“The Apple iPhone arrived in the UK on Friday and evoked a predictable spectrum of responses – from ecstatic boosterism to technophobic spluttering,” John Naughton writes for The Guardian. “But why? It’s only a phone, isn’t it?”
“Yes and no. Yes in the sense that it enables its user to make voice calls, like any other mobile phone. No, in the sense that it’s the most powerful computer ever shoehorned into such a small and elegant package. All mobile phones are small computers, but most run Mickey Mouse operating systems tailored to the limited requirements of a phone. The significant thing about the iPhone is that it runs a version of Unix – Berkeley Software Distribution or BSD, a proper operating system that powers not only Apple’s personal computers, but also industrial-strength servers across the world. If you’re a techie, you can log into the iPhone using a terminal, and when you do, you see a proper Unix machine. And at that point you begin to see the device in a new light,” Naughton writes.
“Until now, phones have been relatively primitive devices, so the corrupt absurdity of the closed systems operated by networks has not been obvious to most. The arrival of the iPhone lays it bare. Having an iPhone locked to a network which doesn’t provide 3G connectivity, and is unable to make VoIP calls despite having good wireless networking built in, is like buying a Ferrari and finding that the only thing you can do with it is power your lawnmower. It’s nuts – and our regulators have allowed it to happen,” Naughton writes.
MacDailyNews Note: Beyond network coverage issues, Apple’s iPhone does not currently utilize 3G due to power consumption. Apple hopes that 3G chipsets will have advanced to the point where they don’t run out the battery in a few hours by late next year.
Related articles:
Hello Apple iPhone? Broadcom debuts world’s first ‘3G Phone on a Chip’ – October 15, 2007
Battery life tests show why Apple skipped 3G on iPhone – July 16, 2007
3G chipsets… are real power hogs. Most phones now have battery lives of 2 to 3 hours and that’s due to these very power-hungry 3G chipsets… [iPhone] has 8 hours of talktime life. That’s really important when you start to use the Internet and want to use the phone to listen to music. We’ve got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the 5+ hour range. Hopefully we’ll see that late next year. – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, September 18, 2007
Naughton continues, “What we need… is a mobile device ecosystem that mirrors the PC/internet one – where purchase of network capacity is separate from purchase of the hardware and software used on it.”
Full article here.
“Apple’s iPhone does not currently utilize 3G due to power consumption. Apple hopes that 3G chipsets will have advanced to the point where they don’t run out the battery in a few hours by sometime next year. Related article: Battery life tests show why Apple skipped 3G on iPhone – July 16, 2007”
Again, MDN parrots the party line. What are you going to say in January Steve when Jobs holds up the new 2nd generation 3G iPhone? Oh yes, in 6 months the battery life has grown leaps and bounds and now Apple can introduce 3G.
I bought a touch (16 gig) rather than an iPhone. Since I have WiFi at home, in the office, and most of the motels I stay it is what works for me (plus my company provided phone does just fine for basic telephone services). An associate has an iPhone and I played with it one day where WiFi was not available. It’s pathetic, slow and painful. No amount of fanboy cheerleading can change that.
The battery life argument is a joke. I charge my phone and touch in the car and have them plugged in in the office. Never run out of power.
As mentioned, the 2nd generation iPhone will be 3G and cheaper – and a much better product. Apple screwed up using edge and I believe they know it. The Fanboy excuses regarding batter life are not necessary.
Shoo, man. Shoo…..
The UK launch was a bit of a flop apparently.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/11/iphone_uk_flop/
“Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall.”
Can you not use Skype with the iPhone
http://www.apple.com/webapps/socialnetworking/imforskype.html
“@TowerTone
Shoo, man. Shoo…..”
I’m sorry there Mr. Fanboy. The iPhone is absolutely perfect and I enjoy watching the slow, gorgeous, and elegant webpages load.
Is that better Mr. Mindless One?????
