[freudling]

I think they are making a good move with optical glass, as it is supposed to be more scratch resistant. The battery life thing is truly remarkable if it really does stretch that long. They claim about 7 hours for video playback, 6 hours for internet, and 24 hours mp3, with 250 hours of standby. These numbers are astounding. My Sony Clie used to get 45 minutes on wifi use if that.

We shall see if these numbers are going to map onto reality or not.

But with this new press release, my girlfriend and I are going to move from Canada, sell everything, and camp out at a Cingular store in Seattle. We are leaving tomorrow. We're not sure how we will survive in the US, because we aren't coming back to Canada. We want to be in the States for good now because we want to be as close as possible to Apple in anticipation of new iPhone releases. In fact, I am going to break up with her and just be with the iPhone. She is fine with it because she wants to be with the iPhone on her own too.

We managed to write a program that enables the iPhone to be a food replicator. So we have covered food, just need to figure out the clothing and shelter...

[analogika]

Let's try that again, shall we?

iPhone Delivers Up to Eight Hours of Talk Time

Now Features Durable Glass Top Surface

[freudling]

Try what again?

[Bobby]

Is a glass screen that much of a good thing??? Doesn't that mean the likelihood that the screen will crack is significantly higher???

With a 2 year contract, any 'accidental' damage is going to be a very serious problem... Having a glass screen almost ensures you'll end up with a cracked screen rendering the phone unusable, and forcing you to shell out a few hundred bucks more so you have a phone until the end of the contract...

A scratch is a heck of a lot better than a cracked screen that would render the screen dead & touch screen inoperable literally making the phone impossible to use...

[roller]

Bobby, I have agree with you on this one, but at the same time, I have to believe Apple accounted for this in the type of glass they have chosen. IF not, it is a bad move...

[Bobby]

Originally Posted by roller 

Bobby, I have agree with you on this one, but at the same time, I have to believe Apple accounted for this in the type of glass they have chosen. IF not, it is a bad move...

On a thread I posted to on Apple's forum, they indicated it will be 'tempered' glass... I'm still wondering if that can really make a difference on a thin screen like on the iPhone...

That same thread, by the way, indicates AT&T will NOT offer any insurance on the iPhone... There is also mention that Apple may or may not offer Apple Care coverage for the iPhone... Regardless of what Apple does or doesn't offer, there will be no accidental damage coverage (it's safe to assume)...

[analogue SPRINKLES]

No matter what the screen is made out of I am still going to get a screen protector from ShieldZone - Screen Protector for iPod, PDA, Cell Phone & PSP

[brokenjago]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

No matter what the screen is made out of I am still going to get a screen protector from ShieldZone - Screen Protector for iPod, PDA, Cell Phone & PSP

Due to the way the iPhone detects finger presses, screen protectors will not work.

Also, get a grip, people. The type of glass they're going to use is probably the same stuff they put in your glasses. IE very, very, very, very durable stuff.

[freudling]

Apple learnt their lesson with the first iPod Nano. Glass - tempered glass - is beautiful. I would much rather be looking through glass than plastic...

I also have observed from this that, since this announcement comes a few weeks out of their release date, they must really be cutting it close. Last minute everything.

[::maroma::]

I find it very difficult to believe there wont be any sort of Apple Care or insurance on this phone. They offer it on iPods, along with every other piece of hardware they sell, why not on the iPhone? After all, you can go without your iPod while you're waiting to get it fixed or get a new one, but you can't really go without your phone. I'm still betting there will be some sort of insurance or Apple Care.

And regarding the glass, its much better than plastic. And it will be rugged. Of course there's a chance of cracking, but unless you're really trashing the thing it wont be an issue.

[vmarks]

Originally Posted by brokenjago 

Due to the way the iPhone detects finger presses, screen protectors will not work.

Also, get a grip, people. The type of glass they're going to use is probably the same stuff they put in your glasses. IE very, very, very, very durable stuff.

Untrue.

The way the iPhone detects finger presses does work through shields like ShieldZone makes. The techology is patented and understood. The technology it was based off of had a plastic coating over the finger surface.

[icruise]

The news about the battery life is impressive. It gets better battery life than the current 80GB iPod for video and audio, and better standby/talk time than my RAZR. However, I have a suspicion that the time for Internet use is using EDGE and not wi-fi. In any case, this and the fact that external batteries made for the iPod should provide the iPhone with power pretty much nullify any battery-related doubts people might have. Well, aside from the question of what will happen when the internal battery finally gives up the ghost. I hope Apple will authorize Apple Stores to replace the internal battery on-site.

[chabig]

Even if there is no insurance, the phone will probably be covered your own personal property or homeowners insurance.

[tasslehawf]

Originally Posted by chabig 

Even if there is no insurance, the phone will probably be covered your own personal property or homeowners insurance.

That seems like way to much effort to make a claim on your cell phone. And you'd better not be using it for work, otherwise your homeowners policy doesn't cover it.

Hopefully there will be either Applecare or general phone insurance (like Verizon has Asurion). I don't see why phone insurance wouldn't cover the iphone when it covers similarly priced smartphones. I'd almost rather get the third party ins. where I can pay $50 to get a new phone if the screen gets cracked rather than getting stuck paying for it when I know Applecare won't cover it.

[msuper69]

The thing that I've been wondering about how could the type of screen material be changed so late in the game?

I would have thought that the iPhone factories would be going full blast by now. Maybe the specs were changed some time ago and Apple has decided to hold off on the news until the iPhone hysteria had reached a fever pitch. I don't know. But the change in materials seems to come awfully late to me.

[icruise]

Of course they didn't make the change at the same time they announced it. They've probably been sitting on this news for a while.