[Dyce9984]

Capping literally years of speculation on perhaps the most intensely followed unconfirmed product in Apple's history -- and that's saying a lot -- the iPhone has been announced today. Yeah, we said it: "iPhone," the name the entire free world had all but unanimously christened it from the time it'd been nothing more than a twinkle in Stevie J's eye (comments, Cisco?).

Sweet, glorious specs of the 11.6 millimeter device (that's frickin' thin, by the way) include a 3.5-inch wide touchscreen display with multi-touch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the sensor when it's close to your face, 2 megapixel cam, 4GB or 8 GB of storage, Bluetooth with EDR, WiFi that automatically engages when in range, and quadband GSM radio with EDGE. Perhaps most amazingly, though, it somehow runs OS X with support for Widgets, Google Maps, and Safari, and iTunes (of course) with CoverFlow out of the gate. A partnership with Yahoo will allow all iPhone customers to hook up with free push IMAP email.

Apple quotes 5 hours of battery life for talk or video, with a full 16 hours in music mode. In a twisted way, this is one rumor mill we're almost sad to see grind to a halt; after all, when is the next time we're going to have an opportunity to run this picture? The 4GB iPhone will go out the door for $499 on a two-year contract, 8GB for $599. Ships Stateside in June, Europe in fourth quarter, Asia in 2008.

via Engadget

[MikLSP]

Looks fantastic! Could indeed be a major device

[staiano]

I'll give my right arm for this device.

The word SWEET doesn't do it justice.

[rod9228]

If SE doesn't have anything comparable to this, i will probably get this one. We'll see what SE has in thier sleves on 3GSM.

staiano

any chance of switching providers?

This post has been edited by rod9228: 09 January 2007 - 10:08 PM

[noj_tsuj]

i gotta say am thinkin this is THE phone to replace ma N93!!! an its due out very near my upgrade so YAY indeed!!!

Role on the 4th Quarter!

[Toney_Ericsson]

Take note Sony Ericsson When will Sony Ericsson bring out a masterpiece like this.

This post has been edited by Toney_Ericsson: 09 January 2007 - 10:35 PM

[Rekoil]

@Sony Ericsson, you just lost yourself a customer

[Nirodha]

Hmm, we'll see how it goes in June. If people want this thing just because it's made by Apple, well, that's just consumerism. But, if it's truly a great phone then I'll buy one off the Hong Kong wholesale market.

[scotsboyuk]

It sounds like a good handset; well specified, and it looks nice to boot. I might consider getting one if SE doesn't come out with something on a comparable level.

@Nirodah

I would agree with your comment about buying this handset just because it's from Apple. I'm not really an Apple fan so I am only going to buy this handset if I actually like it. Having said that, I suppose I may be a bit of a SE fanboy in that I tend to always buy SE. Mind you though, I am not averse to buying a non-SE product if it is good.

[ganja61]

just fantastic

[scotsboyuk]

Nokia have responded to the iPhone with Pekka Pohjakallio, vice-president of NSeries computers, commenting that, "They had music, internet, an email deal with Yahoo and a deal with Google, but it is a 2G device, not 3G, which was a surprise to me".

Source: Tech Digest
via digg

[scotsboyuk]

Here is a size comparison chart.

via digg

[rod9228]

@scotsboyuk

Im more of an SE fan and never owned any apple product but if SE dont have anything comparable to this, I may consider it. Regarding the Nokia comment about not being 3G, SE dont have 3G here in US so if Im buying SE, its 2.5G anyway. Plus this iPhone has wifi which is a plus. But of course we still have to see if this iPhone really delivers like the specs suggest.

On the bright side, maybe SE will give us something as revolutionary as when the P800 came out because of competition from iPhone.

This post has been edited by rod9228: 10 January 2007 - 01:13 AM

[scotsboyuk]

@rod

That's the beauty of competition, it can spur people on to new heights. Let's hope that's true of SE.

