Is the iPhone Launch doomed? I think it might be so...

[nostatic]

Relax Wayne. Yes, Cingular has Edge, but it also has UTMS (3G). I have an 8525 that is 3G. It isn't everywhere in LA but is expanding pretty quickly with the coverage. Odds are v2 or v3 of the iPhone will be UTMS. And there will be APIs for 3rd party apps. They just haven't sorted the details of security yet.

For now, v1 of the phone will be Edge (I have an Edge phone too and it is ok, just not as fast as 3G), and developers will be able to creat web apps using Ajax, and run them via Safari since it is a "real" web browser running on the phone (as opposed to the bs IE that runs on WM5).

Apple delivers, but v1 of a revolutionary hardware device always takes a couple of iterations to get really right.

[island911]

Originally posted by nostatic
...

Apple delivers, but v1 of a revolutionary hardware device always takes a couple of iterations to get really right.

Especially since they just started working on the iPhone project a short 5 years ago.

Seriously, I think the i-cult will keep the iPhone held high no matter what short comings it has. There are a lot of dweebs looking for more of that brand association --plunk down 6 bills and a 2 year contract for a slap of techno-color -- instant "not a dweeb."

Geeze, my phone is just a phone. ...so old it still supports AMPs! Analog in a digital world --that's so beyond metaphysics, eh Dr no?

[}{arlequin]

my razr running on t-mobile is pathetically slow, as is the phone itself so not sure whether moving away from cing will make any difference.

seeing how you've dealt w/ computers ever since mit and onwards, you may be able to help yourself. have you come across http://www.modmymoto.com/forums/index.php ?

they have tons of apps for motorolla phones. they have software that you can download for free to completely change how your phone behaves. forums to ask for help. tutorials w/ pictures. you have stuff to change the appearance as well as total performance of your phone.

i don't have the skill, time, nor inclination to do that (just waiting for a particular nokia to come this way b/c to me nokia=mac), but it may be something for you. i've played w/ a modded phone and it was a night and day difference.

[Joeaksa]

I have a good idea where the phone drops the ball. I have a Razr that I have used the last 1.5 years and its not slow at all.

Course its a worldwide version that never has had any software on it other than what Motorola installed. No ATT, no Cingular, no Verizon and so on, just the factory stuff and it works great and very fast.

Was purchased overseas and never "locked" so will work anywhere on anyone's system. Can put anyone's SIM chip in the phone and it works fine, exactly what the local phone companies in the US do not want.

The phone is not the issue IMHO, its the crappy software that each phone company puts on their phones trying to personalize them.

[jriera]

+1, ask the Verizon people with the Treo 700p!! a great example on how to 'kill' a great phone with bad software.

iPhone will have WiFi, and while without a doubt UMTS (3G) is faster than EDGE, the later is more widely deployed in the US.

My Blackberry 8700 with EDGE is 'good enough' for casual browsing and 'unfortunately great' for email and IM.

... and yes, I'm getting an iPhone version 1

Originally posted by Joeaksa
I have a good idea where the phone drops the ball. I have a Razr that I have used the last 1.5 years and its not slow at all.

Course its a worldwide version that never has had any software on it other than what Motorola installed. No ATT, no Cingular, no Verizon and so on, just the factory stuff and it works great and very fast.

Was purchased overseas and never "locked" so will work anywhere on anyone's system. Can put anyone's SIM chip in the phone and it works fine, exactly what the local phone companies in the US do not want.

The phone is not the issue IMHO, its the crappy software that each phone company puts on their phones trying to personalize them.

[masraum]

I think the Razr was marketed at teens. Oooooo, it's thin and cool.

I have an older nokia that I bought off of ebay for $22. It's not terribly small, it's not a flip phone, it doesn't play mp3s, it won't take pictures, it's definitely not cool, BUT it is a good phone, always gets good reception often when other phones don't, is reasonably loud, has a decent phone book, good buttons, all in all, it's just a good phone, but nothing else.

[red-beard]

When you 2 get you iPhones, you let us know how they work in the real world.

[jriera]

Will do, just that 'real world' may have a different meaning to different people. I spend around 16 hours a day in data-mode. I use to write the code that make those things and the data networks work, I have done 'capacity testing' where the test population was over 1.5M devices!!!