Also, Edge is available in more coverage area’s. ATT 3G service is now just rolling out in major cities around the country. (http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/popUp_3g.html)
Why release a crippled product with a chipset the provider has no use for? If ATT doesn’t have the coverage of 3G, then why have 3G in the iPhone. Besides, when 3G isn’t available with other providers, which where I live 20 mile outside Seattle is not, you get the same old slow ass speeds.
What you forget is that the phone is also an iPod w/ video, coupled with a real browser. Talk smack all you want, but battery life would suck a** if we had a 3G phone, and iPod Video. One commute and the thing would be dead. Sacrifices had to be made. The damn thing is the skinniest phone around. Batteries can only be so big.
All those other phones with 3G? They have to be good at maybe 2 things: talking and browsing. Their attempt to be more than those two things are why they are so bad. None of them, NONE, are a phone and a true music player or real video player. Motorolla Q? Blows. Blackjack? Blows. Nokia N92? Meh. They do one or two things well. Their video playback is a joke, surfing the web is a joke, but yes the pages load faster. Whoopee. Their interface is a joke. Jesus, have you used Windows Mobile? Apple had to make everything work. It had to be a real phone, a real iPod, really surf the web, display pictures well, have wireless itunes. And it had to meet Apple’s expectations, not yours mine or the pundits. It did those things. But it is version 1. There are issues. But compared to the joke that is Win Mobile or Palm, it is a thing of beauty. And when they pull their heads out and unlock the thing, well, you sir will see a truly innovative device.
I wonder what version 4 will look like…
God I am self righteous.
” And it had to meet Apple’s expectations, not yours mine or the pundits. “
Wow, cool new business plan for ALL companies to adhere to. To hell with the consumer, we like it!!!!!!!!!!!! What business school did you graduate from??? My God man, you are going to revolutionize business in the 21st century….
I see the 12 year olds are still the most popular posters here at MDN!
Since I have WiFi at home, in the office, and most of the motels I stay it is what works for me
Motels?!?! Glad to see you are doing well these days with work.
MW – Clearly- Shoeman is cheap and can not afford at Hotel
“MW – Clearly- Shoeman is cheap and can not afford at Hotel”
LOL!!! Someday when you grow up you’ll learn that people who work for a living don’t have to worry about “affording hotels”.. Corporate Visa card. WoW, what a concept…
Yeah, little boys @ MDN!
Shoeman is a big fat idiot.
Shoeman
My arguments aren’t with what the iPhone could be, but what it had to be in this generation. Why isn’t it more Bluetooth compatible? Forget VOIP, A,T&T;can’t make as much money off that, but what about Sling-ing video? What about a lot of things?
When it comes down to it, grown ups have to make hard decisions about what will sell, what will work, what can be expanded upon, what to leave in, what to add later after some bugs are worked out.
Why be so damn pissy about something that is only going to get better, and anyone with any business sense can see that Apple will add more and more as it is able to, and at the same time, keep it as stable as possible.
I have confidence that they will do this. If they don’t, I won’t buy another phone from them. It’s that simple.
And that’s the (t)Ruth.
Thank you
Mr. Mindless
Shoeman, your tone and insults rather suggest to me that it is YOU that may be the spotty teenager in this forum…
The battery life “argument” is totally logical and I just don’t see the need for you to castigate MDN for believing and repeating it.
Guys this is version 1 of the iPhone. And the thing is a bloody miracle. Sure its not perfect but then what is.
Like the iPod, the iPhone is ahead of the competition is many new and exciting ways. Adding 3G capability is surely on the way in the next year. The tech improvements and network upgrades that Apple needs will be available by then.
I’m thinking wifi will provide good coverage soon, with the wireless data connectivity filling in the gaps when you need to slum it. Apple already has that in mind with the way the iPhone works.
the more these boards bash apple the more I know we are eating their lunch!!!!
go back a wine somewhere else please
thx!!
“The battery life “argument” is totally logical and I just don’t see the need for you to castigate MDN for believing and repeating it.”
