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icruise · Apr 16, 2007, 05:13 AM

I thought it might be interesting to do a little poll of user interest in the iPhone. After the initial excitement wore off, I had some doubts about the price of the iPhone (the cost of service over 2 years, not of the device itself) but assuming the monthly fees aren't too astronomical, I'm pretty sure that I'll be getting one as soon as it comes out.

I've been using PDAs for a LONG time, but in the last couple of years they've lost my interest. Most recently, I did have some fun with a Sharp Zaurus Linux PDA, but in the end it was too clumsy and complicated to do much of what I wanted to do, and the Mac support was non-existent.

I like the idea of the smart phone -- something that would combine PDA functions with a cell phone -- but none of the smartphone OSes really appeal to me. I've used the Palm OS enough to know its limitations, and while I have never used Windows Mobile, I have read a lot about it and know that it had its share of problems (not to mention the fact that I dislike its esthetics) and of course it is from Microsoft and has no "official" Mac support.

So the iPhone seems like a great choice to me. Obviously, it will have the problem of Mac connectivity solved, and it seems to have a very robust mail program and web browser. Not having any third party programs is a little worrying, but when you get right down to it, I really only need my phone/PDA to do a limited number of things (sync contacts/addresses/calendar, access the internet/email, view pictures and other files). However, I need it to do those things very well, and so far I haven't seen a device on the market that can live up to my standards. The Zaurus actually came the closest in many ways, but it has no built-in cell phone or even wireless, is very large for a PDA, and is just plain hard to use overall.

In any case, lack of third party support notwithstanding, the iPhone really is the Apple PDA that people have been waiting years for, and as a gadget and Mac fan, I can't pass it up. So, are you getting an iPhone? Why or why not?

Klipse · Apr 16, 2007, 06:15 AM

well going by the hype, i'm very tempted to own one myself, but I'll sit back and wait for reviews first.. I don't want it to be the next 1st/2nd Gen iPod with extremely poor battery life.

Simon · Apr 16, 2007, 07:29 AM

I'm interested but I want to see UMTS first. And of course I want to be able to read actual reader reports and play around with it myself before I buy one.

Fortunately I'm in no special hurry because I just got myself a new Treo 680 (it's a very nice device although the Palm software for the Mac just plain sucks) which will certainly last till the 2G iPhone hits the market. And of course I won't take a SIM locked iPhone - I want to chose my carrier myself.

mac128k-1984 · Apr 16, 2007, 08:27 AM

Nah, I'm passing on it. Too expensive.

Besides I don't want spend $$$ to be on the bleeding edge. The one question I have is how much is the service going to be. Since it has email, and other internet applications how much will cingular be charging for the service. I don't want to spend boku bucks for the phone and then end up getting bled dry on monthly charges.

mdc · Apr 16, 2007, 11:11 AM

I am currently on a contract with T-Mobile until sometime next year. I'd like an iPhone, but I can wait until my contract expires. Maybe by then they'll be on version 2 with more features, etc.

Goldfinger · Apr 16, 2007, 11:39 AM

Nope. Underfeatured and overpriced. Plus it'll be full price in belgium since it can't be subsidized by a carrier (illegal over here).

And it's way too big for me. My current phone, a Nokia N72, is too fat already for me. My next phone is probably going to be the Nokia 8600, unless it's positioned as a 8800 successor which would make the price through the roof.

osxblog · Apr 16, 2007, 11:49 AM

Sure I'd love one but I think it won't become a reality until they offer a Sim Free or PAYG model, even then it'll be far too much money.

-Q- · Apr 16, 2007, 11:50 AM

I'm considering getting one. I have a Blackberry Pearl that has done an admirable job, but I find it hard to resist the sexiness of the iPhone (may change my opinion once I get some actual usage time).

Originally Posted by mdc

I am currently on a contract with T-Mobile until sometime next year. I'd like an iPhone, but I can wait until my contract expires. Maybe by then they'll be on version 2 with more features, etc.

