Rediculous Iphone hype?? I dont get it.

[Halm]

Originally posted by FrayAdjacent911
Speaking of AT&T's latency... I'm using a 3G card in my portable now, on AT&T. I had been noticing REALLY poor bandwidth and TONS of latency lately. Found a firmware update for the card, and applied it earlier today. It's going MUCH faster, but I can still detect a little latency most of the time... Know of a hack for a laptop PC with an AT&T wireless card? Definitely seems like their DNS sucks the big one often times.

Matt, Broadband cards are a different kettle of fish. And candidly I thought that the broadband cards worked on a separate network than the Smartphones and didn't have the DNS latency issues. Thanks for the heads up!

[KFC911]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
I'm excited about it, primarily because I HATE my current phone, and I think the current generation of cell phones needs some *serious* help. That said, I probably will not buy one, as I want to wait for the 2nd generation...

That's probably what I'll do too. I've got an older Motorola (Verizon) phone, that I can't even carry on a decent conversation with half the time. I'm hoping that Voice over IP (Iphone) will be a marked improvement, and all the other goodies that IP will unlock is just a bonus. I know it's a different game, but in my "day job", we have converted thousands of phones to IP, and everything has been nothing but positive from my perspective. Sure, it's going to take a gerneration or two to shake out, and for the prices to become more competitive, but imo it IS the future, and obviously Apple has the marketing down pat

[MRM]

I have a serious question that relates to the first post. What is the advantage of the iphone? Will it do anything for me that another PDA phone can't, or do something better?

I'm probably typical of PDA phone users. I have to be in contact with clients all the time, I need access to my calendar, and I'm often out at remote construction sites doing an inspection. Like most people who need PDA phones, I need a phone that has good email access, keeps my calendar updated, and has reception in remote places. I already have a GPS, which regularly saves my life. Web access is fun, but I don't have to have it. I have a real camera for any photos I need. I wouldn't listen to an ipod if I had one. I just bought the latest Treo with the integrated antena. Less than a week later my wife is asking me why I didn't wait for an iphone.

So I guess the question is, is the iphone any better than a Treo, or is it just a cool looking Treo with an ipod attached? I can't see any performance or feature advantages, other than the music player, but this isn't my area.

[KFC911]

Originally posted by MRM
...So I guess the question is, is the iphone any better than a Treo....

Probably not (I really don't know), but as I've been saying since this discussion came up, "marketing" trumps "technology" and Apple's got that covered imo.

[azasadny]

Today on NPR, they had a story about the iPhone which amounted to an advertisement for the product. Since when is a product release a "news story" that NPR should cover? ridiculous!!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally posted by Z-man
I think Alexander Graham Bell is turning over in his grave...

Too much hype over a glorified cell phone. So you can watch a You Tube clip on it? Big deal -- I suppose watching someone else's miserable existence is a good escape from one's own miserable existence....

I think people need to disconnect from technology / the interwebnet / cell phones / iPods, and reconnect with real live people.

Yeah, I have a cell phone, and my company-issue Blackberry. But lately I find myself using both less and less. I also wind up taking it with me less and less (my personal phone -- I gotta take the stupid electronic lease from work with me everywhere I go).

This past weekend, Mrs. Z-man and I went to a B&B up in the mountains in New York state. There was absolutely no cell phone reception. What a wonderful thing!

I have an iPod as well, and use that primarily in my new truck, since it has a mini-stereo (3.5mm) connection for it, and sometimes at work, where there's too much noise around me. But at least I listen to decent music on it, produced by artists, instead of the crap that kids are listening to these days...

I guess I'm either an old fart, or just sick and tired of being so connected.

-Z-man.

Says the guy who posts this on an electronic bulletin board - one he MODERATES, no less.

We're all guilty.

As far as "reconnecting with real live people", I dunno. The more I deal with people directly, the less I like them. They're sort of better as "concepts" rather than real individuals a lot of times. For the most part I just deal with the people I already know (friends, family, etc.) Meeting anyone else new that I actually give a crap about, much less enjoy the company of is pretty rare.