Just for 'giggles' check the Nokia N77 or N95, probably the two more advanced phone/computers in the market, quad-band, UMTS, kitchen and sink, common theme no WiFi!! is not 'politically correct' to add WiFi because the operators will lose voice revenue (welcome Skype!).

Hell yes I'm getting an iPhone .... need to add more toys to my collection, I have over 50 phones and service with the 4 major carriers in the US and SIMS from all over the world!!

[Dave L]

N95 has Wifi, but you are right Wifi is viewed as a negative from the carrier point of view.

The Iphone will sell rapidly at first then dwindle just like every other high end phone out there. The vast majority of northamerican customers dont care, they want to phone home to find out if they need bread, nothing more.

[gassy]

Nice article in the current Business Week on the iPhone--Jobs feels Apple will sell 10 million units by 2009. That's based on initial sales of the iPod, which started off slow. I recently moved and now my Slivr is useless. I have to go out and stand on the corner to get even a faint signal.

[competentone]

Originally posted by jriera
Hell yes I'm getting an iPhone .... need to add more toys to my collection, I have over 50 phones and service with the 4 major carriers in the US and SIMS from all over the world!!

Wow!

So are you in some sort of "therapy" for this problem?

[slakjaw]

I will not be getting an iphone. I did get the UpStage and its a nice phone.. I just cannot see paying 600.00 for a PDA'ish phone with EDGE. If you want it for downloading music, forget it. EDGE is dirt slow compared to just about anything but dial-up.

What feature makes this phone worth 600.00? I just don’t get it. Is it the touch screen or something?

[Dottore]

Well I'm happy to believe in anything Steve Jobs says.

18 months ago he said Apple shares would go "off the chart".

They were $22.- dollars or so then. Today they are $122.- or so.

[MichiganMat]

Doomed? Hardly.

Edge is just a bandaid until the world becomes one big WiFi hotspot. You laugh, but its coming.

Besides, this is a phone that can be upgraded over time by the *user*. Think iPhone OS v1.1 / v1.2. That sells it for me. Bugs? No problem, just wait for the next release. If only I could upgrade my Moto V3 software, the UI is a travesty.

[nostatic]

I was a huge Moto fan until they fell so far behind it isn't even funny. I went to a MW5 smartphone (3125), then back to a Razr because of a hardware issue. I could not believe how antiquated the UI and capabilities of the Moto were. Got a new 3125 and have been issue free since then.

Horses for courses. Some people just need a phone, others need more. Some people want just a phone, others want more. No right answer...

[jriera]

Nah .. just work (or use to be work), cheaper than Porsche's ... and probably didn't pay for any.

Is amazing how technology obsoletes ... yet remains the same.

As MichiganMat says, the 'key' on the iPhone is the WiFi interface (aside from being Apple and to have a really cool interface) and don't forget your 'standard' iPod capabilities.

Originally posted by competentone
Wow!

So are you in some sort of "therapy" for this problem?

[slakjaw]

Reading the posts here it seems like some of what is being said is speculation or even wishful thinking. When will the world be one big wifi hotspot? How many iphones before that happens?

I am sure many people will buy this thing but I agree with Wayne that teaming with ATT exclusively was likely a mistake.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by island911
Especially since they just started working on the iPhone project a short 5 years ago.

For an engineer, you're such an....engineer

Doesn't matter how long you work on a product in the lab, until it gets in the hands of users you don't get the data you need to tweak.

Don't forget that this isn't just a phone, but essentially a small Mac running serious apps. It'll be like a windowsMobile device that actually works. Rev 1 will not be all that and a bag of chips, but it'll so outpace anything from Moto, Nokia, etc, that it won't even be funny. WindowsMobile and Symbian will be in the back seat. Or in the trunk where they really belong...

[nostatic]

And they will sell open phones down the line, probably after about a year. Going with a single providor gets them some advantages such as being able to control the user experience a bit better, and also getting $$$ for the exclusive contract.

[techweenie]

"Apple will never make it."
-- some random passerby at West Coast Computer Faire, April 17, 1977

... and repeated endlessly by every industry pundit ever since.