iPhone 4G intrigue
Silicon Valley has been in a tizz for the last 48 hours about whether the next generation of the iPhone has escaped Apple's clutches and gone into the wild.
Over the weekend, the gadget site Engadget published photos of the device in question taken by an un-named person.
On Monday, rival site Gizmodo upped the ante by reporting that it had the phone itself and posted a swathe of images and a video.
Both sites reported that the phone was found in a bar. Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City, must be doing cartwheels over the amount of free publicity it has received.
Gizmodo has gone into dramatic detail about how the phone came into its hands and admitted to the New York Times that $5,000 was paid to the person who found the lost device that night in the bar.
The site has now said that Apple has been in contact to ask for the return of the lost handset, and asserts that this proves that the device was the real deal.
"Sacre bleu!" I hear you cry. "What a tale of intrigue - and all in the week that Apple delivers its latest earnings!"
When I spoke to long-time Apple analyst Van Baker, who is a vice president of research at Gartner, he could hardly hide his amusement:
"Stuff like this happens all the time, it is just a bigger deal with Apple because they are known to be so secretive and the fan-boys and fan-girls just love to crack a story on Apple.
"It just adds to the buzz that always seems to surround Apple products. At the end of the day, if this is an Apple device, it is a prototype at best and represents a logical evolution in terms of features you would expect in the next iPhone. But I have very little faith that this is what the end product will look like."
The features the blogosphere has reported as being included on the iPhone 4G are a front-facing camera, a smaller screen, higher resolution and a larger battery.
Gizmodo said "the back is said to be entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through".
All the industry speculation is that Apple will take the wraps off its next iPhone at the Worldwide Developer Conference in the summer; that's been normal timing for the company with the last couple of releases.
Another analyst told me he believes all this attention on the iPhone will negatively affect the iPad.
Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group said "the problem for Apple is they are still in the very early stages of the iPad launch" and thinks this leaking of the iPhone takes the focus away from the iPad.
"It may mean some people might change their mind about buying an iPad and hold out instead for the iPhone which will be out in the summer."
While the focus the last few days has been on whether or not the device is the real McCoy, Mr Enderle expressed some disquiet about the poor engineer at the heart of the drama:
"Steve [Jobs] is known to have a very low threshold for these kinds of mistakes and you have to have some sympathy for the employee who dropped the phone. It is not often you are in danger of losing your job when you lose a phone."
The blogosphere and the Twittersphere have gone into overdrive on the subject. The most biting comment came @Bauart who tweeted that "Bill Gates tried leaving his new Microsoft "Kin" phone at a bar... It's still there".
© MMX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~29~RS~)
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Seriously BBC using a Rob Enderle quote? He has been discredited multiple times for being a paid consultant of Dell. How can the BBC justify any comment he gives without pointing out his obvious motives?
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Oh and another point is that the phone was not lost. In Gizmodo’s reply to Apple they state that they didn’t know that it was stolen when they bought it. Pretty sure that means that they now accept that they paid cash for stolen goods. And then went on to release information on a prototype device. This could end up costing Gizmodo a lot more than $5000
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What a delightfully objective review Tom Sharpe. Hello to you too.
I don't have an iPhone, preferring the HTC Hero instead. However, it would be interesting to see if continued improvements in the 'smartphone' market dent the 'tablet/iPad' market even before it has started.
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""It may mean some people might change their mind about buying an iPad and hold out instead for the iPhone which will be out in the summer."
From the same man who brought us
"I'm seeing very little demand for XP," says Rob Enderle, a research fellow with the Giga Information Group"
Investagitive journalism at its best.
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You have to wonder if it was possibly a deliberate leak. All this publicity for virtually no outlay . . . what a joy for Apple.
It's a rather ugly looking thing . . . lacks the loving attention of Jon Ive.
Will it damage the iPad? Not a chance: people will buy both.
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Interesting timing, given that the Droid Incredible became available for pre-order in the US yesterday.
While I'd never buy an iPhone myself, due to my hatred of touchscreens, I would be concerned about a back made of ceramic or glass, no matter how shatterproof they professed to be.
