“What does Apple’s iPhone have in common with the failed Apple Newton of more than a decade ago? Nothing. Yet,” David Haskin blogs for Computerworld.
Haskin writes, “But I was reminded of the Newton lately and how, despite its current hot streak, Apple doesn’t have an unblemished record when it comes to introducing innovative new devices. And the company may well be making some of the same mistakes now as it made in 1993 when it introduced Newton.”
“Apple seems to be repeating the cycle again with iPhone, developing what is undoubtedly an advanced product with a remarkable interface and overcharging for it. A recent survey found that a minuscule number of consumers would pay $500 for a 4 GB iPhone. It’s a good reminder that, for all their noise, Apple fanatics truly are a small percentage of the overall technology marketplace,” Haskin writes.
Haskin writes, “Besides overcharging for iPhone, Apple faces significant competition, something it didn’t face in 1993 when it launched Newton.”
“It’s also becoming clear that Apple may be suffering from excessive hubris. That is evident by its strong demands on its partner in the U.S., Cingular/AT&T. The demands, including a slice of the cellular revenues and control of the sales channel, were so strong that Verizon Wireless turned the deal down,” Haskin writes.
Haskin writes, “I’m more convinced than ever that, after an initial frenzy of publicity and sales to early adopters, iPhone sales will be unspectacular. If Apple doesn’t respond quickly by lowering the price and making nice to AT&T, which surely will be ticked off, iPhone may well become Apple’s next Newton.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “sketchtrain” for the heads up.]
There’s so much wrong with this — from reliance on tiny survey’s that asked undisclosed questions to Verizon-planted stories about how they “turned down” the iPhone — that we’re not even going to bother. Rest assured, Haskin’s opinion has been duly iCal’ed for future reference.
Related articles:
Goldman Sachs: 4 reasons to be bullish on Apple’s iPhone – February 26, 2007
Apple airs iPhone teaser ad during Oscars – February 25, 2007
Apple preps 3G iPhone model for Europe – February 25, 2007
Apple’s iPhone pricing: too high or too low? – February 24, 2007
Survey shows Apple’s iPhone a tad too expensive? – February 23, 2007
The once-mighty Palm Inc. doomed to decline and failure – thanks to Apple’s iPhone – February 23, 2007
Palm CEO can’t stop talking about Apple iPhone – February 19, 2007
How Steve Jobs played hardball in iPhone deal with AT&T (Cingular) – February 17, 2007
RUMOR: Apple iPhone 4GB for $299, 8GB for $399 with 2-year AT&T contract? – February 16, 2007
Telstra exec tells Apple to ‘stick to its knitting’ as iPhone looms – February 15, 2007
Digit takes a closer look at Apple’s iPhone – February 14, 2007
Microsoft caught off-guard, beaten badly by Apple’s iPhone innovations – February 13, 2007
Palm CEO: ‘We don’t want to follow design fads’; Nokia CEO challenges Apple over iPhone – February 13, 2007
RIM co-CEO doesn’t see threat from Apple’s iPhone – February 12, 2007
Apple’s soon-to-be iPhone rivals sound just like iPod rivals circa 2001 – February 01, 2007
How Verizon blew the Apple iPhone deal – January 29, 2007
O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile battle for exclusive rights to Apple iPhone in UK – January 26, 2007
Rogers to offer Apple iPhone exclusively in Canada – January 25, 2007
FUD Alert: Apple iPhone ‘isn’t very practical’ and a ‘security risk’ for business – January 24, 2007
Research in Motion downgraded due to Apple iPhone competition – January 23, 2007
Ihnatko: Hands-on with Apple’s iPhone (which runs Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard) – January 18, 2007
Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs at Apple iPhone – January 17, 2007
RealMoney: Apple just blew up the whole damn mobile-phone supply chain with its new iPhone – January 11, 2007
eWeek: Apple iPhone fallout: ‘They must be crying in Nokia-ville and other telephony towns today’ – January 10, 2007
Jefferies downgrades Motorola on fears of market share loss to Apple iPhone – January 10, 2007
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
Time: ‘iPhone could crush cell phone market pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority’ – January 09, 2007
Analyst: Apple iPhone should be given its own category – ‘brilliantphone’ – January 09, 2007
Apple debuts iPhone: touchscreen mobile phone + widescreen iPod + Internet communicator – January 09, 2007
Time will tell!!
