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iPhone, Apple TV Headline MacWorld Keynote 1619

Steve Jobs kept his audience rapt at the MacWorld keynote today. He rehashed the announcement of the iTV, now called Apple TV, and announced the iPhone, a revolutionary phone/ipod/wrist-computer that had MacWorld attendees sitting on the edge of their seats. Retailing for $499 (4 gig)/$599 (8 gig), it has to be seen to be believed. It uses a touch screen with a new form of input control, runs OSX and many standard applications, and connects to the internet via WiFi. It has a camera, functions as a movie player, a music player, and can send emails and photos in the middle of a phone call. From the Engadget coverage: "'[OSX] let us create desktop class applications and networking, not the crippled stuff you find on most phones, these are real desktop applications.' He's quoting Alan Kay - 'People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.' 'So we're bringing breakthrough software to a mobile device for the first time.'" Seriously, go check this out. They're going to print money with this thing.
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iPhone, Apple TV Headline MacWorld Keynote

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  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17525820)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Re:Leopard? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Moby Cock ( 771358 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:11PM (#17525934) Homepage
      Sadly no. The Keynote focused on the Apple TV and th iPhone.
  • by allanc ( 25681 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17525826) Homepage
    Oh man, I was totally with them up until the prices. I was preparing to pull out my credit card and spend an extra few months in debt. But... $500 for a 4gig and $600 for an 8gig? My MP3 collection is 13gigs. I'd have to shell out $500 and I'd *still* have to carry around my iPod. Oh, and also, I'd probably also have to switch from T-Mobile to Cingular.

    I'll wait for the next iteration.
    • by codeshack ( 753630 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525910)
      Yeah, but soon it'll be the iPhone shuffle -- just hit a button and it calls one of your friends at random!
    • by daviddennis ( 10926 ) <david@amazing.com> on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:32PM (#17526520) Homepage
      I think Cingular and T-Mobile share the same network, at least in part, so you might actually be getting the same service.

      Random access voice mail almost certainly required that they get the cooperation of a specific provider.

      The price is a bit high. I'd guessed $499 but without a contract. They could certainly obliverate their competition if they were able to get it cheaper, but this is to the Treo or Sidekick as Final Cut Pro was to Adobe Premiere when it was introduced. In other words, it blasts the competition into smithereens.

      I wonder if terminal and ssh are included somewhere in the device. Those nice Blackberry folks charge $95 for ssh and that would make up a lot of the price disadvantage if it was included in the Phone's MacOS X installation.

      Finally, when I heard all the stuff that goes on that device, I would think you'd want a 30gb version. 4 and 8 gb of Flash almost seems like an insult for something that powerful. I suppose a hard drive would have made it too big and heavy, but still, people carry around hard drive based iPods just fine, and a hard drive iPod's not much different in size from the sidekick.

      It's a pity consumers really love small ...

      D

    • by MrPerfekt ( 414248 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @05:41PM (#17529578) Homepage Journal
      Is it a shock to you that the iPhone is primarily a phone?

      It's clearly an iPod second. After all, if you were to have a smartphone without mp3 playing capability, you'd look pretty silly.
  • by zookie ( 136959 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17525834)
    Even for those who cover all the MacWorld talks, this was BIG:

    "People are rapt, everyone is actually literally leaning forward and on the edge of their seat. We've never seen a presentation like this before."
  • by cloudkiller ( 877302 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17525838) Homepage Journal
    Just announced, Microsoft confirms the Plume. It's a phone that's 3 ½ inches thick, runs the full- blown windows vista, plays the new we-promise-it-will-always-play DRM'd music and has 9600 baud dial up modem, and has the ability to take and print pictures with optional ink and paper tray attachment. Welcome to the social, now where is everyone.

    I've been waiting for that all day.....
  • by Lev13than ( 581686 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:08PM (#17525846) Homepage
    "NewtonberrySP"
  • by plover ( 150551 ) * on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:09PM (#17525880) Homepage Journal
    OK, where do I have to go to stand in line?
  • by jgaynor ( 205453 ) <jon@noSPAm.gaynor.org> on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:09PM (#17525890) Homepage
    I was drooling during the presentation - I could even stomach the price tag, but not with a provider (Cingular) who charges like $60/month plus taxes for unlimited data. This is a DATA device. Yes it's a phone, but all of the live data eye-candy is worthless if it only works within 40 feet of your house or local WAP. The $500 or $600 is only the beginning, you're going to pay FAR out the ass over the life of this phone.
  • WITH Contract (Score:5, Informative)

    by MindStalker ( 22827 ) <mindstalker&gmail,com> on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525892) Journal
    Thats $599 WITH a 2 year Cingular contract.

