Yes, the iPhone is awesome. Multi-Touch, beautiful interface/apps, landscape/portrait auto flip – ROCK! However, there are lies (damn lies) abounding about the product and I think it’s best if I correct some of those right now.
Lie #1: It’s a closed system. You can’t run your own code on it. Truth #1: Yeah, right. Our people will set that thing free just DAYS after launch. Homebrew code will run. Period.
Lie #2: It will be EDGE at launch, not UMTS or HSDPA. Truth #2: I think Steve and company are pulling our legs. No WAY is that thing going to be released without something faster than EDGE. Imagine the negative experience people would have when they can’t stream video on their $500 (+2yr contract) phone and a guy with a $100 phone in the next seat is streaming CNN. Too risky to release without at least UMTS. Come on Steve, get real. Kam will back me up on this.
Lie #3: You can only use the phone on Cingular. Truth #3: Almost all phones have unlock scripts. I think we’ll see unlocked iPhones on eBay just weeks after the launch. For $1000.
So, there you have it! The truth about the iPhone. Brought to you by the AMAZING Eric Albert (who, coincidentally, also brought you OSX86)!
Oh, and you know how apple says this is first device to have a full size browser on a phone? Well, check out the N800 if you want the first full size browser that fits in your pocket!!!
Scoble put up his take on the iPhone. He complains about no GPS, cingular-only and no replaceable battery. I’m with him on the cingular thing (especially EDGE only), but I can live without GPS. External battery packs are all over the place for the ipod and that kind of solution is fine with me. That being said, I can see why someone who relies on those two features would be put off. Paul’s comments all have merit, too.
6 responses so far ↓
Greg // January 10, 2007 at 2:28 am |
Regarding the third item on this list: I agree that the phone will be unlockable one way or another. However, iPhone-Cingular-specific features (such as Visual Voicemail, and possibly others not detailed yesterday) may not work so easily, if at all.
John Tokash // January 10, 2007 at 3:50 am |
True! And, Visual Voicemail is pretty damn amazing.
Hans Andersen // January 10, 2007 at 8:50 am |
Even if it’s nominally a closed system, if it really has a full copy of WebKit, then it’s basically a portable, alway-connected AJAX client. Do your development server-side, and optimize your layout for a small touch-screen.
Kam VedBrat : John Tokash’s 3 lies about iPhone // January 10, 2007 at 10:00 am |
[...] John makes some interesting comments about iPhone. I certainly believe that homebrew code will find its way on to the device, either through the MAKE: crowd or Linux or some other community channel. The hardware is hot enough that people will want to engage. It’s still a terrible story from a development point of view. I wonder if they will really sneak in 3G at the last minute like John suggests. The device has wifi, so it may be enough to just use a hotspot to get your content on there (or sync it from a mac). Certainly at home and work, the wifi will be available. That’s been my experience with the T-Mobile Dash that I got recently. I was debating between the Dash, the Q, and the Blackjack. The Q & Blackjack were interesting because of EVDO and HSDPA respectively. At the end of the day I went with the Dash mostly because the total cost over 2 years would be much lower, and T-Mobile only required a 1 year contract and is really good about unlocking for international travel. I was concerned that the lack of 3G would be a problem but the truth is I just haven’t hit it. Yes – I can’t pull up streaming video using ORB while walking down the street. But even the bus in the Seattle area has wifi now, so I’m pretty well covered that way. Filed under: Apple, Smartphone, Windows Mobile [...]
Paulo Pires // January 10, 2007 at 10:34 am |
Good to see I’m not the only one disappointed with the iPhone thing. I would like to invite you, Mr. John, to take a look at my two comments on it in my blog and have a comment of yourself.
N800 is referred too
Cheers,
PP
Hey Apple: Don't be evil! « Shebanation // April 17, 2007 at 11:04 am |
[...] first item is the lack of openness in the iPhone platform. Lots of people have written about this. Apple says it supports widgets, but it isn’t clear whether there is any support for third [...]