The uber geeks

Reader feedback

1. 

   1. No
   2. No (can’t get either in Spain!)
   3. No
   4. Yes
   5. Yes
   6. These things are always missing something, for as similar as people are to each other, we are different enough that this will never be the perfect gadget for anyone.

   It may be cool, it may become ubiquitous, and that, just like the iPod, is why I just may never own one of these.

   Mike Papageorge on January 15th, 2007 12:37 pm

2. 

   Yes, I’ll probably get one come June. While I’m not currently on Cingular, the data plan is cheaper than Verizons, my current carrier, so that’s ok.

   I’m glad that software is restricted. I know some people/companies could make some really sweet stuff, I’d just rather keep things as they were intended.

   I have a Motorola Q now, and the buttons piss me off. I’ll gladly switch to a virtual keyboard.

   If fingerprints are a problem, I’ll just wipe them off. Keep a little microfiber in my pocket, or something.

   I’ve heard that Safari on the iPhone won’t have JavaScript or Flash. That’s the biggest problem I see.

   Steve Smith on January 15th, 2007 12:37 pm

3. 

   I got away from AT&T before they became Cingular and now they’re going back. Great. In the business I see them as the “cool phone” provider. No service at all. When it comes down to my wireless provider I need someone who can provide me with good service.

   With that all said, Apple is losing my business because of their shitty partner.

   Well, actually, I just got a new phone so I don’t need an iPhone. It’s prettier but does largely the same things I need to accomplish with a mobile phone. So, I don’t want one. I’ll let all the other groupies buy it, find the issues with it and then decide after the fourth iteration is released.

   Devin on January 15th, 2007 12:38 pm

4. 

   Mike (Papa G): Are you saying that because the iPod is “popular” you do not own one? Now you sound like Chris.

   Colin D. Devroe on January 15th, 2007 12:39 pm

5. 

   Devin: Sounds like a good plan actually.

   Colin D. Devroe on January 15th, 2007 12:39 pm

6. 

   Steve Smith: I’ve read that Flash is a “almost definite” now. JavaScript is definitely built in though the Java runtime may not be for things like applets and such which can be very unstable at times and can also cause security issues. So JavaScript and Flash = almost for sure while Java is almost definitely not.

   Colin D. Devroe on January 15th, 2007 12:44 pm

7. 

   Yeah Colin, no iPod for me.

   I have 4 gigs of memory in my Dell Axim, enough for me to keep some extra video on there, at least 5 deep-dark-sets-of-house-music plus voice recordings, Skype, Opera Mini, video out capabilities, wifi, bluetooth… Wow, sounds quite like an iphone… and I’ve had it for 1.5 years now.

   More memory for the pda is just a matter of time, I figure.

   Mike Papageorge on January 15th, 2007 12:44 pm

8. 

   No
   Yes
   No (users will decide what’s crap)
   Yes/Yes
   YES (fingerprints and scratches. my ipod is scratched up on the back and all it does is sit on a desk)
   Better camera.

   I don’t think a 3mp camera would have been too much to ask.

   I might get one by 2nd or 3rd gen, but Apple tends to rush too much on 1st gen and I’d rather not find more reasons to hate them. Like how they won’t fix my laptop even when they broke it.

   Matthew Oliphant on January 15th, 2007 12:53 pm

9. 

   No
   Yes
   No
   No
   but looking forward for virtual keys
   Yes

   camera with only 2mp is big no no.

   Pramod on January 15th, 2007 2:16 pm

10. 

    I like it and it looks awesome.

    That said, the phone being locked to one provider, and it being feature locked are deal breaker things for me. So I won’t be getting it in June and I’ll be waiting to see what the European version has and how limited it is. Maybe import it, but the price is really too much for me at this point in my life. If I’m going to throw down $499/599 I ought to put that towards a MacPro or a car of my own.

    I don’t think fingerprints are that big of an issue. I think people will need to wash their hands more (which they should be doing already) and get all that oil and grease out of the picture. It’s a touch screen. I have seen a touch screen that didn’t get fingerprints on it, but I have also never seen a touch screen where the fingerprints became an issue.

    I think the virtual keyboard is something we’ll have to experience in person to decide. It sounds like a really cool idea, but it’d have to work nearly perfect. So we’ll see.

    I think the currently announced iPhone is missing everything and nothing. There were so many rumors for the past 2+ years that expectations are through the roof, and it doesn’t help that many of them were realized, if only partially. People were hungry for something they didn’t get but they did get the iPhone. I’m not sure if it’s really missing anything because we’ll really only know after it’s actually out and people spec it to pieces.

    =)

    Daniel Nicolas on January 15th, 2007 2:17 pm

11. 

    Pramod: I’ve sen other people say the same thing about the camera - yet I have not been able to find a camera phone that has bigger than 2 megapixel. This isn’t a high-end digital camera.

