Jan

31

stevesteve.jpgSteve Wozniak confessed that he is not super pleased with iPhone design. He can see why some of the compromises have been made and this is of course only the first generation device. He also can not understand why Apple gave exclusive to Cingular, an unfavoured player in the American cell market.
Smart phones are not so smart, said Steve, when we caught up with him in Monte Carlo, as many things you do are illogical. Apple will have to teach the users how to use their phones as many things are totally new. Tapping fingers on your mobile screen is natural and we agree but it won’t be as easy as the presentation shows.

The iPhone is just a first of many so the next iPhone will definitely be improved and will fix the flaws in the design of the first. Overall Steve Wozniak likes the Iphone but he would like to see some missing parts such as 3G support inside the package.

the Inquirer

Jan

31

iPhone provides grassroots inspiration: MSN Money has a fascinating report on the reaction to Apple’s unveiling of the iPhone at January’s Macworld. If any event could be said to trigger a groundswell of grassroots reporting, it was the iPhone. In fact, the iPhone certainly set new records in that regard with a huge response of rich media–podcasts, photos, videos, hands-on reports and more.

According to the MSN article, the iPhone was mentioned by more blogs for the next 10 days than either McDonald’s or George W. Bush. Wikipedia had an iPhone entry within minutes of Jobs’ keynote speech. Nifty article, well worth a read.

Jan

31

iPhone piperjaffray.pngQuestions Answered: “From the moment Apple announced the iPhone, critics, reviewers, Apple lovers, potential buyers and, of course, iPhone Matters, questioned a few things, such as the high price, the lack of 3G capability, the limited storage and expandability, the final terms for the Cingular contract, how long before we can see a price drop and so on.

As you can gather from my introduction the answer has been found, although at the minute it’s still really anyone’s guess as to the final details of the whole deal. But in a rather long article on MacNN, Piper Jaffray look into these questions that seem to pop up time and time again.

It’s interesting to see that Apple most likely chose EDGE over 3G in order to keep the cost of the iPhone down, this could also be said for the lack of storage and expandability, although I’m still curious as to why there’s no way of replacing the battery should the time ever arise. The article also suggests that the iPhone could come down in price by almost as much as half after the first year, as did the ROKR, but that it’s not really an accurate comparison.

It’s a great read for anyone wanting to know a little more about how this iPhone deal is going to work. You can read MacNN’s article here.

“

(Via iPhone Matters.)

Jan

31

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Motion sensor cooler than Multitouch: “That’s according to Dean Bubley at DisruptiveWireless who suggests that the iPhone’s motion sensor technology, as seen on other phones such as the Nokia 5500 Sport Phone (yuk!), could be used as so much more than what it currently offers on the iPhone.

At present the iPhone’s motion sensor technology is used to turn the screen light on and off when the phone is drawn close to the human face - basically to conserve battery life - as well as being used to determine the orientation of the screen. However, Dean Bubley reckons that in years to come the motion sensor technology could be used to prevent criminals from using your phone. The idea, and that is all it is at this point, is that the phones motion sensor gets used to how its sole user walks, the moment that pattern changes (i.e, when someone has stolen the phone and runs away with it) the phone can only be used by entering a password - something a criminal wouldn’t know unless you’ve been stupid enough to write the password on the back of the phone.

Interesting idea but it’s going to be years before we see that sort of technology at an affordable price, surely?

(Via iPhone Matters.)

Jan

31

How Apple helps the environment:

Are you paying attention, Greenpeace?

Blogger Chiggs at Torents examines the iTunes Store’s impact on the environment, and it’s a favorable one. The production of a single CD results in aluminum, nickel, dyes, polycarbonates and more. At this month’s Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced that the iTunes Store had sold 2 billion songs. At an average of 12 tracks per disc, Chiggs figures, that’s the equivalent of 166 million CDs worth of those dangerous materials. What’s more, that many CDs would cover 1,050 miles when laid flat. That’s quite a chunk of landfill.

He also considers the results of transporting all of those CDs by truck. It’s certainly a good article, and worth your time. So buy your music from the iTunes store…and save a tree, hippie.

[Via MacNN]

Jan

31

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Analyst Predicts iPhone Adoption, Pricing: “News Analysis: A Piper Jaffray analyst examines several questions regarding Apple’s iPhone, including when it will hit the market, its likelihood of adoption by the enterprise and its price.

Since Apple introduced the iPhone at the Macworld Expo earlier in January, the company has generated a good deal of interest in its first smart phone.

A number of questions surround the iPhone, such as its pricing, potential adoption by the enterprise and general availability. In a Jan. 30 note to investors, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, examined several of these issues and drew some concrete conclusions.

First, Munster wrote that the iPhone will launch, as scheduled, in June. During his keynote address in San Francisco on Jan. 9, CEO Steve Jobs told the audience that the iPhone must first receive approval by the Federal Communications Commission, which should take several months.

On Jan. 29, the Apple Insider Web site, citing sources, claimed the iPhone might appear much sooner. In his analysis, Munster said he believes June is still the firm launch date.

