I've been waiting for this inevitable release before upgrading my RAZR. Despite being a Mac-user exclusively, I'm not getting an iPhone.

Even though I don't REALLY need the internet/email features, but REALLY want a Mac OS based calendar and organizer, I was prepared to pay a bit for the device. But NOT THAT MUCH!

The monthly cost on T-Mobile with voice, text, and international (including roaming) services runs me about $40. Similar services on Verizon will be $65/month, and then their international roaming charges (even subscribing to their discount plan) are more than T-Mobile's (who don't require an additional discount plan). The only thing that's cheaper is calling on Verizon is calling from the US to a land line abroad, if you pay to subscribe to their international discount plan. As an occasional international caller (use land line mostly) and occasional international roamer it's not worth paying a monthly fee for the 8 months I'll not need the service.

Pity about the price and Cingular exclusivity. :-(

Eh, I have to wonder how many of those will turn out to be missing. It's clear that not everything was demo'd in the keynote. The calendar function wasn't shown, for example, but we know that's in there. Things like vibrating alerts and voice dialing might be seen as very standard and not worth talking about.

Messaging light? Probably not. Removable battery? I kinda doubt that as well. USB charging should be easy, though: it has an iPod dock connector. Why wouldn't it charge through that like all other iPods?

I'd shell out for this right now and re-sell my soul to Cingular for an extra two years. June? Argh! I was reading some of those live blogs from the keynote this afternoon and about halfway through wanted him to shut up so I could order it already. Didn't expect to have to wait quite that long.

No, it really doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before. It's just the way that it's done. Phone interfaces suck. Phones that play music are hideous compromises. This one seems to have no such compromise. It helps my decision that I don't yet have an iPod, of course, so there's no duplication for me.

Remember folks, this a tech launch. I'm betting August at the earliest.

as we know apple, the announcements normally are very close to the release dates.

for the phone i expect the date to be 100% accurate .

i will get the phone if it gets 3G.

dp

Or you can just call Cingular and request the unlock code. My understanding is they now HAVE TO provide it to you IF you ask. I called two days ago for my Motorola phone and they were more than happy to set me up to unlock my phone. I guess its a little known secret

I am also assuming that it won't be long till you can buy the phone flat out with no contract.

But then again do you really want to be a launch customer or the Rev A of any product?

Some interesting comments from David Pogue on using the iPhone:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...th-the-iphone/

And a little history on the development of the iPhone:

http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...575743,00.html

Great articles. ^ ^ ^
As a BB addict I was interested to see how it was going to work out.

No it's the reality of their shares dropping on the NASDAC!

Yep. There were a couple of bad cases where the actual release date of a couple of products was over a month after the announced date. There was egg on face, and people got fired over that one.

Since then the promised release dates have been much more dependable, even if it takes complimentary overnight shipping to pull it off.

Keep in mind, though, when they promise "June", it's much more likely to be June 28th or June 30th than June 2nd. But they'll pull out all the stops to be sure it's indeed June when people get it in their hands.

One other caveat though... Steve said it would begin shipping in June. This means that the first orders will ship then. Could be that by Day Two of the iPhone being on the Store the estimated ship date changes to July. There will be a huge surge of orders booked in the beginning, and the very, very first ones will go out in June. Everyone else will go out in July.

To make sure your order goes through smoothly and avoids delay, a few tips...
- Don't use one-click. One Click holds your order on the web site for an hour in case you made a mistake or changed your mind. So your order is essentially delayed an hour. This affects your place in line.
- Enter your billing address and daytime phone # correctly. Make sure they're identical to the address and phone #s on your credit card statement.
- If you can ship to your billing address, do.
- Don't use a debit card
- Make sure your credit card won't be expiring before June
- Gift wrapping could delay shipment by 24 hours.
- Sometimes an option to "ship items all together in one shipment" is present. DON'T select this option if you want your order quickly.

If you follow the suggestions above, your order is much less likely to get snagged along the way, and you can be the first on your block with a shiny, new iPhone.

The Blackjack's original price was $599. Of course there was all sorts of contract, online, corporate discounts and rebates that brought the price down to around $199.

I'm sure there will be something similar here. I'm eligible for an upgrade in Feb but will hold off until the iPhone is available.

The iPhone is $499/$599 with a 2 yr contract. That implies that the non-discounted price (if it's even available) will be much higher.

Cingular has stated that NO discounts will apply to this phone. Premier business customers will NOT be eligible for their usual discount. They can thank Apple for that.

To me that is already Apples first mistake. I know they love to be in control on pricing when it comes to their MP3 players, but they REALLY need to wake up and smell the cellphone market. It's clear they have no experience here.

I was just coming here to post this link.

No worries... There will be plenty of outlets where you can by unbranded iPhones as soon as they are released. Cingular is just the only carrier getting it first in the US.

While I agree to a certain degree, but can you believe that the RAZR is still selling for US$200 (w/o contract) after how many years? and ppl are still buying them in the US.


Apple does need to do something about the European and Asian markets. This phone will not last too long.