The iPhone Buzz!

So here is some stuff that i gathered and compiled from the net. Hope you like it.

The iPhone

There has been a lot of anticipation for the release of the iPhone, with thoughts of the ultimate multimedia phone from Apple combining the coolest features of a mobile handset with the coolest features of an iPod.

Steve Jobs announced the name of the new mobile phone from Apple at MacWorld and until that point everyone was with the understanding that it was already trademarked by Cisco for a phone from Linksys and Apple would have a different name for their new hybrid mobile device.

Linksys iPhone family, a series of seven VoIP handsets that support different combinations of VoIP, Wireless-G, Skype and standard telephone services.

The iPhone is a devive that looks like a PDA and has no permanent buttons.

The as iPhone as anticipated b, and its introduction has raised Apple’s share price.

Jobs made a point to mention how smart phones aren’t very smart because of the fixed keyboard and the space that this wastes on most phones. Jobs also mentioned the fact that you can have visual voice mail, meaning you can view your voice mails like your email inbox.

The phone ties in very well to the iPod line of devices. Its screen was very capable of displaying video. Also the iPhone categorizes music very well and allows on screen navigation of music in a very intuitive way.

The iPhone comes with the Safari browser and is a capable of connection to any web based email service like Gmail, Hotmail or even Microsoft Exchange. Yahoo is offering free push email service to iPhone users. This is similar to what Blackberry devices do, they get the email pushed to them instead of the client requesting new mail messages.

The new Apple iPhone has a 3.5 inch Multi-touch screen with a resolution of 320 x 480 at 160 ppi. The Multi-touch screen works by finger touch, not a stylus and can track multiple fingers moving on and across the screen to perform tasks such as resizing an image. It has a 2.0 megapixel built-in camera and a battery that allows 5 hours of talking, watching videos or browsing the web, and up to 16 hours of listening to music.

The service will be provided by Cingular with Quad-Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900) GSM, EDGE, Bluetooth and WiFi. (No 3G listed in the stats). The actual dimensions of the iPhone are 115 x 61 x 11.6mm, which makes it just slightly thicker than the iPod (thicker than the Nano) and roughly the same dimensions as Cingular’s 8525 for height and width, and weighs 136 grams.

Everybody is gaga over the iPhone. It’s sexy, it’s sleek, and it’s definitely all Apple design all the way. Steve Jobs wowed us with his presentation of the iPhone. However, that could have just been the effect of the famous Jobs Reality Distortion Field. The question on our minds is: Is the iPhone a contender in the cut throat mobile phone arena? We look at a few issues that may hinder the fledgling iPhone on its first flight out of the Apple Aerie.

Price

At $500 to $600 the phone is incredibly expensive. You could buy a Nintendo Wii, a few games and still have money left over a good night on the town. Considering some wireless companies give phones away with their plans it might be hard to convince a consumer to part with a months rent for a phone. Also what kind of high priced data, voice, music or text packages will a user be forced to buy in order to take advantage of all the features of iPhone.

Who is the User?

With a device this pricey, thoughts would turn to enterprise corporate users in the Blackberry or Windows Mobile space. However without an enterprise email service it might be hard to sell corporations on laying out the cash for a phone that an employee can use to play music and take pictures instead of getting business emails.

iTunes

Yes you can play and organize music but can you buy songs write from the phone? That is a question that remains to be answered. According to an Apple VP, “iTunes was designed to exist on the Mac and PCs. That’s where the music should live.” So it sounds like no iTunes on the phone. Maybe there is something else for the iPhone? I can’t imagine that Apple would pass up on the huge revenue stream guaranteed by direct iTunes downloads to the iPhone.

Applications

Right now there are a few big smart phone OS players. The iPhone uses OS X as the operating system for the iPhone. So a brand new OS player emerges on the scene and, guess what, Apple is going to be very strict about who gets to create an application for their phone. In other words, Apple owns you, your data and you will be locked in forever and ever, Amen. Compare the software available for OS X and Windows. Windows has a lot, actually a whole lot compared to the Mac. Are we going to see that same trend with an OS X based iPhones? Mobile application publishers will have yet another platform to target if they can get on Emperor Jobs’ phone.

The Touch (Touchy) Screen

This one is pretty obvious. Where do most men put their phone? In their pocket with their keys and who knows what else. Where do women put their phones? In their purse with a whole bunch of other stuff. How well will this screen hold up to daily use. If you have a scratched screen on your $600 sexy phone, you might be a bit upset.

So right now there are a few questions to be answered before purchasing an iPhone. Luckily, you will have plenty of time to wait and see how the details work out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo

In this video, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discusses the impact of the Apple iPhone which was unveiled by Steve Jobs at the recent MacWorld keynote address.

Obviously stung when asked whether or not the iPhone took some of the spotlight from the Zune, Ballmer responds that the iPhone is “by far the most expensive phone in the marketplace,” and that “it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard”.

Ballmer discusses Microsoft’s mobile strategy and its emphasis on music and entertainment, stating that “right now we are selling millions of phones and Apple is selling zero”. Ballmer acknowledges Apple’s preeminent position in the entertainment domain, but asserts his confidence that Microsoft is very much “in the game” when it comes to mobile entertainment.

February 21st, 2007 - Apple and Cisco eportedly came to an agreement out of court regarding the pesky lawsuit filed against Apple for trademark infringement on the iPhone name. This agreement came after weeks of negotiations with multiple extensions granted by Cisco before Apple had to reply to federal court. In the long awaited agreement, both companies agreed to dismiss any legal actions regarding the iPhone trademark and Apple will be allowed to use the ‘iPhone’ name for its new multimedia device along with Cisco. Both companies will be able to use the name in their products worldwide. In exchange, the companies will continue to explore some “wide-ranging interoperability between the companies’ products in the areas of security, consumer and business communications.”

The different varieties to choose from -

Apple has announced that its iPhone has gotten the green light from the FCC to go ahead with a planned June launch, despite false rumours that the product will be delayed. So June 11^th it is.

Are you game?