Initially, I thought the iPhone was really cool, but that ended quickly after I added up how much I would have to spend to get into bed with Cingular (now AT&T). No thanks, Apple.
The iPhone is way too expensive IMO. All I need is a cell phone to make the odd phone call. I don’t need an iPod on a cell phone- that’s what I bought a fscking iPod for.
Get ready to dig up that iCal in a few months MDN!
I’m glad that “iCal’ed” isn’t just a word me and my mac friends use.
James needs to chill out
Jeez, I dont even post that often on here and somebody already thinks I’m a legend
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I think it all depends on how quickly they are gonna be able to reduce the price. I would love one but I know I wont be able to afford one when it first comes out.
Mdn Word: Hope, as in hopefully it wont be this expensive for too long.
Sorry David Haskin, you are in a different time zone. We are in a New World Order. Computer savvy people have increased tremendously.
Boy its cold in here…and I have gas.
iPhone
Therefor I am…
…not wasting my time on articles and FUD like this!
The iPhone will be a success because it copied the amazing Windows Vista ad but using the word “Hello” instead.
Apple sure knows how to copy ideas from successful companies dont they?
My take:
The Newton was a product way ahead of its time, where technology was expensive and the demand for a PDA was inexistent.
So, the Newton was aiming for a consumer segment which was inexistent – so to create the product AND the consumer segment were challenges.
The iPhone, on the other hand, has a very well defined consumer segment: smartphone users. And from there it will spread to phone users. So, yes, the iPhone is a smartphone (too), but it’s a revolutionary kind of smartphone, with technology not seen before in a single device.
This can be reflected on the demand. Nobody was saying “I can’t wait for the Newton to come out to buy one”, but I see a lot of “I can’t wait for the iPhone to come out”.
Plus, as I mentioned before, Apple is aiming for only 1% marketshare. If they achieve that goal (and I believe they will surpass it), then the iPhone will be a success.
Dang! I should start writing tech columns instead of Enderle, Dvorak and all those losers!
James,
Even though I think the new technology introduced with the iPhone is great, I don’t plan to buy one either (right away) because I, too, use my cell phone for making calls. Others, however, can’t live without their “smart phone.” I think the iPhone will exceed Apple’s conservative sales expectations, even at $500-600 each. The price will eventually come down with the introduction of newer models with different functional capabilities. The deal-breaker for me is not the $500 startup cost, but the monthly AT&T bill that will be required to use the phone. What will THAT be? Your guess is as good as mine!
Except that the iPhone is a phone and can use the internet. In other words it can connect with the outside world and find information for you. The Newton couldn’t do that. That makes a huge difference. The Newton was just a fancy notepad.
1. The Treo cost over $500 when it came out.
2. The iPod cost $400 when it came out (at 5GB), and a few months later the 20GB iPod 1G was $500.
David Haskin is trolling for hit counts, ignore him
This is not for teenagers or moms.
This phone is for business users. They will drop $700 if it does what they say it does, and line up for it.
Look at it another way. How many teenagers do you see with a Palm Treo?
Exactly
He conveniently overlooks the fact that none of Apple’s management (and probably few employees) was at Apple when the Newton was launched.
He also doesn’t seem to understand the concepts inflation and the time value of money. $700 in 1993 was a lot more money than $500 today. The real value of that $700 would be $970 today. That is a faily big difference, ignoring completely the higher value of the iPhone based on functionality.
What he didn’t say was what he thought the Newton should have been priced at. The iPhones $500 price today is equivelent to $355 in 1993, or HALF the cost of the Newton.
Besides a falling price—which will obviously help ANY product (duh!)—the iPhone is still very much cheaper than the Newton was in it’s day. If the interface is intuitive as the iPod’s (compared to the competition) it will blow everything else away. All Apple has to do is create a nice price spectrum like it did with the iPod.