Also, BBC, please stop with the 'dot(dot)Maggie' and 'dot(dot)Rory', there's no need to duplicate the dot!
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Meh, sounds like a cheap marketing stunt by Apple to get the press all excited over their now increasingly less relevant products.
iPad = Flop.
iphone = poor man's Android.
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Looks like it could be an old 4G model given the photos don't show a standard USB charging slot that Apple agreed to with the EU...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10274953-94.html
I do hope the next revision they've fixed the battery life too... wouldn't it be great if they added a kinetic charging device in there like watches have or just slapped some solar panels on the currently unused back panel for emergency charging.
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I do feel bad for the poor guy who left the phone in a bar, too many beers and he accidentally starts the biggest gadget scandal of the year so far.
And probably lost his job too, do you think Steve will give him a reference?
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I work in the mobile handset industry and am surprised at Van Baker's comments "But I have very little faith that this is what the end product will look like".
Field testing of devices commences about 10 weeks before ship date. The design is pretty much finalised at this stage with minor changes possibly being made to certain external elements. In my experience of working with leading handset manufacturers, you can be pretty sure the next iPhone will be almost exactly as shown on Gizmodo.
It's an aesthetically pleasing evolution and people will welcome improved camera, LED flash, bigger battery and higher resolution screen.
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All very interesting. Is this an Apple ploy at free marketing? Nah I don't think so. I think they are just experiencing what every large tech company experiences. Human error.
@WhtStrn
I don't believe that Gizmondo have said that the device was stolen and they have said that to their knowledge it was lost. I believe that Apple said that it was their understanding it was stolen but Gizmondo have a very detailed brief of the story on their site explaining all the attempts the finder made to return the phone.
How Gizmondo got the iPhone
http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone
How Apple contacted Gizmondo
http://gizmodo.com/5520479/a-letter-apple-wants-its-secret-iphone-back
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To comment 9 . . . the iPad is a flop and the iPad is a poor man's Android . . . you're being ironic?
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I really don't think that this turn of events will have any bearing at all on iPad sales. News of an iPhone 4G release sometime this year will hardly be a surprise to anyone in the market for an iPad. This recent news just merely officialises it a little bit and will not deflect anyone's buying intentions in my opinion.
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Not convinced its an Apple device. It looks more like a Nokia, its too attractive to be an Apple device. If it is then at least they are making some progress with respect to their design, which is starting to look really tired now. Technologically its hardly spectacular, pretty much where everyone else is (or were a year ago, in some cases). Meh.. (double Meh actually if you take the 4G OS news into account).
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They paid money for it, they knew it didn't belong to the person who sold it to them, therefore they must have broken several laws. I think journalism rules would allow them to have things public though. Although if they had a take-down order they would have to comply with that, but at the point at which they put it up that would probably be allowed.
Will it affect ipad sales? Not too much. I want the next iphone whatever it is, I, along with many other peoples 18 month 3G contract ran out early this year and theres no point buying a 3GS when theres a new one coming out 'soon'. I want an ipad, but even if I wanted one I can't as they're not available here yet. I will actually be waiting for the second generation of the ipad anyway. So it's not stopping me.
They are different markets, I don't understand why people think they are the same. The iPhone is that, a phone! The iPad isn't going to replace that.
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Do what... No Stephen Fry quote? Heesh, and I thought I was reading about Apple. This is not the BBC that I know.
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A little strange there's no pics / video of it turned on....even just to show the connect to iTunes logo.
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Why do the BBC insist on getting quotes from Rob Enderle?
Please try and find a more respected analyst who can actually make an intelligent unbiased comment every now and then. I hope none of the license fee went in his direction. He has a laughably bad track record for his predictions, especially those related to Apple.
His predictions include the demise of Apple (many times), the failure of the iPhone (before and after release), the failure of the iTunes store (apparently it would be washed away by WalMart), and how the iPad would be 'critically savaged' by the JooJoo!
Prescience is not one of his talents.
