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Where's that wrascilly wrabbit? Compliments to Elmer Fudd.

It's worth every penny.

Ultimately, the consumer will have the last word regardless of the FUD. Wasn't the iPod looked upon by so many "experts" withh much the same level of scorn and doubt when it first came out?

(Yeah, this is from the the Department of the Truly Obvious, but still needs to be stated.)

Ease of typing IS going to be critical, and its good to hear that those who have tried it have had good experiences.

..as the mobile industry realizes that Apple has set their sights on their pot of gold claimed from now visibly inferior UI. They fear the iPod effect where Apple steamrolls them into 2nd, 3rd, or farther down the total sales volume/profits.

OK, iPhone, let's get out there and kill, kill, KILL!!!!!

"Has the so-called, self-described "analyst" Rob Enderle ever heard of the TunePower Rechargeable Battery Pack for iPod from Belkin or any of a hundred other similar solutions already on the market?"

Of course not, because that would mean they actually know what they're talking about.

I'm not sure how this qualifies as FUD considering how each point is actually a valid one.

Why does the iPhone get slammed for 5 hours talk time when it's more than the BlackBerry 8700 series or the Pearl (which top at four hours).

http://www.blackberry.com/compare/compare.do?handhelds=281&handhelds=302&handhelds=321&handhelds=242&handhelds=245&handhelds=243&method=getFeatureView&x=62&y=3

realist,

"Consumers are not used to paying another couple hundred bucks more just because Apple makes a cool product," Strother said. "Some fans will buy it, but for the rest of us it's a hard pill to swallow just to have the coolest thing."

That's a valid point about iPhone's price?

The rest is also regurgitated FUD from the talking points memo from Microsoft, Palm, etc.

You should rename yourself more accurately: nominalist

I paid almost this much for my Treo - which is half baked and buggy. If the iPhone will allow me to work with Word and Excel docs like my Treo I will pay the cancellation fee to Verizon, flush my Treo down the toilet and wait in line at the Apple Store for an iPhone.

The irony of all this FUD is we've only officially known about the iPhone for a week. Imagine the amount of FUD we'll be reading between now and the release date.

MW: "save" as in I'm saving each and every penny for this amazing piece of equipment.

the bit about 'it lacks a keyboard' is the highest epitome of FUD: it appears everywhere. "The iPhone will fail: it lacks a keyboard. Can't appeal professional users who need to type messages".

I am not worried then: if this is the reason the iPhone will fail it with thence be a huge success among professional users. They will type furiously faster with the iPhone while moronalists (moron-journalists) will faint "but.. but... that's nonsense, it cannot be: the iPhone lacks a keyboard. They CAN'T TYYYPEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHRRRGHHHHH"

Those thumb pad QWERTY keyboards suck BIG WANG! I hate them like cancer. And that's the problem with the phone industry right now...

They think I want thumb pads and I DON'T! That's why Steve Jobs is a genius.

Apple gets it, the killer app of the phone is being a phone! The GUI and multi touch will make it a pleasure to use. Apple wants to control the apps because it doesn't want the user experience damaged by poor third party software. Is the price too high? No given that you'll have a proper smart phone, media player, inernet device and GPS that really does "just work". The demand is going to be huge for this product.

If you figure the phone's cost with a 2 year contract and the data charges, this thing is going to cost more than a MacBook Pro. Since Apple requires the service as a pre-condition to buying the iPhone, don't try to break it out.

Too much for too little too closely tied.

No dice.

And Steve please, please bring that beauty to Europe ASAP.

I think the FUD is loads of fun. It reminds me of the early iPod FUD in 2001. I bought the 1st Gen iPod and was always very happy with it. I expect the iPhone to be no different. What a hoot it will be to see all the naysayers proved wrong.

It's valid to say that the early adopters will pay a premium for the 1st gen version - but that's what's great about being 1st at anything. I didn't want a Rio when that's what "the masses" were buying. And I've never cared how many people used PC's as opposed to Macs. Lonely at the top? Just the way I like it!

Lot's of FUD and yet the facts really haven't presented themselves completely yet. Everyone talks about how much the service will be yet they haven't even announced that yet! Talking about jumping the gun. Not even all the features and software has been announced as final yet either so how does everyone no how little or much the iPhone has to offer?

Everyone needs to wait until June and really see what this is all about rather than beating the bush without knowing what's behind it.