The other thing is that the iPhone might become secondary to the OS and the interface introduced in the iPhone. Mac OS X in a 4 gig footprint could easily revolutionize many different product catagories—audio systems (pro and consumer), gaming systems, video systems, autos, security systems, etc.
“It’s also becoming clear that Apple may be suffering from excessive hubris. That is evident by its strong demands on its partner in the U.S., Cingular/AT&T. The demands, including a slice of the cellular revenues and control of the sales channel, were so strong that Verizon Wireless turned the deal down,”
How exactly are the strong demands from Apple going to stop consumers from buying the iPhone? Yes, I know some people do not like Cingular, but some people do not like Verizon, either. Apple seems to have wanted an exclusive contract with a carrier, so no matter what, some consumers were not going to be happy with the carrier.
I would say that Apple’s “strong demands” are actually one of the drawing points. It is good to have hardware manufacturers that make demands on the carriers to get better features and more flexibility, eg visual voicemail. I, for one, am glad that a hardware manufacturer is not going to cripple their hardware and features so the telecos can make a few more dollars a year from me.
Sure, the pricepoint is high, but as many have pointed out, it is similar to most top end smartphones (but with more flash memory) and all such devices drop in price over time.
The Newton had revolutionary technology BUT it was notoriously buggy until it was just about phased out. (Remember the Doonesburry cartoons making fun of the Newton?
I doubt Steve Jobs will let that happen with the iPhone.
A phone with an intuitive interface will seem almost magical. (Just like the original Mac compared to the PC.)
Grifterus wrote:
…and the demand for a PDA was inexistent…..
“Dang! I should start writing tech columns instead of Enderle, Dvorak and all those losers!”
If you think “inexistent” is a word, perhaps you would do well in the PC world. – Remember: In real life “Spelling Counts”
……………
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On the iphone issue; I’m waiting for the critter. I don’t know if I’ll be an “early adopter” but I’ll certainly be in the pool by the time the second generation is introduced. I think it’s a bargain at $500.00. Being able to have a single device synch my iAddress book, my iCalendar, and my iTunes is a pretty cool thing. The fact that it can make telephone calls is just magic.
Frankly, I think the iPhone will make huge money for Apple. I expect the preliminary 1% market share is simply their typical overly conservative approach to profit forcasting. We’ve seen it elsewhere in Apple.
Buy Apple stock!!! – no kidding. even at $88 it’s a bargain.
Unbelievable…the so called experts are usually experts only at saying things will not work..
How many times have they said what Apple is doing will not work? When the iPod first came out, they wrote the same type of bullsh*t. They said the iPod was way too expensive. They never learn! Timing is more important than price. I think someone once said…”There is nothing like an idea whose time has come”.
I think the timing is right for the iPod…I think Apple has made a few mistakes with the first device…but they will correct it later.
I would venture that Apple’s plan would include having a high price to limit the adoption of the iPhone initially to better adapt the the dynamics of the celluar market…refine the strategy and then release a variety of iPhones at different price points like they did with the iPod.
For sure you will see prices in the 299 range and better contracts afterwards. They first round device is to learn from and refine the strategy.
I don’t believe many of these experts have the talent to turn around a company like Apple…that’s why they sit around pretending like they can.
Also, the Newton was not one of Job’s projects, I hear he killed it when he came back to Apple…Job’s is much more experienced than he was 10 years ago!
We should learn from the past….not re-live it.
For a guy who claims to have closely followed Apple’s product, Hastin certainly sounds like one of the nay-sayers who panned the original iPod. “Who would pay $400 for an MP3 player?” Indeed. We all saw how that went. Turned out that quite a lot of people would pay a high price for an MP3 player – as long as it was done well.
There is no doubt that the 1st generation iPhone is an expensive bit of kit. But it would be remarkably short sighted and ignorant to claim that this will always be the case. Over time, features will mature, capacity will increase and the price will go down. I’d also bet the exclusive contract with Cingular will not be renewed once the cell phone service providers come crawling to Steve Jobs for a piece of the iPhone pie.
