iPhone - Official Thread

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Yixian said:
I won't buy an iPhone without theft insurance. Period.

I will take it pretty much for granted to have at least 4 nicked during the course of the year.

There a private computer insurance companies that will probably cover them for relatively little.

My MacBook Pro is covered from every conceivable screw up for about £70 a year.


Where the hell do you live? Either this is an extreme over exaggeration or you live in the one of the highest crime cities anywhere on the planet.
 
Shogmaster said:
Just as predicted: iPhone sucks ass for texting.

But then again, most are not buying it for texting I'd think.

LOL, i like the pic in the link. However, I could foresee the problem with typing on the iphone with the keypad in its "portrait" orientation. A landscape orientation would make more sense and could allow for bigger on screen buttons. Why did they do it this way?
 
Whateverrrrrr. You know what, every phone has a learning curve that goes along with it. After a while with ANY device, whether it be a full qwerty keyboard or a last century 10-key, you'll be texting like a champ in no time. I am in no way worried about the keyboard for the iPhone.
 
Nick said:
Whateverrrrrr. You know what, every phone has a learning curve that goes along with it. After a while with ANY device, whether it be a full qwerty keyboard or a last century 10-key, you'll be texting like a champ in no time. I am in no way worried about the keyboard for the iPhone.
Oh shit.... someone's buying iPhone for texting. :lol
 
Eh, overhyped product. Yeah a touch screen keyboard is all the rage just look at UMPC to see how functional that is. I'll be smiling when this thing falls flat on its face and the fanboys start defending this white elephant to its grave :P. Wonder how much that data plan costs for the "awsome" speed you'll get with your "cool" phone :P
 
Nick said:
Whateverrrrrr. You know what, every phone has a learning curve that goes along with it. After a while with ANY device, whether it be a full qwerty keyboard or a last century 10-key, you'll be texting like a champ in no time. I am in no way worried about the keyboard for the iPhone.

See, now you're just being smug. And the report is kind of telling. Like it or not, most people text with their thumbs. Apple simply making the keyboard work in landscape-only mode would probably alleviate the problem.

But you're right, the phone is perfect. Any legitimate design flaws shouldn't be pointed out at all and we should all pretend that everything's a-okay.
 
Nick said:
Whateverrrrrr. You know what, every phone has a learning curve that goes along with it. After a while with ANY device, whether it be a full qwerty keyboard or a last century 10-key, you'll be texting like a champ in no time. I am in no way worried about the keyboard for the iPhone.

its not like this is a totally new thing, the only difference is that typing is touched based now instead of real keys, the problem is that they are too close together and people have big fingers.

Apple should have stole the typing interface from UMPCs so you could text while its turned.

5076l3n.jpg


this would have been great.
 
Shogmaster said:
Just as predicted: iPhone sucks ass for texting.

But then again, most are not buying it for texting I'd think.

Hmm, that's sounds kind of disappointing. I was expecting all the features of conductive touch, some clever software recognition (ie built for fingers in mind, unlike most touch screens), and predictive (smart, so it would recognise that typing an 'e' might result in a wsdr23 or 4) would eliminate problems. It still seems to have for single index finger typing -which I guess is what people will have to move to for the iphone. Having said that, I can't really use my ipod in a really comfortable way, because if I hold my thumb horizontally, as is comfortable to me, when I go to press the centre button, often I slightly contact the touch wheel, moving to the next option. Apple, we have thumbs!!
 
xsarien said:
See, now you're just being smug. And the report is kind of telling. Like it or not, most people text with their thumbs. Apple simply making the keyboard work in landscape-only mode would probably alleviate the problem.

But you're right, the phone is perfect. Any legitimate design flaws shouldn't be pointed out at all and we should all pretend that everything's a-okay.
Yeah. Because I said that.

Edit: Since such bright people like xsarien are mouthing off about things some people (me) are not legitimately concerned about, I'll go ahead and list what I like about the phone.

