iPhone - so...what's the deal? (1 Viewer)

[ErichH]

Well, not bad on the plans. Activate at home? Really?

http://www.apple.com/iphone/usingiphone/activation.html

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Eric,

I saw that video and it was another clincher to the deal.

Instead of waiting in line to buy the phone and then activate it,
I can simply synch it to iTunes and activate the phone online.

Also, from what I am reading, there will be an announcement
at the time of release with another "surprise" about this phone.

 

[TonyD]

were did you read that.

nothing i can find at howardforums.com

 

[Craig S]

Yeah, that was a bit misleading. I think it works just like Google Maps on your desktop PC - find a location, enter your start location, and it will give directions. The video left out the 2nd step. At least that's what I guess based on what we know now.

Unless the "secret feature" you alluded to is GPS. Or it could be a removeable battery - if you look at pics of the iPhone there is a now a black section on the bottom rear of the unit that wasn't there in early (January) photos. Doesn't make much sense unless it's a slide-off cap for the battery compartment.

Jobs does like to "under-promise and over-deliver"...

Oh yeah, the at-home activation is sweet. The common-sense cells in my body are struggling mightily against the gadget genes on this one...

 

[Ted Todorov]

Even without GPS cell phones have a good idea where you are based on which tower you are connected to -- that might be good enough for Google Maps. That's how 911 operators know your location AFAIK.

The battery (not) being removable is no big deal for me -- I just changed the "non-removable" battery on my 2nd Gen iPod and it was very easy to do (and cost me all of $29 for a battery that gives it 20 hours of playtime). In my cell phone experience, I am yet to have a cell that I didn't break or lose before the battery died. Apart from giving Apple another revenue stream from selling spare batteries, I doubt having a removable battery would help many people in real life.

 

[Craig S]

Good point on the cell phone location.

And you're right - there will be options available for changing the battery. At the very least you'll be able to walk it into an ATT or Apple store I expect.

The only reason I've purchased extra batteries for my last 2 phones was because the standard included batteries seem designed more to maintain a slim profile than to power the phone for an adequate amount of time. I always end up needing the extended battery just to get decent battery life. If Apple's latest numbers are anywhere close to reality there will be no need to replace with an extended battery.

 

[ErichH]

Yep, they know how to buzz don't they. Friday was the guide. I couldn't help thinking `Nice, but the plan will be overpriced' Today we get a very reasonable plan structure (if there is such a thing) and the home setup. Having Apple give Verizon the finger for me sounds sweet. I'm past my agreement, but I'm sure they'll have a lovely new fee of some sort ready for the coming exodus

I'd say thursday they add `One More Thing' so to speak.

E

 

[Craig S]

The first reviews are up!! They're mostly positive, with some caveats.

Walt Mossberg (WSJ)

Bottom line:


Neither is particularly impressed with the ATT network. Edge in particular is called out as being too slow. Also, call quality is only so-so (although this is partly based on the ATT network).

The touch keyboard gets positive marks. They key is (as Jobs has said) to "trust it.".

Battery life is good, very close to Apple's claims, at least according to Mossberg. The screen gets good marks as well - no scratches so far.

Unless both men are under an NDA, it doesn't look like there are any "one more thing" surprises coming Friday. The non-removeable battery and lack of GPS were both mentioned.

I want one, but I don't feel like waiting for version 2 is a bad idea, given the issues with EDGE. And it sounds like AT&T really needs to beef up their network overall.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

Both of these respected journalists' reviews back up my disdain for AT&T's dreadfully slow network speeds and inconsistent signal. Despite the praise as they lavish on the rest of the iPhone, I'm happy to stay with my Sprint Treo. As much as I love the kickass features that the iPhone introduces, it's the network that matters. It's sort of like coming out with a spectacular fully loaded sports coupe and then putting a three cylinder gas sipping engine in there.

 

[Diallo B]

day late and a dollar short but.......

apple actually went to verizon first and verizon turned down apple and the iphone. go figure.......

oh and best service really only means verizon covers your area better. all carriers have strong and weak areas with att and verizon having the most strong areas vs. other carriers.

i work in the industry (thank god not in a store) and i will tell someone in a heart beat go with the carrier that best serves your area. there is no point in arguing about who has the best network when it differs so widely from market to market.

