Phew – what a day. Sorry I’ve yet to weigh in on this bombshell, but it looks as though Cingular’s pulled up the socks that seemed droopy when the Pearl was launched, and have a new fervor with the addition of the iPhone to their roster. MacHead Steve Jobs let us know about the new iFamily member at his keynote speech at MacExpo that’s going on this week.
Now, we pointed you to an article earlier from the National Post who forecasted that the iPhone will be no threat to the BlackBerry, but now – it’s anyone’s guess.
It’s a really neat looking device. “Apple Inc.” (formerly known as Apple Computer) has launched a device that will, according to reliable news sources “leapfrog” over any competition, the BlackBerry included.
The iPhone, which will start at $499 when it launches in June, is controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. Jobs said it will “reinvent” wireless communications…
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. But for now – first reactions, folks?
im afraid to say that i may have to part with my BB once my contract is up with tmobile. by that time, the asia phones should be out, so you know that they will include 3G plus who knows what other goodies they come up with. most likely also an increase in memory size. i cant wait to go to an apple store in june and play around with one.
Okay, I’m a Mac user and I absolutely love my Blackberry. I think it’s great. I also think the iPhone is amazing. I will have to wait and see how its email works, but they’re two very good devices, and I doubt the Blackberry is going anywhere.
Both are better than Windows Mobile devices. That’s what counts.
This phone is honestly going to blow every smartphone out of the water. Goodbye treo. Blackberrys are gonna have to fight for there life. Read up on it. Read the specs. This phone is freaking insane.
It looks like I will be a BlackBerry user for only 6 more months. I have really liked my BlackBerrys but the iPhone looks to fill my needs better. I am a Mac user and love my iPod. Currently I carry both my BlackBerry and my iPod and now it looks like I will only need to carry one device, plus it will have better integration with my Mac.
As a bonus the university that I work for is a member of iTunesU (iTunes for Universities) and I can see this being a huge hit with our students. They will be able to download their course content and view it on their phones as well as manage some of their day to day scheduling, communication and entertainment all in one device. The iPhone has absolutely changed the game for all smart phone creators.
As a side I do not see this hurting RIMs corporate market base but I do see the iPhone causing major difficulties for the consumer side of their business. The Pearl just doesn’t hold up to the iPhone IMO.
It was nice knowing you Mr. Blackberry. I appreciated the fact you are Canadian but you look like an old fart compared to the new, much sexy iPhone.
If I was you guys, I would start a iphonecool.com website.
Oh man.. I was just about to buy an 8700… but this iPhone looks amaaaazzzing… and my ipod just broke!.. pft.. I mean if I heard of SOMETHING about some NEW blackberry something like say, 8800, that could make me want to get a blackberry again.. but no, RIM doesnt know of any “8800″ I guess the iPhone is the one for me then.. sigh
The question now is…. will it support push email? even if not i will negotiate 10 or 15 mins for all the functionality you gain… i think you ‘ll be having more blog security opening iphonecool.com ..
I hate to say this but I told you so! See iphone features on my site(click my name)!!
Yes it will have push imap mail via yahoo and support all other major email accounts.
I’ll keep my 8703e for testing but the iPhone will be mine in June!
Well, what to say… I loved my blackberry until today. I now look at it and can’t avoid thinking how old and ugly it is!! I’m really sorry!! you’re great but I have a new love.
There is only one thing that will make me stay with bb: if my carrier won’t offer flat email/internet with the iPhone as they do with bb. I really use them and also the GoogleTalk for BB.
The iPhone is really impressive. My major concern is the touch interface. Cleary, it has its advantages, but I really like having tactile buttons. Just look at how all the Windows Mobile phones use a full Qwerty keyboard. Looks like RIM needs to go back to the drawing board if it has a chance at being competitive in the consumer arena.
I find it really sad how people just eat up everything Steve Jobs said, and don’t even think about it. The information on this device so far does not indicate a single thing it can do, that you can’t do right now on a Windows Mobile or Palm device. It has a lower resolution than the best Windows Mobile devices, it is EDGE, it doesn’t have expandable memory, it doesn’t have a removable battery, it is locked to one carrier, and it doesn’t have a dedicated keyboard. In many ways, it is a step backwards, not forwards, for smartphones.
What I really can’t understand, is if this is the kind of device you wanted, why did you buy a BlackBerry in the first place? There have been devices like this for years, so why did you not notice them until Apple put one out?
cuz its shiny.