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@MacHiavelli
No I wasn't being ironic at all. The iPad IS a flop, it's function baffles most people, it's basically a large iPod Touch, it's usefulness is outclassed by netbooks half it's price, and it offers nothing new.
The iPhone has long had it's day. Sure people that are blinded by Apples's marketing, or locked into iTunes because they bought loads of locked down content may not see it, or may not be able to move, but for the rest of us on Android 2.1 devices, "new" iPhone features like multitasking ***GASP*** are old hat for Android (and any other OS made in the last 20 years). Guess what, on Android, you can buy your music from ANYWHERE **GASP** and write your own apps (phone will run unsigned apps just fine if you allow it to), marketplace submissions are less restrictive too. The fuss over Opera Mini? Android has had it for months, because there was no Apple controlling things.
Take a Android handset like a HTC Legend or Desire for a spin, and only then will you realise how out of touch iPhone truly is.
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Please stop giving Rob Enderle {air,blog}-time. He has to be the single most discredited, most proven-wrong, most bonkers “analyst” out there. He is to industry analysis what quackery is to medicine…
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I may be being a bit cynical here but this smacks of a carefully orchestrated marketing initiative.
Apple, possibly one of the most secretive companies on Earth, are supposed to have allowed a junior engineer to take a prototype out of their labs whereupon it gets 'lost' and falls into the hands of a nerd who, recognising what it is, sells it to Gizmodo, possibly Apple's main cheerleaders in the tech world? Gizmodo then wax lyrical about it to their readers. Meanwhile, the junior engineer keeps his job and Apple - who have excellent intel - allow over a week to go by without putting out stern warnings to the press.
And all this at the same time as the Desire and Incredible are being releasesd to glowing reviews touting them as being as good or better than the iPhone (except, of course, in Gizmodo) and with Apple's results - which wil be very good but perhaps not what the analysts are looking for - just round the corner?
Nope, not buying it. This is a set up.
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So let's get this straight.
A guy from Apple just happens to forget that he's just casually carrying a trade secret, and he leaves it at a bar. A guy at the bar finds it and just happens to have the knowledge to turn it on, check the Facebook page and find out the owner after which point it conveniently whipes (convenient in that it didn't whipe before that point) so that he can't get any more details about the software. He then just happens to have enough knowledge about Apple iPhone versions to notice it has a front facing camera and is in a fake second case, and just happens to have the know how to take apart what is otherwise a completely sealed device. He just happens to know what to look for once he's inside the device, and he just happens to note down obscure details such as it's weight compared to previous versions and it's extra battery capacity to a precise percentage. He just happens to know of an extremely pro-Apple gadget site, that would just happen to be willing to pay $5000 for the device and all the details and he just happens to be able to put back together the device which is created to be extremely tight and built to high tolerances without creating the slightest mark. He then just happens to sell this to Gizmodo who break the story.
In the meantime, Apple just happens to be told by their employee about the problem very quickly such that they can initiate the remote whiping of the device, and despite it supposedly being a sensitive trade secret, they don't use the fact the device has GPS to track it's location, despite clearly having the remote whipe feature in place. They just happen to not bother contacting the authorities, who could've traced the phone using the cell signal anyway, despite the fact Apple has a history of being extremely quick to run to the law over the slightest things, let alone something as major as a leak of a top secret product.
Gizmodo when finding out that it was classed as stolen, just happen to admit paying for the device, and hence being guilty of paying for and handling stolen goods, a serious felony, and Apple still just happen to ask nicely for it back.
The day after everyone starts questioning the weakness of the original story, more details just happen to be released such as the name of the guy who left it in the bar, and the fact the person who found it accessed Facebook before it was whiped, and they just happen to release the name of the employee.
Really? People actually believe this stuff? Despite Apple's known history of manufacturing leaks to generate hype, people still believe what is perhaps their weakest, most flawed story yet?
