So, the iPhone.
Until I realised that it didn’t have 3G capability (only GPRS/GSM) I actually had nothing less than a VISCERAL NEED for one of these devices after watching the keynote speech. The physical and logical UI looks _that_ slick. Oh Lord, does it look nice.
However, no 3G? Really? That means no sale. And bear in mind that (a) I’m sick of carrying both a PDA/Phone and an iPod, and (b) there’s that VISCERAL NEED WANT OOO BABY LOOK AT YOU response to the UI again.
By the time they release them here in NZ, I hope they’ve upgraded the hardware to ensure that it can deal with modern cellular protocols. Also, 8GB? _Enough_, but really, Apple, you can do better than that.
I have nothing but the highest hopes for V2. And if I am offered a free V1 iPhone, I will certainly take it.
January 10, 2007 at 8:34 pm
But you’re a tech snob. 🙂
But realistically, given the amounts charged by NZ telecoms companiers for using the features & functions that 3G might be useful for, it becomes unimportant. For the majority of its useful features that actually get used 2.5G is fine, I should have thought.
January 10, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I’ve got to agree with the other poster – Telco data chargers are teh suxx0r! as it were. This thing is wifi compatible, walk to your nearest wifi hotspot and do all your important high bandwidth content shifting video networking type stuff over the net and screw the cell based telcos trying to gouge people with ludicrous data chargers on technology that doesn’t even work at the moment if more than 5 people are trying to connect at once. It’s what Steve Jobs would want you to do.
Also, JSR, could you get in touch, need to chat to you about that business thing and borrowing the XL1? Cheers (Craig)
January 11, 2007 at 12:56 am
I’m perfectly happy with the 2.5+WiFi arrangement.
The storage size bothers me more, as I’ve got used to being able to not having to think about what is or isn’t on my iPod. 8GB really doesn’t seem like enough to carry a worthwhile amount of video.
But the biggest issue for me is the closed ecosystem. Apple seems to have confirmed that they won’t be allowing third-party developers onto the platform. This works well for the iPod, but I think it’s a mistake in a device with more communication features. Hopefully it’s a temporary situation. I suspect the problem is that in order to sell to the US mass market, they need to ally with an existing cellphone company, and that company makes money from calls going through their own network. If you allow third-party developers onto the platform, the first application ported will be Skype over WiFi, and then the cellphone company loses its income source.
If I were Apple, I’d be planning some kind of end-run around Cingular. They need them now, but it’s in Apple’s interests to have third-party developers for the platform, so they’ll be wanting to squeeze Cingular out as soon as they can. I expect they’ll have an exclusive deal with Cingular for a couple of years while they feel out the market and see how much saturation WiFi attains. Then they’ll open the platform, shifting it overnight from Cell-and-no-VOIP to Mostly-VOIP-with-Cell-as-a-backup.
Or something like that.
January 12, 2007 at 12:32 am
Yeah only 8GB but thankfully solid state. If I had $1 for everytime I’ve had to resurect or replace the HDD in my iPod I’d have a lot of one dollars.
January 12, 2007 at 12:44 am
Re: But you’re a tech snob. 🙂
Really? I’ve never had any problems with any of the drives in mine. Batteries, sure. A screen once, even. But drives? Never.