Also, Munster wrote that Cingular Wireless, which is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, will not subsidize the phone, but could offer a reduced plan or discount for iPhone customers. This arrangement, he wrote, will help keep the balance between phones sold at Apple’s retail stores and those sold by Cingular at its stores. (For those looking to switch to Cingular right away, termination fees from other carriers will likely range from $175 to $200.)

Munster also wrote that the current projected iPhone prices—a 4GB phone for $499 and the 8GB model for $599—will stay unchanged for the time being, although he predicted that Apple may reduce the price “slightly,” possibly dropping it as low as $399. As with its signature iPod music player, Apple will later release a model aimed at more price-conscious consumers, Munster said.

When Apple does release new models, it could also mean that the company will expand and start using other carriers. Currently, users who want to buy an iPhone must sign a two-year contract with Cingular. However, once Apple expands into Europe and Asia, it will need to seek out additional carriers, and this will affect the U.S. market.

“These devices will eventually be open to other wireless carriers, possibly even before the Cingular contract expires,” Munster wrote.

Regarding enterprise adoption, Munster said he believes that some companies that already use Cingular will offer iPhones to employees, but that it will be an exception.

“The iPhone is significantly more expensive than the cheapest BlackBerry handsets, and we don’t believe businesses will pay a premium for the added media features,” Munster wrote. However, “So while we do not anticipate widespread enterprise adoption of the iPhone, we also believe that most employees carry a personal mobile phone as well as their company e-mail device (as well as an iPod) and these users will be candidates to simplify from three devices to two by switching to the iPhone.”

Who, then, will buy an iPhone when it becomes available?

Munster calculates that about 10 percent of Cingular’s 58 million customers have a cell phone or smart phone that is worth more than $300. However, about 14 million Cingular users own an iPod, according to his estimates, and about 60 percent of those 14 million—in other words, 8.4 million customers—are potential iPhone buyers. This fits in with Apple’s target of selling 10 million iPhones in the first year.

Munster wrote that Apple will have about or more than a 30 percent gross margin on the iPhone. A Reuters report found that several analysts pegged Apple’s gross margins at closer to 50 percent.

On the downside, Munster reports that Apple may have chosen the over-the-air EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) standard instead of third-generation high-speed wireless for the iPhone in order to keep price down. “Eventually, however, we believe Apple will reap the benefits of economies of scale and favorable component markets and release a 3G model,” Munster wrote.

(Via eWEEK Wireless.)

Jan

30

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Is the Meizu M8 an iPhone 2.0?: “You can rub your eyes all that you wish, this gorgeous thing will still be on your screen. No, it isn’t June yet and the iPhone is not in your hands. Rather it is the promising announcement of the Meizu M8, an iPhone-like device found on the company’s official forums.

According to the article on Trusted Reviews, ‘For a start the M8 has what the iPhone most obviously lacks: 3G, it also sports a 3.3in 720 x 480 high resolution touch screen and a three megapixel camera as well as PMP abilities. There’s an ARM 11 processor at its heart which is capable of recording video at 30fps and Bluetooth and WiFi make it onboard.’

(Via iPhone Matters.)

iPhonePlanet: This is more information on the post we made HERE.

Jan

30

I Wanna Lick It!

January 30, 2007 | 1 Comment

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When the keynote ended, I thought the silver lining for Macworld attendees was that at least we’d get to play with the iPhone on the show floor. After all, with no new Macs to display, surely the Apple booth would be filled with rows of iPhones on security tethers. But no, it turns out that the iPhone was trapped in a clear plastic cylinder. You can gawk, but you can’t touch.

As the curvature of the glass bends the light, so does the iPhone bend the will. Easily the most popular exhibit at Macworld, a constant crowed milled about the iPhone. There were several Apple employees around each of the two displays, which had no counterpart last year, nor will they any year in the immediate future. You have to wonder how the iPhone guardians were selected: perfect attendance, or maybe one was the origin of the “had me at scrolling” quote from the Keynote. Not surprisingly, other Apple employees were excited about the phone, too, even those that hadn’t seen it.

iBug

Jan

30

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Apple upgraded to $135 per share on iPhone: “Analyst Charles Wolf believes Apple may sell more than ten million iPhones next year, and expects prices to fall as the market for the device grows.

(Via Macworld UK.)

iPhonePlanet Glad I got that extra AAPL Stock!

Jan

30

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Zink Pocket Printer: iPhone Companion?: Polaroid is not dead yet. Apparently it was only sleeping, but now its research labs have smelled the coffee and spun off Zink, a company whose first product will be a stand-alone printer that’s about the size of a deck of cards. This one-button printer is designed to easily connect to a camera phone, and will cost less than a hundred bucks.

Looks like a perfect companion to the iPhone, and might just work pretty well with D.A.V.E., that Seagate pocket drive with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi we mentioned earlier.

iPhone Gadget Suite? [Scobleizer]

(Via Gizmodo.)

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