I was under contract to T-mobile b/c of the recent Pearl purchase, but was able to opt out of the contract because of this: http://t-mobile.com/shop/addons/serv...isclaimer.aspx

As the increase in text messaging fees can adversely affect my contract, I'm allowed to opt out of it based on item B in provision 3 of their Terms of Service. You can too.

icruise · Apr 16, 2007, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Nope. Underfeatured and overpriced. Plus it'll be full price in belgium since it can't be subsidized by a carrier (illegal over here).

And it's way too big for me. My current phone, a Nokia N72, is too fat already for me.

Fat in what sense? The N72 appears to be twice as thick as the iPhone, although it is a bit narrower and shorter (less than a centimeter difference in each case). It's true that the iPhone is on the large size for a cell phone, but that's the price you pay for a large screen.

papadopolis · Apr 16, 2007, 12:20 PM

I will be buying one. I am already on Cingluar, there service has been fair. I see no reason for me not to get an iPhone. The only time i would not buy an iPhone is if
1) It sucks! I will have to see what people say.
2) You HAVE to buy a 2 yaer contract with it.... I would be extreamly angry about this.... it would be like punsihing us for ALREADY being with cingular....

Goldfinger · Apr 16, 2007, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

Fat in what sense? The N72 appears to be twice as thick as the iPhone, although it is a bit narrower and shorter (less than a centimeter difference in each case). It's true that the iPhone is on the large size for a cell phone, but that's the price you pay for a large screen.

The iPhone's height and width are too much for me. And the N72 is really the thickest I will go*. Fat wasn't the right word here, I know. "too large" would've been better

. The weight is a negative as well but I learned to live again with a +100g phone thanks to the N72.

I'd love a small phone from Apple with an integrated iPod. A large phone looks stupid in your pocket and screams "expensive phone, mug me".

*I never bought my N72, it was my mother's phone which she bought after dropping her T610 in the toilet (

). But after finding out that it was too complicated for her (all she does is conference calls all day long) I gave her my K750i and I took the N72.

Don't get my wrong I love the iPhone (duh, it's from Apple) but the price combined with the substandard features (especially if it will have a closed software platform) and the size make it a no-go for me.

I'm holding out for the iPhone mini

icruise · Apr 16, 2007, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by papadopolis

2) You HAVE to buy a 2 yaer contract with it.... I would be extreamly angry about this.... it would be like punsihing us for ALREADY being with cingular....

I think you probably do have to extend your contract by 2 years, even if you're already with Cingular.

papadopolis · Apr 16, 2007, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

I think you probably do have to extend your contract by 2 years, even if you're already with Cingular.

I dont get why.... I mean If I just got a $600 phone why would I switch in less then two years..... plus my contract is for like 4 more years....

-Q- · Apr 16, 2007, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by papadopolis

I dont get why.... I mean If I just got a $600 phone why would I switch in less then two years..... plus my contract is for like 4 more years....

Because the cost of the phone is actually higher.

You get it for $600 because the phone company has subsidized the cost of the phone based on the revenues expected from you having a two-year contract. In order for you to get that discount, you'd have to extend your contract. Or pay full or close-to-full price for the iPhone.

icruise · Apr 16, 2007, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by papadopolis

I dont get why.... I mean If I just got a $600 phone why would I switch in less then two years..... plus my contract is for like 4 more years....

How did you get such a long contract in the first place?

Atheist · Apr 16, 2007, 04:56 PM

I'd get one immediately but alas, where I live (third-world caribbean country) they probably won't show up until 2009.

ghporter · Apr 16, 2007, 05:35 PM

I have a great PDA. I have a great iPod. I have a great phone. I don't need to spend a huge amount of money to roll all of those into one device that so far as I can tell I WOULD manage to break because of that beautiful but apparently fragile touchscreen.

icruise · Apr 16, 2007, 05:51 PM

That was originally my attitude about smartphones -- I'd rather have three dedicated devices that work well than one that doesn't work as well. But recently I have realized that when I leave the house without a bag, I really only want to be carrying one device, and that's my phone. So I want my phone to do as much as possible. And I think if anyone can pull off the combining these three functions, it's Apple.

