Apple iPhone

I think it looks cool but I was a bit shocked to hear it announced in a news item on BBC radio 4 news last night.
Since when is a company making a new phone "news"?
Maybe somebody at the beeb getting a backhander?
 

swears

preppy-kei
What is the point of all this crap? I already have a camera, a PC and a phone. The economy of the western world seems to revolve around buying useless gadgets.
 

bruno

est malade
what's exciting about it, i think, is the ui and interactive touches rather than the multiple functions or whathaveyou. the finger gesture navigation looks fantastically well implemented, and this is what makes apple products stand out in the end. but what's interesting to me is that it runs os x, meaning it could potentially run third party applications and generally keep the (relatively) open spirit of the os. unlikely, seeing how they have locked down the ipod, but it could turn out to be an interesting device.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
but what's interesting to me is that it runs os x, meaning it could potentially run third party applications and generally keep the (relatively) open spirit of the os. unlikely, seeing how they have locked down the ipod, but it could turn out to be an interesting device.

Lol, you could hear every programmer in the world yesterday thinking that.

For me what was interesting about it was the presentation - 4,000 people, the slickness, ( did you hear the sound on some of Jobs' statements? I swear they were adding subtle reverb effects to over pronounce some sentences, very clever if so ) - and precisely that it will now prefigure in every programmer's head with regard to how to open up the OS system within it. It marks a slight paradigm shift, a movement, in how people regard technology from yesterday to today, and is another step toward making Apple the world's most profitable cult.

And if you're reading, Jonathan Ive, I want your babies. Little shiny ones that bleep.
 

MATT MAson

BROADSIDE
What is the point of all this crap? I already have a camera, a PC and a phone. The economy of the western world seems to revolve around buying useless gadgets.

I think this might be one of the few gadgets that isn't entirely useless. Mobile phones are having a very real impact on people's lives in Africa right now, the world's fastest growing mobile phone market, the elections in Kenya for example recieved mush higher turnouts because of text message rallying.

Devices that put the internet within reach are a good thing - this will inevitably mean all phones have to do this now, and the price will drop.

It's also an important development in the west, given how the iPod has become the tech icon of the decade. As much as I agree about how the world works and how much crap there is on the news, I think this is newsworthy.
 

Troy

31 Seconds
I can't believe you Dissensians. A revolution stares you in the face and you can't even recognize it. It's not a phone, it's the ultimate communication device (phone, ipod, camera, next-gen emailer, browser, etc) with the next gen touchpad interface.

Welcome to the future, luddites.
 

turtles

in the sea
I think this might be one of the few gadgets that isn't entirely useless. Mobile phones are having a very real impact on people's lives in Africa right now, the world's fastest growing mobile phone market, the elections in Kenya for example recieved mush higher turnouts because of text message rallying.

Devices that put the internet within reach are a good thing - this will inevitably mean all phones have to do this now, and the price will drop.

It's also an important development in the west, given how the iPod has become the tech icon of the decade. As much as I agree about how the world works and how much crap there is on the news, I think this is newsworthy.

I agree that the development of these all-in-one cellphone-camera-webbrowser-mp3player devices is really exciting and represents, i think, the biggest new thing since the personal computer.

HOWEVER, it really pisses me off that it's treated like apple invented this idea, when there are already products on market that do exactly what the iPhone does. Things like this from the iPhone website:
iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers.
Oh you can control everything with JUST YOUR FINGERS??? Wow, man, that's fucking space age. I hate having to use my feet and elbows to control my current cell phone....
 

Lichen

Well-known member
(phone, ipod, camera, next-gen emailer, browser, etc)



i was watching a man playing a game boy on the train today...his wincing and twitching were so far removed from any recognisable sign of pleasure...it made me fink you know....the tyranny of the screen...
 

MATT MAson

BROADSIDE
The mp3 player was old news when they released the iPod. And many of it's most important component parts and OS were produced by third parties like Toshiba and Sony. Apple are successful for the same reason Nike are - they focus on design and branding like obsessed autistic childeren. The touch screen tech is old - but the way they've done it with the iPhone still looks incredible. And the finished product is most definitely something "new". This doesn't just spell trouble for phone manufacturers, this thing will probably make a dent in laptop sales.

Talking of laptops, what will be really exciting is when they extend this idea and scale it up a little. Imagine an Apple laptop with a touch screen keyboard that doubles as a huge foldy screen?
 

shudder

Well-known member
Apple are successful for the same reason Nike are - they focus on design and branding like obsessed autistic childeren.

As someone who grew up a computer/Mac nerd, it's so funny to read something like this. Apple were always the slightly lumbering but innovative company, who, sure, had a unique brand, but was more geeky than super-cool. It's amazing how they've been able to turn that all around.

Does anyone remember the Simpson's episode where Homer mentions the Us Festival to the record store clerk?

Homer: There can only be one truly great festival a lifetime and it's the Us festival.
Record Store Clerk: The what festival?
Homer: The US festival. It was put on by that guy from Apple Computers.
Record Store Clerk: What computers?

Just think of how their brand image has changed... That joke wouldn't make any sense now.
 

turtles

in the sea
Imagine an Apple laptop with a touch screen keyboard that doubles as a huge foldy screen?
so...a tablet pc.

180px-2006-08-12_Fujitsu-Siemens_Lifebook_T3010_Convertible_Animation.gif


though i would like to see apple's take on it, as it is true that they do a good job of interface design, i still find the cult of apple a little out of proportion to the actual quality and inovation of their products.
 

MATT MAson

BROADSIDE
Well, yeah except without the keyboard bit. Instead two screens, both touchy feely, so you could use it any which way and flip it on its side to have a big widescreen for watching videos or whatever. Make sense?

I'm also not a fan of the 'cult' of Mac, but I respect the way they inspire brand loyalty and can create so much hype about what are not essentially original products. There has actually been a phone on the market with a touchscreen that does exactly what the iPhone will do since 2004, but the design and marketing was not as polished.
 

turtles

in the sea
Hmm, that actually sounds kinda interesting...though it's been shown that people can type way better with an actual physical keyboard than a virtual one (being able to physically feel the keys helps a lot). but yeah you'd get the trade off of essentially having a two-page virtual notebook, which would be pretty cool. I'm sure some company somewhere is working on something similar...
 

swears

preppy-kei
What pisses me off about branding and gadgets is that in the past, you could have say, a really well made watch or a beautifully tailored suit for example, and like-minded people that had aquired a taste for such things could pick up on the subtle details or individual styling and appreciate it. Now you're just waving around a garish chunk of plastic like a little kid with the latest Ninja Turtles action figure. It's so fucking obvious and boring.
 
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