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The Future is iPhone-tastic

Started by manalang · 9 months ago

Lately, I’ve been bummed that the SDK announcement underwhelmed, handcuffing would-be developers with restrictions that make apps significantly less functional than expected. As a user, I want more apps that do more.
And then a couple nights ago, I got a reminder of how sweet t ... Continue reading »

20 comments

  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    3g , Replaceable Battery , GPS , standard headset .

    As soon as those are taken care of I'll probably buy my first Apple product since the Newton .......... maybe.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Carl: You sound like you're still mad about that Newton purchase. Do you have a preferred alternative you'd like to push?
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    @Jake Ah I have a much older hate for Apple than just the Newton, that's just the last Apple product I broke down and bought, it just ended up being much less than the hype made it out to be.

    I have an HTC Hermes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_TyTN which I like but is a definitely a brick , good for street fights, but ever since I put a HTC Touch interface http://www.htctouch.com/ on it pretty much rocks.

    Don't get me wrong the iPhone looks awesome and I mess with one everytime I get my hands on one, but other than the full webbrowser , very nice, there isn't a whole lot it does that a regular smart phone doesn't, except not look like a brick.

    If I'm going to get locked into the Apple Store and the AT&T plan I want to wait for the hardware to be 2.0

    Or maybe I'll just wait for a gPhone.
    reply
  • Meg Bear

    1 year ago

    I am soo looking forward to this, finally something to help with my sense of direction disability...fingers crossed for mothers day.
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    @Jake Yup sure 1st time I break down and by Apple it had to be the Newton.

    I like the different HTC products especially the HTC Tilt and HTC Touch http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/ATT-Tilt... I have the HTC 8525 both are definitely bricks though.

    I know 3 people personally that have had battery problems within weeks, which is why replaceable batteries would be nice, On long trips it would nice to have a charged up extra etc.

    Not saying that I won't ever buy and iPhone, the web browser and form factor are absolutely #1 right now, it just seems like it locks you to much into the 'Apple' world, software/usage wise.

    And how long till a phone that is looks almost exactly the same and is running Windows or Symbian comes out without all the lock in.
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    battery problems with iphone
    reply
  • Dan Norris

    1 year ago

    @Carl Wait, are you saying that if the phone runs Windows that would not be locked in? Personally, I haven't ever owned a Mac (though I did have a kick-ass Apple IIgs with 1Mb RAM back in the day), but if I'm gonna be locked in, I'd rather lock in to Jobsworld than Gatesland. Having worked with Windows a lot, I sure don't think Jobsworld could have anything quite so frustrating. And, even if it is a little frustrating, at least I'd be cooler than I am now (no where to go but up really) for having an Apple.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Carl: I've not had battery issues yet, but I always travel w/the charger, which is simply a USB cable. That's a bonus.

    Lock in doesn't bother me b/c I want function, and I get that w/o even jailbreaking it. After a jailbreak, you get a whole lot more.

    Was your second comment a SEO-seed?

    @Dan: Don't be disappointed, but I've not observed a self cool factor rise post-iPhone.

    I like that computing power is cheap enough for me to have an XP laptop for work, and a Macbook running an Ubuntu virtual machine. This allows me to bork all the major O/S in a single day.

    Life is good.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Meg: Good luck with that. You should create a Google Alert for your children to track all your iPhone pinings, something like "meg bear wants iphone". Then, post that comment in all the posts here and on TalentedApps.
    reply
  • bex

    1 year ago

    Far be it for me to continue my role as the serial contrarian, but... cell phones suck.

    In my opinion, cell phones have yet to cross the threshold to become more useful than a map and a plan.

    For those of us who carry cash and know where we're going, they have little benefit.
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    @Jake no SEO bad fingers, well like I know three people that have had problems and more than haven't. Truthfully I don't really care so much about the software, iPhone does what my phone does now (except 3g) I just want better hardware specs. To be fair I did have to return my phone once because it got so hot here in Vegas that the solder on the ribbon cable melted.

    @Dan I've been able to re-rom my phone multiple times to try different interfaces and have a bunch of third party programs, the HTC has been the most modifiable phone I've ever had.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @bex: Ouch. What's so sucky about cell phones, smart or not? I've not heard anyone say that having a cell phone is bad, unless it's a work phone (a la beeper) that blows up all the time.

    @Carl: I was wondering if your locale affected your phone decisions. You don't think a jailbroken iPhone would be the sweetest mod ever?
    reply
  • Floyd

    1 year ago

    Jake,

    Your original post hints at a point that's been floating around in my head for the past two weeks: I'm not sure the new SDK is all that relevant . The value I get from the iPhone is threefold: 1)a cell phone, 2)a Web appliance, and 3)a great UI experience. It's already a fine cell phone and provides a great UI experience. Most of the apps I want are already available so long as I consider the iPhone to be a Web appliance (you share a great example in your post). As I don't have any hard evidence yet that the SDK will improve any of those three areas (and "improving" is very different from "changing"), I'm not convinced that the SDK will be all that relevant. Going back to my Missouri roots: show me.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Floyd: I share your opinions about the SDK. I was hoping for something closer to what you can do with a jailbreak, minus the carrier switch.

    The iPhone has huge potential for standalone web apps, divorced from the browser. Maps is just one example. I can't get too geeked about widgets or AIR apps on a traditional computer, but the small interface of the smart phone makes them much more useful.

    The SDK handcuffs apps, making the really cool web apps impossible. So, I was excited, but not anymore.

    Carl's point about lock-in to iTunes is valid too. If the SDK does produce decent apps, I will have to buy them, or hope Apple rolls them into updates later.
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    @Jake: >> I was wondering if your locale affected your phone decisions.

    Huh?
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Carl: I was wondering if the Las Vegas heat affected your phone decisions, i.e. the extreme heat. I find my iPhone gets pretty hot when I use it for an extended period of time. That can't be good in 100+ degree heat.
    reply
  • Carl Backstrom

    1 year ago

    Yeah man, but it's a dry heat!
    http://www.moviesoundclips.net/movies1/aliens/h...

    It actually gets pretty hot as well guess it's just the nature smart phone's.

    The main factor was it was ,at the time, the best rated to be used as a cell modem for my laptop, and I've absolutely got my moneys worth in that respect.
    reply
  • Scotty

    1 year ago

    "I go to my bank’s site and discover they have a mobile version, which is nice. "

    Why do you need a mobile version? Isn't one of the iPhone's big selling (marketing) points that you get the "full internet"? It's pretty funny that the "full internet" is one of the great claims of the iPhone, yet so many sites are creating "iPhone friendly" versions of their site. I guess it's marketing vs. what consumers actually want their experience to be like...most folks truly don't need the "full internet" on their mobile device, just pages that let them quickly access the information they're looking for.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Scotty: You're partially right. As an example, when I'm in line somewhere or killing time, I like the "full internet" versions because I have time to bounce around, zoom in and out, scroll up and down, etc.

    However, when I need information right away, I can't be bothered with waiting for Edge to load all the graphics, finding the store locator, entering the zip code, etc.

    So, it's nice to have two choices. One bummer is some sites, like nfl.com, force me to look at their crappy mobile version by redirecting me to it when I go to nfl.com.

    So, Apple over-markets the utility of "full internet", and websites compensate by offering slimmed down iPhone versions.
    reply
  • Jake

    1 year ago

    @Carl: Las Vegas heat feels like the vent of a huge air conditioner.
    reply

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