Stogieman · Apr 16, 2007, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by Klipse

well going by the hype, i'm very tempted to own one myself, but I'll sit back and wait for reviews first.. I don't want it to be the next 1st/2nd Gen iPod with extremely poor battery life.

What are you taking about? My 1st gen iPod had better battery life than the 3rd gen iPods. I still have the original battery in mine at it still gets 5-6 hours per charge.

As for the iPhone, I'm going to be first in line to get one. June can't come soon enough.

papadopolis · Apr 16, 2007, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

How did you get such a long contract in the first place?

With my Fathers bis.

chrisdisregard · 06:02 PM

...

Krusty · 11:29 PM

I may get one just depending. Yes, my current Nokia 6230 (great phone, BTW) is getting old, I'm out of contract with Cingular so I could buy one even if it required a contract. Yes, I have (and use the h#ll out of) an unlimited data plan already. My girlfriend just broke our/my 2nd camera in just over a 15 months (and a 2mpx camera as on the iPhone is perfect for me .... I'm a point-and-shoot guy and 1600x1200 is about as big a file size as I care to take and I'd like to have one that I'm not sharing with someone who could break another one).

So, in essence ... I'm the perfect candidate for an iPhone. I just don't know if I want to get one without 3g and on 1st rev and then try to figure out how to sell it to get an upgraded one 6 months later.

Y'know, sadly, the one part of the iPhone I really DON'T need is the iPod ... just don't have any good time that I can realistically be in headphones during the course of a normal day.

MattJeff · Apr 16, 2007, 11:27 PM

Quick Question. does the 2 Mpxl camera shoot video?

papadopolis · Apr 16, 2007, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by MattJeff

Quick Question. does the 2 Mpxl camera shoot video?

As far as i know it has not been stated... but that is a good point

MikeD · Apr 17, 2007, 01:24 AM

Shoot video??? I just want it to take a decent picture worthy of keeping! I'm not sure 2mp is good! From my cellphone experience, the best images I've gotten have come from my SE K790a 3pm 'cybershot' phone. Now THAT's a cellphone camera!!

Simon · Apr 17, 2007, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by MattJeff

Quick Question. does the 2 Mpxl camera shoot video?

I can't answer your question, but I'm wondering is that realistic on a device with just 4 GB memory?

papadopolis · Apr 17, 2007, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by Simon

I can't answer your question, but I'm wondering is that realistic on a device with just 4 GB memory?

well you could take it off when you move it to your comp.....

icruise · Apr 17, 2007, 08:09 AM

Well, there are a lot of cell phones that shoot video with only a few megabytes of internal storage (albeit fairly crappy video in most cases). But since we haven't heard anything about video, my guess is that it won't do it, at least not right away.

papadopolis · Apr 17, 2007, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by icruise

Well, there are a lot of cell phones that shoot video with only a few megabytes of internal storage (albeit fairly crappy video in most cases). But since we haven't heard anything about video, my guess is that it won't do it, at least not right away.

Ya that will be the 3rd gen iPhone..... it will have an 11 mp camera.... its a slicer its a dicer and hell it will even drive your car....

tutenstein · Apr 17, 2007, 10:19 AM

I'll be getting one as soon as it is available. I had a Palm Treo 600 then 650 and now currently have a BlackBerry.

I'm not a "power user", but I need a PDA type phone.

The BB is ok, but the actually phone part I am not thrilled with.

I can't wait until the iphone comes out.

dpicardi · Apr 17, 2007, 10:19 AM

My biggest concern with owning an iPhone is dropping it.