Like:
- Design
- Full HTML web browsing
- iPod functionality
- The prospect of new and interesting widgets

Dislike:
- No 3G
- No landscape keyboard
- Contract is ridiculous
- Price

And I'll also have it known that I'm not getting an iPhone. I want one, but I'm not actually going through with it.
 
mrkgoo said:
Hmm, that's sounds kind of disappointing. I was expecting all the features of conductive touch, some clever software recognition (ie built for fingers in mind, unlike most touch screens), and predictive (smart, so it would recognise that typing an 'e' might result in a wsdr23 or 4) would eliminate problems. It still seems to have for single index finger typing -which I guess is what people will have to move to for the iphone. Having said that, I can't really use my ipod in a really comfortable way, because if I hold my thumb horizontally, as is comfortable to me, when I go to press the centre button, often I slightly contact the touch wheel, moving to the next option. Apple, we have thumbs!!

Apparently the problem is with thumb input is that it's gonna register too much area for the digitizer. The best results are using fore-finger, being as accurate as possible. So it's only good for slow steady inputs.
 
Nick said:
Yeah. Because I said that.


And then there are those people ready to rag on the iphone for even the slightest flaw, wanting it to fail (not referring to the texting thing).

I agree with both nick and shog. It's disappointing to hear that thumb texting is gimped - I know it's not the be all and end all - and that it's only for one person (it may well not be representative, but it could well be as well). But at teh same time, nearly every new device I've ever bought I've had to adjust somewhat, be it a new shortcut button, smaller, or larger keys, or whatever. Hell, even a new computer that comes with a different keyboard can change how you use it.

The iPhone will be no different in this regard. If I ever get one, I'd expect to makes some changes in how I do things - who knows, maybe the iphone is just way too small to try and type 'gameboy' style.
 
Shogmaster said:
Apparently the problem is with thumb input is that it's gonna register too much area for the digitizer. The best results are using fore-finger, being as accurate as possible. So it's only good for slow steady inputs.


Yeah, I understand. It is a bit of a disappointment, but maybe it's just not part of current touchscreen technology to be able to recognise area of contact or where it's most concentrated.

But as nick said above, there are things that will concern some people about new interfaces, and some that don't. Overall, something like this doesn't concern me much at all. I'd just adjust. It's not like I'd get an iphone to replace my computer for document writing or anything. Also note, I won't actually be getting an iPhone either.
 
This is a good thing. This way you can show off the iPhone more. If you could type faster on it, it would be back in your pocket quicker and people wouldn't know you have one.
 
M3wThr33 said:
This is a good thing. This way you can show off the iPhone more. If you could type faster on it, it would be back in your pocket quicker and people wouldn't know you have one.


They could if you were wearing your iPhone hat and jacket.
 
mrkgoo said:
I agree with both nick and shog. It's disappointing to hear that thumb texting is gimped - I know it's not the be all and end all - and that it's only for one person (it may well not be representative, but it could well be as well). But at teh same time, nearly every new device I've ever bought I've had to adjust somewhat, be it a new shortcut button, smaller, or larger keys, or whatever. Hell, even a new computer that comes with a different keyboard can change how you use it.

Yeah. It's disappointing, to be sure. I'd be curious to hear what the folks who've been stress testing the phone over the last two months think of the keyboard.
 
SuperPac said:
Yeah. It's disappointing, to be sure. I'd be curious to hear what the folks who've been stress testing the phone over the last two months think of the keyboard.

That's what Shog linked to.
 
mrkgoo said:
Yeah, I understand. It is a bit of a disappointment, but maybe it's just not part of current touchscreen technology to be able to recognise area of contact or where it's most concentrated.

But as nick said above, there are things that will concern some people about new interfaces, and some that don't. Overall, something like this doesn't concern me much at all. I'd just adjust. It's not like I'd get an iphone to replace my computer for document writing or anything. Also note, I won't actually be getting an iPhone either.

Actually, the multitouch digitizer in iPhone is what's making the problem worse. It's designed to sense all the contact area instead of single area of contact.

Anyways, I think all this just means is that iPhone will exist in a different niche than the majority of existing smartphones used for business today. This is clearly a consumer oriented phone and not meant for business use. Blackberries and most Windows Mobile phones are aimed for business users that feels the necessity for high priced data plans and text input for email on the go. iPhone cannot compete in that realm.

The question is, whether the consumer cell phone space can support a high cost phone and the necessary high cost plans.
 
Not just business folks. You're forgetting the iPod's AND cellphone's biggest market.

Pre-teen and teenage girls. Who send about 50-100 texts a day. Trust me, I have a 16-year-old sister.
 
