# Apple iPhone



## Lenny (Jan 12, 2007)

I don't know exactly where to put this, due to the lack of a Tech forum (or at least due to the fact that I can't find one), but anywho... on we crack.

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I assume you've all heard of the iPhone that Apple debuted at MacWorld a few days ago?

And I assume that you've heard of Cisco's lawsuit against Apple, which they filed in the past day or so, because Apple have used the name iPhone, which Cisco currently owns.

If not, here are links to both:

Apple iPhone
Cisco Sues Apple

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And here is a detailed look at the iPhone.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=21451

It's quite amazing. I've seen mobile phones that will change the screen from landscape to portrait if you rotate it, but nothing like the iPhone.

The software it uses looks beautiful, and the phone itself is a sleek little number.

One of the problems I can see, though, is how will you protect the touchscreen and stop it playing with itself if it's in your pocket and rubbing on the lining? Apple haven't said anything about a Lock feature - whether just for the on screen key- and numberpads, or for the touchscreen as a whole.

Also the phone isn't 3G, and you need to have it on a 2-year Cingular (Apple's mobile phone service provider) contract if you want to use it.

EDIT: Oh, and there's an interesting piece of information. It comes in two varieties - the 4gb version and the 8gb version.

The best part being... ? The 8gb version costs $599 - exactly the same as a 60gb PS3.


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## HoopyFrood (Jan 12, 2007)

I swear we used to have a Technology section...It was definitely here when I first arrived, back in the day...

Anyhoos, I don't think I've had a chance to welcome you yet, Lenny. Ahem...WELCOME!


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## dwndrgn (Jan 12, 2007)

Lenny said:


> One of the problems I can see, though, is how will you protect the touchscreen and stop it playing with itself if it's in your pocket and rubbing on the lining? Apple haven't said anything about a Lock feature - whether just for the on screen key- and numberpads, or for the touchscreen as a whole.


It seems to me that lock programs are standard these days - we even used to have them on the mesozoic era phones that weren't small enough to carry in luggage, much less pockets.  All the ipods have the lock as well so I would think that the iphone would too.

I still don't get the big deal.  A phone's a phone.  Heck, this one costs so much that it better drive me to work every day much less make all my calls for me.


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## Lenny (Jan 12, 2007)

You'd love one the phones that I think it was Samsung who showcased at CES - it's a phone that you can only phone people with.

What is the world coming to if in this day and age companies feel the need to manufacture a mobile phone that can only be used as a phone?

I think the main attraction to the iPhone is the actual technology... but that may just be the technophile in me trying to get out.


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## Green (Jan 12, 2007)

dwndrgn said:


> I still don't get the big deal.  A phone's a phone.  Heck, this one costs so much that it better drive me to work every day much less make all my calls for me.



I agree. But you know how it is - people would buy a £100 steaming turd in a bucket if they called it an iPoo.


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## Rane Longfox (Jan 12, 2007)

Lenny said:


> One of the problems I can see, though, is how will you protect the touchscreen and stop it playing with itself if it's in your pocket and rubbing on the lining? Apple haven't said anything about a Lock feature - whether just for the on screen key- and numberpads, or for the touchscreen as a whole.


Well, precisely. I imagine you'll have to buy a case for it, which will add a bit more onto the price...


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## Lenny (Jan 12, 2007)

Looking at the iPhone, I'd hate to think what would happen if Apple entered the console market.

A beautiful console, great software, one hell of a price tag.

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A case shouldn't cost too much. Maybe £50 at the *absolute* max?


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## Rane Longfox (Jan 13, 2007)

£50 for a case? Are you serious? I would be horrified at paying more than £10 for one, especially given the phone's price tag in the first place!


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## Lenny (Jan 13, 2007)

It could be a very flash case, you know. Leather, shiny chrome... diamonds.

How much do iPod cases go for? Especially the ones that are licensed by Apple.


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## Rane Longfox (Jan 13, 2007)

I don't know about actual cases, but you can get those rubber protector thingies, can't you. They're anything between £10 and £20. They sell iSocks though, I got a pack for my sister's ipod - 5 different colours, andall for £15. Rip offs, honestly.


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## Lenny (Jan 13, 2007)

If a case for an iPod is so expensive, then I can imagine a case for something twice the price of an iPod having a case twice the price.

So a £50 case could be feasible, especially if it's an Apple product and made with genuine MS Employee skin or something.