I must have butter fingers because I drop both of the cell phones I have at least once a month.

Were I to drop my new iPhone I just might cry there on the spot...

Given the cost of the iPhone I doubt you'll be able to buy insurance on it...I know you couldn't get it for the RAZR when it came out for the same reason.

My second biggest concern is its apparent inability to connect to an exchange server. This would be a must have as I'd want to be able to use my phone for both work and play.

That said I'd still love one...but I'd like one with at least 16GB of Ram to be able to store a few movies and TV shows as well as several thousand songs.

As for the person that said Cingular is subsidizing, at $600 I don't think they are. I'm sure the teardown of the iPhone will show it to be in the $250 to $400 range max. When we start seeing those prices then maybe Cingular is helping foot the bill.

Lastly, the wifi services needs to be improved. Edge technology is passé for a leading edge device these days.

Looking forward to seeing a live demo in the Apple store come June.

dpicardi · Apr 17, 2007, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by tutenstein

The BB is ok, but the actually phone part I am not thrilled with.

You ain't kidding brother. My Crackberry - which I love - is the worst cell phone I've ever used. It's absolutely brutal - dropped calls everyone. I'm sure part of it is the service provider (t-mobile aka t-nada). But the antenna is incredible weak.

That's why I have 2 phones and have my BB autoforwarding all calls.

ghporter · Apr 17, 2007, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by icruise

That was originally my attitude about smartphones -- I'd rather have three dedicated devices that work well than one that doesn't work as well. But recently I have realized that when I leave the house without a bag, I really only want to be carrying one device, and that's my phone. So I want my phone to do as much as possible. And I think if anyone can pull off the combining these three functions, it's Apple.

At the moment, I either want my MBP and iPod with me (both in the pack I lug back and forth to school all the time) or I want NOTHING other than my phone. But you're right about Apple being the most likely candidate to be able to get this right.

Kenneth · Apr 17, 2007, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by mdc

I am currently on a contract with T-Mobile until sometime next year. I'd like an iPhone, but I can wait until my contract expires. Maybe by then they'll be on version 2 with more features, etc.

Ditto and I'm quite happy with my current phones.

lklarson · Apr 17, 2007, 01:52 PM

The iPhone feature set just seems to me to be screaming for a fast connection. When I can get it with EVDO, it'll make sense. Having to find wi-fi to use the cool browser is just going to exasperate me. Coverage just for voice on Cingular/AT&T out here in the hinterlands is problematical, too.

morrisnba · Apr 18, 2007, 11:22 PM

I will get one as soon as it is available. ;-)

butterfly0fdoom · Apr 19, 2007, 12:29 AM

I'll most likely get one, but it all hinges on the smallprint involved with the iPhone. I already use Cingular, and I don't mind staying with Cingular (I don't plan on switching out, actually). And the feature set suits me fine.

icruise · Apr 19, 2007, 12:47 AM

For the people who plan on getting one, which features of the iPhone excite you the most? Personally, while the phone features look great, I don't use my cell phone nearly enough to justify getting one just for that. And although the iPod features look cool, and it will be nice to have some music and video with me wherever I go, I'm not really getting it for the iPod features either. (If it had more storage, the situation would be different.) Don't get me wrong -- these features sound great and I'll definitely use them quite a bit, but if it was just these, I probably wouldn't be getting an iPhone.

I think the Internet features are what have me the most excited, although I'm still a little skeptical about how well the web browser will work, especially when not using wi-fi. I really like the idea of having a device that allows me to access the web and email no matter where I am. I also think that the widgets have the potential to be very useful.

slpdLoad · 04:57 PM

I will actually probably get one soley for the Wi-Fi internet browsing features. There's just nothing that compares to it. It's an emailing, internet-browsing laptop in my pocket.

Edit: To add to this, can anyone tell me of a phone that can browse the web over wifi without any type of cellular contract? I'd like to know if the iPhone is my only option.