Arite, seriously tho.
I like the iPhone cuz it looks like it could be great.. like I was really excited for WM5 and palm phones before they came out.. obviously I wont buy one til I read reviews, and try it out myself.. If the OS is stable, give me respectable battery life, I’ll be happy! my ipod broke a month ago as well (dropped down stairs..GAH)
what can I do other that oogle at this thing the day it was announced? its not any more than I did at any other phone..
but full fledged webbrowser and html email is awesome.. I hope therell be an AIM app, and 8GB.. heck 4GB is enough space for me..
and who said theres no removable battery?
now to buy screen protecters and cleaning the screen every few minutes.. THAT’ll be annoying ..
I’ve had a BB since the 850. And I’m ready to switch the minute the iPhone’s available in Canada.
Just finished watching the launch webcast. Demo was astonishing – user interface looks incredibly simple and so intuitive it even conference calling looked easy! My wife watched 1st few minutes of demo and an iPhone is now firmly on her birthday wishlist. Personally I might wait for bigger memory (surely >8gb is not far away) and, if not too long a wait the 3G version so I can use in Far East when I travel. Blackberry got some serious competition coming that’s for sure and anything using Windows CE might just as well give up now.
Hello, have you ever typed with the onscreen keyboard on a PocketPC? It will be hard (impossible) to tap out an email on that screen. And while they tout it as running OSX, rumour is that its a first-party software only system. Only Apple software is going on there. Maybe a widget or two (widget == javascript). That makes it a more closed device than BlackBerry ever was. This just as the BB software community is hitting critical mass.
I’ll have more in my article out later, but one thing to note: doesn’t Steve Jobs give the best presentations out there? The guy is amazing…the graphics used in the presentations are masterpieces of making their point in a simple, visual way…
Lloyd: let’s see…with this phone you get a full web browser experience, you get a far larger screen for viewing still images and video…you get an amazing UI…you don’t need removable media because you get either 4 GB or 8 GB internal memory…although I would expect future releases to have some form of removable memory…the no fixed keyboard allows for the virtual keyboard, which allows for the far larger screen and its advantages…
As to there being devices out there like this for years: can you name one?
I find it funny that the most commented post in bbcool history maybe is of a phone from another company. Wow just goes to show you the hype surrounding this thing.
Apple fanboy or not, you have to respect what they brought to the table. This thing is going to kick every other device manufacturer’s butt in high gear. Now even the 8800 devices don’t even look as hot.
Thought, sure I can name one, the HTC Wizard, and it has a full touchscreen, as well as a full keyboard. Or how about any number of iPaqs? How about everything but the actual EDGE module, in any number of Cliés? The fact is, all this really amounts to, is what I always thought Palm should have done with the Treo. The only advancement this has over something like a high-end Clié from three years ago is that it it has the phone integrated (instead of using a separate phone through Bluetooth), and it is thinner. I would expect that after 3 years, and don’t really see it as even remotely innovative.
Of course, I notice you left yourself plenty of wiggle room with the “you get an amazing UI” comment, because you can just discount any Windows device saying you don’t like the UI. However, Windows works for a lot of people, and they like it just fine.
As far as “you don’t need removable media because you get either 4 GB or 8 GB internal memory.” Come on, you’re a smart guy. Definitely smart enough to know that any “it’s all the storage you’ll ever need” comment is bound to be a mistake. The number one requested feature on every smartphone to come out for years has been removable storage. It doesn’t matter how much it has, people like having the ability to add more. The lack of removable storage is a mistake. An SD slot would have let you put another 4GB in there.
I will also point out that things like the OQO and Sony UX handheld make the “full web browser experience” and “far larger screen for viewing still images and video” look a little silly, as they have full, real browsers, and VGA resolutions. By the same token, Opera running on a VGA Windows Mobile device is a pretty solid web browsing experience as well. This is exactly where converged devices were going a few years back, before everyone decided to start chasing the BlackBerry. Only time will tell if maybe they should have continued in this direction, but personally, I think there were very good reasons people pulled back from the high-res touchscreens, and started going for the smaller screens with a thumb-board.
Of course, you have to take into account the Apple-loving media effect, so any minor difference between the iPhone and anything else in the already crowded space between a laptop and a phone becomes a “huge industry defining innovation.” Personally, I think that this is just another compromise device that will enjoy a niche market until something useful comes out of the UMPC/TabletPC market.