Are people really so delusional in their love of Apple that they can't spot the obvious flaws in the story, the obvious laws that have been broken by Gizmodo here such that their reporters would end up in jail for their actions if the story is legitimate? The fact that Apple of all companies didn't bother contacting the authorities? The fact that Apple had the foresight to supposedly allow the phones software to be erased remotely, but not track it's location to within a metre via the onboard GPS whilst the erase function only kicked in just after they'd checked Facebook but not got any other details about the software like say checking the contacts list for a home phone number if they were interested in returning it?
What has the world come to when people believe this stuff? I guess some people think Avatar is actually a documentary too nowadays.
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MarkG: You realize that your unabashed praise for Android is no better than the Macmac's praise for the iPhone or iPad ?
Also i would hardly call the iPad a flop just a few weeks after launch. Just because you can't see a use-case for _you_ it doesn't mean that the product as a whole is a flop.
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@MarkG Initial sales figures of iPad were 450k in its first week. That's a success by any consumer electronics manufacturers yardstick. Regarding iPhone you seem to be castigating the closed nature of its ecosystem. I think there is room for both completely open and closed ecosystems in this market place - both have advantages and disadvantages. I don't people are as stupid as you say they are. They are not 'blinded' by Apple's marketing, they like the fact that their ecosystem components work easily together. Sure you pay a premium for Apple products but you pays your money and takes your choice.
Regarding Android's egalitarian principles....some are more equal than others. So Motorola and HTC have had preferential access to new Android features and direct support from Google over other manufacturers like LG, Samsung or Sony Ericsson.
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another marketing event created by the showbiz apple - the beeb laps it up like a poodle.
The fact that apple has so few products and the beeb promotes them like crazy surely means there should be an apple section next to the Sci/Tech?
World
UK
Entertainment
Sci/Tech
Apple
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I think Apple have lost it personally ... The fact is they've become to popular ... Now every Essex girl and boy is blahing away on their iPhone and frankly that is never any good for products that rely to an extent on snob appeal
I know where I'm going because I've looked it up before I've left ... If you want to tell me something important call me ... If I'm taking photographs I'll have my good camera with me ... If I want to listen to music I admit I'll take my little iPod with me ... But I don't need a computer with me every minute of the day and iPhones are just too unconfortably big
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I wonder what the legal remifications are of finding something that belongs to someone else, then dismantling it and publishing it all over the internet are?
Well, there are certainly ethical concerns.
To be honest, I think the better approach would have been to have contacted Apple and cut a deal.
But then fanboys will be fanboys.
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I think if I saw a new iPhone in a bar I would bin it before the BBC got hold of it and started marketing it.
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@iwinter
Unfortunately, it seems the media are too stupid to see past the veil of marketing and lies for what this really is, a cheap marketing stunt to make Apple still sound relevant.
That said Microsoft are far worse offenders at this, they employ over 1000 people worldwide whose only job function is to grassroots spin on blogs, forums and news sites, pretending to love Xbox, Zune or whatever, singing the praises of the latest Game or product, badmouthing the competition and letting stupid consumers follow their lead. Astroturfing at it's worst.
It's a sad era we live in where technological innovation, quality manufacturing and design of tech falls into second place behind slick marketing and cheap stunts. Why make the best product anymore when your marketing both direct and viral can make up any deficiencies?
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I agree with you 100% with this being a marketing ploy. But with your comment about the person who found the phone. As an experienced IT professional, who keeps up with the latest technology and has an iphone 3gs if I found this iphone 4G in a bar I would know straight away it wasn’t a normal iphone. I would also post pictures on the internet of it,although I wouldnt take it apart. I would also try selling it back to Apple (joke!)
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Comment 24 is on the mark. One additional question: Would not an experienced Apple engineer have a Passcode Lock enabled, thus preventing the supposed access to Facebook (or anything else)? True, the iPhone may have been picked up and turned on prior to the Passcode Lock kicking in, but it seems unlikely to me. Yet the story portrays that the finder had some time to look around, browse to Facebook, and elsewhere? It all seems a little publicity-convenient.
