What's really supposed to be so special about the I-phone

[Dennis Toy]

I looked at the I-Phone on the Apple Website and reading through it's capabilities, i found that the I-phone is really nothing special. It really only has the same capabilities as many other cheaper cell phones. Only thing i can find that distinguishes it is the ballhooed fancy multi touch screen that is supposed to be better than using the directional control on ordinary cell phones.

I am not saying you can't buy one or you shouldn't buy one but the hype is starting to get on my nerves.

[Durandal]

You've obviously seen the wrong device. Look up "iPhone", not "I-Phone".

[Praxis]

I looked at the I-Phone on the Apple Website and reading through it's capabilities, i found that the I-phone is really nothing special. It really only has the same capabilities as many other cheaper cell phones. Only thing i can find that distinguishes it is the ballhooed fancy multi touch screen that is supposed to be better than using the directional control on ordinary cell phones.

I am not saying you can't buy one or you shouldn't buy one but the hype is starting to get on my nerves.

...then you're not paying much attention.

Watch the videos. The 20-minute introduction. First of all, note how much more COMPLICATED most of those tasks are on a PocketPC; and more importantly, we're talking about a desktop-class web browser and YouTube in a phone.

The iPhone easily blows away the smartphone market; much easier and simpler, more storage built in, WiFi and bluetooth standard, similar price point, better interface, multitouch, all the sensors. Ironically, the iPhone fails compared to some of the cheap phones, lacking stuff like picture messaging; but who cares, it's got desktop-class email.

[Dennis Toy]

i did.


here's the specs also


http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

[Stark]

How someone can say 'I went to the Apple website' and then say 'the hype is getting on my nerves' is beyond me. I haven't seen any iPhone hype anywhere outside the Apple site and mentions of their presentations etc.

I think it's quite amusing that people are apparently getting worked up the product. I'm not in the market for what it offers, so I won't buy one... but I'm not going to run screaming through the internet saying how bad it sucks. I used a SE P800.

EDIT - wait, what? What possesses someone - after having seen multiple threads discussing the iPhone - to then decide that nobody knows what the specs are? These discussions have been going pretty solidly since the iPhone was first demo'd, months ago.

[Dennis Toy]

...then you're not paying much attention.

Watch the videos. The 20-minute introduction. First of all, note how much more COMPLICATED most of those tasks are on a PocketPC; and more importantly, we're talking about a desktop-class web browser and YouTube in a phone.

The iPhone easily blows away the smartphone market; much easier and simpler, more storage built in, WiFi and bluetooth standard, similar price point, better interface, multitouch, all the sensors. Ironically, the iPhone fails compared to some of the cheap phones, lacking stuff like picture messaging; but who cares, it's got desktop-class email.

How will this blow away smartphones in general?

Prove to me that aside from the multi-touch screen that the I-phone has something to offer other than the SAME DAMN things that other cell phones have been offering for many years?

[Dennis Toy]

I think it's quite amusing that people are apparently getting worked up the product. I'm not in the market for what it offers, so I won't buy one... but I'm not going to run screaming through the internet saying how bad it sucks. I used a SE P800.

Hey Stark...

When did I say that the I-phone sucked? I didn't say it sucked at all. I only said it was nothing special. That doesn't mean it sucks, it just means that it just doesn't have more than any other phone. It has a good interface I'd admit.

[Praxis]

...then you're not paying much attention.

Watch the videos. The 20-minute introduction. First of all, note how much more COMPLICATED most of those tasks are on a PocketPC; and more importantly, we're talking about a desktop-class web browser and YouTube in a phone.

The iPhone easily blows away the smartphone market; much easier and simpler, more storage built in, WiFi and bluetooth standard, similar price point, better interface, multitouch, all the sensors. Ironically, the iPhone fails compared to some of the cheap phones, lacking stuff like picture messaging; but who cares, it's got desktop-class email.

How will this blow away smartphones in general?

Prove to me that aside from the multi-touch screen that the I-phone has something to offer other than the SAME DAMN things that other cell phones have been offering for many years?

Show me YouTube running on your PocketPC.
Show me QuickTime running on your PocketPC within a website.
Show me your PocketPC using a standards-compliant browser that can run Web 2.0 apps, CSS, RSS, etc without ANY change in the formatting when it displays it.
Show me your PocketPC that gets that kind of battery life while playing back MPEG-4 videos with a bitrate >2000.
Show me your PocketPC opening PDFs.

Heck, show me a PocketPC that my mom can use.
The point isn't that the iPhone can do stuff the other smartphones can not. The point is that the iPhone can do them in a way that does not frustrate the user and is much more practical (and additionally it can do some things the others can't). You understate the interface like it is some minor feature; but you can navigate the web WITHOUT having to stop and pull out a stylus, and that's huge.