I think this Apple iphone is a smartphone for consumers just like the BB Perl. IMHO I don’t think it will be too bad for RIM because the lack of keyboard and general flashiness will put off power users (which I see as the lifeblood of RIM). I’m hoping that the 8800 will be announced sooner rather than later so that RIM take advantage of the iphone hype. The iPhone is very expensive given the target market.
After 24 hours… and an online demo on apple.com… my impressibable factor has been put back to normal.
There are pros and cons to this particlar device…
Like the wii, we will see advertisements and other type of iphone malware when it is released. The battery life appears to be something to laugh at.
For a glorified ipod it is great… but i am not sure how well this will actual work. I believe it might turn out to be the motorola q all over again…
everyone gets a turn.. and moves on to what get things done.
loading an entire os is very impressive though…
could you imagine xp on a phone… bloat bloat.
Lloyd: the fact that you have to name an assortment of devices that cobble together some of the features of the iPhone only makes my point.
The HTC Windows Mobile devices with touchscreen and virtual keyboard are laughable compared to the implementation of those features within the iPhone.
I agree that removable media would also be nice, but again, I expect that in a future iteration of the device.
As to the full web browsing experience…sure the OQO and Sony UX micro PC offer that, but at over 3 times the price…over $2000 and still at a larger size.
Bottom line: this device breaks ground in many, many ways. Sure, it’s not going to put all other vendors out of business, but it will make its mark.
The only caveat is that we still haven’t actually used one and seen that it delivers on its promises. But knowing Apple and its penchant for perfection, it’s more likely than not that it will actually work as advertised.
WiFi is the kicker. Here in Canada there are no devices with WiFi and data costs are insane. Toronto has a lot of free Wifi as well as the HydoOne network all over the downtown for $20 a month.
So far Rogers and Bell have been able to dictate the removal of Wifi from devices, something tells me Apple won’t be willing to do that, so the savings in data alone, and being able to use it without that nagging feeling of my wallet emptying will be well worth the cost.
Lloyd, come on!
When iPod came out Creative had 20GB hard discs, recording features video playback fm radio and loads of other stuff.
Yet the iPod sold more.
Why? well, it clear enough.
To quote Steve:
People don’t know what they want. You have to tell them what they want.
Until today Nokia and co told people that they needed gps and 5mp cameras. Today Apple is saying you need the best user experience and ease of use. Who do you think will win?? Well look at iPod and you have your answer.
If you don’t see it, then go buy an iPaq or a Jasjar (what a stupid name)!!
I don’t care. i don’t even know you!!
And to make a point here I’m going to tell you I’ll not buy the first gen iPhone either. Why? you won’t care anyway so have a nice day!
Simon
The most impressive thing is running OS X on it. That opens up the platform to a significant number of developers.
I think trying to hold this flat piece of wizardry against your ear is going to go against the experience. From what I read, Mr. Jobs did the phone call on speakerphone, not holding it against his head. I think that was for good reason. I think it’s so thin and flat that he would have looked a bit ridiculous actually using it as a phone.
It’s an iPod with a phone. Which is smart. But I think its form factor does not lend itself to being a data-intensive device. Text entry looks like it will be a pain. I say if you’re into heavy email, SMS, or IM usage, forget the iPhone.
Having a WiFi phone is a bit overrated. Most public sites are locked down or are being locked down. The economics of “free Wifi” just don’t seem to jive.
The discussion of “what data does it use?” is obviously not conducive to Mr. Jobs’ presentation style. But here’s a question for you: if I normally surf the web on my iPhone at home on my own WiFi, then I step out and surf the web on the road, will I know I’m getting dinged for every kB I’m sending over the airwaves? I predict a backlash of users who suddenly see $300 data charges on their Cingular bills.
Finally, here’s where the iPhone appears to really fall flat:
The Nintendo DS is a great portable gaming device.
The iPod is a great portable audio device.
The BB is a great portable communications device.
What is the iPhone?
I think it is trying to be too many things to too many people and will end up doing nothing really well. Too expensive for gaming. Not enough storage for great video. Too clumsy for great portable communications.
Thought
Quite frankly, your comment displays the kind of random illogic that makes me hate discussing any sort of Apple product. You say:
“the fact that you have to name an assortment of devices that cobble together some of the features of the iPhone only makes my point.”