I would also expect that such an astute student of Apple product history as Hastin claims to be would have noticed that the Newton enjoys a fan club that continues to support Newton software long after Apple abandoned the project. Originally released in 1993, the newton lives on:
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,54580,00.html
I don’t think Mr. Haskin did much research on the subject of the Newton. More likely he’s just trolling for hits. I hear lots of tech journalists bait MacHeads to get more site traffic.
And, no, I didn’t click the link!
upcoming product…
compared to failure product…
could upcoming product = failure…?
lets speculate!
add a dash of pessimism… yay!
Please, David Haskin, in the name of Apple bashing…flush and get the hell out of there..
..and for the love of God turn the fan on.
I am going to buy one, and i didnt buy a newton, so in my eyes, its not a repeat of the newton.
Haskins is a bufoon, and I have just two words for him..
iPhone, bitch!
The Newton was never a mistake, maybe Sculley’s folley!? Prescients of Sculley were egotistically didained by Jobs. That doesn’t diminish the magnitude of the Newton’s futuristic PDA qualities. Besides the fact that it wasn’t his baby, Jobs made a descision not to continue in a field that for a time became a commodity market. Maybe he’s now ready to claim the field as his own………
People paid $400 for an iPod when it first came out, and it didn’t do anything but play music (and iTMS wasn’t in existence then, either).
I carry a Palm ($250 w/TomTom GPS), Razr (~$150 18 months ago), and sometimes my iPod Nano ($250 for 8GB). That is $650, for those who are counting. I would LOVE to have one device, like the iPhone.
It would be PERFECT if Steve would add GPS capability.
I suspect GPS will come once 3G is more widespread in the U.S., rather than trying to have a lot of people trying to access the web, e-mail, and GPS navigation over Cingular’s 2.5G EDGE. The bandwidth just may not be there yet for GPS.
BTW, you don’t have to get an iPhone right when it comes out. Simply wait until your current mobile phone contract expires, then switch.
The main difference here is that even if the iPhone tanks (which I don’t think it will), they can still pull the phone part out of it and sell an amazing iPod music/video/photo player. Which they will most likely do shortly after the iPhone premieres.
I will purchase an iPhone when my contract is up with Sprint is up and they fix some of iPhone’s limitations(most likely in the 2nd generation). I might have to purchase two…my kids really like it too. We all recently converted from Windows….and bought a MacBook Pro….
I am a graduate computer science student writing my Thesis on OS security…and have seen many recent converts in our department by many Professors and students…with is Unix capabilities and Ease of use…My kids and I keep fighting over who gets to use it.
I am buying another Mac, most likely the Mac Mini in March when leopard is released for my kids and wife to use….Then I can have my MacBook Pro all to myself.
The only NEWTON mistake was not having an modem to connect to the internet or other computers.
Newton… Newton…. Newton…
Can you find one on eBay that has all of the goodies to buy – NOW?
Nope. why???
Demand… Demand… Demand…
Such a schite product is stilll in demand. Hmmmmmmmm…
iPhone… everyone complains about expensive…
Reality… any other “phone plus PDA plus almost music player plus internet connectivity (as in BS)” is going for $900 to $1500. CASH…
With a contract – half that. YEP – Apple is way out of the ballpark on this one. Yep…
Haskin is so good at finding the shite in the pile – maybe he needs to go to Iraq and find the missing WMDs…
My review of this article – he must have had a wild M$ hair up his ar_se to sit down and write this one. Cheech…
IPhone = kicking Palm in the huevos before it even started and it ain’t even close to over… Who else will double over?
MDN = hair
Nothing to see here. Move along.
“Rest assured, Haskin’s opinion has been duly iCal’ed for future reference.”
I love this MDN, great quote. Love the new verb…”to iCal” or “iCal’ed”….maybe the spanish version could be…”iCalar”…i.e. “asegurense que la opinión de Haskin ha sido debidamente iCalado.”
Love it.
What does Apple Steve Jobs and friends and Apple 1993 have in common? Nothing!
What does David Haskin of back then and David Haskin of now have in common? Everything, still the same moron.