[red-beard]

Originally posted by MRM
I have a serious question that relates to the first post. What is the advantage of the iphone? Will it do anything for me that another PDA phone can't, or do something better?

I'm probably typical of PDA phone users. I have to be in contact with clients all the time, I need access to my calendar, and I'm often out at remote construction sites doing an inspection. Like most people who need PDA phones, I need a phone that has good email access, keeps my calendar updated, and has reception in remote places. I already have a GPS, which regularly saves my life. Web access is fun, but I don't have to have it. I have a real camera for any photos I need. I wouldn't listen to an ipod if I had one. I just bought the latest Treo with the integrated antena. Less than a week later my wife is asking me why I didn't wait for an iphone.

So I guess the question is, is the iphone any better than a Treo, or is it just a cool looking Treo with an ipod attached? I can't see any performance or feature advantages, other than the music player, but this isn't my area.

From what I can see, it will only sync the calendar when connected to the PC. My Treo 680 with active-syc will sync my contacts, outlook and calendar everytime it connects to the server.

As the "discussion" raged earlier, the iPhone appears to be a cell phone/iPod hybrid. It was not targeting the corporate blackberry or Treo type user.

Oh, and the download times for webpages on the iPhone, appear to match what I see with my Treo680/Lifedrive for similar pages, including the "1/2 way through" hangs.

I wonder if a Bluetooth keyboard could be hooked up to the iPhone? That could help with someone trying to type a longish e-mail. My Lifedrive is more of a mini-laptop when I pair it with an external keyboard. I like the fact that the keyboard uses IR, so that I can use the Bluetooth for something else (Internet connection, headphones).

Not that it matters too much, the iPhone cannot edit word or excel documents. On the Treo/Lifedrive, Docs-to-go will let you view and edit Excel, word and Powerpoint, and view PDF.

[tobster1911]

I have had the VX6700 Review for over a year now. Only problem I had was when the speaker went out. VZ replaced it free. It does have WiFi and (poor) bluetooth. Also uses the VZ EVDO highspeed data plan. I cancelled the data plan because I just did not use it. I have it on my wireless router at home all the time though.

Outlook sync for email, calendar, task, notes, ect. Office moble for word, excel. Adobe moble for pdf. Ton's of apps out there for WM5. SD card so movies, music, pictures all fit no problem.
All for $300 with 2yr agreement.

The biggest downside is the browser is IE4

[sand_man]

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/14081

Why I'm Not Getting an iPhone

Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:06PM EDT

The iPhone hype is so intense right now, I think people will be buying this phone based on hype alone. I mean, is the phone really that great? Our duty is to keep you informed regarding details we come across, so the more I read about the iPhone, the less I want it.

At a glance, the device looks fantastic, features sound fun, and there's no doubt this phone is the "it" phone this year. But realistically, would you pay $500-$600 for any other phone? Like many of you, I'm still debating whether to buy an iPhone or not, so I've compiled a list of cons (since the pros are obvious) just to give myself a reality-check come Friday night.


Price/Storage: Probably the biggest reason to wait is the price.The iPhone will retail in stores for $500 (4GB) and $600 (8GB) — AND you still have to sign a new two-year agreement. Don't expect this phone to replace your iPod either. The top-of-the-line $600, 8GB iPhone only holds 2,000 songs, and only a handful of videos and full-length movies. I also don't understand why you have to buy the iPhone at full price, and still sign a two-year contract. You could easily get a comparable phone actually running on a 3G network like a Treo 750 for $199 with a two-year contract, or an 80GB video iPod for almost half the price.


Plans: What's really bothering me about this is AT&T is playing into all this hype too, forgetting about its customers. I called AT&T today to find out more details about switching carriers, and the rep was clueless. Come on guys, we needed pricing details about a month before the phone went on sale so we could estimate costs. Why is the company being so secretive? We know the phone is launching on Friday, and we know what it does. So why did it wait so long to reveal service plans? At least now we know getting an iPhone isn't going to be cheap. Chris Null outlined the cost of each service plan, the cheapest plan being $60/mo for 450 minutes. He says that in two years, you'll end up paying close to $2,000 for service alone. Plus there is that $36 activation fee, and a two-year contract on top of that. Those who already have an AT&T account can expect to pay an additional $20-$30 for the "iPhone plan" which includes Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, and unlimited data since there is no voice-only plan. And if you think you can get the iPhone to use without service, think again. Apple's web site says a two-year agreement is required for iPhone activation including iPod features.