    ARG thats insane. Probably $899 by itself if even available.
  • The name (Score:5, Interesting)

    by moofdaddy ( 570503 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525902) Homepage
    CNBC is reporting that apple was in negotiations with CISCO over the name into last night. They're supposed to sign all the paper work today, but its still unclear who will own it and how much apple will pay.
    • CNET confirms it (Score:5, Informative)

      by WidescreenFreak ( 830043 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:19PM (#17526182) Homepage Journal
      I didn't see anything on CNBC's web site, but CNET says that heard it directly from Cisco [com.com].

      10:32--Cisco calls CNET News.com reporter with a statement about Apple's use of the term "iPhone" for its new product. "Given Apple's numerous requests for permission to use Cisco's iPhone trademark over the past several years and our extensive discussions with them recently, it is our belief that with their announcement today, Apple intends to agree to the final document and public statements that were distributed to them last night and that address a few remaining items we expect to receive a signed agreement today."
    • Re:The name (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Duncan3 ( 10537 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:23PM (#17526282) Homepage
      No reason they would treat him any better then they do their customers.

      Safe to assume they are bending poor Steve over a desk on this one.

  • Battery life? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by chemical55 ( 446280 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525914)
    Any word on battery life on this thing?
  • by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525918) Homepage
    I'm not really an Apple geek but that's some really insane hardware for the form factor. The price is hefty, but I'm impressed they packed in what they could to something that slim. It's going to be a hacker's wet dream.

    A few small thoughts:

    1.) No 3G. Wi-fi, Bluetooth, etc. are nice though.
    2.) They push it as an internet device, with messaging/email/etc. but lack of a physical keyboard? I don't know. I mean, I know and you know we'll love it regardless, but will this really sway the Blackberry junkies?
    3.) What is this thing really running? "OS X"? FreeBSD -- they mean that? I'd be curious also what the chips are (no way in hell is PortalPlayer powering graphics like this).

    Very cool device. Should be impossible to find, but I'll get one anyway. :)
  • Not LAME! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Prien715 ( 251944 ) <agnosticpope@NOsPAm.gmail.com> on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:10PM (#17525926) Journal
    Finally it has wireless and more space than a nomad! Truly unlame;)

    (For those of you not in on the joke [slashdot.org])
  • by bonch ( 38532 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:11PM (#17525944)
    Ballmer is all out of chairs.
  • by 0racle ( 667029 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:11PM (#17525960)
    Cingular exclusive. That sucks. The announced prices are with a 2yr contract as well. Other then not switching my service just for a phone merged with a iPod, the device could have been made so much better as the return of the Newton. I was hoping for a smart phone that would work with almost any service, sync to my MacBook and could act as a bluetooth modem.

    Only interesting thing to wait for now is a release date for Leopard.
  • Name Change (Score:5, Informative)

    by jivemonkey ( 776115 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:12PM (#17525966) Homepage
    Not mentioned in the article Apple Computer, inc. has changed it's name to Apple, inc. Just a tidbit I thought I would mention.
  • by Chief Typist ( 110285 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:14PM (#17526028) Homepage
    Since this new device runs OSX, it's a great time for those of us with Mac development experience. A whole new (and huge) market for our products.

    Likewise, there's a new incentive for Windows-only applications to get ported to OSX so they can run on the iPhone.

    Personally, I think that the term "revolutionary" gets used way too much. But in the case of the iPhone, it seems appropriate.

    -ch
  • by Catbeller ( 118204 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:14PM (#17526046) Homepage
    My oldest dream. A real ebook reader.