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Clearly this story has a hint of PR manipulation about it, but as we all seem to have spotted it and drawn our own conclusions, no harm done. I don't quite understand the ire Apple seems to provoke in some people.
Apple stuff (in my humble opinion) has always been well made and yes, heavily marketed, so what? A Porsche or an Aston Martin are premium brand cars, not always the most practical or cost-effective means of travel but, for some, highly desireable all the same. If that's not your style or a good fit with your priorities, go buy a Ford or take the train but don't waste your time with pointless comparisons and slanging matches - it's called personal choice for a reason...
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For the life of me, I can't figure out the relevance of the picture of the lady with the large breasts, but I'm all in favour - let's have pictures like this on all website articles!
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Is it really such a stretch to imagine that an individual who finds a prototype iphone in a bar also knows how to 1) access Facebook on the device and 2) is either aware of Engadget/Gizomodo or have friends who do? Legalities aside, I know an awful lot of people who might do exactly the same thing. I mean c'mon - outing Apple products is a sport - especially given Apple's profile and security focus.
If this does turn out to be a marketing stunt then the methodology is pretty unusual for Apple. I think the simple answer is that this is just a really big screw-up.
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Steve Jobs on why some people choose Android phones:
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/24882/
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@samurai_funky
Apple products well made? I can't comment on Macbooks as I wouldn't buy something that didn't run most of my software, but their portable devices are tat. Well marketed tat in different colours, but still tat.
Have you actually LISTENED to a iPod? The sound quality is on-par with $3 HongKong market players, due it's cheap and nasty components inside (mostly notably the crappy DAC)
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"Apple Corporation has pointed out that it is in no way connected to the apple mentioned in Genesis: The Garden of Eden. A spokesman said, "One is the quintessential temptation of man and has generated billions of gullible followers worldwide. The other is just a religious parable written long, long ago."
Cannot find my original source of this quote that I first saw last year.
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I have no particular interest in Apple either way, having never had any of their products, I am not a fan or a hater, but buying a stolen phone is illegal, and Gizmodo will have known without question that they should not have access to a prototype iPhone and have no defense, I hope Apple take them to court.
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I really don't think this is an Apple "free press" attempt.
They really do not need to do anything to make the interwebs tingle. The news that the iPad would be delayed made front page BBC. I don't see any reason to do anything as elaborate as this.
I do think it is genuine and a simple case of human error.
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Apple already made the mistake of delaying the European launch of the iPad, along with the European pricing that is bound to be applicable. Who in Europe is going to buy iPad 3G in June when iPhone4G is less than one month away?
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Been a programmer for 15 years.
Never read such twaddle in my professional life.
Are you actually a techie? Or just blagging your way through life as one?
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I think alot of people miss the point on the iPhone as to why it is as popular as it is. Before the iPhone people who owned smart phones would be a, techies / enthusiasts or b, business execs. What apple have done with the iphone is push smartphones to a broader market. i.e 12 year old want an iPhone did any 12 year old want the HTC charmer, Magician or wizard? Not really. Why? Because they were unusable, Remember to those of you saying it's only now getting Multitasking or a camera with a flash...The Whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I work as an IT manager and have had lots of experience with people using smart phones, md's, execs, techies. When my MD switched from an HP iPaq to a iPhone he said he has never used a better product in his life. He doesn't need multi-tasking, GPS, flash with a camera. What he does need is to be productive and the iphone allows him this through its user friendly UI and how simplistic it is.
don't have a company because they manage to catch the imagination of millions of people, Or perhaps because you feel edgy going against the grain. The iPhone which ever way you look at it is the BEST invention in the last decade, Thats why it has shifted 50m units in 3 years 16m phones a year. Not bad for a "flop" product eh?
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A smaller screen? What's the point!
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United-in-99 I didn't really have a problem with anything else you said.
Just this comment:
"The iPhone which ever way you look at it is the BEST invention in the last decade, Thats why it has shifted 50m units in 3 years 16m phones a year."
That is ridiculous to say. Its a great for what it is. It's marketing has helped. But to call it that is more than over the top.