Network: Surprisingly, the iPhone does not run on a third-generation (3G) network, instead it runs on the slower EDGE network. Forbes thinks Apple opted for the slower network because AT&T's EDGE coverage spans across 13,000 cities and towns nationwide, compared with only 165 major U.S metro areas that have 3G coverage. It also brings up another excellent point. Since 3G devices are interchangeable between faster and slower networks, why did Apple still choose EDGE? Other AT&T smartphones like Samsung's BlackJack and Treo 750 run on 3G, and for what I understand AT&T is slowing moving away from EDGE. So perhaps a second- or third-generation iPhone will have 3G capability. And while the iPhone may have Wi-Fi capabilities, realistically, looking for a hotspot when you're out can be a challenge, unless you pay an extra $10 for T-Mobile access at Starbucks.


First Generation: A geek's rule of thumb is to never get a first generation gadget. Apple is one of the few companies that revamps its products at such a quick pace, that in this case, they actually make it quite bearable to wait for the second revision. Look at all the improvements they've made on iPods and MacBooks. It may seem like waiting for a new iPhone will be an eternity, but I bet it'll be a matter of months before we see a better, faster version.


Long Lines: I love technology as much as the next guy, but no gadget is worth standing in line days in advance for, not even the iPhone. People have already started to line up, and some are even betting real money that someone will get trampled. I would add getting shot at, beaten, mugged, and possibly being hospitalized to the list.
On top of all the above reasons, there's still some doubts about about the lack of keyboard, inability to sync with corporate internal email systems, and battery life. So lets get this straight. We're expected to pay for an overpriced phone, an expensive service plan, sign a new two-year contract, and still wait in line hoping to get one? No thanks.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts


The crappy thing is that it's 1 day before the launch, and dumb-ass AT&T / Cingular still has not given it's customers any clue as to the pricing plans for existing customers. They are just one dumb company.

-Wayne

That's been pissing me off as well.

[island911]

Q. I'm an existing customer. Can I swap out my current SIM card and start right away?
A. No. iPhone must be activated before it can be used. iPhone includes a pre-installed SIM card for your convenience.

HA, that's a good one.

Tho' I suppose that convenience is what the iPhone is all about.

Need a new battery for your iPhone? Easy - drive to your local Apple store, park, walk it in, wait for someone to help, give them your iphone, wait a few days w/o your phone, drive back, park, walk, wait, pay $150, .. ..for your convenience.

[scottmandue]

I have been waiting for a good PDA/phone for years... don't know why everyone is shocked at a $500 phone, they have been around for a long time. As others have said I would love to find a phone that had a great calender and I could check my email and limited Internet for weather/traffic/etc. but I'm still not seeing it in the iphone.

[MRM]

Scott, I have had my Treo for a week now and use it exactly as you describe. I am very happy with it so far. I synch with an outlook calendar.

[red-beard]

I'm very happy with my iPhone

[Milu]

One of my clients is coming out with a smartphone that can use two sim cards simultaneously (viz two networks simultaneously etc etc) and other innovations. It makes the iphone look cheap. I don't think there are plans for a US launch yet.

[widebody911]

Maybe if they figured out a way to integrate the iPhone into the Segway...

[island911]

B'Dmmp -Chinnnnngggg

good one Thom.

Oh, how kewel would it be to wait in line for the iPhone ON a Segway? . .Huh? huH? ...oh yeah.

[KFC911]

I take it this Iphone is really starting to bug you ?

[island911]

Hyper-Hype (just like w/ the Segway) deserves a dose of ridicule.

Is the ridicule really starting to bug you? TOo much?

[KFC911]

No, not at all. I'm actually thankful for the Iphone hype... it gave the media something other than Paris, et al to cover, and at least I have a vested interest