Steve jobs bring iPhone and other products to the intire W-O-R-L-D !!!!!!!!!

Big Wang....isn't Wang a computer???

Here's some pro-Apple FUD... are we all soooo certain the price as announced will be the price at release? Not discounted?

Or could this be another case of underpromising and overdelivering?

They've got to disclose the device in detail to the FCC... but they can change the price any day for any reason...

Moreover, why would they want to disclose the REAL price to the world 6 months before shipping?

=====

Seriously, analysts are sooooo stupid, not going one brain cell beyond what Apple has announced or what their competitors have whispered in their ear:

- Not questioning what the price will REALLY be.
- Missing (for the most part) the obvious pending shipment of large capacity videop iPods based on multitouch and the full screen.
- Questioning why Apple announced in advance (Macworld no less) when they fricken stated it outright--the specs are all going to come out via the FCC.

Last quarter will be tough for Apple to beat no matter how good the products, but mainly 2007 is going to be brutal on competitors. Apple ships beautfiul full screen multitouch while Zune still has a fake clickwheel.

Welcome to the Social...
Darwinism.
=)

Truely astonishing they could criticize a 5 hour battery life - The talk time for a Blackberry 8700c is 4 hours....The Verizon version of the RAZR is good for 3.33 hours, although the GSM version is quoted as 6.67 hours.

When people actually start to do side by side comparisons, I think they'll see that the 5 hour talk time compares favorably with any alternatives the less enlightened may be considering...

As for swapping batteries, only a small fraction of the most obsessed talkers need to do that to get through the day. Who wants to juggle an extra piece of stuff with them just so they can talk for an entire 8 hour business day? Much better to work via SMS and e-mail.

Gee, a device that will actually let me FIND and USE all it's features, without:
A.) Going Blind
B.) Developing some new type of RSI
C.) Losing one's mind and smashing said device against nearest hard surface.

At this point, the iPhone is really just an advanced technology demonstration (and Wall Street appeaser). Apple showed the world and is now reaping the benefit of a massive potential user critique. What looks good, what's bad and a list of what things could be tweaked or added or improved.

Brilliant move!!!

ALL these critics are merely shills for the various industries that will take a beating because of the iPhone's brilliance. The iPod proved to the world that when a product is done right, how people flock to BUY and what happens to competitors' mediocrities. And now THIS... iPhone?!?!?!?! Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Palm are all shaking in their boots. Cell phone service providers are freaking. Microflaccid is about to lose yet ANOTHER potential monopoly.

Heady times, these!

To me, the funniest one is the complaints of a lack of physical keyboard.

Years ago, I worked for a forms design/automation company. We had a product that would allow you to fill out the forms that we produced on-screen. This was originally a DOS program. It would display the form on the screen and you had a couple of lines at the bottom of the screen where you would type in what you wanted in a particular field.

Our chief competitor actually allowed you to enter the data into the field as you saw it on the screen. Our chief developer at the time said this would be really difficult to do.

Solution: Marketing stepped in and worked to convince everybody that this was a bad idea. "Sure, it looks cool. But what if you're viewing the form at 25% so it will fit in the screen? You can't see what you're typing! Our way is still the best!"

(Entertaining aside: When I worked on the Mac version of the software, I wrote it so the user entered data on the form. When I first showed it to marketing, I was dutifully informed that this was unacceptable and I had to do it similarly to the way the DOS product worked, which made no sense to me. I asked around and heard the above story which struck me as a really stupid reason. So I did one of the things I rarely do--made it an option...)

To pull the analogy to a close, this is similar to what other smartphone developers are doing. Since they can't change the keyboard, they're trying to convince everybody that a 2.5-inch physical keyboard is better than a 4 inch virtual keyboard. They may be right--I don't know. I haven't tried either. But, if I was in the market for a smartphone, I'd certainly wait and see.

5 years ago, the world looked at my "white rectangle" with earphones and said, "What the F is that?"

5 years from now, everyone will be enjoying their iPhone Nano. lol

Everyone who complains about lack of keyboard is a moron. Why is that most self-proclaimed experts ONLY know Windows (but "used a Mac once").

It's only those people downplaying the phone. Windows "experts," go back to what you know best - keeping your anti-malware software up-to-date. Stupid morons!

TimD; Where did you hear or read that the iPhone has a GPS receiver in it? I have read the opposite.