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## Rane Longfox (Jan 13, 2007)

True. Handcrafted by genuinely under-paid imigrant workers from the finest wallet-linings out of the consumer's own pocket.


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## Green (Jan 14, 2007)

A case is a case is a case. I have a suitcase that cost £30. It doesn't cost more if I fill it with faberge eggs.

And if I were getting charged more, I'd tell them to go shove it.


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## Lenny (Jan 14, 2007)

But a good case for £40 is usually a damn site better than a bad case for a mere tenner.

Then again, with eBay this good case could drop down to a shocking £5, and then everyone's happy!


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## Lenny (Jun 2, 2008)

I feel the need to update this thread. And whilst I remember:

Alu-Leather Edge Case – Apple iPhone – iPhone Case – Proporta

Try fitting your faberge eggs into that, Green.  The site has more iPhone cases, ranging from £15 to £30, and I've found a number of cases online... but none for significantly less than a tenner. Ouch.

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Anyway, thread update.

There've been a lot of rumours lately about the iPhone 2 - a 3G iPhone with GPS. Some reports say it will be out as early as the end of this month, others that it may be July, and more others that haven't the foggiest. Details are sketchy on pricing and the exact features and look of the new iPhone, but all agree that it is coming (more of an event than the second coming of Jesus... hell, it is the second coming of Jesus! Well, iJesus), which is in line with Apple's comments that a 3G iPhone would be out this year.

Maybe this could be an iPhone that's finally worth getting?

Articles:

More iPhone 2 Details: 3G, GPS, Back in (Glossy) Black and a Little Fatter
Apple iPhone 2 features GPS, Nike+, Apple TV remote and more - TECH.BLORGE.com
Mossberg claims 3G iPhone 2 to be available within 60 days - TECH.BLORGE.com
iPhone 2 in development - analyst - Business - Macworld UK
iPhone 2 GPS
iPhone 2 | The iPhone FAQ

Bear in mind that nothing is completely set in stone. All the above should be counted as detailed and possibly correct rumours.


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

And it's been announced. Well, not just now, but today, at the Apple WorldWide Developer's Conference.

There are two versions, an 8gb for $199 and a (White) 16gb for $299, both of which are available from July 11th.

Here's an article specifically about the 3G iPhone: iPhone 3G is finally official, starts at $199, available July 11th - Engadget

And this one is a Liveblog of Jobs' keynote at WWDC: Steve Jobs keynote live from WWDC 2008 - Engadget


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## Highlander II (Jun 10, 2008)

Green said:


> I agree. But you know how it is - people would buy a £100 steaming turd in a bucket if they called it an iPoo.



I was just reading through this thread and this totally made me laugh.  Now I'm waiting for the marketing campaign. 



Though, I agree - what difference does it make?  My $30 phone makes and receives phone calls just the same as a $600 phone does.  And I wouldn't have bought a new one at all if I could've found a battery for my old one for less than $50.


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

Come on, man, think of your street cred.


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## Highlander II (Jun 10, 2008)

Lenny said:


> Come on, man, think of your street cred.



I had to think of my bank account first...

However, if you'd like to contribute to the expansion of my 'street cred', I gladly accept payments in the form of paypal and money orders...   Cash is nice too, but shouldn't be sent via mail.


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## ktabic (Jun 10, 2008)

Lenny said:


> Come on, man, think of your street cred.



I do. Hence why I 'Think Different' and avoid Apple products like the plague.


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

Hey, don't look at me, I refuse to touch an iPod with a ten foot barge pole! I've not a nice little Sony MP3 player that's lasted me four years. And my Sony Ericsson is a brilliant phone, which I'd only replace with an updated model. Yeah, I like Sony.


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## Commonmind (Jun 10, 2008)

I think debasing Apple's products has become somewhat trendy, which is a bit ironic considering that's generally the reason why people have come to dislike them so much. 

I own an iPod, have used Macs most of my life and I find Apple is inherently a company that develops and delivers products to _their_ consumers. That's really all they can be faulted for. And since the formula has been working for them, it's not very economical (read: smart) for them to "think differently" and do it another way. PC manufacturers cater to their consumers in the same exact manner (have you seen the eVGA FTW edition motherboard? Almost as pretentious, just as cheesy). The difference being that one camp (PC users) tend to think their somehow above the marketing fold and believe themselves to be objective consumers whom are more intelligent about their buying decisions. Funnily enough, this is the same mentality they spend the majority of their time insulting.