A sure sign of a useless article is one that tries to make an analogy between the Apple of today and the Apple of yesterday. These two have virtually nothing in common anymore. This is a dead wringer for an out-of-touch writer, or a misleading one. The sins of the old Apple have been completely absolved, and any mistakes Apple is making today are new ones. Apple’s current management pretty much holds the old Apple in contempt, and is definitely not going to emulate it.
Apple’s competitors keep hoping that Apple will trip over itself as it consistently did in the past. But it is just not happening anymore. And those competitors are fearfully realizing that they will finally have to compete, something for which they are woefully ill-prepared.
Verizon???
The last thing Verizon is, IMO, is an early adopter of anything. Heck, my Razr can’t even download ring tones from my new iMac.
Verizon will adopt and embrace the iPhone when it’s five to ten years old.
Haskin’s bias is so strong that I can see his head up his ass from 10 miles away.
Don’t these people ever get tired of hearing themselves talk?
@John… I know, I had some cool ringtones I created and wanted to send to my razr with verizon also before I got my treo. You can email them to your phone though, and then save the file, then select it as a ringtone. I’m currently using “smooth” by Santana as my ringtone. (just the guitar solo)
Sorry to hear your income level doesn’t enable you to say that the iPhone is perfectly affordable and ‘great value’ Bad luck you and others who would if they could but they can’t…
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And the writer of this article is just so wrong that he must have written just to be controversial.
Well, Apple said if we can get the iPhone 1%. . . . Apple should pay attention to their -dust allergic- Mighty Mouse. Much more than 1% have -not- scrolling troubles with it !
Exactly the same argument was put forward for the iPod. The prices consistently went down as the hard drive capacity went up. What crueled the Newton was the hand-writing software/technology…it was poor. Over time this was corrected but it was all too late. By that stage the Newton had become the butt of late night variety television shows.
The iPhone will drop in price and after a couple of price reductions I might (I repeat, I might) be interested in buying one. However, this product doesn’t grab like it will many others because for me if I drop this sucker many applications go down the drain; or shatter on the ground, as the case may be. But that’s just my preference. The iPhone as a Newton…NOT!
Two things killed the Newton –
1. The flawed handwriting recognition that was lampooned in the Doonesbury comic strip.
2. John Sculley wasting too much time sucking up to the Clintons when he should have been running the business.
American analysts/journalists commenting on mobile phone market is hilarious, as they seem to forget there is a wider world out there.
THE AMERICAN MOBILE PHONE MARKET IS FAR LESS MATURE THAN JAPAN OR EUROPE!
Just because some survey says Americans won’t buy a $500 mobile doesn’t mean the rest of the world won’t. There are lots of mobile phone handsets for sale in Europe/Japan that cost more than $500.
@Swing Geezer.
If you think ” forcasting ” is a word, perhaps you would do well in the PC world. – Remember: In real life “Spelling Counts”
Game on.
Not a troll article though, more like a rectal spasm. Ffft…that she blows!
Well everyone I know (including windows user friends) want an iPhone.
As soon as it comes out in the UK im getting one for sure!
So what Apple’s record for successful products isnt flawless? I dare anyone to name a company that hasnt had at least one unsucessful product out in the marketplace.
At least Apple isnt Micrsoft – who has based their whole business model on copying other peoples inventions (very badly!) and who has a product success record that I can count on one hand.
The iPhone will sell – that’s a given!
here is some enterprises that continues to sell the newton:
http://www.jksalesinc.com/catalog/
and
http://www.gementerprises.com/newton.htm
now my question is: what is wrong with apple if the newton isn´t totally erased?
iphone it´s not going to have the same destiny has newton because its not a pda,now if newton was a cellphone that was a difrent history; in the future we still going to see the same things and some new things,like the apple television,witch is now possible.
If iPhone sales are unspectacular I suspect it will have more to do with its being locked to Cingular than anything to do with price or capability. I simply can’t use Cingular, they don’t service many of the areas I need to be on a daily basis, so as much as I’d like to buy an iPhone I won’t until I can use a different carrier.