Summary:

Random self-proclaimed analysts (and/or PR people for competing companies): The iPhone might be a failure because it's not like every other phone already on the market.

"beyond its rabid fan base"

The article starts right of the bat insulting people who like Apple products.

Well maybe they are right.

Perhaps appreciating and liking Apple products is a bad thing for the world.

Perhaps being an Apple user might even be a crime of some sort in some places.

Even in the U.S.A. it might not be correct to like Apple.

We might be Applephiles or worse.

If it's a crime to like Apple products then I am here to confess.

Take me away and throw away the keys.

I am guilty as can be.

I guess I'll have to take it in the neck. If I must hang, I'll hang.

Proud to go with honor defending the company who's products I like.

No need for a hood. Thank you.

I want to see Ballmer (MSFT) and Ed Colligan (Palm CEO) as I die for my crimes.

Our family is standing by to purchase 6 iPhones.

it looks cool as all get out, but i can't do the 600 dollar price. sigh.

You have to think about more than just the cost of the phone. How much are you having to pay for a two year contract on that $200 dumbphone? I bet at the bare minimum it's somewhere in the $2400 range. So, let me see. I pay $2900 (including the price of a $500 iPhone) over two years for a device that will actually has more functionality than any phone out now, or I pay $2600 over two years for a piece of crap that will probably break after the first 12 months and has an inelegant POS operating system like Windows Mobile 20 (or whatever it's called). Um, I'm sticking with an iPhone.

>> Rob Enderle, a technology analyst, wondered if that's enough for consumers who might not get enough juice in one day from Apple's iPhone battery

Can't you just plug it into your Mac or PC to charge it up!?! It is an iPod after all.

First there was the iPod.
Then we kept hearing about the iPod killers.
When it really should have been: iPod, killer!
Now we have the iPhone.
So we will be hearing about the iPhone killers.
When it will really be: iPhone, killer!

mp3 player companies never saw the bus until it ran them over.
Phone makers can see it coming, but are like deer in the headlights!
They, and their software providers, are scared shitless, as they should be.

The Price thing - Well, why would someone buy a Beamer over a Hyundai when they both have 4 wheels and a steering wheel? Though unlike the Beamer, I don't think the iPhone will break the bank of the average consumer.

The Battery thing - Of course you can hook up an external battery pack when needed, but these people only see what is directly in front of their faces - this is why they are analysts and critics, not product designers or creative thinkers.

The Keyboard thing - Once again, they look at it and ask themselves, why no 30+ mini buttons? Someone please come up with a dock connector keyboard to shut these people up, they obviously can't grasp the idea of a touch screen.

The FUD may be in direct proportion to the hype. I'll leave that to a mathematician.

Good FUD or bad FUD...FUD is exposure and will create curiosity and knowledge
that it wouldn't create otherwise if there wasn't any FUD. Free publicity and money in the bank for Apple and more sales of iPhones. The whole planet already seems to know something about this device. Still, anyone know what Michael Smell talked about at his keynote? I've been waiting to hear?

According to Rob Enderle the iPhone is so bad and so expensive no one will want it:

"It comes in at a nosebleed price, it has really lousy [fill in the FUD here] ..."

and he knows definitively that the LG phone - which I doubt he's even seen - is better in every way.

However, at the same time the whore is claiming that the prospect of the iPhone will cause people not to buy iPods:

"... many who might have otherwise purchased an iPod in the first half of the year will likely hold and wait ... "

IOW, Enderle is claiming at one and the same time that the iPhone is undesirable and too expensive but that the prospect of it will stop people from buying products which have been proved to be highly desirable and which are cheaper.

Enderle isn't even self-consistent. Enderle just tries to shit on Apple to please his masters in Redmond.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/HVAhhFkVwabdgC/2007-Apples-Bad-Year-Vista-Launch-Countdown-CES-Cool-Stuff.xhtml

In this same article Enderle plays Gypsy Rose Lee the fortune teller, asks us to cross his palm with silver, looks at the tealives and claims Apple "will have a bad year". Then he adds that Vista is the best thing since best things have been in existence.

Just try asking someone with some *real* technical knowledge and credentials about Vista:

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

Enderle is a joke - a boil on the backside of the industry, an IT hooker for hire, Redmond's bitch.

"...some FUD-spewing spokeswoman whose company is about to be steamrolled by Apple..."

damn that's harsh, MDN. true, but harsh.

