[Realist]

What's your take on the Iphone? Worth getting?

[LUconn]

while it's probably one of the coolest peices of technology to come out in a long time, it's $600. That'd be a good deal if you needed all of it's functions for whatever reason, but if you're just gonna use it as a phone and an internet browser, I could find way better things to get with $600.

[SuperJon]

I say wait a year, let em fix the bugs, then get it cheaper.

[El Scorcho]

I like the iPhone. I really do think that it will do everything they say it will, as advertised. Apple has a long history of getting things right the first time. They don't usually release things with hardware problems to the public, hence an announcement about it in January and a release in June. If there are software problems, they'll fix them with an update.

Having said that, the iPhone is expensive. Like, really expensive. If you're in the market for a new cell phone, a new cell phone provider, an iPod and a PDA, it's probably the best out there. However, if you're not in the market for even one of those things, it's probably not even a remotely good deal. You just have to think through all of the charges. You're signing up for a $500/$600 phone with a 2-year Cingular/AT&T contract and all of the fees that go with it. For the average consumer, that's a lot of money. It's the Mercedes of phones. Most people don't drive a Mercedes, and most people aren't going to talk on one either.

I don't think this is targeted at the average consumer, though. Not yet. It's targeted at people who are already buying $250-500 phones. If you don't think there are a lot of those people, think again. Almost every cell provider has a smart phone in that price range, and Apple is just trying to get a slice of that pie. I think the lack of true Exchange synchronization in the iPhone might hurt Apple in that market a little, but they may very well overcome that.

If I were in the market for all of the things I mentioned above, I would get one. However, I am not in the market for any of those things. I have a perfectly TERRIBLE Windows Mobile phone provided courtesy of my employer. I hate it, but it's paid for and since I'm not wealthy, that currently beats the iPhone.

[belcherboy]

From what I understand, all the major cell phone makers are going to come out with their versions that will blast the IPhone. They have made WAY too much money to let Apple come in and take over. I've read about a few new phones coming out that will be much cheaper, much more memory, and have all the same options of the IPhone.

I like the idea and I'm glad Apple forced the market. In the next year or so, IMO you should see all these new phones come down to about the cost of a nice mp3 video player (around $200-$300), if not cheaper.

[LUconn]

oh there will be cheaper copycats for sure, but from what I have read, this phone has a ton of brand new, patented, technology. The most notable being in the touchscreen area.

[Realist]

Thanks, I'm not planning on buying one, was just curious. The whole 2-year contract with AT&T is a turn-off since I would have to get out of my existing one anyway.

[El Scorcho]

From what I understand, all the major cell phone makers are going to come out with their versions that will blast the IPhone.

I'll believe it when I see it. They've put out crap phones for years and all of their media/Internet capabilities have been a joke. Let's not forget that the iPhone is running Mac OS X. It's not some special phone OS or a special version of the OS. It's freakin' Mac OS X. I highly doubt the mobile phone manufacturers have the resources to build an OS the way Apple does.

Let's also not forget that prior to the iPod, MP3 players were a joke. The iPod has been out since 2001 and, to date, there is only one player out there that's even remotely competitive with it's ease of use and feature set. I'm talking about the Zune. And if you don't know who makes that, well, let's just say it's another company who has resources even larger than Apple's.

I think the phone manufacturers have to talk smack, because even if it doesn't sell well, Apple just beat the feature set of every phone on the market today. They're only trying to make the shareholders confident. I don't buy it.

[thepostman]

Apple sucks.....







ok, so I just said that for reaction....the iphone looks freaking cool, and maybe one day I will own one...but right now I am content with my phone....it can uhhhh, take pictures!! haha

[Sly Fox]

No you didn't, Postman.

Has anybody heard how much AT&T is going to charge in monthly fees to use all of the features on the iPhone?

I admit it looks extremely sweet. But I'd be hard pressed to justify that type of investment based on disposable income.

[El Scorcho]

Has anybody heard how much AT&T is going to charge in monthly fees to use all of the features on the iPhone?

Shouldn't be any more than any other phone with a data/voice plan. (I say shouldn't. That doesn't mean AT&T won't.) The iPhone doesn't do anything with AT&T's network that other AT&T phones don't do. I don't know what AT&T charges for data. With T-Mobile (who shares the GSM network in Lynchburg with Cingular/AT&T) I paid somewhere around $20 a month. I would suspect my employer is paying around the same thing with Alltel right now. Although Alltel has EV-DO coverage in Lynchburg, which is the fastest wireless data coverage of anyone in the area.