Well, I’m glad it’s logical to you, NOW. However, that’s not what Apple themselves said at first. In February 2007, Tim Cook Stated:
Q: Could you go through some of the thinking of not putting 3G in the phone given that it is pretty much leading edge technology in every other aspect?
A: Our thinking first and foremost was that we wanted GSM. Because GSM is the world standard and that was one of the factors in selecting Cingular. Secondly, the product, as we announced, has Wi-Fi capabilities. And so many people, like in this room I’m sure there is Wi-Fi in this room as there are hot spots everywhere — at your home, where you have coffee, your place of work, etc., etc. — they’re going to use Wi-Fi. And between these spots we are going to use EDGE because it is widely deployed. And we are confident it will give the user a great experience.
Not one mention of “Battery Life”. So who should I believe, Apple’s COO or some Fanboy who runs an Ad Laden Blog?
The Battery Life nonsense was created by Jobs much later and all of you fanboy just parrot the company line…. But hey, don’t let facts get in the way of your cheerleading.
3 g = less battery life
that is a fact
I charge my iphone every 3 or 4 days you???
a blow hard like you must charge his verizon in his blow hard ass
Again, MDN parrots the party line. What are you going to say in January Steve when Jobs holds up the new 2nd generation 3G iPhone? Oh yes, in 6 months the battery life has grown leaps and bounds and now Apple can introduce 3G.
That’s exactly what we’ll say, because that’s how technology advances. You know, over time things get invented and perfected, like the two years it took to create the iPhone in the first place. In fact, Apple improved the battery life between the time the phone was announced in January, and its release in June. So if one were not mentally divergent, one would expect another 6 months of development isn’t an insignificant time frame for substantial improvements to be made.
I bought a touch (16 gig) rather than an iPhone. Since I have WiFi at home, in the office, and most of the motels I stay it is what works for me (plus my company provided phone does just fine for basic telephone services). An associate has an iPhone and I played with it one day where WiFi was not available. It’s pathetic, slow and painful. No amount of fanboy cheerleading can change that.
And your ppoint here is what,exactly? That the iPhone has shortcomings? I don’t think there is a single poster on MDN that would disagree with that. There are compromises to every piece of electronics, and the iPhone is no different. What you assume is that we are all subject to your particular needs and therefore those shortcomings effect is all in the same way, and this is obviously not true. Thinking that way is the realm of a toddler who thinks mommy is perfect and the whole world is his sandbox-toilet-feeding trough.
The battery life argument is a joke. I charge my phone and touch in the car and have them plugged in in the office. Never run out of power.
And of course, this is the standard upon which Apple should build its phone – the Shoeman Standard. We are all obviously in our cars all day long, and charging is never a problem, so why not throw in a battery-draining 3G chip? If the furthest you ever get from a power plug is the line at MacDonalds, it’s the way to go. Never mind the habit of many people to:
1. Go outside
2. Enjoy nature
3. Form friendships
4. Feel the love of an intelligent woman
Since these factors are not included in Shoeman’s average day, one can see the value in having a battery-crippling 3G chip to make pornography easier and quicker to access.
As mentioned, the 2nd generation iPhone will be 3G and cheaper – and a much better product. Apple screwed up using edge and I believe they know it. The Fanboy excuses regarding batter life are not necessary.
And the one after that will be even better. This is called “causality”, and it leads to “logic”, and most things in the world seem persistently bound to it. Using one technology to lead to another is the mistake that every electronics manufacturer seems to make time and again. If only they’d had your guidance, your brilliant visionary foresight, to enable them to skip over these small, technical details in order to build the phone you dream of.
Of course, you know as well as I do, this will never happen. Because when a model is made to satisfy your desires, those desires will change. This moving target is not born so much out of a desire for excellence, but a reflection of your dissatisfaction with your own personal failings. Lashing out in this way is a textbook example of the need to feel superior to others by degrading excellence around you, in the absence of any real talent, intelligence, or wit. Quite effective if one’s audience is juvenile or inexperienced, but, sadly, a rather transparent grab for attention among mature, thinking people.