    Even if we get a simple text file display app, the ebook is finally here.
  • Beatles (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ducon Lajoie ( 30475 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:15PM (#17526076)
    Did anyone notice all the Beatles songs displayed during the keynote? That, and the name change to Apple inc., suggest to me that they came to an agreement with Apple records on the long-standing name and distribution issues.
  • by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:17PM (#17526142)
    > It uses a touch screen with a new form of input control, runs OSX and many standard applications, and connects to the internet via WiFi.

    Assuming WiFi connectivity becomes widespread, I can see Google Maps printing money with this thing too. (If there's no WiFi available, but a cellular tower is within range, Cingular might be able to print money for the data shuffled back and forth while running an application like Google Maps.)

    Biggest loser might be GPS device makers: Why spend $500 for a portable GPS unit when you can have the same thing (and get the "killer app" of Google-searchable maps, plus the nice bonus of satellite imagery, which can't be done on a portable GPS unit) in your phone for the same price?

    I can also see a nice automotive aftermarket opportunity here. One of these things mounted on the dash, or in an aftermarket console/tray, would be an ergonomic (read: safer) way to do aftermarket GPS.

  • by Dster76 ( 877693 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:20PM (#17526210)
    Tech specs [apple.com]
  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:24PM (#17526300)
    If slashdot hates it, this thing is going to be successful. I remember the ipod was also coldly received around here. The ipod demonstrated the huge disconnect between "expert" slashdot users and your everyday consumer. In short, slashdotters severely undervalue ease of use.
  • Bigger implications (Score:4, Informative)

    by hrbrmstr ( 324215 ) * on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:29PM (#17526452) Homepage Journal
    While Jobs didn't talk much about Leopard, Xcode or the other great stuff Apple has coming this year, I can picture a nice scenario where one will be able to choose "iPhone Project" in Xcode and code like they would (albeit with a very different GUI notion) for the Mac. I also suspect that DashCode was released just to make it easier to build custom widgets for this thing.

    If you can buy it without the Cingular/AT&T service from Apple, then it might be worth the cost, since the WiFi/Bluetooth is cool enough and I already have Verizon (along with the entire fam).

    5hrs life, tho... gonna be tough if you use it as a cell phone.
    • by John Girouard ( 716057 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:00PM (#17527124) Homepage
      5 hours of talk time. This seems to be in the ballpark of other cellphones.
  • by bstarrfield ( 761726 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:31PM (#17526502)

    Much as I detest Cingular, Apple likely had little choice but to partner with one of the major cell phone carriers. Apple could, of course, had sold the iPhone without a SIM and had the customers install their own.

    That would have been a marketing / tech support / and logistical mess, with different networks providing different data plans, features, connectivity, and even basic networks (GSM versus whatever the hell's out there). Partnering with Cingular makes life ever so much easier for Apple. Not only that, it prevents Cingular / ATT from partnering with some vaporware future Microsoft product that could steal Apple's thunder.

    I'm not going to defend Cingular's horrific record. They're awful, no doubt. But all the wireless firms are awful right now. Given that Steve divested Apple of the awesome Imaging group, the nifty Newton, and other business units it would be surprising if Apple wanted to get into the cell phone provisioning business.

    On another note, I'm already looking at how to rewrite a few Widgets to work on the iPhone...

  • Some reality (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Danathar ( 267989 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:34PM (#17526554) Journal
    1) It would not matter WHAT carrier they chose. People would dump on them because there are large groups which hate EVERY cell carrier in the U.S.

    2) I've seen NO confirmation that you HAVE to buy a contract.

    3) Anti Apple Trolls will take a large steaming dump on it no matter what it is.
  • by twbecker ( 315312 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:35PM (#17526568)
    Ok, the phone is incredible. But the carrier sucks and the price, while reasonable, is really gonna add up when you add a data enabled calling plan. What I really want is this version of OS X on the iPod. Turn it into the iPhone minus the phone, and they can still charge close to $500 for it, and not have to share anything with Cingular.
  • by nutshell42 ( 557890 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:38PM (#17526640) Journal
    This is the official thread for all those Apple fanboys who crashed any thread on new cellphones over the years with their "boohoo, a device should only do one thing" spiel.

    In this thread I want to give you the opportunity to state whether your earlier trolling against cellphones with mp3 playback functionality was 100%-Apple-fanboyism or if you stand by it and think the iPhone should never have happened. Thx.

