iPhone - so...what's the deal? - Page 10

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

If it's like the Apple Store in Chicago, you just go to checkout line and they'll retrieve an iPhone from the back room when you get to the cashier.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

This seems to be the normal with most of Apples stuff except software maybe. It's killing me that the Macbook Pros are a little more than $1000 more expensive than comparable PC laptops.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

As has been rehashed time and time again, this is all contingent on how loosely people want to use the term "comparable." Different strokes for different folks, I guess...

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Yes I realize that (and no I'm not anti-mac trying to stir things up either)... but I'm just looking at the basic specs (2.33 ghz or now 2.4ghz, 160gb hard drive, 2gb memory, etc) you see quite a price discrepancy between the Mac and PC.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Too true. I bought my then-top-of-the-line-15" MBP [2.33 C2D, 2GB PC5400 RAM, 120GB HD, 1440x900 256MB ATI x1600] late last year. At the time, I spec'd both a Lenovo (IBM) and Dell to "comparable" (i.e. same CPU/RAM/HD/Video Card and 1440x900 screen resolution - which was an added charge as most 15" were 1200x800, and I came up with the following:

15" MBP Retail: $2499
Dell comparable: $2149
Lenovo comparable: $2200
15" MBP Academic Price (which is what I got from my student store which did a power buy on the top of the line MBP): $1999.

So I actually paid less than comparably equipped Dell and Lenovo. Keep in mind I spec'd the monitor resolution too, which required an added charge. Also to be really "comparable" I chose the slimmest models that were in the 5.5 lbs range. Because even if you spec out similar hardware, but it's in a 1.5" thick 7.5 lbs package (nearly 50% more than the MBP in thickness and weight) then it's not comparable in my mind, because you pay for the form factor. Having lugged around an old 8 lbs. laptop, there is no way you can consider something "comparable" if it's not close in size and weight.

I was a PC guy for many many years (including building my own) but once I really undertook the analysis of "comparable" - especially when you factored in my academic pricing, the MBP is a no brainer.

And to be honest, now that I've truly discovered the beauty of OSX (vs. both XP and Vista, which I use in the office), even if I hadn't gotten the academic price I'd consider the $300 more than worth it at full retail price because of OSX and iLife (Garageband is worth the price of admission alone if you're a musician).

Just my opinion.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Now that we have changed the topic to MBP....

I owned a Lenovo for a year. Cost me close to $3K after I ramped
it up to 2GB and swapped out the 5200 hard drive for a 7200. It was
a great PC!

It wasn't until I bought the Mac Book Pro at $2200 that I realized
how much more I was enjoying it over the Lenovo. The MBP Pro is
a thing of beauty, and as Carlo stated, once you discover how much
better OSX is over Windows you'll wonder how you ever put up with
a PC all these years.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

I bought one of those "comparable" Dell laptops.

The MBP is $1000 well spent. It feels like you spent $1000 more on something solid, not the cheesy plastic that the Dell is made out of. I'll never, EVER buy a Dell laptop ever again.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

OK, now that you guys have settled in with your iPhones - I have a question.

Could you shut it off and pick up your Razor or Nokia and not feel a loss?

Can you skip that Razor across the lake like a flat rock and enjoy the moment? (the razor is an example, I'm sure others would bounce off the water quite well if you give them a nice spin - berry's would probably flop over - too heavy)

Thanks

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Follow up to my mild rant earlier....

Went to another Apple store yesterday afternoon and was out in about 10 minutes with two shiny new phones.

Activiation was easy. Now I have to call my previous carrier and cancel. I so enjoy talking to the "retention specialists".....

"we can put you on a lower rate plan and you can keep the phone for emergencies"

"Is there anyone in your family needing a phone?"


impressions so far....

Likes:
1) Being able to browse "real" web pages (I have a "Q" for work and it is a nightmare...)
2) Google Maps
3) Being able to use Wi-Fi when available
4) bright, sharp screen
5) tap typing seems pretty easy

Needs Improvement...(I'm sure many of these items are stated earlier...)