Now, I am not accusing you of being a fanboi, but that is what I would expect from one to come out with and say.
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I live in New York City and I absolutely live by my iPhone - I rely on the maps, GPS, Email on the go, music while looking at maps & email on the go, etc.
I think someone accidentally left this phone behind, but super-smooth Apple is playing this "human error" to it's advantage. I'm clammoring for this new phone. I think it may come out by the time I'm eligible for a phone upgrade through AT&T and I'm stoked!
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@MarkG
My ancient (black & white) Mac Plus still works after all these years so it can't have been that badly made...
I agree iPod sound quality isn't great but these are portable devices used mainly on the move in noisy environments, playing highly compressed audio files - so in my view ultimate sound quality isn't the point: convenience, ease-of-use, style, etc. are surely the factors in play. I used to work for one of the well-known loudspeaker manufacturers so I am more than familiar with the need for properly sorted audio kit and in my own home quality sound comes first - cramming myself onto the tube every morning is a whole different matter... Don't like the fact iPod has a cheap DAC? Then please don't open a B&O hi-fi, the cheap Philips-sourced hardware in those probably won't impress you much either.
The new iPhone will probably be a very good device, PR shenanigans or not. It's unlikely to be the most advanced tech or the most fully featured device but that's not necessarily a bad thing; as a one engineer once said, "...sometimes it's the second mouse that gets the cheese".
Those that like the Apple OS ecosystem and are willing to give up a few features here and there for the sake of a more stylised, streamlined, integrated (possibly restrictive?) experience will buy one. I'm guessing you prefer more & newer technology for your hard-earned cash and are savvy enough to tinker confidently with all the bells & whistles that choice brings. As I said in my earlier post, it's a question of personal preference and shrieking about the flaws in the iPhone isn't really going to make any difference to the Stephen Fry's of this world.
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24. At 1:29pm on 20 Apr 2010, iwinter wrote:
What has the world come to when people believe this stuff? I guess some people think Avatar is actually a documentary too nowadays.
Let's get this straight iwinter ... AVATAR is real .. it is happening every day to 1000's of tribespeople in the Amazon rain forest .. BAD ANALOGY .. people are dying down there..!!
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To have any credibility in the tech world, you really need to avoid quoting Rob Enderle on anything. Especially when it's Apple related.
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@MarkG
You left some predictions out of your posts. Please allow me to fill them in for you:
• Elvis, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones are rubbish and will never get anywhere.
• Man will never build a machine that can fly.
• The world will end in 2012, so there's no point buying anything ever again.
Glad to help.
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To the person who said they wouldn't buy a MacBook because they need something that will run all their programs.
MacBooks can run Windows and Linux as well as OS X. As can any Mac with an Intel CPU. Therefore by running Windows and Linux it can run 99.99% of all applications. Also for most Windows Apps there is a Mac version.
Run MS Office? No problem Microsoft make Office for the Mac. Either that or Apple makes iWork. Both will do the job you need or should you prefer you can run MS Office for Windows, by installing (and either virtualising or booting natively into) Windows
Want to play games? Valve will be releasing Steam for the Mac soon.
Also name me a device of that size that has High Fidelity sound? None of them do. The iPod is par for the course (except the headphones which are cheap tat).
In all fairness compared to other products, Apple products are at the top end of the quality stakes. However they are expensive compared to other products.
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@ #10 by Stuart Radforth;
Although Apple agreed to the adoption of the USB standard I find it very unlikely we'll see a micro USB port on an Apple 'iPortable' product. Apple is too fond of their proprietary dock connector, which not only allows greater bandwidth and flexibility than micro USB but also generates income by selling licences for its use in third-party products, of which there are now thousands. Most likely they'll include an adapter for charging purposes (as suggested by the article you link to).
With regard to your other suggestions; although novel ideas, they are impractical based on current technology. A kinetic charging system wouldn't generate enough power to benefit the device, even on standby an iPhone is using much more power than the average wristwatch. For solar charging to be of benefit would require exposure to direct sunlight or intense UV, both of which would have negative effects on the devices components and casing. Although there are solar technologies that can generate power from artificial and ambient light, they like kinetic watch movements are designed for very low power devices.