Really, ok how is that? Let’s say you buy a notebook computer, and put a PCMCIA cellular modem in it. Now, if a couple years later another company puts out a notebook that has the PCMCIA modem integrated in the notebook, does that suddenly turn their notebook into a revolutionary new product? No, of course it doesn’t. It is the same product, with the same capabilities, just with a component integrated that was previously a modular add-on. There is nothing revolutionary, or even surprising about components being moved from add-on cards, to integrated components.
You say:
“The HTC Windows Mobile devices with touchscreen and virtual keyboard are laughable compared to the implementation of those features within the iPhone.”
Why, because you don’t like Windows Mobile? The same features are their, the same capabilities are there. It is just a different OS. Once again going back to the standard computer analogy. If I buy a notebook with Windows, and I instead install Linux on it, does that mean I have just created a revolutionary new device, because I changed the OS? No, of course it doesn’t, I just changed the OS. No matter how many cool little special Linux programs I write to make it look neat, and function the way I want, it is still the same old notebook, just customized to my preference, not a revolutionary new device that changes the face of portable computing.
You say:
“sure the OQO and Sony UX micro PC offer that, but at over 3 times the price…over $2000 and still at a larger size.”
Once again using the notebook analogy. I can buy notebooks from Dell in all sizes and shapes and price ranges, does that make a $500 notebook a radically different piece of equipment than a $2000 notebook, just because of the price point Dell chose? No, of course not! They are standard notebooks, sold at different price points based on what components they use, and how Dell chose to market them. There is nothing revolutionary or innovative about a company pricing their product low to move units.
You say:
“Bottom line: this device breaks ground in many, many ways. Sure, it’s not going to put all other vendors out of business, but it will make its mark.”
And I say the bottom line is that as is all too common among the mac faithful, you are working backwards. You are starting with the assumption that since Apple put it out, it MUST break new ground, and then looking for any new difference you can find, and declaring it revolutionary. I know from long hard experience of having hundreds of conversations like this, that even if I were to find a device EXACTLY like the iPhone in every regard, you would just retreat back to something along the lines of “but Apple was the first company to do it RIGHT.”
We get it, you love Apple. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this is a 2007 Clié! The Clié went off the market in 2004. Of course by the middle of 2007, and device of that type would be expected to be thinner, have integrated cellular, and have more memory. That is not revolutionary, it is just the simplest of common sense. Components are smaller, cellular is cheaper and smaller, and memory is a fraction of what it was back then. None of this is even surprising, much less revolutionary or special.
Everything beyond that is just kibitzing about who’s UI design you think is prettier, or who’s marketing is more effective. Guess what, contrary to popular conception, making a call button neat and candy-colored doesn’t make it an industry-changing call button.
squished18
You say:
“The most impressive thing is running OS X on it. That opens up the platform to a significant number of developers.”
It isn’t running OS X any more than a Windows Mobile device is running Windows!
IT is running an optimized embedded OS, *based* on the OS X kernel, just like Windows Mobile is running an an optimized embedded OS based on the Windows kernel.
How does that “to a significant number of developers?” The biggest competition for any phone (Nokia) uses Java, one of the most popular programming languages on Earth. Windows Mobile device can use Visual Basic, .Net, and Flash, which are all popular languages. How does the iPhone using some brand new proprietary embedded BSD variant open it up to a significant number of developers compared to the competition?
You know Simon, your “they made the iPod so they can do no wrong” attitude is misguided and poorly conceived. Every company, including Apple, has had their fair share of flops and missteps. Just look at the Newton, Apple’s last attempt to enter the portable computing market.
Apple had a hit with the iPod, to think that because the iPod was a hit means any product Apple puts an i in front of will be a hit is foolish.
Lloyd,
From what I understood from the presentation, it was running a full-fledged version of OS X. But that could just been because of Mr. Jobs’ slick presentation style pulling one over a lot of us.
If what you say is true, then yes, it’s not much of a development. If it truly is the whole OS X code running on it, then I hold to my original statement.
Lloyd: The Windows Mobile implementations of the touchscreen and virtual keyboard are indeed far less ambitious than the Apple iPhone implementation. The difference in usability is huge (again, everything I state is based on the delivery of the device working as Apple promised).
Your analogy of the pricepoints with notebook PCs makes no sense. Are you saying that price makes no difference? It makes no sense to argue that comparisons of the iPhone with micro PCs are valid in spite of the price differences. The price does matter.
