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Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08 - Page 3

post #61 of 82
6/10/08 at 4:46am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
You know, after sleeping on this announcement, I am just
highly disappointed that we didn't get a more advanced phone
this time out.

I agree with Michael that the EDGE network is painfully slow.
It's the worst feature on the iPhone to date. It's a shame that
the only reason I am now willing to buy another is for the 3G
capability otherwise I wouldn't give this phone a second look.

I can only speculate that APPLE continues to be....APPLE. They
tend to release innovative products, holding back on giving you
the kitchen sink, and then a year later they add on features that
should have been in the original release. I just get this sinking
feeling that they want to sell as many of these 3G phones as
possible before releasing a phone with the obvious missing features
so that people will continue to upgrade.

Well that is their M.O. and anyone buying the 8gb can expect by Fall to have the ability to get a 16gb and 32gb for less money, as did the original buyers.
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post #62 of 82
6/10/08 at 5:17am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
I can only speculate that APPLE continues to be....APPLE. They tend to release innovative products, holding back on giving you the kitchen sink, and then a year later they add on features that should have been in the original release. I just get this sinking feeling that they want to sell as many of these 3G phones as possible before releasing a phone with the obvious missing features so that people will continue to upgrade.

Good business acumen on Apple's part, even if it leaves some consumers bent out of shape. Certainly they know by now that owners have much more of a personal attachment to their phones than to their computers. They are going to be much more likely to cancel their contract and buy a new phone with killer features than they would with a computer. Both Apple (increased hardware sales) and AT&T (ETF fees and new two year contracts) stand to benefit from this type of thinking.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa
anyone buying the 8gb can expect by Fall to have the ability to get a 16gb and 32gb for less money, as did the original buyers.
Wonder if the price will be coming down on the Touch. I realize AT&T is subsidizing the iPhone 3G, but suddenly $299 for an 8GB Touch doesn't seem like much of a deal anymore.
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post #63 of 82
6/10/08 at 7:23am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
So, in theory, I will get a new two year contract, and the old contract stops without penalty. That would work...

Plus you will have a gen 1 iPhone in your hands still that you can jailbreak...
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post #64 of 82
6/10/08 at 10:17am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
They tend to release innovative products, holding back on giving you the kitchen sink, and then a year later they add on features that should have been in the original release.
There are reasons for holding them back and not throwing in the kitchen sink. When the iPod first came out, people were bitching that it didn't have an FM tuner. It still doesn't. I agree with Apple's approach: choose a compelling set of features, and package them together so that the total experience is as good as possible; leave stuff out that doesn't make sense.

Last year, 3G was too much of a drain on the battery. (Besides, AT&T's network wasn't built out yet.) Now they've tweaked the chipsets, improved the battery, and they've put it in. And yes, maybe next year they will add "one more thing", when it's ready. But how else should they schedule their releases?
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post #65 of 82
6/10/08 at 11:25am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
You know, after sleeping on this announcement, I am just
highly disappointed that we didn't get a more advanced phone
this time out.
What are the missing features? (Ah, stupid work getting in the way of posting... ) It seems Apple needs copy/paste and maybe a ToDo app. But after that, I don't know what is critically missing. And since they seem on target to hit 10M sold, it seems most people are finding what they need in it.

Certainly, I'm looking for some applications not yet available, more PDA features and such. And a non AT&T service provider. But that's me -- most people don't seem to want a PDA anymore.
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post #66 of 82
6/10/08 at 2:58pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
What are the missing features? (Ah, stupid work getting in the way of posting... ) It seems Apple needs copy/paste and maybe a ToDo app. But after that, I don't know what is critically missing. And since they seem on target to hit 10M sold, it seems most people are finding what they need in it.

Certainly, I'm looking for some applications not yet available, more PDA features and such. And a non AT&T service provider. But that's me -- most people don't seem to want a PDA anymore.

Many of those will be availabl in the APP Store
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post #67 of 82
6/11/08 at 2:20am
Thread Starter 

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Dave,

I agree with you. I think the APPS that will be made available to
us will make up for missing features.

I am going to start a thread in early July devoted to iPhone apps
so that we can share recommendations for some of the best apps
being made available.
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post #68 of 82
6/11/08 at 5:11am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Dave,

I agree with you. I think the APPS that will be made available to
us will make up for missing features.

I am going to start a thread in early July devoted to iPhone apps
so that we can share recommendations for some of the best apps
being made available.

Coremobile is going to release their great player so that Divx and Xvid files should be playable if we can figure out how to get Itunes to allow them.\

So Ron are you getting a 3G or staying with the first gen?
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post #69 of 82
6/11/08 at 8:54am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Apps will save or keep afloat the 3G, but the pile-on for Apple and AT&T starts now. I think they deserve every pin prick.

IPhone 3G Video Conferencing: Apple Introduces iPhone 3G Videoconferencing Kit, ZOMG!
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post #70 of 82
6/11/08 at 10:42am

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

They REALLY need their asses kicked for hiding the $10 a month data plan rate hike.
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post #71 of 82
6/11/08 at 12:21pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Posten
They REALLY need their asses kicked for hiding the $10 a month data plan rate hike.