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A lost iphone?
You will be saying next the tax people has lost a laptop with millions of tax payers information on it next.
Why would it be let out of the office a year before release?
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When America comes awake, so do all Apples shills...
Quick, someone doesn't like the iPod, we can't be having that... Master Jobs will be upset.
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@MarkG
I work in the telecoms industry and have been writing mobile apps for a very long time. I currently lead a number of development teams building both Android and iPhone apps for a major operator.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both Apple and Android. The closed system and infrequent updates means that Apple is good for building something that is going to work on every Apple handset. Android is open, but becoming badly fragmented with multiple versions that are incompatible and increasing variation in device specs. iTunes is vastly superior to Android market for the consumer (better search, visual appeal, etc.) and apps are better protected from piracy.
Android has a more open SDK, not as capable as Symbian, but not as obtuse either. Apple is less capable, so you tailor your cloth accordingly. Fundamentally though, consumers don't give a monkey's about topics such as multitasking or open standards, only geeks do. iPhones still fly off the shelves, but Android is catching up as the phones get faster and more attractive.
As for the iPad, I think you misunderstand it's purpose. It *is* a big iPhone, which is just right for people who don't like computers. I wouldn't give my mother-in-law a laptop, but I would give her an iPad, because it's all she needs and, being single tasking, easy to understand for a non technical person. I think sales will hit a few million, not huge, but certainly not a flop.
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While Apple may be deluded.. (see Steve jobs email on why people buy android phones), they arent completely stupid. This device has a SMALLER screen than the already below average 3.5 incher on the current iPhone. If this really is the new iPhone some of us will just die laughing.
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@ChrisM
"This device has a SMALLER screen than the already below average 3.5 incher on the current iPhone."
Smaller screen but higher resolution. I don't want my phone to get any bigger, but I wouldn't mind a clearer, brighter screen.
Apple have never been at the bleeding edge and often get criticised for it. What they do really well, and where others fall behind, is user experience. Compare the scrolling on an iPhone and an Android phone, the iPhone is just some much more pleasurable to use - and that's something that consumers notice.
Also, what is often perceived as a failing by bloggers, is seen from an industry standpoint as a good feature. For example, lack of multitasking. Whilst it means that you can't have a process running in the background, it also means you won't have an app running hidden from the user generating a big data bill and running down the handset battery. The end result is that you won't have a cheesed off subscriber ranting about why his phone is dead after 2 hours. Limitations are often good for the consumer if they are not tech savvy, as most aren't.
I have both Android and Apple phones, but it's the iPhone I use every day, even though in theory it is less functional. It is just so much better to use.
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hon3stly wrote:
I think if I saw a new iPhone in a bar I would bin it before the BBC got hold of it and started marketing it.
I think if I saw a new iPhone in a bar I would bin it :)
Face it, it's going to be just another Apple product: over-priced, over-hyped and mostly bought for the supposed swank factor of the brand/logo.
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Much to my chagrin I finally realized, when I read about the Indian Charlie Chaplin fan club, that Hitler was trying to emulate the venerable actor which is why his moustache and that of Charlie Chaplin were so alike. Pity poor Hitler - he just couldn't get it right, the simpleton that he was.
What I have written has absolutely no relevance to anything whatsoever but I felt I had to write it.
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@MrFang
The iPad is much closer to a giant iPod Touch than it is a Giant iPhone.
I also write apps, and the claims that the Android handset market is fragmented is pure nonsense, if you write your apps correctly then you have no worries. Currently Android 1.5 is the largest market, but that will soon be 2.1 when HTC and Samsung handsets get their 2.1 updates.