Shogmaster said:
Actually, the multitouch digitizer in iPhone is what's making the problem worse. It's designed to sense all the contact area instead of single area of contact.

Anyways, I think all this just means is that iPhone will exist in a different niche than the majority of existing smartphones used for business today. This is clearly a consumer oriented phone and not meant for business use. Blackberries and most Windows Mobile phones are aimed for business users that feels the necessity for high priced data plans and text input for email on the go. iPhone cannot compete in that realm.

The question is, whether the consumer cell phone space can support a high cost phone and the necessary high cost plans.

Sounds like a very reasonable presumption. i think it can survive. There are enough people wowed by it, and there's enough hype behind it. I always thought iPods were fairly expensive, but they took off. It has Apple support behind it, and everyone already kind of associates Apple products as a bit of a premium product (which can actually be a fallacy in some cases). You could argue that it's a similar situation to the PS3, with it being priced at a premium causing it to be less successful currently than hoped. Difference is, people frequently pay more for their phone than stuff like home consoles, the reason being that a phone is actually a practical piece of equipment - on your person at nearly all times. It gets used every single day, it's easier to justify a higher cost. Some people are likely to replace their music player and phone with the iPhone, and in those cases, the price doesn't seem so bad. I'm not justifying it to myself - just saying people will see it differently that just a $600 item.
 
SuperPac said:
From the article it doesn't sound like whoever leaked to Engadget was one of the testers that've supposedly been working with it for two months. Sounds like someone who has a review unit let some details slip. If it's universally not good and you don't get used to it over time then that's gonna be a big thorn in Apple's side with a product they want to sell 10 mill in the first year.

They're going to have trouble hitting that number regardless. It's easy for them to push standalone iPods, especially Nanos and Shuffles. The fact that this costs substantially more than most iPods, and is tied to a - and this is ridiculous - special, phone specific plan that hasn't been revealed less than a week before launch is going to make this a hell of an investment for even hardened Apple fanboys. AT&T would be doing everyone a huge favor by cutting the bullshit and just letting people tie it to a normal voice plan and normal data plan of the user's choice. Hell, it'd move me a bit closer to getting one. "Plan Shenanigans" is on my list of major cons.

10 million in the first year is really pie-in-the-sky, the only way they can maybe reach it is if they mean globally.
 
Fairly Incredible said:
How much are the plans?
It's the usual high speed data stuff on top of the voice, so you can easily end up with $80~100 per month bill, which isn't a problem for a business men who will expense it to their corporate account, but could be for a teenager who wants the iPhone for it's iPod abilities.
 
M3wThr33 said:
Not just business folks. You're forgetting the iPod's AND cellphone's biggest market.

Pre-teen and teenage girls. Who send about 50-100 texts a day. Trust me, I have a 16-year-old sister.

Pre-teen and teenage girls are NOT what the iPhone is marketed at. No girl is going to have $600 for a texting machine. The iPhone is marketed at higher-end premium users. And Apple fanboys.

Oh wait, I think that's what you mean.
 
The keyboard does look ridiculously small for standard 2 thumb typing.

With it's tilt-sensor built-in I just don't get why they didn't let you hold it landscape and automatically flip to a wider keyboard.

Seems such a no-brainer to me, and would alleviate one of the main criticisms.
 
Two things. The 10 million sold is in the first 18 months, so this year and through next. Not so out of the realm.

Also, one of the AT&T execs said the other day, when they denied that they wouldn't release the plans until the 29th, that there wouldn't be any "iPhone specific" plans. Just standard voice and data. We'll have to wait to see if that's true, but that's what was stated.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Two things. The 10 million sold is in the first 18 months, so this year and through next. Not so out of the realm.

Also, one of the AT&T execs said the other day, when they denied that they wouldn't release the plans until the 29th, that there wouldn't be any "iPhone specific" plans. Just standard voice and data. We'll have to wait to see if that's true, but that's what was stated.

Everything I've heard has been to the contrary. Frankly, I hope you're right, because it'd really let more people buy an iPhone, including current AT&T customers who don't want to - and shouldn't have to - extend their contract just to play with Apple's iShiny New Thing.
 
xsarien said:
Everything I've heard has been to the contrary. Frankly, I hope you're right, because it'd really let more people buy an iPhone, including current AT&T customers who don't want to - and shouldn't have to - extend their contract just to play with Apple's iShiny New Thing.