I thought so too, but I found out today that all AT & T 3g data plans are the same price. So it's no different than any other 3g smartphone.
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post #72 of 82
6/11/08 at 12:34pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Paul Thurrott, at WinSuperSite, has a preview of the new iPhone. He's Windows-oriented blogger with a reputation for being something of a Microsoft fanboy (I don't share that opinion, but I've seen some off-target comments on Apple). I was a bit surprised to see his comment on the new iPhone:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Thurrott
Before getting started, I'd like to point out a simple bit of advice, and I cannot stress this enough: You need to get an iPhone. Sooner rather than later. With Apple dropping the entry price on this innovative device to just $200, while fixing all of the major issues I described in How Apple Can Fix the iPhone in 2008, there are precious few reasons to ignore this seismic shift in mobile and cloud computing.
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post #73 of 82
6/11/08 at 1:45pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa
I thought so too, but I found out today that all AT & T 3g data plans are the same price. So it's no different than any other 3g smartphone.

It's not just 3g smartphones. Any smartphone that we sell is $30 per month because those type phones use more data than a RAZR. The old iPhone data pricing always surprised me because most people that had one used more data than other PDA users.
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post #74 of 82
6/11/08 at 2:02pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
all AT & T 3g data plans are the same price

Whoopee. Go back to the original iPhone launch keynote and you will see that ALL the plan data was there in black and white for you to make a choice about. I saw it and decided to wait for 3G. Then this week they launched the iP3G without saying a WORD about plan prices, hiding a forced change to a higher data rate plan that more than elimites any savings on the price drop.

As Jonathan notes the iPEdge used more data than other edge phones use. The iP3G will surely use more data than other craptastic 3g "smart"phones. There's no other plan that stays at the same rate. Apple chose to hide this data. Boo on them and they should be called out for it.

Sam

PS I'm still getting one.
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post #75 of 82
6/11/08 at 2:25pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa
I thought so too, but I found out today that all AT & T 3g data plans are the same price. So it's no different than any other 3g smartphone.

That's one way of looking into the distortion field.

Then again, the silly Boom sound effect each time Steve mentioned the price in the keynote stinks at this point. Why would they harp 199 as being some big deal?
Normally Apple is expensive with no mixed mssg about it. I'm not going to say Apple has been completely clean in the past. They've had their share of bad moves.
This was something completely new.

The keynote ends with no mention of in-store registration only. Perhaps the funny little map of where the iPhone is being used compared to where it's for sale was a subtle hint. We're fighting the hackers or we get our money from AT&T up front instead of plan share. OK, fine. Just be up front with it. Show the plans in the keynote, or at least hint to an offset.

People will still buy the damn thing. I will.

Sorry, but WTF happened to Apple. First the GPU killing candy stick LEO, and now this.

In this climate of lies and double speak, it's disheartening to see Apple play the same game, even if only for the few moments it took to learn the rest of the story from AT&T.
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post #76 of 82
6/11/08 at 2:56pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Quote:
Go back to the original iPhone launch keynote and you will see that ALL the plan data was there in black and white for you to make a choice about.
No it wasn't. Steve's Jan 07 iPhone launch keynote only revealed the price of the phone itself. I don't believe any Apple keynote or event has talked about plan pricing. The original plan pricing wasn't announced by AT&T until just 3 days before the iPhone became available on 6/29/07. In fact, speculation up to that point was that even minimum plans might be in the $70-$100 range based on AT&Ts plans for smartphones at the time.

What's happened is this: because of the changes in the Apple-AT&T agreement (dropping revenue sharing), the iPhone is now being treated by AT&T just like any other smartphone. This means in exchange for the lowered entry price, we have to put up with in-store activation and their normal $30 data plan. I liked the old way myself, but what can you do??

Me? I'm still waiting on a 32GB model before I upgrade. The 2.0 software & AppStore will make my 1st gen phone seem brand new for awhile anyway.
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post #77 of 82
6/11/08 at 6:36pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Craig is correct, sorry about that. It still stinks! =)
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post #78 of 82
6/11/08 at 8:15pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

$30 for a service that I'll be using far far more than the crappy EDGE network is a no brainer for me. It's the same price Sprint is charging for unlimited data on my Treo. If there's anything I have a beef about with on the pricing is that I think $40 for only 450 minutes of talk time is too high.
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post #79 of 82
6/11/08 at 9:25pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

It also appears there are no free text messages with the iPhone 3G. With the first gen iPhone, 200 text messages were included with the visual voice mail feature but now, as I understand it, 200 text messages will cost $5 per month. There are also more expensive plans for more messages should you need it.

So it seems the new iPhone will cost $15 more per month at a minimum, further explaining the $199 entry level price point.

-Keith
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post #80 of 82
6/12/08 at 7:52pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Are you sure about the text message thing? That would be lame. I don't text message currently, mostly because I'm not paying extra for it right now, but if 200 SMS messages were included, I'd sure use them! Hopefully that part of the plan is still intact.

Still getting the new phone though! Hopefully we'll see some cases come out soon... I just want a simple leather one with a belt clip.
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post #81 of 82
6/12/08 at 7:55pm

Apps you'd like to see?

What are some apps you'd like to see released for the iPhone? I have a few I can think of right now.

A GPS map program geared towards hikers or boaters, with built in topographic maps or marine charts. (BTW, what is the difference between regular GPS and the Assisted GPS that the new iPhone has?)

I'm an EMT, so some medical reference software and a drug database program would be nice to have, just as a learning tool so I could look up drugs I'm not familiar with. Also, I plan on attending Paramedic school in a year or so, and it sure would be a nice study tool for that.

A Memo Pad type program with a stylus and handwriting recognition.

An iPhone version of DeliciousLibrary, allowing you to use the camera to scan barcodes (don't know if this would work or not!)

Er... I'm sure I'll think of more!
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post #82 of 82
6/12/08 at 8:02pm

Re: Highlights of Worldwide Developer Conference 2008 Keynote 6/9/08

Crayon Physics, Loopd and Band are my top three
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