Anyone care to speculate weither you can install your software to run on this ie ichat or other apps? I would hope that they allow that.

Windows Mobile has never froze/crashed on me. The only time I've had to turn it off/reset it is when I'm swapping a battery



^

that was a good one!

windows mobile is the most unstable and frozing crashing operating system i can think of. i dont know what kind of apps you are runnin, but i am happy i got skype on my sony M600 and p990 runnin now .

so i could get rid of my Windows mobile device.

dp

I would expect there to be *some* software available for installation, though I have my doubts about being able to install plain desktop versions of software on to it. Note that Jobs said during his spiel "desktop-class". If you could actually install regular OSX apps, I would think he'd say it straight out. But maybe that's just me.

And before someone brings up widgets, that's different. OSX Widgets are composed of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; in that sense, technology no more advanced than a web browser could handle it.

Just saw the phone and got is specs. It is very 2003. The Apple Iphone looks nice but its functions lag many others.

License 3G or EDGE? You don't need to license anything, you just need a compatible radio chipset, and the difference in EDGE and 3G chipsets isn't that much. Which is why I just don't get it.

2 year contracts came back into fashion last year in the US, which really sucks but the price isn't all that surprising for a US device where Treo's and HTC Wizards still sell in the 300/400 dollar range.

It'll be interesting to see if they are locked, whether they can be unlocked and how Apple plans to deal with the inevitable gray market that'll come to life. In the UK there is no way this phone will sell for $599, so if it's sold cheaper you can rest assured people will be shipping them to the US and selling them under what Cingular wants for them. Apple is in for a real surprise in a market it has no experience in.

ugly but efficient. I would rather have ugly and efficient any day of the week.

If we think from the perspective of the mass U.S. population (and not from the perspective of us education/informed/tech-savvy/etc people who travel the world and appreciate technological advances round the world), this iPhone from Apple will be the best thing the mass U.S. population has seen to date.

The Mass US population yes, but as other posters have pointed this handset will go the way of the dodo globally if they don't incoporate 3G fast. As another poster pointed out Apple is dabbling a bit in a market it knows nothing of. I was surprised that the handset was locked to Cingular and that a two year contract was needed. By doing this Apple starts to limit its market. If it sold unlocked handsets direct from Apple stores it would make a killing. People don't like to be burdened with things with contracts, especially the kind of people that buy apple products

The phone market is very fad based and what was cool 8 months ago is naff now. Globally the markets vary from country to country, so whereas Europe and the Far East miles ahead in mobile technology, HSDPA anyone?, N. America lags far behind. So by the time the iPhone is available to launch in Europe, everybody will have moved well on.

As an information worker efficient is good. An entertainment device it has to be flashy and slick. The iPhone is suppose to appeal as an entertainment device and a tool.

Why not make it efficient and nice to look at?

I'm wondering if the iPhone is more tied to Cingular than most phones would be.

In the play-by-plays I read earlier today there was mention of Apple and Cingular working closely to launch this device.

I'm only halfway through the keynote now, but features like the voicemail access where you can access individual messages through the UI aren't features I've seen before. Steve mentioned this was a "collaboration."

Also, I heard mention that the US is getting the iPhone in June, and Japan is getting it in 2008. Did Steve say when Europe will be getting the phone?

There's an article in TIME that goes through this pretty thoroughly. It looks like Apple flipped the provider/manufacturer relationship on its side.

The content of the iPhone that was demo'd today by Jobs... would that content exist if the iPhone was on the TMo network (for example)? I'm sure that we can buy the iPhone, put in a non-Cingular SIM, and the iPhone will work... we just wouldn't be able to use ALL of its functionality.

With Apple's iPod refresh/revision/update schedule the last 5 years, who's to say that by the time Apple is ready to launch in Europe/Asia that iPhone v2 will be ready?

One other thing... I'm assuming that when Apple mentioned Japan was launching the iPhone in 2008 that this would be when 3G would be ready.

I'm far less savy on this stuff, but when we were in Japan it looked like 3G was the dominant option and perhaps the only option. It was certainly the only option we found at the airport SIM card booths and cell phone rental places.

It's usual Apple boasting.

Visual Voicemail isn't even a "collaboration", it's a feature on the Comverse voicemail platform most major operators use. It's been available for the Blackberry for ages, there just haven't been any operators willing to implement (pay for) it.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...15/ai_n9529472

It isn't impossible that the voicemail interface can be changed so it'll work on other operators.

I so totally want this phone. Whoa. Cold shower time.

But I won't get one till at least the 2G version is released. I managed to wait on the iPod till 2G. And besides, my Verizon contract doesn't expire till next January.

But I would bet serious money on me having an iPhone.