The only mistake Apple made with the Newton was launching a product that was too far ahead of the market. Apple has now learnt to innovate in markets that have already been proven by others rather than try and create new markets itself – a far more profitable strategy. The smartphone market is proven and poised for rapid expansion – perfect timing to launch the iPhone. Tying it to a single carrier initially is also a master stroke, the iPhone will be a hugh discriminator for Cingular, they stand to gain millions of customers from their competitors, which is something that has been nigh on impossible in recent years due to the saturatation of the mobile marketplace – expect them to promote the hell out of it – it will be the most highly sort after gadet of the year.
re: American analysts/journalists commenting on mobile phone market is hilarious, as they seem to forget there is a wider world out there.
THE AMERICAN MOBILE PHONE MARKET IS FAR LESS MATURE THAN JAPAN OR EUROPE!
Just because some survey says Americans won’t buy a $500 mobile doesn’t mean the rest of the world won’t. There are lots of mobile phone handsets for sale in Europe/Japan that cost more than $500.
—
I totally agree.
Just look at the chinese/japanese markets – they love gadgets, infact their whole culture is based around it.
Apple is gonna sell shitloads of iPhones in the asian market!
Newton was a very advanced machine for its time. I had 2 of them the second and third generation. I would still have them today had I not been careless. People tend to forget that the latter Newtons has MS Word and Excel file capability. With the outboard keyboard it was more advanced than the sub 2lb notebooks of today. Granted it was monochrome but you didn’t need color to write reports or training manuals at 35,000 ft. I could take it to automation vendor sites and collect data in the Exel compatible spread sheet and the battery life was phenomenal. My contemporaries would lug their Dell portables with dongles and maybe 1/2 hour of battery life while I would routinely get a couple of weeks out of 4 AA batteries because of Newtons lack of heavy back-lighting and monochrome screen. I would just grab my Newton and start collecting data. Had the Newton stayed around and evolved ;got versions of OSX, went to Color etc.No doubt in my mind it would have been the current Iphone. The tablet capabilities would have advanced, it would be lighter, probably color. Few remember that latter generation Newtons had built in telephony. You could plug the Newton into a phone line and keep track of your minutes and costs to bill clients for your services as a consultant. It had a built in microphone and a tone generator for you to use the device as a hand set. Latter units did have a modem and it had not one but two full size PCMCIA slots. Ahh but for an errant misplacement of my Newton in a Florida motel room in Tampa I would probably still have it. Steve killed the original Newton to refocus Apples core strategy until it could be healthy again. IF you think that Iphone is not a Newton rebirth I would think again very carefully. I have buth Cingular and Verizon. I use a Motorola Q on Verizon with low talk minutes and high data package. I use Cingular because of roll over. Verizon was my original carrier and I got raped on overages every other month. Verizon offered no relief so I went to Cingular. My contract with Cingular is up this July. I will be getting an Iphone and probably the high end 8 gig model.
@ Macdaddy
a modem to connect to the internet ?
the newton was released in 1993, the web DID NOT EXIST !
(of course mail did (since a very long time), but only a few people used that.
As I look at my Newton…I can tell you what the difference is and why they ARE NOT going down the same path:
a) Newton used an OS that was completely different from all other Apple products.
b) Thus making Newton a device that heavily depended on the users ability to input data they already have into a new device.
c) iPhone will use elements of Mac OS X. Using GUI elements that are familiar to all OS X users. Hence minimizing the learning curve.
d) iPhone is a gadget based design, not a computer based platform…Anyone still have their Newton keyboards…I do
e) Apple learned its lesson…devices of this size are primarily data display devices…not data input.
f) The iPhone has one necessary business function built in (telephony).
We can probably go on and on and on…
Just my $0.02
The difference in the Newton and the iPhone…Steve Jobs…enough said.
It will disappoint because the phone market is basically a fashion market. New designs, new phones pop up ever 3-6 months.
Fickle consumers.
Apple can´t compete in that turnaround cycle.
I want an iPhone, but I also want to be able to have a spare battery — and also hook in to my company’s exchange server for email… i’d love to chuck this blackberry off the roof — but unless I can convince my boss to slap the IMAP option on the server it’s not gonna happen, and I won’t get the iPhone.
