Apple Media Event 9/12: Announcements and Discussion (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Hanson /t/323644/apple-media-event-9-12-announcements-and-discussion-thread-opens-1pm-est-9-12/90#post_3974136
I'll step out. No problem.

It's not just you as I can't wait until I get my new iphone, but there is so much back and forth between certain members regarding their favorite phone. Why can't everybody be happy with their phones without the snark that goes back and forth between the two factions?

 

[Sam Posten]

You must be new here. =p
The why is easy: Thee is a fundamental philosophical difference between how Apple builds and markets their products, all their products, and the way everyone else does it. And that drives those who aren't down with Apple's way of doing things batshit crazy when they have some modicum of success. As Apple has risen from an underdog to the market leader this has been amplified a million fold as those supporters can point to that success in the face of the mocking that preceded it. Which turns into accusations of kool aid and brain washing.
Rinse, repeat.
Further, it's not just phones but tied to tablets, computers, media consumption, etc. And their are walled gardens on both sides their. fighting for attention as well as dollars.

 

[Sam Posten]

DEVS: iOS 6 GM is up. Back up your devices first! Then download 10.7. Backup again. Then go!
10.7 open to everyone:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

 

[andrew markworthy]

Anyone remember that scene in Coneheads where Mr Conehead agrees to do the fireworks display at the homecoming parade, and he sets off a single pathetic rocket? Everyone groans with disappointment, thinks that's it, and then suddenly a wonderful sound and light display lights up the heavens. Well in the case of Apple new product launches, that is sort of what we used to expect - some meh, well, okay sort of stuff and then the lovely words 'just one more thing' would herald something *really* good. These days, we get the pathetic little rocket, and we wait, hoping for the big display to follow. And we wait, and we wait, and then we realise that this is all we're going to get. Pretty lame, I would say.
I have another year for the contract on my current iPhone to run. Once it's up, unless something REALLY good appears in the Apple product line, I'm changing to a cheaper phone next time. All the features I really want like diary, video and music player are for me better served by an iPad. And I don't think I am by any means alone in this opinion. Where I think Apple have really missed the boat is in realising that instead of more bells and whistles, they should be providing a pared-down cheap phone for iPad and other tablet users, who want something slim and elegant that (gasp!) just does phone calls and a basic contacts/diary function. Messing around with the display and screen size is pitching at one audience, but I don't think they realise they've created another different market now that the iPad has taken off so well.
I'm not sufficiently techno savvy to answer this for myself, but perhaps one of you guys out there could help me with this. If you created an iPhone that only had to work as a phone and basic diary/contact book, how slim could it be made?

 

[Patrick_S]

It is a good looking phone and if I needed a phone I would buy it. I guess I’m a fan boy because I know there are other phones out there that could also do everything I need but I like the iPhone product.
Unfortunately I just don’t see the need to upgrade because my current 4s does everything I need it to do. Heck the only reason I upgraded to the 4s from the original was the fact that the MLB app no longer worked on the original so I decided it was worth the upgrade.
I also find that these days I’m actually using my iPad far more than the iPhone when it comes to running apps, checking emails and other things I use to do on the iPhone. These days the iPhone is becoming more and more just a phone that I actually use primarily as a phone and as a pinch hitter for the iPad from time to time.

 

[mattCR]

Well, I already pre-ordered 3 for our office. But we had been set to pre-order 60, but pulled up over some concerns people had. Reasonable ones. So, we'll evaluate these for a while, but the price drop on the 4 to free (well, .99 cents) is fantastic for us to flush out users left in our enterprise who still have 3GS

 

[Sam Posten]

2500 free =p But if you were gonna have em on contract anyway and you can get them upgraded to 4 for free sounds like a deal!

 

[Nelson Au]

Well, I already pre-ordered 3 for our office.   But we had been set to pre-order 60, but pulled up over some concerns people had.   Reasonable ones.   So, we'll evaluate these for a while, but the price drop on the 4 to free (well, .99 cents) is fantastic for us to flush out users left in our enterprise who still have 3GS

I thought per-orders were not being taken till the 14th, this Friday?

 

[Steve_Tk]

I'm also glad the housing is all one peice now, unlike the 4.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Video of today's event is live on Apple

 

[Craig S]

Wired's Matt Honan (yes, THAT Matt Honan) weighs in on the "boring" aspect of the iPhone. Very perceptive, IMO.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Wow, Craig, It can be very dangerous expressing such thoughts
around here.

You trying to make some of us feel good about our decision to
switch over to Android?

Actually, to be fair, the article does keep things sort of balanced.