Either way, Apples days in the sun are over. A OS that supports 1 phone, 1 MP3 player and a tabletPC that nobody wants is going to be washed away by handsets from Open Handset Alliance ( http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html )
Android market penetration is always skyrocketing, whilst Apples is on the decline.
http://static.arstechnica.com/gadgets/admob_feb10_US_share.png
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@Mr Fang. Om sorry, but higher res or not (and it NEEDED to be) smaller is just dumb, totally dumb. The device need not be any bigger and have a larger screen. The HD2 has a much much larger screen (4.3 inches), and a more powerful CPU, but is about the same thickness. Now its true its wider and taller, but if Apple were able to make the screen as close to the edges as HTC were with the HD2 then the iPhone could reasonably sport a 4 inch (or at least 3.8 inch) screen and not increase in size over its current dimensions.
I didnt want an iPhone before, due to its old hardware and poor screen.. and of course all the Apple restrictions and controls, but if this is the new iPhone then new reasons for not getting one have emerged.
Frankly the fanbois who are drooling over this thing DESERVE to get one, they certainly deserve no better (I.E. almost anything else).
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As usual a lively debate from both sides regarding an Apple product. Could not help but notice the lack interest in MS new Kin devices - but what Apple are VERY good at is generating interest in their products.
Each to their own when it comes to preference, personally I prefer to be informed and will give anything a try before I make my mind up. To dislike a product because the manufacturer is seen to be 'trendy' or 'fashionable' seems naive and elitist to me.
As it has been stated above - Apple's UI is what draws user to their products, hassle free, works out the box etc. Whilst I do not altogether agree with that entirely, they seem to be head and shoulders above other manufacturers in this field at the moment. Consumers do not want grief, they want 'works'. They are not interested in uber stats and geekville dullness, it's boring.
BlackBerry users love their handsets, as do Nokia, HTC, etc etc - after all, if we all had the same that would be incredibly conservative and no fun at all.......
.......and to call the iPad a failure because it does not fit YOUR personal criteria is nothing short of dim. It does not fit mine but I'll still take a look and - guess what? be informed
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@MarkG
"I also write apps, and the claims that the Android handset market is fragmented is pure nonsense, if you write your apps correctly then you have no worries."
You are kidding, right? I'm already having to deal with changes to the address book format, UI elements being GPU accelerated on some versions, but not others, APIs being depreciated, different screen resolutions (VGA, QVGA, WVGA for starters), processor speed, GPUs, memory footprint etc. It's OK if you are writing simple applications using least common denominator techniques and standard controls, but if you are writing applications that integrate tightly with the OS and handset functions and have highly graphical interfaces, then it's a problem and it's getting worse.
OEMs are already cheesed off with the rate of change and the fact that Google keep the good stuff to themselves - I know because I speak to them. Plus each OEM is now building their own UI layers, widgets, core apps etc. Have you tried loading HTC widgets on a home screen app for example? You can't, HTC have re-written a non standard widget API. It is getting worse with each new release and new phone.
@ChrisM
I don't understand the comment that "it's dumb". In what way? I could say big screens are dumb, but that's an equally pointless comment.
High def small screens are also very readable and more robust, it's like you have anti-aliasing on all the time, and smartphones are getting too big to be pocket-able, so it isn't a dumb decision as far as I can see. Also, I don't see why you think it is old hardware. The camera is only 2MB agreed, but the CPU/GPU combination gives any Snapdragon or TI platform a good run for it's money. In any case, it's about being good enough and having a decent battery life, not bragging rights to geeks. Plus, it's quite likely that they'll move to the A4 from the iPad (which also explains them blocking 3rd party machine code generators, like the Adobe toolset)
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"Could not help but notice the lack interest in MS new Kin devices "
Bill Gates left one in a bar - it's still there. :-)
The Kin UI is quite exciting at first, but it fails to provide fast access to core phone functions. It also lacks the type of social integration that you see on other OS, like Palm. It's eye-candy to a large extent, which is a shame because the early releases looked very impressive.
Microsoft would be better off just buying Palm.
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"Android market penetration is always skyrocketing, whilst Apples is on the decline."
One should take care with numbers from Admob. Symbian have already complained about the skew in their numbers towards the US market and certain carriers. Also, Admob are in the process of being acquired by Google.
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