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

I've got more of a problem with the customers, actually. The number of really arrogant, obnoxious Mac users and iPod owners I know who think the sun shines out of their arse becase they've got a Mac over a PC, or an iPod over any other MP3 player (granted, it's not usual these days, with the MP3 player market much more diluted, but in the early days it's all you heard)... gah. That's the attitude I've come to associate with Apple. I know it's generalisation, but it's what I see more often than not. And because I see that type of customer, I don't want to buy the product and become like them... there's also the fact that when the iPod came out there were loads of problems with it which really put me off. The same goes for the iPhone (and then you've got things like a 2 year contract just to use the damned thing).


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## Commonmind (Jun 10, 2008)

You'll get no arguments from me in that department; their customers are generally a snobby bunch. I was more or less making the point that, in most cases, the PC users who complain about Apple products are inadvertently exuding the same attitudes and the same pretentious behaviors. They believe their platform is better, that they're smarter consumers because they buy products which they've decided are superior and one of their reasons for disliking Apple comes from their dislike for the aesthetic, yet they have their own tastes and what they buy adheres to those tastes just as is the case with an Apple customer.

I guess because I use both platforms on a daily basis and pick no favorites I have the luxury of seeing things from the outside. Both camps are out of their minds.

(And I should've clarified, Lenny, that I wasn't responding to your post)


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## Highlander II (Jun 10, 2008)

I have an iPod, but I bought it to save both my sanity and avoid sending myself to jail for having taken out an evil co-worker. 

I have no use for an iPhone (and I don't have the cash for it in any case).  

I have no issues w/ Mac, other than the lack of the right-click function (b/c I use the hell out of it), otherwise, I'd consider an air-book (or whatever it is) - b/c it's uber!thin and way cool.  But, alas, I can't afford that either.


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## Commonmind (Jun 10, 2008)

The lack of a right-click function is contextual; it's a different platform and not really necessary (using the hell out of it on a PC isn't going to mean you use the hell out of it on a Mac, in other words). Though you can use any mouse you want with a Mac, so if you want to emulate that same interface experience you can do so. Now, it's been about 15 years since I actually bought a PC as I've been building mine for quite some time, but even the last PC I purchased (a Compaq Presario, I believe) came with a mouse and keyboard that made it to the bin quicker than the instruction manuals which told me how to connect them to the PS/2 ports. Same thing goes with the Macs I've owned -- which has nothing to do with the right-click functionality as much as the ergonomics of their mice and keyboards, which are horrendous.


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

> (And I should've clarified, Lenny, that I wasn't responding to your post)


 
I was just taking the chance to throw in my thoughts on the matter, really. 

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The MacBook Air... nice bit of engineering, but completely useless. Come on, 1 USB port? No DVD drive? Nor a firewire port, or an ethernet port. And it costs £1,199 ($1,799) for the _base_ version?! It's more a street cred, look-at-me-I'm-rich-enough-to-throw-money-away, brag-worthy gadget then a useful machine. The fact that you can get laptops that are about the same width (I think Asus have made one?), with more things, and are probably the same price if not cheaper, makes me laugh at the MacBook Air. Sure, it's thin, it's 'cool' in its own way, but... "meh".


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## Highlander II (Jun 10, 2008)

Honestly - I haven't spent much time looking at computers - desktop or laptop - beyond the 'hey, that's kind of neat' in the photos/ads, since I don't have any $$'s to throw at one.

So, it's nice to get the 'eh, it's cool, but really a bunch of junk' info!


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## Lenny (Jun 10, 2008)

Seing as we've got the Tech forum now, whenever you want to know something, start a thread and I'll get back to you with what I know, or Commonmind might, or OR, or HappyJoe, Liesha, Momoka, or maybe even all of us. Seriously, we don't mind.


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## Commonmind (Jun 11, 2008)

I'd definitely lend a hand where it was needed. And If one of us doesn't know the answer to something, there's a darn good chance we can point you in the right direction, at the very least.

Where the MacBook Air is concerned, it_ is_ made exactly for those types of people. Like Voodoo PC's, Falcon-Northwest PC's, and the score of other PC boxes that are considerably overpriced for what comes in the actual machine.


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## Highlander II (Jun 11, 2008)

Honestly, the biggest appeal of the Air is that it's thin and light.  Which, I have found, there are lots of others like that.  None of which are in my current price range.  ('Free' is a price range, right? *g*)


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