1) Let me download/store attachments from email (pics etc...)
2) When I pull up my contacts list...why not show me the pic/icon for each person so I can just poke-em-in-the-face?
3) Can't customize main page (maybe I should read a faq/manual..)
4) The autofill/typing assist doesn't seem to learn very quickly...I was searching YouTube and kept putting in SNL to look up old skits and it would change it to "AML". I would think after the 5th time it would realize what I wanted.
5) I tried moving some videos from my computer via iTunes. Many were quicktime files from my digital camera. When attempting to transfer it would say that they weren't acceptable file types. I went back to my iTunes library and clicked on the files and had an option to convert to an iPhone format. Did this no problem, but when I went back to the iPhone interface it wouldn't show the file extensions so I would know which one to pick to tranfer (both had same filename.) Guess I need to change the filename too. Just wish it wouldn't show files as transferable if they are not in the right format (mp4).
6) Not super excited about the included ringtones...c'mon I should be able to load my own ringtones!!!

Overall very pleased...now must resist urge to buy 24" iMac!!!!

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Resistance is futile...

No sense in buying a 24-inch iMac now with an all new design right around the corner...if you believe the buzz.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Ken,

Congrats on your new iPhone

I'm having problems moving pictures off my phone to my Mac.
I keep getting the same incompatibility message as you. I am
sure there is a solution, but I just haven't done enough reading
to find out what it is.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Amen. Plus, the MBP has one feature I haven't yet seen in a Windows laptop - the backlit keyboard. This is a HUGE feature for me as I often have to use my lappie in a darkened theater (during rehearsals only!). Just having it is fantastic, but the way Apple has programmed it to work with the ambient light sensor (lights up, backlight off - lights down, backlight on) is brilliant.

This may not be a feature everyone needs, but if you do, it's a lifesaver.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

This is what I'll be doing soon now that the MBP's have finally been updated. Although in my own case, the "comparable" laptop I bought was an HP one bought at Costco, $1499 for 2.33ghz core 2 duo, 240gb harddrives, 2gb memory and 17" screen. Compare that to the now out of date 2.33ghz MBP which was $2799, and that's almost double the cost. But, that laptop is going back to Costco soon as the 6 month warranty is going to expire, plus I've had a few blue screen crashes anyways. Sorry to get this off topic

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

The resident Mac guy at work bought an iPhone, so I chatted with him and got a demo: excellent!

What struck me was how, with the jet black screen, the icons seemed to be integrated hardware. I didn't feel that I was looking at a computer screen with graphics, but dynamically changing hardware configurations. It was a subtle, almost eerie, sensation.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

I've seen that one Mike. I'm sorry, I can't agree that it's comparable. Yes it has the same/similar CPU, RAM and HD, but that's like saying a turbocharged 6-cylinder Nissan Altima which has the same horsepower as a Benz or BMW makes it comparable.

The HP I saw [9000t or something like that] was over a 1/2" thicker, about a pound or so heavier, yet still mostly made of plastic, cheap build quality, no firewire connectivity, didn't have wireless n, no backlit keyboard, no DVI output, no magsafe type connector (a lifesaver for me many times over), lesser video card (nVidia 8600 vs. 7600), camera was not close to the 2MP quality of the iSight, no remote, etc. And that's not even getting to the debate between the benefit of the OS...

If you can honestly call the HP and the Mac comparable, we will just agree to disagree. I'm okay with that.