 

[Diallo B]

the big difference between europe and the u.s. is that most of europe is gsm. as a matter of fact 80 percent of the world utilizes the gsm standard for cellphones. so carriers obviously have agreements to allow subscribers to roam their networks.

here in the u.s. the two biggest players have competing standards. if both were gsm and had agreements to roam one another's network we might very well have a situation similar to many european countries.

and fyi. cdma is a dying format. it is so dead in fact that the worlds leading manufacturer of cell phones, nokia, has stopped making cdma handsets. so sooner or later verizon and sprint are going to have to do something different.

 

[Carl Johnson]

You can't have the same number on two services at the same time but you can have your old number ported to a new service without canceling the old service. After the transfer if you wanted to make use of the old line Verizon would be willing to issue a new number for it.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I don't know about the rest of the world, but here all 3 providers are GSM, but have their own networks and you can't roam on the others' networks. On the rare occasions where I can't get a signal from my own provider, I have found a signal from one of the others, but it doesn't help me. Of course, this is a tiny country, smaller than most US cities, so it's not surprising that coverage is nearly 100% island-wide.

Of course, being on a GSM network means whenever I travel I can usually roam seamlessly. The exceptions being Japan/South Korea, who have some other system, and the US which even though partly GSM, dictates that the phone must be at least tri-band (GSM1900 I think being the clincher, when older dual-band phones here only support 900 and 1800).

I guess that's another reason Apple might have gone with AT&T, the iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone which can therefore be sold just about everywhere else in the world without any changes required (save for Japan/South Korea).

Oh, and have I said I want one?

 

[ErichH]

Perhaps old news to a few of us. The US is all about who's getting the money - not who's providing the best service.

It should be obvious that Apple had major politics to hurdle
trying to wedge in to this market. It will improve, but well behind the curve of Europe and Japan. Same Ol'

 

[Jean D]

Is this partially due to the new ruling that a cell carrier has to unlock their phones so consumers can use it with another carrier? and also because of the Qualcom importing ban thats going on?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Here we are two days away from the release of iPhone and
my decision to buy one seems to change by the minute.

The Pros are of course the fact that this is a state-of-the-art phone
that has a huge appeal quality to it.

The Cons are mainly Cingular. In fact, having to leave Verizon to
go to an undependable carrier that most people can't stand (see thread
in AFTER HOURS) has me worried sick.

Right now, I own a Blackberry with Verizon. I just bought a Jawbone
bluetooth headset that works perfectly (though Jawbone works with iPhone
as well). I'm going on a business trip in 4 weeks where I will need to be
in cellphone touch with up to 60 other attendees out in Las Vegas. My
Blackberry and my Verizon service has performed flawlessly for me. Do I
really want to risk it to go with a new product and a carrier whose reputation
falls far below Verizon?!

One thought....

Can the iPhone be unlocked to work with Verizon service?

If I were to predict if I were going to buy this or not, I would say this....

I'll be waiting at Apple's online store at 6pm Friday. If I can get in and
a phone is available at that moment, I'm sure it will be an impulse buy.

 

[Jean D]

wow. no MP3's as ringtones

As far as I know, you cant use a Cingular/AT&T phone w/ Verizon, due to Verizon using CDMA.

Found two video reviews of the iPhone:
Mossberg's
and
Pogue's

 

[Craig S]

Definitely not. The Phone is a GSM phone which requires a SIM card to operate. Verizon (and Sprint) are CDMA carriers. It's a completely different technology.

AT&T/Cingular is the largest mobile provider in the US. I can't believe they suck across the board - why would people keep going with them if that was the case? I would concentrate on seeing how their network works in your area (and in Vegas as well). Filter out the comments from other places (you don't care if the net sucks in Houston, or Kansas City, or Denver...). I guarantee you, I have seen horror stories about every carrier - you're happy with Verizon, but I see people trashing them online all the time.

Good luck on your decision. I'm actually glad I'm in the middle of my Sprint contract period - makes it easier to hold off and wait for V2.

If you do get it - be prepared to give lots of demos in Vegas!!

 

[Craig S]

I can almost guarantee this is an AT&T restriction. The mobile companies make big bucks selling ringtones. If they let iPhone users just choose ringtones from their existing library that whole stream of revenue goes away.

 

[ErichH]

Jean - Thanks
The Pogue vid is perhaps the most honest review, with it's comedy at the end about what you can't get right now. Good Find