    Daniel: Agreed. Though “feature locked” may not be the best terminology. Apple can add features and software every single day if they wanted to. It is just that the SDKs will probably be limited to Apple, Cingular (probably not even them), and a few choice partners.

    Colin D. Devroe on January 15th, 2007 2:42 pm

12. 

    1. I don’t know if I’ll get one. I have to see how the devices flushes out.

    2. Cingular doesn’t bother me (I have Cingular now). At least Apple made the iPhone a GSM device, which means the phone has the potential to support other providers when the exclusivity deal with Cingular runs out in a year or two. If they went with Verizon, the phone would need a hardware redesign.

    Every major cell phone release in the US is done exclusively on a single carrier. US cell providers DEMAND this. It means they can get people to sign up for their network, just to buy a particular phone. It was YEARS before you could buy a Motorola RAZR from someone other than Cingular. Apple couldn’t get around this. So, they had to pick a provider to partner with. In the US, there are 2 dominant players (1) Cingular and (2) Verizon. Picking Cingular makes the most business sense, for reasons I cited above.

    3. I don’t care so much about the restrictions on third-party SW dev elopement. It’s no worse than the current phone market.

    4. I think the virtual keyboard will be an issue. I just can’t see it being any good. Based on the keynote, it sounds like they did some impressive improvements to touch-screen technology. This is the first consumer device I’ve seen with a touch screen that supports multiple fingers. However, I still think it will suck.

    I think the people who are really excited about a touch screen keyboard have: (1) Seen too much Star Trek: TNG, (2) take whatever Steve Jobs says as gospel, (3) Never really used a touch screen, or (4) Never paid attention to existing touch screen devices.

    I’ve actually used touch screens and touch screen keyboards for years in a lot of situations (I work for an embedded computer mfr. after all). As I see it, there still some major problems with the touch screen keyboard concept:

    4a. Lack of tactile feedback. You can’t “feel” when the button is pressed. Likewise, if your fingers shift over a little bit, you won’t be on the right keys. Here’s an experiment: While you type at a computer keyboard, pay attention to your fingers, and what you feel. You feel the edges of the keys to keep your fingers aligned. You feel the bumps on the ‘G’ and ‘J’ keys. A touch screen doesn’t have that.

    4b. Touch screens have pretty lousy precision. It’s why PDAs use a stylus in the first place. How else do you expect to press a tiny GUI button without pressing everything else around it? (Especially if you have fat fingers!) To compensate for this, Apple must make the UI widgets bigger, which eats into the already-limited screen real estate.

    4c. Touch screens need to be calibrated. And re-calibrated pretty regularly. Heavy use makes them drift out of calibration even faster. (Look up news articles about electronic voting machines and touch screens from the last election.) Also, imagine how much the touch screen will drift while the iPhone is floating around in your pocket, getting banged up.

    5. Fingerprints will probably be an issue, but not so much. I’ve seen some screen coatings that don’t attract fingerprints. I’m a little worried about cleaning it though. If you start wiping the touch-screen, it will probably make a phone call.

    Actually, I’m more worried about face oils. You face is far more oily than your hands are. When you hold the phone up to your ear, the oils from your face will smear all over it.

    6. GPS is the big feature (hardware-wise) I would like to see.

    Myron A. Semack on January 15th, 2007 8:36 pm

13. 

    1. Probably, because dammit it looks cool, I could use a nice shiny large iPod. It does look maybe $50 too much, but I stand to get some kind of a discount on the thing anyway because of where I work…
    2. No, I’m actually on Cingular so I could do it.
    3. Yes and no. I think it makes sense not to open it up to just anyone, but, the thing about the Newton was a community sprung around it and programmed for it. I guess we’ll see how it turns out.
    4. Yes, actually.
    5. Possibly. Only time will tell.
    6. Whatever it’s missing it may end up getting via a software update. That’s the beauty of it — it’s modifiable after it’s been released.

    The only thing I’m concerned about are any extra charges Cingular may decide to put on. I am NOT a fan of extra charges.

    Proud on January 15th, 2007 10:25 pm

14. 

    Myron: Great feedback. A lot of my thoughts are inline with yours (surprisingly!). But I suppose most of what we think is speculation until we get one.

    A side note about cleaning it thought. I think you can just put your finger over the proximity sensor, which turns the screen off when it is near your face, in order to clean it without the iPhone making a call. But again, that is just a guess.

    Proud: I’m not a fan of extra charges either so I am hoping that Cingular and Apple have made some sort of deal that there will be 1 fee for using an iPhone. Apple is all about simplicity and if the plans are completely horrible, Apple will be pissed at Cingular.

    Colin D. Devroe on January 16th, 2007 8:34 am

15. 

    […] After asking all of you what you thought of the iPhone, I found out a few people had some common misconceptions about the iPhone. Recently John Gruber addressed a few of these misconceptions, so be sure to read his article on OS X. […]

    iPhone misconceptions corrected on The uber geeks on January 19th, 2007 12:51 pm

Leave feedback

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI