Apple IPhone - Would you buy it?

[Chagi]

There are two key problems with the iPhone for me right now - price point, and lack thus far of an announced Canadian cell provider for this phone. Aside from that, I've watched the Macworld Expo keynote, and the design is absolutely beautiful and elegant.

I also think that everyone is missing one key point - all of this technology is very likely going to be used in the high end iPods shortly. Apple could very easily develop something with a similar form factor that omits the phone functionality, while still retaining Wi-Fi + music + photos + video, etc. Doing so would also mean economies of scale, I assume that the exact same screen would be used for the new models.

To summarize, I could see myself purchasing this type of device minus the cell capabilities (assuming a lower price point), and would also consider purchasing an iPhone once a couple of items are resolved (price reductions + availability).

One last point - I would personally bet that this phone is going to be absolutely huge with younger consumers (let's say 16-30 age group). Many people seem to now view having a "cool" cell phone as a status symbol (e.g. Razor, Blackberry, etc.), and the iPhone looks set to be the ultimate status symbol in the short term.

 

[walterjennings]

i have my doubts that iphone and ipod will remain separate products forever. there was a reason why ipod music (original), ipod photo and ipod video now only exist as a single product. noone wants to carrying around multiple devices for different purposes. but i guess a 'cheap' version of the iphone without phone capabilities would sell well.

i notice they are only offering the iphones in 4 and 8g sizes. which is not too useful for people's music / video needs. I wonder if they limited the size on purpose to keep interest in 60g ipod videos, or if they just cant fit a bigger HD in the thing. if the latter is true i guess they are using the same technologies used in the ipod nanos which have limited sizes.

 

[thehangingman]

I have tried part of the product, Cingular.

If you use your phone a lot and travel to different places, this service will drop you. Its a discounted service not made for business use.

Its very unprofessional when talking to someone in the business use and then suddenly your call gets dropped. Its also very annoying when your traveling and suddenly you have no signal.

If your a trucker, a cop or other individual that needs their cellphone as an emergency line in all conditions, forget Cingular.

Quote from walterjennings:

I like how people are so quick to jump to conclusions that the whole thing is complete b.s without a) having tried the product b) knowing anything about technology and the significance of various innovations in this product.

the only downside iv seen is that jobs is not allowing third party development. so my dream of using my iphone as portable means of viewing / controlling my desktop p.c via wifi from around my house wont happen until someone hacks it. plus it would be really nice to be able to do voice over IP with it too using mobile internet.

the whole cingular / non gsm is a little b.s too. but they will have to change that to gain access to a lot of the world's markets. so i am expecting a v.2 soon after the initial sales.

also interesting to note that jobs was targeting a 1% market share by 2008. and the poll shows nearly 50% of the people reading this thread are interested in buying one. not that ET is a random sample of the mobile phone market... but I think jobs is going to do a little better than he expected...

 

[walterjennings]

i don't live in the US. so i don't really give the cingular issue much thought, i doubt many people outside the US view it as a negative since we wont have to deal with it. i am curious if it will be as easy to 'unlock' the iphone as it is with regular cell phones to allow it to work on other networks. maybe thats why apple agreed to give exclusive sales to cingular because they know how easy it is to get around that. maybe not.

as far as the product goes minus the service provider. i and other tech geeks cant wait to get our hands on one, and there are enough of us to make it a success regardless

 

[Spectra]

I'd buy it but Cingular has me by the balls

CajunSniper / Puretick.com Administrator-Trader

 

[Hydroblunt]

Quote from walterjennings:

I like how people are so quick to jump to conclusions that the whole thing is complete b.s without a) having tried the product b) knowing anything about technology and the significance of various innovations in this product.

Nothing new in I-phone that has not been done in Japan & S.Korea. Just because Apple marketing department and Steve Jobs say so, does not make it true.

also interesting to note that jobs was targeting a 1% market share by 2008. and the poll shows nearly 50% of the people reading this thread are interested in buying one. not that ET is a random sample of the mobile phone market... but I think jobs is going to do a little better than he expected...

I agree that 1% by 2008 is a very low benchmark, I think they can hit 5-10%. But be realistic, just because 50% of ET is showing buying interest, does not mean they can afford it or justify paying the exorbitant price tag. Hey, I'm interested in the I-phone too, just not at the price its being offered. Give me a 2-year warranty & 40-50% discount and I'm game.

 

[walterjennings]

Quote from Hydroblunt:

Nothing new in I-phone that has not been done in Japan & S.Korea. Just because Apple marketing department and Steve Jobs say so, does not make it true.

I agree that 1% by 2008 is a very low benchmark, I think they can hit 5-10%. But be realistic, just because 50% of ET is showing buying interest, does not mean they can afford it or justify paying the exorbitant price tag. Hey, I'm interested in the I-phone too, just not at the price its being offered. Give me a 2-year warranty & 40-50% discount and I'm game.

i dont know.. you are a day trader and a 600$ price tag scares you off a new toy... (or business expense/tax writeoff)? i thought i was getting into a high income sector 500-600$ is not unheard of for top of the line PDAs, mobile computers, phones. I dont know why people are so up in arms about it. How expensive is the top of the line ipod? 60g ipod video goes for 300-400$ right? people are surprised the iphone costs more to make/buy?

im not quite sure where you get this 'nothing new' idea. they had multi touch purely display interfaces on a mobile device in japan / s.korea ? first iv heard of it. feel free to post a link to this japanese or korean product which iv overlooked. to my knowledge the iphone is the first mass commercial product featuring a multi touch screen.

just because the functions provided are nothing new doesn't mean the product isn't innovative. the DVD did 'nothing new' for us. neither does the latest gen computers. my father had a two piece brick cell phone back in the late 80's, were pocket sized cells 'nothing new' because they provided the same functions in a different product? is the nintendo wii nothing new because we could play similar video games before on PCs and other consoles? the ipod performed the same functions as the diamond rio, which was released years in advance.

innovation in a product isn't limited to the tasks they perform, it can also include how those tasks can be performed. in that department the iphone definitely falls under the 'new' category.

 

[Hydroblunt]

Quote from walterjennings:

i dont know.. you are a day trader and a 600$ price tag scares you off a new toy... (or business expense/tax writeoff)?

First of all, I do not daytrade anymore (not US equities), only swing & swing invest. Second, I loathe getting ripped off by bells & whistles with flimsy worksmanship. I have a phone, a MP3 player, a laptop and a desktop, happy with all of em. Unless I see something worth buying, I do not waste my money. I will, however, pay top dollar for true quality and AAPL I-products are not that. I do not NEED a new phone, at the most, I should upgrade to a PDA phone, not a chic toy. Yeah I can go buy a dozen I-phones right now, but then I can also take that money and find 1000 other better things to do with it.
Maybe you are a spoiled little brat, but most people in this world do not come from overprivilieged backgrounds, and chances are, are not rolling in money, far from it. They simply cannot afford the I-phone, unless their priorities are totally screwed up and they have zero fiscal discipline. Or they just "charge it". But then, they probably already maxed out their cards.

i thought i was getting into a high income sector

Ok, now I realize the level of ignorance I'm dealing with.

feel free to post a link to this japanese or korean product which iv overlooked. to my knowledge the iphone is the first mass commercial product featuring a multi touch screen.

I'm not a personal info gopher for the dim-witted, not free of charge. If in the 21st century you really have that much of a problem finding just how advanced S.Korea electronics market is, go there for vacation and check it out for yourself.

the DVD did 'nothing new' for us. neither does the latest gen computers. my father had a two piece brick cell phone back in the late 80's, were pocket sized cells 'nothing new' because they provided the same functions in a different product?

Now I notice that you are more ignorant than originally thought. DVD was smaller size item, offered more storage, was digital vs analog (if you even know what that means), offered menus, extra features, web content, scene selection and even alternate camera angles (for porn). Next gen computers, whatever the f**K that means, I dunno, why dont you grab a PC from 1996 and try running todays software on it, or hook up a USB-device to it, or a PCI-E card. Old cellphones vs new, I dunno, longer battery life, more functionality, text paging, video, camera, music. Please, before you even bother stating I-phone this and that, every function I-phone does, there are phones that do the same, at the most, replacing keypad with touchpad capability (of which I have NEVER EVER EVER heard before) is what I-phone brings forward. Not too practical when you consider how easily it can stop working and hence making your whole phone worthless. Which is why PALM, RIMM, LG and Samsung choose to intergrate touchpad capability into phone products rather than replace the keypad with it completely.

is the nintendo wii nothing new because we could play similar video games before on PCs and other consoles?

Does typing make you dumber and dumber as you go along? How can you possibly miss the OBVIOUS innovation of the Wii? It is only the central theme of their strategy and marketing campaign. Do you not notice the new controller in their commercials and ads? Is it really that hard to miss the parts in the previews and reviews where it is continually talked about the new gaming experience that the Wii has achieved because of the new controller? Or how about the awards it received for breakthrough technology? You must make an effort to be this dense.

the ipod performed the same functions as the diamond rio, which was released years in advance.

I love the irony in that statement considering the point of your feeble yet relentless argument.

innovation in a product isn't limited to the tasks they perform, it can also include how those tasks can be performed. in that department the iphone definitely falls under the 'new' category.

And now I realize just how amazing Apple's marketing & hype machine is. You know what, now I am sure they get 10+% market share in 2008, if not close 20%. So I'll follow their lead and capitalize on the masses of idiots that exist in this country. Long AAPL.

 

[thehangingman]

Personally, I like to avoid gadgets. Eventually, they all get thrown into the draw or in the garbage. There are better ways to throw around $600 then for a small piece of plastic that eventually is thrown away.

 

[es175]

Think I will wait for the bugs to be fixed in MK II. Maybe they'll roll out a better camera as well - this one is only 2 megs.

Of course I would love to put some Skype software on it to take advantage of wireless networks but I am not sure that mobile network operators would like that much. Don't think the phone will have a great deal of software flexibility. Still want one though. But I'll wait for MK II.