Cadaver · Apr 21, 2007, 04:38 PM

I have some issues with Cingular service in my area, so if they get sorted out, then I'd get one in a second. Otherwise, I'll keep my Verizon Motorola Q.

icruise · Apr 21, 2007, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

Edit: To add to this, can anyone tell me of a phone that can browse the web over wifi without any type of cellular contract? I'd like to know if the iPhone is my only option.

What exactly do you mean by a phone "without any type of cellular contract"? Do you want an unlocked phone that you can use with any provider without being locked into a contract for a set period of time? Or do you want to just use it to surf the web without using it as a phone at all?

If it's the former, you can probably get unlocked versions of a number of smartphones, although they will cost a lot more than subsidized versions and I don't think their browsers will be as nice as the iPhone's. If it's the latter, I think you would be better off getting a wi-fi enabled PDA than a phone, but again, I don't think the browser will measure up.

slpdLoad · Apr 21, 2007, 05:49 PM

It's the latter of those two, although eventually I might want to get it setup with cellphone service. The wifi enabled PDAs are exactly what I was after. Thanks.

Stogieman · Apr 21, 2007, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

I think the Internet features are what have me the most excited, although I'm still a little skeptical about how well the web browser will work, especially when not using wi-fi. I really like the idea of having a device that allows me to access the web and email no matter where I am. I also think that the widgets have the potential to be very useful.

Ditto, the internet/email features excite me the most. Trying to get sports scores, weather, traffic, ect. on my Sony Ericsson T637 is a PITA. Web browsing on the iPhone maybe slow without 3G support but the user interface is way ahead of anything else out there.

I'm looking forward to some of the phone features as well. I love the way the iPhone handles 3 way calling. Visual voice mail and the ability to "scrub" to any part of a message is pretty neat too.

Simon · Apr 22, 2007, 02:56 AM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

It's the latter of those two, although eventually I might want to get it setup with cellphone service. The wifi enabled PDAs are exactly what I was after. Thanks.

In that case you should take a look at the Palm TX.

dj_frankle · Apr 22, 2007, 12:28 PM

My Nokia N80 will do WiFi on my wireless network at home (mostly have bookmarks stored and use it if I can't be bothered turning the Mac on) and it does an alright job as a PDA although it likes to cancel re-occuring appointments and make them stand alone ones ... and it is not currently supported by iSync but you can easily find the patch on the net. Another one I have been looking at for the misses is the Nokia E65 - also has WiFi and a few other tricks.

I will be seriously looking at the iPhone when it eventually comes to Australia, the specs on the N80 seem to be better at this stage but I'll wait and see. I have already had the "black screen of death" on my N80 (but I could still make calls!) so I guess I would have to be a bit carefull with the iPhone.

SLiMeX · Apr 23, 2007, 12:32 AM

As much as I love everything about the iPhone, it's super expensive.

I can't wait to get my hands on the Motorola MotoRIZR Z8.

hyteckit · Apr 23, 2007, 04:11 AM

One thing that might stop me from getting an iPhone. Expandable memory. All the cool stuff like video iPod, viewing photos, and PDA features, but no expandable memory. 4GB and 8GB just ain't enough.

brokenjago · Apr 23, 2007, 01:00 PM

It *really* would be nice if you could pop in an SD card and have the iPhone sorta 'absorb' it and blam, you have a 12 GB iPhone!

Perhaps that's what Leopard's support for ZFS is all about?

buymeaniphone · Apr 26, 2007, 01:39 PM

I will definitely want to get one as soon as they come out, hopefully I'll have the money by June. Any bugs that the phone might have on release will be fixed by apple eventually. I dont think we'll have to worry about battery problems, I'm sure Apple has learned their lesson from the past and dont plan on making the same mistakes again.

Wiskedjak · Apr 26, 2007, 01:43 PM

I'll be waiting for the iPhone Nano