The lack of 3G is a bit of faux pas for the Asian and European markets in my opinion. If this handset is going to be presented as a high-end smartphone then it is going to need the features to compete in that market, especially when it comes to business types. If a business is looking for a tool, they are not necessarily going to concern themselves with how it looks, but rather if it can do what they need it to do.

It certainly seems to be a good handset from what I can see, but I am just wondering how it will do once the dust settles. Don't get me wrong, it will probably be a huge hit for Apple, but how will the other manufacturers react? Will Apple be able to compete with them over the long-term?

[rod9228]

@scots

You got that right. Apple is new to Mobile business and cellphones has a very fast cycle. I'm not sure if Apple can compete or not in the long term. Another thing is that US is a market where high end phones are not really big. Most of the people here gets the free phones. Europe is a more appropraite market for high end phones but as you mentioned, it's not 3G. So, lets see what happens.

Regarding the 3G, I wish its 3G too because Cingular in my area already has 3G with HSDPA but the only phones available are Samsung and LG and not even the highend ones. SE doesn't have 3G here either that why I said earlier that its ok for me for now. But if SE offers 3G here in US with features like this or W950+wifi+Cam, then, I will take the SE. I'm just exited on 3GSM if what phones SE will anounce as well as what will SE do about iPhone. Its because I think SE will be the company most affected by this iPhone.

[scotsboyuk]

I think Apple have made a strategic error in delaying the handset's release outside the U.S. It gives their competitors time to respond. I think the proof will be in the pudding, what are Apple going to do to compete in the long-term? It will be interesting to see how SE responds to Apple in terms of Walkman vs iPod.

[rod9228]

Interesting indeed. Can't wait to see SE's next move because Music phone is SE's trade mark and the Walkman series help them a lot.

This post has been edited by rod9228: 10 January 2007 - 04:11 AM

[xell]

OS X on such a small device. Multi-touch technology.

Killer.

This post has been edited by Xellar: 10 January 2007 - 08:26 AM

[Nirodha]

Ok, design-wise this iPhone is very cool - that touch screen is way cool. However, I don't like being limited to a set amount of storage and having to play the file shuffle game - even if it is a very generous 8GB - so I would have preferred it have a card slot. The battery life is not bad, but nothing to write home about. A 2MP camera is fine on a phone, but a flash and auto-focus are must-haves these days.

In terms of the iTunes music player, there's some nice eye candy there - I dig that scrolling CD art thing. But, really, at the end of the day I want to play my music not spend time gazing at CD art. And, SE Walkman 2.0 player is just as functional really - even Walkman 1.0 is fine for me. Also, I saw no mention of an FM radio, voice memo, games, pdf readers, etc. - I guess they'll handle some of that stuff through Widgets though.

In terms of it running OSX - which is a Unix variant - that's not as big of a deal is it sounds. There are already Linux - another Unix variant - based smart phones on the market, and I don't really give a about the phone OS as long as it works and well. (Former computer programmer here, and a very jaded one at that.)

In terms of Apple going on about their marvelous new sync capabilities - uhuh, yeah, that's nice. Again, I'm sure it's not as revolutionary is it sounds - we'll see.

Apple's marketing department is very good at hyperbole and just loves to whip people into a frenzy over their new products. Hell, it even made the nightly news here in New Zealand - I was like "WTF!?!?".

This post has been edited by Nirodha: 10 January 2007 - 08:52 AM

[ron_jeremy]

Steve jobs are briliant, i guess he can sell sand to sahara.
And the hype around this device is amazing.
Ok, so what is it.
By the end of next year, 2 megapxl cam are in the low end segment, so nothing special there.
And since Jobs didn't market it, i guess there's no AF either.
Screen, Jobs did a good job with this, but that resolution on a 3.5 " screen, isn't all that, remember, the device are due late 2007.
And touch screen only...?
Besides, how is the OS working, first time mobile device, i guess there will be bugs and a lot of problems.
The two other things i've thinking of, is battery and that's it's only GSM, not 3G.
But it looks good, and for the competition it's all good, so i welcome this, but the hype around this device is ridicolous!