It's basically what the iPod did for music. There were hard drive players before, but they were clumsy to set up and operate so nobody but the techies bought them.

When did I say that the I-phone sucked? I didn't say it sucked at all. I only said it was nothing special. That doesn't mean it sucks, it just means that it just doesn't have more than any other phone. It has a good interface I'd admit.

Replace iPhone with Wii and phone with "game system".
The interface is the whole point.

And it's called the iPhone. Not the I-phone.

[Dennis Toy]

I-phone, Iphone whats the difference? damn.

[Tanasinn]

I-phone, Iphone whats the difference? damn.

Dennis Toy, Denes-Toi, what's the difference? Damn.

[Stark]

Hey Stark...

When did I say that the I-phone sucked? I didn't say it sucked at all. I only said it was nothing special. That doesn't mean it sucks, it just means that it just doesn't have more than any other phone. It has a good interface I'd admit.

Earth to idiot - I wasn't referring to you. As you're clearly unaware, these discussions have been going on for some time and in some detail. I said 'people', not 'that idiot Dennis Toy', and a quick perusal of any iPhone related thread will show you many examples of people being very vocal opponents of the device.

[Covenant]

I wouldn't call it the iPod of phones yet. Were the first iPods so insanely expensive? That's not a rhetorical question, I simply can't remember. I know the first MP3 players were extremely overpriced, but I'm hardly a good judge of what's above market standard. The iPhone is still a bleeding edge product, and not the mass-consumer lifestyle changer that the iPod seemed to become. It's also not such a needless accessory. You can easily avoid ever needing to use an iPod, and if you dislike things like iTunes then you have several good reasons not to even bother.

The iPhone, however, is a product with no other analog. It's more like the flying car of phones. Expensive, but with an entire galaxy of features that you simply didn't have before. I may think it's basically a fancy toy, but it's a far more robust piece of machinery than the sanyo Katana I have right here. iPods were a good MP3 player, but the iPhone can hardly be called just a 'good cellphone' or even just a 'good smartphone'. It doesn't even rely just on gimmicks either. That multitouch screen is pure functionality.

[Dennis Toy]

The iPhone, however, is a product with no other analog. It's more like the flying car of phones. Expensive, but with an entire galaxy of features that you simply didn't have before. I may think it's basically a fancy toy, but it's a far more robust piece of machinery than the sanyo Katana I have right here. iPods were a good MP3 player, but the iPhone can hardly be called just a 'good cellphone' or even just a 'good smartphone'. It doesn't even rely just on gimmicks either. That multitouch screen is pure functionality.

therein lies the problem, the multi-touch screen seems to be the selling point of the Iphone however it isn't showing that it has any other features than the same features that other cell phones, smartphones and PDA's have. Sure it has bigger storage, sure it has bigger battery life, however i can't see why other more expensive cell phones and mobile devices wouldn't have some of these features neither.

[Stark]

So you think it has no features, except some features you list and then handwave 'oh I bet other phones have that too'? Jesus christ, you're obviously well informed. I mean, that's only what everyone has been saying for months: that by certain feature comparisons the iPhone doesn't seem very impressive. Did you *read* those other threads?

[Covenant]

therein lies the problem, the multi-touch screen seems to be the selling point of the Iphone however it isn't showing that it has any other features than the same features that other cell phones, smartphones and PDA's have. Sure it has bigger storage, sure it has bigger battery life, however i can't see why other more expensive cell phones and mobile devices wouldn't have some of these features neither.

I can't see why they wouldn't either, but that appears to be an oversight on the part of the cellphone makers. While it may not cook your breakfast in the morning, I've basically wanted something like this--but tablet PC sized--for years. I'm a bit aggrivated at Jobs for sticking to his insane dislike of tablets, but the fact is that it has a variety of usability and functionality options that are quite a deal greater than anything seen yet.

I have no idea why cellphones run a retarded version of the internet and have such asinine UI's, but they do. I'm not going to be getting an iPhone, but there's no reason to lambast it based on what it actually does do, as it's a dishonest criticism. It may be rather overhyped by some news agencies and such, but it's really not a badly designed thing, even if it's a niche product.

It is exciting to see such a growth of fresh UI ideas though. Between this and the microsoft research that's going on (that seadragon thingie or whatever), it looks like data navigation might be getting a lot more convenient in our generation than it has in a long time.

And trust me, I'm no apple fanatic. Ask anyone who has seen me post before. I'm just defending the good they actually did do on this product.