 

[DaveF]

The new job means I my wife hears about the taller screen before I do and then I'm checking HTF for the summary at 8pm.
I skimmed the coverage at Ars... Their site's featured article is MS Server or something. I couldn't find any iPhone articles on the top third of the main page. I wondered if I had the wrong day after all. Finally I found the coverage: Ars' gave very bland summary, indicating a very bland event, with no new features in ios6 save Passbook.
So I read Ron's summary next. Much more useful and clear than Ars. I guess Ars has chamed focus since I stopped following them regularly.
To the iPhone: I'm left with a big question first. Ars reports existing software will be given black side bars on the new screen. Shouldnt it be given bars on top and bottom to center it in the taller screen? Is apple warping apps for threw screen, or did Ars goof that?
Taller screen: I still don't get it. I need to find some software examples or see it in person. I'm sure it will be nice, but Oscar I've not found myself wishing I could see an additional checkbox in my ToDo list. I don't know what problem this solves for me.
Faster CPU, I like.
Smaller connector, with no orientation preference? I like. Finding "up" is a recurrent nuisance with USB cables and apple cables. being able to grab a cable and plug...this is Apple doing their job of details for me the user. This solves a problem, and will make every day a skosh easier. Except I need to buy a new car if I get a new iPhone.
Better low light camera is good. I care about inside shots more than getting more megapixels.
New body? Meh. Need to see it person I guess and feel it.
So, I guess I've blanked on WWDC. Are there any new features! Ate there new features? I thought past events had huge software impact. Major iOS features. Garage band. iPhoto. Infinity Blade. Greeting cards . It feels like a hardware event with no software to show it off.
My daily use of gadgets has plummeted wi change in job.. So I'm not a good barometer. I'm left unconcerned about upgrading. If someone gave me $300 and forcibly made me spend it on a gadget, it would go to a Kindle Glow first, and then maybe an Apple TV. The iPhone 4 is so good, that I don't feel the 5 requires a purchase. It's solid. I'd be happy to get it. I have no interest in Android. But it doesn't excite me. It's now an appliance.
The nano: Bluetooth bums me out. I hoped to upgrade for use at work. Now I can't.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Nelson Au /t/323644/apple-media-event-9-12-announcements-and-discussion/90#post_3974231
I thought per-orders were not being taken till the 14th, this Friday?

If you have an ATT or Verizon Agent assigned to your account, you just call them direct. They'll take your booking right away, and they can put it into the system whenever they put it in. As far as we're concerned, we're done. When our ATT rep and Verizon Rep come and visit us next month, we'll talk about more.. I assume if you go through the online store or whatever, it's Friday. As far as I know, our account reps may have to book them Friday.

 

[mattCR]

The biggest advantages: Raised metal and a change in the glass with no glass on the back means the iPhone becomes much more valuable for us. I can't tell you how many I've had to replace with broken back glass/etc. The LTE will come in handy, and it's much more global friendly. Those are all nice perks.

The disadvantages: the change in the docking connector does suck. I recognize they had to do it, but the look of it SCREAMS to me fragile. I'm waiting to see how durable these connectors are. The change does impact those who we bought iFusion devices for (google it) or who have other accessories. But one of the things is that we were hoping for features that simply trumped the desire to seek out something like Galaxy S3 or the new stage Samsung WP8 or Nokia WP8 devices.
I'm not sure it does that; while Apple talks iCloud, the method by which the Galaxy trades photos and content with another Galaxy is fantastic; the way WP8 devices use SkyDrive to push from phone to phone damn near instantly or with a bump is fantastic. Both of those are the kind of functions we were wanting to say: how can we get some of THAT in an iphone?
Key things we were waiting for in iOS have not really come to fruition from where we thought they were .. or some were supposedly dropped. There has to be support for multiple signatures (different signatures for different email accounts). This is something even Blackberry had for YEARS and everyone else has.. the fact that iOS is one email signature for everything is terrible; my work address has a set sig, but I don't necessarily need or want that disclaimer and info on my home account. And for some managers, they may have two work addresses for response purposes, and they should have seperate sigs.. easy elsewhere, totally nowhere on iOS. There was all this talk that would happen, and all we've heard today is that didn't. (I'm still trying to confirm because that was supposed to be an iOS6 option)

But frankly, the biggest problem is that iPhone on release was always the revolutionary item that provided something no one else had. I can't say that's true this time around. I don't find any function here that isn't fairly replicated elsewhere. There isn't a huge "wow, how did they pull that off!"

I'm sensing there will be pressure to look at other devices in our enterprise soon.

