked iPhone. The only problem with this rumor is, nobody can find the SIM card slot.

Whichever way you swing it, whether you are an Apple fan or not, you've got to hand it to Apple for engineering the iPhone product launch as one of the biggest, most intensely followed of all time.

Whether the iPhone is an instant hit, or whether it takes some time like the original iPod did there is no doubt that the industry views Apple as the poster child of where tech is going.

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tin:

The hype is like the Vista hype... Only I'd say this one won't flop quite so dramatically.

Still not convinced it's worth all the attention it's getting. It's just a phone. If I recall, Apple don't want to allow 3rd party software on it, so it's pretty useless as a PDA type device.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Danny Gorog:

It is a phone, and phones up until now have been just that...phones. The iPhone is a game changer. Once it goes mainstream people won't think of phones as just phones. Phones will be communications and entertainment devices as well.

Third party apps would be good but Apple are generally good at picking what customers actually need/use rather than what they think they want. Most consumers would opt for stability over expandability.

Everybody needs to remember this is still a first generation product. Just think about where the iPhone will be in 3 or 5 years from now.



29 February 2008, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Aubrey1:

"Just think about where the iPhone will be in 3 or 5 years from now"

Yes, indeed. I'll wait 3 or 5 years to even think about getting something like this and by that time there'll be competition and they'll be a couple of hundred dollars max. Right now, I honestly can't even imagine why I'd want one (but I'm over thirty).

29 February 2008, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dateman:

I'm well wary of the hype, but the point of this thing is that it is one of the better converged devices I have seen so far.

...and you can write as many 3rd party apps as you want, why do you think apple released Safari for Windows...apps will be delivered via safari using ajax and gwt...

29 February 2008, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Slippery Jim diGriz:

I haven't been quite as obsessively following the iPhone launch as many, but I just took a look at the 'Get Ready' page on the Apple website and noticed that while it mentions that the iPhone will sync to Entourage for contacts and calendar information, it specifically doesn't mention it for mail... Does this mean that for corporate Exchange users it has to sync directly with the Exchange server (OWA or Activesync perhaps) or are they just not bothering with Exchange. This would be a deal breaker for my (and I expect many other) organisations, however much the senior execs want the latest shiny toy!!

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne:

I think the answer is that Apple isn't targeting this device at the corporate market. There's a much bigger potential audience of personal users who want email, web browsing, video and iPod all in one device than there are corporate smartphone users.


29 February 2008, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Fireacere:

There is a few things that bug me,
one is the glass screen, no matter how you put it, and amorphous structure such as glass is easier to break than a good quality plastic.
next, it costs around $900-$1000 Au, note that the N95 is about $1100 and it comes with a 5MP camera.
another is If its going to have the same storage as an ipod, then its going to use a non-flash based memmory system, meaning that if you drop it too many times it'll end up in the trash...and lets face it, more people drop phones than ipods. The next thing is it uses edge, which is abit slow, and in australia most of the city's and surrounding areas have a confident 3G network.....hmmm........whilst saying all this, it still looks like it will be a buzz to have, but if we are going to see it by 2008, im sure that nokia and sony ericson will have something more suitable to the market, and likely more reliable. as of late, the industry has noted that the production quality of ipod's have decreased against such competition as creative and sony......well, lets hope we see it by 2008, cause compared to other phones, thats quite a wait.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

madisonuui :

Too bad iPhone is a piece of junk - you have to be really, really shallow to buy a device just because it has a touch screen.

http://www.avi-converter.net/avi_to_iphone/

29 February 2008, 8:44 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

webmonkey44:

the lack of a sim card slot will be a problem!

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Jeff Hodgson:

I don't really see what the iPhone does that, say, the SE W950i doesn't do already?

Both don't need a stylus (although the 950 has one, but doesn't need it), both have large amounts of memory and both look good. The W950 even has a keypad which makes messaging a lot easier.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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