[Resinence]

Show me YouTube running on your PocketPC.

http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/

Show me your PocketPC using a standards-compliant browser that can run Web 2.0 apps, CSS, RSS, etc without ANY change in the formatting when it displays it.

http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/

Show me your PocketPC opening PDFs.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readerforppc.html

Show me your PocketPC that gets that kind of battery life while playing back MPEG-4 videos with a bitrate >2000.
Show me QuickTime running on your PocketPC within a website.

These, and the interface are the 3 big things I can see drawing people to the iphone. My pocketPC might get ~5 hours of talk time, and thats considered very good for a powerful pocketPC. I might consider an iphone to replace it, but definitely not until the price comes down.

[Stark]

Are they even usable in AU? I thought it was exclusive to some non-AU network?

[Resinence]

Are they even usable in AU? I thought it was exclusive to some non-AU network?

Sorta, we don't get the iphone till sometime in 08.

[Medic]

How someone can say 'I went to the Apple website' and then say 'the hype is getting on my nerves' is beyond me. I haven't seen any iPhone hype anywhere outside the Apple site and mentions of their presentations etc.

The hype is bad over here. Waiting in lines. For a phone. Madness.

Now, obviously, granted, it's a kick-ass uberphone. I'd soo get one if I weren't already locked into a 2-year phone contract. (cause right now, the price wouldn't be an object, payday is today and I'm cashing a birthday check) But alas, the 2 year contract.

edit:

I have no idea why cellphones run a retarded version of the internet and have such asinine UI's, but they do.

By far this is the most annoying things about phones. Depending on your screen resolution and the arrangement of the website, merely checking a mostly text-based site can be a pain in the ass. A lot of companies give you a smattering of cell phone-friendly sites for weather and news but fuck that shit.

The worst part is phone browsers that don't let you scroll quickly or skip an entire screen-space down at a time. Low-bandwidth SDN is a boon for speed, but I still can't properly read any thread that gets long as 1) it requires around or OVER a minute of scrolling to get to the middle of the page (so going to the bottom doesn't speed this up in any way whatsoever) and/or 2) breaks the phone browser.

[Netko]

Try getting the free (well, data charges if they apply) Opera Mini browser. It kicks the shit out of any of the integrated phone browsers that I've seen (iPhone excepted of course), and it runs on pretty much anything with Java support. Definitely replaced my Nokia's integrated browser for when I have to view something on the phone.

Supposedly, Nokia also came out with a new version of their integrated browser on newer phones that is also much more capable then others.

[andrewgpaul]

Does YouTube work? I read a review in the NYT, I think, that said the iPhone didn't support Flash (and isn't Youtube based around a form of Flash for streaming videos?)

[Insert Username Here]

I wouldn't call it the iPod of phones yet. Were the first iPods so insanely expensive? That's not a rhetorical question, I simply can't remember.

The original iPod had a 5GB hard drive. It cost $399. People said it was WAY too expensive and not worth the price. That was obviously proven wrong.

However, you have a point. The iPhone isn't, and won't be, the iPod. For one thing, when the iPod came out, the mp3 player market was young and not widespread. There was an opportunity to do something huge. The same does not hold true for the cellphone industry.

That said, I do think that at the very least, the iPhone will push innovation and lead to a stronger industry as a whole. And it might even take a decent marketshare. By that I'm thinking, eventually, 3-5%. Which, out of a billion phones a year being sold (at least in 2006) amounts to a hefty sum.

[phongn]

Does YouTube work? I read a review in the NYT, I think, that said the iPhone didn't support Flash (and isn't Youtube based around a form of Flash for streaming videos?)

Youtube mainly uses H.263, which is one of the formats supported by FLV. It's not that hard to decode. They're also pushing out H.264 video as well for AppleTV.

[Vendetta]

I really don't know what the hype's about. Because from the feature list, it's a really shitty phone handset, and most of the things it can't do my current phone (LG Shine/KE970) can do for a fraction of the price (and free with a contract).

Really, they may be suckered by the US phone market, which I understand to be a bit of a degenerate backwater features wise, but from the information I have, Apple really don't understand phones. (and no, "It'll do that with a firmware update" doesn't cut it in the phone handset market. Everyone changes their handset for free every 12 months, waiting for the features everyone else can already do is instant fail.

[J_Cayman]

I really don't know what the hype's about. Because from the feature list, it's a really shitty phone handset, and most of the things it can't do my current phone (LG Shine/KE970) can do for a fraction of the price (and free with a contract).

You have it in a nutshell. All my research into it has given me a sizable laundry list of things it can't do, and what it does do other mobile phones already support and for cheaper. Never mind the lack of third party software support:
http://overrated.org/2007/01/11/iphone-and-steve-jobs/

Some of the most insane apologetics cite the browser on it to handle missing features despite the fact they need flash for some of their solutions.

Its an ok phone, but at the price they're asking an ok phone doesn't cut it.

It'll probably sell well anyway.