 

[Sam Posten]

Wired's Matt Honan (yes, THAT Matt Honan) weighs in on the "boring" aspect of the iPhone. Very perceptive, IMO.

Agree with every word. It's all about careful and meticulous refinement. Not every year has to be a revolution. And new features just to be new are the worst disease the PC world ever caught.

 

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by DaveF /t/323644/apple-media-event-9-12-announcements-and-discussion/90#post_3974313
The new job means I my wife hears about the taller screen before I do and then I'm checking HTF for the summary at 8pm.
I skimmed the coverage at Ars... Their site's featured article is MS Server or something. I couldn't find any iPhone articles on the top third of the main page. I wondered if I had the wrong day after all. Finally I found the coverage: Ars' gave very bland summary, indicating a very bland event, with no new features in ios6 save Passbook.
So I read Ron's summary next. Much more useful and clear than Ars. I guess Ars has chamed focus since I stopped following them regularly.
To the iPhone: I'm left with a big question first. Ars reports existing software will be given black side bars on the new screen. Shouldnt it be given bars on top and bottom to center it in the taller screen? Is apple warping apps for threw screen, or did Ars goof that?
Taller screen: I still don't get it. I need to find some software examples or see it in person. I'm sure it will be nice, but Oscar I've not found myself wishing I could see an additional checkbox in my ToDo list. I don't know what problem this solves for me.
Faster CPU, I like.
Smaller connector, with no orientation preference? I like. Finding "up" is a recurrent nuisance with USB cables and apple cables. being able to grab a cable and plug...this is Apple doing their job of details for me the user. This solves a problem, and will make every day a skosh easier. Except I need to buy a new car if I get a new iPhone.
Better low light camera is good. I care about inside shots more than getting more megapixels.
New body? Meh. Need to see it person I guess and feel it.
So, I guess I've blanked on WWDC. Are there any new features! Ate there new features? I thought past events had huge software impact. Major iOS features. Garage band. iPhoto. Infinity Blade. Greeting cards . It feels like a hardware event with no software to show it off.
My daily use of gadgets has plummeted wi change in job.. So I'm not a good barometer. I'm left unconcerned about upgrading. If someone gave me $300 and forcibly made me spend it on a gadget, it would go to a Kindle Glow first, and then maybe an Apple TV. The iPhone 4 is so good, that I don't feel the 5 requires a purchase. It's solid. I'd be happy to get it. I have no interest in Android. But it doesn't excite me. It's now an appliance.
The nano: Bluetooth bums me out. I hoped to upgrade for use at work. Now I can't.

"no new features in iOS"?? I guess you did blank on WWDC - Apple covered the new OS there, and spent very little time on it today. See some of the new stuff here.

Black bars: I think you misunderstood Ars. In vertical orientation, the bars will be top & bottom as you mentioned. In horizontal orientation, they will be on the side. So maybe that's where the confusion lies.

Don't think you need to buy a new car. A $30 adapter, yes. Unless there's something proprietary about your car I don't know about.

Who's Oscar?? A Kindle Glow?? What?? YMMV.

Re: new Nano. Are you telling me Bluetooth devices are banned at your job? Why? Can't you just leave the BT turned off?

 

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by mattCR /t/323644/apple-media-event-9-12-announcements-and-discussion/90#post_3974333
...
Key things we were waiting for in iOS have not really come to fruition from where we thought they were .. or some were supposedly dropped. There has to be support for multiple signatures (different signatures for different email accounts). This is something even Blackberry had for YEARS and everyone else has.. the fact that iOS is one email signature for everything is terrible; my work address has a set sig, but I don't necessarily need or want that disclaimer and info on my home account. And for some managers, they may have two work addresses for response purposes, and they should have seperate sigs.. easy elsewhere, totally nowhere on iOS. There was all this talk that would happen, and all we've heard today is that didn't. (I'm still trying to confirm because that was supposed to be an iOS6 option)

...

Where have you heard that the multiple sig option isn't coming in iOS6? It was shown during WWDC on that "here's a bunch of other new features we don't have time to talk about in detail" screen. There's a LOT of new iOS6 features that weren't mentioned today, because this was primarily a hardware event.

 

[TonyD]

Think Dave had auto correct in full force.

 

[Steven Simon]

Staying with my Galaxy3... My Home Screen button was broken on my iPhone 4.0, so I needed to quickly get a new Smart Phone... If the iPhone was was revolutiuoanry I would have exchanged the Galaxy for the iPhone 5...
Just seems like nothing new ad special... I'm tired of the IOS never changing... It's boring...