As soon as Kim said the Enderly word you know the article would be BS⁄

As an IT Admin who has users who use both Treos and Blackberries, Apple's announcement couldn't have come at a worse time. Just a few weeks ago we gave all our partners "shiny" new Treos to use (I hate plastic that is painted to look like metal!!). Miserable things, they are. Using the plastic QWERTY (READ: CRAPPY) keyboard nubs (one cannot call these things keys or buttons, they're just too small to qualify) is an horiffic experience. I wish SO MUCH that I could have rolled these out to our users using an IMAP/Exchange combination. Guess I will have to act as guinea pig! Can't wait to get my hands on one!!

Gypsy Rose Lee wqs a stripper, not a fortune teller!!

I'm going to coin a (possibly new) phrase now, so get used to reading it:

Blood on the touch screen!

I predict the iPhone will have as much (if not more) blood on the touch screen, just like it's sibling, the iPod, has blood on the click wheel!

-DM

Enderle assbleeds his comments.

It will be interesting to see how the touch-screen works in sub-freezing temperatures. (I'm in Stockholm, so I think about such things.)

Certain friends of mine have said that they can only buy phones that sync with MS Outlook, so it looks like it may be a no-go for them.

No Tim, it doesn't have a built-in GPS, but it would be nice if one could link it up with a variety of Bluetooth GPS units (even just one would be better than nothing.)

Lots of Widgets need to be available, and development hurdles can't be too high for adaptation of existing OS X widgets. Apple has a good thing going there, I hope that they don't screw it up by allowing themselves to be too controlled by Cingular (and/or other providers.)

Release Safari for Windows concurrently with Leopard and allow Windows users to sync their favorites and access other functions via a low-cost version of .Mac for Windows with functionality optimized (restricted?) for Safari only. The resulting market traction might eventually convince my bank to open up to allow online banking via Safari, and possibly Safari on the iPhone. (Yes, I know and use FF regularly, but I doubt that it will be showing up on the iPhone soon.)

Other questions that I have include:
Voice commands.
Speed dialing.
Dual (or rotating) camera implementation on the 3G versions to allow videoconferencing (iChat, anyone?)
Google Earth for iPhone (with real-time uploading of paths or waypoints noted via BT GPS?)
Video Out, as currently implemented on the Video iPods (or better).
Salling Clicker-esque functionality when it comes to driving presentations or controlling iTunes or other actions from Macs. I can do that with my old T68i and my K700i, it should also be possible from a new iPhone.
Doubles as a Front Row and/or AppleTV remote?

Even if prices stay as announced, look for storage to be higher by the time the US model is released, and if not then than by EU release for sure.

"Blood on the touch screen" doesn't even begin to describe the incredible loss of blood (and other bodily fluids) that will certainly be suffered by the cell phone/electronics industry as a direct result of the Apple iPhone and the even more amazing gadgets that are sure to follow it.

At the same time, it is remarkable that the new LG Prada, while by no means as technically advanced (or as gorgeous) as the iPhone, has made its debut in the same week after a presumably lengthy development period and, one must also assume, without prior knowledge of the details of Apple's design. Personally, I take this as a sign that the electronics industry in general may eventually begin to catch fire as a result of Apple's innovative leadership. It stands to reason that if one tree bursts into flame, the trees around it will eventually catch fire and, slowly, the fire will spread.

Meanwhile, Apple is on such an incredible roll that many competitors will be weeping (or gnashing their teeth) for the next couple of years at least. Their half-baked, imitative products don't look so good next to Apple's glowing product line. Serves them right for selling crap to the masses. Even the most humble laborer knows the difference between a diamond and a dungheap.

It has a fscking keyboard.

"That's a huge challenge," said Roger Entner, vice president of wireless telecom for Ovum, a consulting firm. "The reason we have keyboards is because there is much less input confusion. It's much easier to determine what key is pressed and what isn't than with a touch screen."

Roger Entner, you are a fscking douche. How do you have input confusion when you can see the result of your touch on the screen? Personally, I look at the screen for information on what I just pushed. I do not look directly at the keyboard or keypad. I am sure that it will take some getting used to, but the QWERTY microkeyboards do, as well.

Oh oh oh! Sorry - maybe Entner had a QWERTY microkeyboard for his desktop computer already! In that case, he's totally fscking right.

Okay can someone tell me what FUD stands for and i know what it means but what does is stand for .......and anyone can answer this