It's just for me, and for some people, build quality does mean something. Heck I could buy those parts and a shell and build a "comparable" laptop for you for less than the HP. But trust me, you wouldn't want that To be truly comparable, you need to get something of similar build quality and features, as well as CPU/RAM/HD, like a high end line from Lenovo, Sony, or Dell, all of which will get you very close to the retail of a MBP.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

It is pretty cool when I hand my iPhone to someone with the screen locked and let them unlock it and watch their eyes when those icons fluidly float onto the screen.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Not that I did in-depth analysis, but I vaguely recall when the MacBooks first came out (never mind the MBPs), when I compared specs with Acers, Toshibas etc (which were available at the local electronics store), the MacBooks compared well price-wise. Sure, there were lots of much cheaper PC laptops available, but inevitably the processors were much slower (e.g. 1.33 or 1.5GHz v. 1.83), and/or less RAM and/or smaller HDD. Once you got past the entry-level PC laptops and compared like for like, the price difference was negligible, and indeed often in favour of the MacBooks.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

The issue has been flogged well in other threads (I've been a flogger myself), but what I came away with is that high-end Macs MBP and Mac Pro compare well on price, feature for feature. Mid- and low-end macs Mac Book, iMac and Mac Mini, do not. But you cannot get their design aesthetics in a PC. Nor can you get OS X in a PC, so what's the value of that.

The big weakness, as I noted to a friend yesterday, is that there's no mid-range laptop model, in my opinion. Nothing to compare to a $1500 Dell Inspiron, for someone who wants a middling laptop with a 15" screen without breaking the bank.


iPhone: looking to the future, there will be some remarkable systems when 300+ dpi screens and haptic (providing texture to touch) interfaces converge in consumer products. While the iPhone does a much better job of integrating an iPod and a Phone together, I still believe that the iPod is still a better iPod player. And a phone with # buttons is easier for dialing numbers. So the iPhone does its core functionality worse than dedicated devices. Haptic interface technology will (should) close that gap further.

I was also struck by how compact it was. It seemed more svelte than a Treo, though I think it's about the same size. Like the nano, it suggests great efficiency in packaging.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

It's true, although I cannot afford it, and I'd really want to wait until they put a removable battery on it, a Phone must have a removable battery, dropping the whole thing in the mail for a 3 week turnaround is simply not practical on a phone as it might be for an Ipod. But back to knashes, Apple makes some very nice products. I love my Mac Mini, I have a 30gb Ipod video, and 2 Apple TV's. The Apple TV's have become the devices I use the most on a daily basis. It's become my DVD player for TV Content DVD's, my DVR for Current stuff. It can know stream Photos with background music with the current version of Itunes, I simply love it. My Next Laptop will be a Macbook, and I'm looking forward to Leopard in October !

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

ARS Technica with one of their typically kickass in depth reviews.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Ron,
Use iPhoto to get the pics off your phone.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Mike,

Tried that. Didn't work. Got an "incompatible" message. Strange.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Maybe your version is out of date? When I pop my iPhone on the cradle, iPhoto comes up and asks me if I want to copy the pics over. I say yes and they copy fine.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Mike, I have had mixed results with iPhoto. Sometimes it recognizes the iPhone, sometimes it does not...reboot fixed it, but that makes me think of Windows...

- Steve

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

Got my first voicemail last night and it sounded very "robotic". Anyone else notice this?

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

I just played back some of my older messages, and now that you mention it, it does. It seems to have a vibrating tone mixed in with the recording. Of course, there's no way to tell if it's the phone or ATT. Messages are downloaded, not played over the airwaves (as a phone call) as they usually are with other phones. So, it could be that the recording quality is poor for the files that are transmitted to the phone.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

I imagine they're encoded at a very low bit rate to facilitate a reasonable download speed over EDGE.

Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?

got a couple more voicemails today and they were a little better, but not what I am used to.
Was browsing around a minute ago and went to leaky cauldron website to find interviews etc about order of the phoenix. They had an interview file in both windows media and "ipod" format. The ipod format file was 22mb. Clicked on it and safari said it was too big??? Geesh i (why won't it capitalize my " i"?) am on wifi right now an don't think that should be a big deal.

Not complaining, but maybe not understanding.