I also would like to get 3rd party apps for this thing… i want a mac in my pocket–for real. i want to be able to remote into macs and windows machines on the road so i can assist users, access servers, and do other tasks. I’ve almost gotten a Windows Mobile device, but the thought of my phone giving me a BSOD in the middle of a call makes my stomach sick.
If they allow 3rd party apps, a removable battery, and some sort of exchange support (3rd party app) — then i’m getting one the first day… if not, i’ll wait for gen2.
I don’t understand why everyone thinks this thinks this thing is too expensive. I have a Treo 600. It’s over 2.5 years old. If I wanted to replace it now, it would cost me $399. That’s with an additional $100 off I get since I’ve been with Verizon for 2 years. That means it $499 if I’m starting new. And the phone looks like crap, doesn’t have 4 GB of storage, can’t play videos. It’s not sexy. Apple will sell a ton of these. Why would I pay $499 for the Treo when I could pay $499 for iPhone?
I don’t think Apple wishes for everyone to have an iPhone. Nor a Mac. They do pretty well with what they’ve got. A little bit more would be great, but becoming #1 in all segments would be too much. Apple likes staying manageable. That’s the only way they can keep their niche status, which I can guarantee you they’re not willing to give up.
Apple does not want to become a Dell, a Microsoft, or a Motorola.
A Sony, though, well… maybe.
Has anyone reminded this guy that there are still Newton users around today and lots of them? People are still developing software additions to keep Newton as current as possible. There are wireless things for Newton and even Bluetooth things for Newton. That doesn’t seem like such a failure to me…
The Newton is quite capable of surfing the internet ( it has a browser) and in addition to the PC card slots for a modem there was also an apple branded external modem ( I have one). It is also quite handy for sending and receiving faxes.
The Newton was much more than an organizer. You can plug in network and modem pc cards to the Messagepad 2k models. There are people still developing software for it. I bought one on eBay 5 years ago just to see what it was about. It was too big, but it worked fine. The handwriting worked better than any sucky Palm Pilot, which I also own. It’s a myth that it was buggy or the HW didn’t work. By the end of the run it was pretty solid, and way too heavy. But it was in no way a failure except to the douchebags who insist on repeating myths and who have never even seen one, let alone used one. Oh yeah, I sold my Newton on eBay for a handsome profit. Newton, bitch!
I know I wont be able to afford one when it first comes out.
I am going to have to go with Daniel Eran (again) on this one. If buyers are prepared to pay 1500 to 2400 dollars over two years for data/voice plans, the initial cost of the phone is insignificant. It’s also plainly evident that the phone will be subsidized.
Just as every currently over priced “smart phone”.
Think
This phone is for business users. They will drop $700 if it does what they say it does, and line up for it.
Look at it another way. How many teenagers do you see with a Palm Treo?
Exactly
You hit that one out of the park. Good job.
Apple understands this market better than those saying cost will kill the iPhone do. Most companies who require out of office connectivity on some level will REIMBURSE the cost of the phone AND the service plans required to use it (at the very least partially, if not in full)!!!
The cost of the phone is competitive with other smart devices already (some are more than $600), and of course the price will drop.
Anyone who has a smartphone already has to pay for voice and data service plans, so this is a non-factor. And I’m guessing that you don’t HAVE to purchase a data plan at all, you just won’t be able to access those features on the phone, in which case yes, it becomes a very expensive cell phone.
He’s right about the price. It’s too high.
I haven’t wanted a phone as bad as the iPhone in quite a long time but even with the multi-touch I can’t bring myself to shell out $700 (CDN) for an iPod replacement (+phone) with only 8 gigs plus the month vig to Rogers.
$450-500 (~$399 US) for the 8gig and it’s too much of a device to resist.
If the price doesn’t come down for launch I’ll be waiting on multi-touch iPod.
the freakin razor was 500 bucks when it first came out…
The first star-tacs when they came out $450. There was even an ultra small version going for $950 Geez people stop whining!!! The price will come down soon enough The question is when during the falling price points are you willing to pony up for the increase in productivity this device will afford you.