Edit: From AT&T...

SmartPhone Connect Unlimited w/Xpress Mail - $19.99 (Unlimited data)

[El Scorcho]

The iPhone plans revealed:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html

Also, you don't have to interact with anyone at the store to activate it. You can buy it from either Apple or AT&T, take it home, plug it in to your computer and activate it through iTunes. No waiting around.

[LUconn]

I read that earlier today. That's a pretty good deal. It's just the phone is not.

[El Scorcho]

I don't think the phone is overpriced for what it is. I really don't. I just think it's a unique combination of things that a lot of people don't need. If you look at the cost of the average smartphone and add the cost of an iPod nano to it, the price is right on target.

[The Rock]

It makes me mad they sold out and took the money for an exclusive deal where they could have spread it around to other networks

[LUconn]

actually, Clark Howard just said today that AT&T was the only company that would agree to let Apple control what the phone can and can't do. As in, the carrier can't charge you extra if you want to use the GPS function like they do on most phones.

[The Rock]

Thats what I'm saying Apple wanted that the whole time....most company's do this...moto did it with the Q and many other popular phones....it is used to create demand, but with this phone it'll create its own demand

[El Scorcho]

It makes me mad they sold out and took the money for an exclusive deal where they could have spread it around to other networks

It will happen down the road. The reason Apple did it was two-fold. One, they needed someone who would work with them to change the way the phone carriers operate. They weren't all going to play ball at the same time. For example, the iPhone has a feature called "visual voicemail" that basically gives your voicemail the same look as your email. You get a list of messages with dates and times. In order to make that work, AT&T had to change a lot of stuff on their end. Apple couldn't have gone to all of the carriers at once and demanded that they do that kind of work. They would have laughed Steve Jobs out of the room. On the other hand, if they give AT&T and exclusive on the iPhone for a while, AT&T has incentive to play ball.

From a business standpoint, they also needed to go with a GSM-based carrier to start out with. The rest of the world uses GSM for cell phone networks, with few exceptions. This means that Apple won't have to manufacture models with different radios for at least two years, and they'll still be able to sell overseas and in the US. Cingular/AT&T is the largest GSM carrier in the US, so they just made sense.

[Rocketfan]

This is what is most impressive to me at least:

"Apple shares have gained nearly 35 percent since the company unveiled the phone in January, as investors hope that sales of the device will outstrip even its best-selling iPod music player."

I should have brought some stock prior to all this crazy hype!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070626/bs_ ... 8w.96573QA

[El Scorcho]

The NY Times: iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype

http://tinyurl.com/yr5vdt

[El Scorcho]

What's Mayor Street Doing? Waiting In Line For iPhone

POSTED: 6:46 am EDT June 29, 2007
UPDATED: 10:49 am EDT June 29, 2007

Donning a white baseball hat and warmup suit -- complete with an iPod strapped to his arm -- a casual Philadelphia Mayor John Street patiently sat on a lawn chair on a South Philadelphia sidewalk, hoping to get his hands on the new Apple iPhone Friday morning.

Street said he was No. 3 in a line of about six people, but said he was sure things would pick up later in the day.

"I'm out here with the rest of the gang, and we're all waiting for the iPhone," said Street, a self-proclaimed technology advocate. "This is the latest and I’m going to have it."

Street said he waited for most of the overnight storms to clear before securing his spot at about 3:30 a.m., noting that the two people in front of him were so sleepy they didn't even recognize him.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/13592982/deta ... =mainclick

[RubberMallet]

my phone makes phonecalls and receives them.....pretty well i might add....its awesome.

[thepostman]

I love how scorcho is like the apple apologist....

I know its good for apple, but i hate how these products come out and you have to have it to be "cool", its great for apple, just makes people look like idiots

[El Scorcho]

I love how scorcho is like the apple apologist...

Apple is partly responsible for me having a job and making me some cash. I like Apple.

For the record, though, I've been using Macs since before they were cool. I like Apple's products because they offer superior design and ease of use. If you want a phone that just makes and receives calls, good for you. However, some of us need a phone that does more. For the last year I've been carrying a Windows Mobile phone in my pocket (thanks, LU) and it is the worst piece of technology I have ever used. Nothing works like you would expect to, if it works at all.

The iPhone isn't about being cool, to me. It's about Apple shaking up the cell phone industry by brining their famous ease of use and engineering to that market.