Everything up until the statement on Thursday was a rumor though. This comes directly from an AT&T spokesman. Now he could be not telling the whole truth, so we'll have to wait and see, but here is the quote:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ne...s-6-29-rate-plan-claim-will-announce-earlier/
 
Wait, we don't know for sure how much the iPhone plan is yet? Well, as long as it's not more than $70-$80 per month it shouldn't be an issue for a person who is buying a $600 phone.
 
Even when I was hyped for getting one, I was wary of the onscreen keyboard. Typing without tactile feedback is just an issue, but I guess there's no way around it for onscreen keyboards.
 
I would rather have the big screen and a meh touch keyboard than a real keyboard with a smaller meh screen.

By not having a physical keyboard, the iPhone has a much larger screen. This benefits watching video, scrolling through long lists, seeing more of web pages, having large finger-sized buttons on the interface and much more. I think these benefits outweigh a little typing trouble now and then. I'm not planning on composing a book on the thing.
 
ckohler said:
I would rather have the big screen and a meh touch keyboard than a real keyboard with a smaller meh screen.

By not having a physical keyboard, the iPhone has a much larger screen. This benefits watching video, scrolling through long lists, seeing more of web pages, having large finger-sized buttons on the interface and much more. I think these benefits outweigh a little typing trouble now and then. I'm not planning on composing a book on the thing.

You can have both, if you have a slider design (already done to death in Windows Mobile/PPC space).

htc_tytn_lrg.jpg
 
I would honestly love to get this phone, but as a current cingular customer I really don't think I can. The plans that they're gonna offer with this thing are gonna be rediculous. No matter what they say, I know they will be. If they weren't they would have released the info already. My current plan is 39.99 a month for 1000 minutes and rollover. They don't offer that plan anymore and it's really cheap for me. I can't see signing up for a new 2 year contract at 59.99 and a new data plan as well. :( Looks like I'll be getting this instead.


HTC_Touch.jpg


But I'll hold off till they announce the plans for sure. Of course if they say current customers can just buy it and activate it then I'd be all over it.
 
In reference to my previous comment about screen size vs. physical keyboard, I'm not counting the slide out keyboard types because they are nearly twice as thick. With on screen keyboards you get big screen AND a slim form factor.
 
GONZO said:
But I'll hold off till they announce the plans for sure. Of course if they say current customers can just buy it and activate it then I'd be all over it.

Current customers can buy and activate it at the same price as new customers, and you will start a new two year agreement. But if you're not planning on going anywhere anyway, then it might be worth it.
 
I'm just chillin out of the text argument. I mean I have to press a button 4 times just to type one character I want. No way a touch screen keyboard can be worse. I've used touch screen keyboards before and didn't have any problems and I doubt Apple will make it anywhere near bad for a product like this. It's not something they just hit and miss. For a product this big, I'm sure they didn't come around and tried to make it as perfect as typing it can be.
 
ant1532 said:
I'm just chillin out of the text argument. I mean I have to press a button 4 times just to type one character I want. No way a touch screen keyboard can be worse. I've used touch screen keyboards before and didn't have any problems and I doubt Apple will make it anywhere near bad for a product like this. It's not something they just hit and miss. For a product this big, I'm sure they didn't come around and tried to make it as perfect as typing it can be.

Wait, you don't use predictive on your current phone? I thought everyone used it. I only switch to the 'cycle letters' mode when a word is not in my dictionary.
 
mrkgoo said:
Wait, you don't use predictive on your current phone? I thought everyone used it. I only switch to the 'cycle letters' mode when a word is not in my dictionary.
Heh, yeah everyone does but I think I am the only one who doesn't get it. I only tried it once but yeah.
 
ant1532 said:
Heh, yeah everyone does but I think I am the only one who doesn't get it. I only tried it once but yeah.

It takes a bit of time to unlearn the old way of doing it, but you will save yourself so much time.

Just press each button once where you'd normally press more than once. The phone will do the rest ...
 
ckohler said:
In reference to my previous comment about screen size vs. physical keyboard, I'm not counting the slide out keyboard types because they are nearly twice as thick. With on screen keyboards you get big screen AND a slim form factor.

Sure but you also get none of the real benefits of a thumb board with on screen ones. Many who depend on text input will give up thin for useful keys.
 
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