“I charge my iphone every 3 or 4 days you???
a blow hard like you must charge his verizon in his blow hard ass”
Wow, that’s so impressive. You mean you don’t have to take 3 or 4 seconds a day to plug your iPhone into a charger? My God, I can see why Apple went with the edge.
If I could save 3 seconds by plugging in my phone when I get in the car, and another 3 seconds when I get to my office I’d gladly accept watching webpages load in 2 minutes…
Thanks for straightening me out!!! I sure hope version 2 is Edge only!
Mr. Shoeman,
I for one have not had any issues whatsoever with edge for regular use. Google maps load quickly enough to make finding my way easy, the stocks and weather do as well. Email loads fine also… and I can surf most sites without much delay.
Perhaps the real problem is your expectations. I expect WiFi to be fast, and I know it is faster than 3G. I know in Japan right now they have 3.5 g and it is smoking fast, but battery life is garbage.
I want to be able to use my phone for more than 3 hours at a time. I am not tethered to my desk or car where power is available. When I leave home, I shut off Wifi and get more than 48 hours of battery life on a single charge with regular use (voice, ipod, email, surfing, etc). All of my friends are constantly charging their phones or cursing that they forgot their car charger… I never have that problem.
No, the iPhone is not perfect, but it is wonderful as it is. And it will get better. Just like everything else.
“Not one mention of “Battery Life”. So who should I believe, Apple’s COO or some Fanboy who runs an Ad Laden Blog?”
Maybe we could talk to CEO Steve Jobs about it. He’s quite clearly quoted above. Let’s take a look:
“3G chipsets… are real power hogs. Most phones now have battery lives of 2 to 3 hours and that’s due to these very power-hungry 3G chipsets… [iPhone] has 8 hours of talktime life. That’s really important when you start to use the Internet and want to use the phone to listen to music. We’ve got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the 5+ hour range. Hopefully we’ll see that late next year.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, September 18, 2007
So who should we believe, Apple’s CEO or some troll who is otherwise completely anonymous?
This moving target is not born so much out of a desire for excellence, but a reflection of your dissatisfaction with your own personal failings. Lashing out in this way is a textbook example of the need to feel superior to others by degrading excellence around you, in the absence of any real talent, intelligence, or wit.”
Yeah you don’t see much of that at MDN…
Only idiots use Windows
Beleaguered Dell
Motorola is Toast
If Gates ever had any brains
make pornography easier and quicker to access.
Save me you’re long winded spills. In my 50 years I’ve formed more lifelong relationships personal and professional than you will ever hope to. I have 3 great kids.
You guys are the most ignorant, insulting pieces of shit on the internet. I am a Mac user, not a blind fanboy. I don’t feel the need to insult any product that isn’t made by Apple and don’t consider anyone who uses Windows a “Moron”…
Blow it out your ass fanboy, you’re a 12 year old pile of shit, and when you grow up, you’ll still stink.
I’m done and leaving. Go back to dreaming about sucking Steve’s dick.
“If I could save 3 seconds by plugging in my phone when I get in the car, and another 3 seconds when I get to my office I’d gladly accept watching webpages load in 2 minutes…’
So again, you’re saying that Apple should build a phone for Shoeman. the shPhone. Excellent idea. Let us know how that goes.
Save me you’re long winded spills. In my 50 years I’ve formed more lifelong relationships personal and professional than you will ever hope to. I have 3 great kids.
Studies have shown that they’re not that great.
You guys are the most ignorant, insulting pieces of shit on the internet.
No, that would be Bill O’Reilly. But don’t fear, you’re gaining ground quickly.
Blow it out your ass fanboy, you’re a 12 year old pile of shit, and when you grow up, you’ll still stink.
Now were in the realm of serious, mature dialog. Too bad all these infantile MDN posters use such foul, insulting language.
I’m done and leaving. Go back to dreaming about sucking Steve’s dick.
I see my work here is done. Thank you.
-chrissyone