Even putting aside price differentials, the iPhone is far smaller and lighter than those micro PCs…and priced less. Those are huge differentiators in the market.
Where I do agree with you on is that certain models of the Sony Clie probably came closest in form factor to this iPhone. But nevertheless, Sony didn’t create this phone, Apple did. If Sony had created it, I would be giving them kudos as well.
Name one smartphone that offers the web browsing experience of the iPhone, the vivid, beautiful screen, the great multimedia experience, and the seeming ease of use. I don’t think you can.
Ok thought, you say that the difference in usability of the touchscreen is huge, based on what? The fact that Steve Jobs says it is? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t sat down and played with the iPhone touchscreen yet. I have messed around with multi-touch input surfaces for audio workstations however, and while they are cool, and allow you to do some neat things that just aren’t possible with a single-touch screen, they don’t do anything to address the problems that make a touchscreen a bad idea on a communication device, namely lack of tactile feedback, and an inherent inaccuracy. Something being neat, is not the same as something being more usable.
Oh, and who cares how usable the on-screen keyboard of an HTC Wizard is? It has a REAL keyboard! It is hard to get much more usable than that.
Oh, and speaking of usability, what happened to handwriting recognition? Wasn’t Apple working on all sorts of handwriting recognition software? On touchscreen devices like this, it really is far more usable to have handwriting or voice recognition. I had one PalmOS or another for almost a decade, and in all that time I don’t think I ever opened the on-screen keyboard more than a handful of times.
And yes, I am saying that when you are discussing innovation, price is meaningless. You want to have your cake and eat it too. Using your argument, I could argue that the Pearl is a far more advanced device than the iPhone, because it is half the price. Hell, the RAZR must be the most advanced phone in the world, because it is free now! I guess the RAZR is also far more advanced than the iPhone because it is smaller too!
This is such a typical Apple product argument. Don’t you ever get tired of just toeing the company line? Look, what you are doing is pretty basic and frankly shoddy rhetoric.
You say: “But it can browse the web so well because it has a big gorgeous screen”
I say: “This device has a bigger, better screen, and can browse the web even better”
You say: “It doesn’t count, it is too big!”
Look, both an OQO and the iPhone are too big to put in the pocket of your jeans, but small enough to put in a jacket pocket. Both devices also have screens that cover their entire face. If a big wide screen is good, then a bigger wider screen is better. You are just playing a game where anything up to the size and price of the iPhone is allowable, and that is the cutoff. That is a silly, and arbitrary distinction. I could do the same thing with the any smaller phone, and as such disqualify the iPhone.
Price matters as to how the thing will sell, but last I checked, we weren’t talking about sales figures. We are talking about whether or not this is anything new, and whether it represents any capability not currently available. It isn’t, and it doesn’t. Besides, I suspect that if you could buy an OQO with a carrier subsidy, the price wouldn’t be a different as you think. The cheapest OQO only sells for $1,100 after all. How much do you think the iPhone would be without a contract? My guess is around $900. Not all that much a price difference.
Of course then you say:
“Name one smartphone that offers the web browsing experience of the iPhone, the vivid, beautiful screen, the great multimedia experience, and the seeming ease of use. I don’t think you can.”
Great, so you ask me to name any device that can do this, I do, and now you want me to name any ’smartphone’ that can do it…
Here, what you mean to say is:
Name me one product with the same measurements and price, from the same carrier, running an OS called OSX, in the same colors, with the same specs, that Steve Jobs himself endorses. You can’t, because this is the most amazing device ever made!
Gee, you’re right. How could I not see it, that Apple logo on the back is the technological innovation that allows it to outclass a Cray supercomputer in a matchbox.
Lloyd,
Actually I have to apologise. After two days of excitement I feel a bit stupid. It does not excite me any more. You have your point.
to note though, they had their failures too, but they were’nt all steve’s. actually i hardly remember some of his failures.
sorry for being rude.
Simon
Simon, please there is no reason to apologize to me. We all get excited about new tech when it comes out. That is why we come to sites like this. I really don’t take any of it personally. I get just as worked up and excited as anyone else, just in my own ‘wet blanket’ sort of way.
I like hearing how people think about new devices, even when I don’t agree with them, and I expect a little friction when people see things from different perspectives.
That said, I think it is uncommonly gracious and well mannered for you to even think about apologizing, and I appreciate the gesture, even if it was not needed.