$500 today is still expensive. Yeah everything has gone up in price… doesn’t mean most people are getting paid any better. I’d probably be hooked if they dropped the iPhone to $399 … hey, people have mortgages to pay!
Think said “This is not for teenagers or moms.
This phone is for business users. They will drop $700 if it does what they say it does, and line up for it.
Look at it another way. How many teenagers do you see with a Palm Treo?
Exactly”
OK, I’ll bite, no teenagers with a treo. But I have a question for you, how many teenagers are falling over themselves with lust/ envy/ desire for the iPhone? Hundreds of Thousands nation wide. The jr high and high schoolers in my district are almost wetting themselves at the thought of a cool gadget like an iPhone. Teenagers may be one of the bigger buyers of the iPhone.
Un- dirtyword- believable….. mw = many
My wife and I have 2 Newtons. One is almost 8 and the other just turned 2. Wouldn’t trade them for the world!
Not so fast. The Newt still has a strong and devoted following… I’m one of them.
Base mac: 17″ PB running Tiger
PDA: After 4 years of torturing myself with various Palm models, I picked up a Newt for $100. Now with programs like NewtSync, .Mac Sync, NCX I can keep everything in sync.
Someone said the Newt was ahead of its time…. It was WAY AHEAD of its time. Considering it was canceled in 1998:
– Ethernet Connectivity
– Bluetooth
– Wireless Internet and Networking
– Mad Max MP3 (takes forever to load a song to the Newt but works!)
Just some of the technologies that have been adapted for a device that was last produced in 1998.
Now are their limitations? Sure, but cell is for phone calls, my Ipod for music and my Newt for everything else.
In short the Newt was under appreciated. Mainly because of its early failures with hard writing recognition. Its handwriting recognition in Newton OS 1.X was shaky. However under Newton OS 2.X it blows away anything out there ten years later.
@Swing Geezer
You are right, and I’m ashamed. Perhaps you could help me with edition and reviews, hehe!!
I apologize for the error. English is not my native language…. but I’m getting better!!
“A recent survey found that a minuscule number of consumers would pay $500 for a 4 GB iPhone…”
Maybe that’s why a 4 GB iPhone is only $400.
Oh, guess I got $499 and $400 confused… never mind…
Thanks, Jim – the independent voter for the Razr help
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The Newton was too far ahead of it’s time. The iPhone is right on time.
Sorry MDN guys… The stories of Verizon turning down Apple are true.
You guys refuse to admit why Apple went after Verizon FIRST…
Reason #1 – NATIONWIDE, high-speed 3G network that is now being upgraded for high speed uplink as well as downlink… Something that is YEARS away w/ Cingular, whose 3G network is only in a few cities and has a slow uplink…
Reason #2 – Check out Consumer Reports. Verizon Wireless is #1 hands-down in terms of network quality… Cingular is WAY further down… towards the bottom….
Apple is taking a HUGE risk in terms of tying their brand to Cingular/ATT
Apple is stuck w/ a slow-as-molassas in January data network w/ EDGE, as Apple even recognizes the poor coverage of Cingular’s 3G network (as Sprint keeps pointing out in ads as they speak of Connectile Dysfunction)
It was just reported at the GSM World Congress that in Europe, the slower UMTS Rel 99 networks that are only being upgraded now to what Cingular has (HSDPA) only cover about a third of Europe’s population…
Oops!
psssst…..anybody ever ACTUALLY “have” a Newton….they were pretty amazing….the “world wide web” graphically speaking was TWO YEARS after the Newton. Cell phones were still big and not everybody had one….I had a couplenewtons and they were pretty sweet. Modem slot, you could run QT video on them…..I loved it…..it was too big but the technology did not exist yet to make it small. If you compared a modern day Treo650 to a 1991 Newton….the Treo would win..hands down…BUT…not by as much as you would think. The hand writing software on the Newton was great…I had no problems with it.
As soon as I saw the iPhone it looked like a turbo charged Newton….The Newton failed becasue it was ahead of its time….the iphone looks right on.
Jim
What is really funny, is that I find myself using a cell phone less and less…..email is the way to go. I leave my phone in the car now and rely on the CallWave Widget for my calls….it is GREAT!
Jim