  • Technical Specs (Score:5, Informative)

    by benji_mouse ( 701467 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:40PM (#17526688)
    From apple.com/iphone/technology/specs.html

    Screen size          3.5 inches
    Screen resolution    320 by 480 at 160 ppi
    Input method         Multi-touch
    Operating system     OS X
    Storage              4GB or 8GB
    GSM                  Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
    Wireless data        Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0
    Camera               2.0 megapixels
    Battery              * Up to 5 hours Talk / Video / Browsing
                         * Up to 16 hours Audio playback
    Dimensions           4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm
    Weight               4.8 ounces / 135 grams
  • No Widescreen iPod (Score:4, Insightful)

    by devnull17 ( 592326 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:41PM (#17526712) Homepage Journal

    The iPhone looks nice. Overpriced and tied to a terrible service provider, but the gadget itself looks cool.

    But where's the next-generation iPod? It's obvious that the technology is there; the iPhone has pretty much every feature that one could dream of in a next-generation iPod: it's widescreen, touch-controlled, and has much better screen resolution.

    What about the vast majority of iPod customers who don't want an overfeatured, overpriced toy ($600 plus a two-year contract with the worst mobile service provider in the US--and they have a monopoly on it, by the way) with little storage capacity that won't be available until June? What about those of us who aren't interested in satellite images of the Washington Monument, or a simple way to voice-dial Starbucks, and just want a sexy gadget to play movies on the train? Why does Apple insist on shoving these extra features down our throats at an exorbitant price, offering no alternative? I thought they had more respect for their customers than that.

    • by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:48PM (#17528310) Homepage Journal

      The iPhone looks nice. Overpriced and tied to a terrible service provider, but the gadget itself looks cool.

      But where's the next-generation iPod? [...] Why does Apple insist on shoving these extra features down our throats at an exorbitant price, offering no alternative?

      It IS the next-gen iPod [apple.com].

      How many freakkin versions of the iPod does it take for you to consider that you have been offered an alternative? Because iPod, iPod Video, Mini iPod, iPod Shuffle weren't enough, no, you're stuck with only one single choice, which you are forced at gunpoint to buy, no less.

      Poor, poor you. How dare Apple design a slick product that will appeal to millions rather than spend their resources designing the product you want, at the price you deem fair? how dare they?
  • Oooh My... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:55PM (#17527012) Homepage Journal
    I believe that's a nerdrection I feel coming on...

    If the phone can run SIP software (And it looks like it's just OSX so it should be able to) then you could switch over to a "One handset to rule them all" setup. At home or anywhere else where there's wifi you can connect to an Asterisk server over sip. Otherwise default to cell. The problem then becomes how to terminate your Asterisk box into the PSTN. You could get a VOIP provider (Telasip works with asterisk and you can ask them to unlock your account so that you can change your caller ID.) Or you could terminate it into the PSTN with a digium card or a SIP gateway. In either case you can provide one phone number to your customers and have asterisk fail over to the cell if your main line doesn't pick up. If you use telasip for such endeavors you can spoof your customer's caller ID to the cell network so you even know who's calling.

    Once you take control of your network endpoint in this manner the sky is pretty much the limit. Blacklist phone numbers, let your callers play hunt-the-wumpas, have a corporate-class voice responder, make free calls over enum or Dundi... pretty much anything you can think of can be done when you have that much control of your end of the phone network.

  • by MeanderingMind ( 884641 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @03:55PM (#17527030) Homepage Journal
    No Blu-Ray. Less space than a PS3. Lame.
  • by Quiet_Desperation ( 858215 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:02PM (#17527154)
    I (and just about everyone I know) cannot bring a phone to work with a camera in it. The camera renders it useless to me. Camera phones are for teens and kiddies. We adults have digital SLR Canons and Nikons.
  • by Thumper_SVX ( 239525 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:09PM (#17527302) Homepage
    Well, first of all I like the device. I think it looks like exactly what I need to replace my aging MPX220... but probably not until next year.

    Why? Well, first of all there's the issue of locking. OK, so I use Cingular... but I'll be damned if I'm going to sign another contract with them to get this phone for $599. That's not because I'm balking at the price... I don't like to be locked to a provider. The last 4 cellphones I've purchased were all unlocked GSM phones. I pay more for them, but I get to use them wherever and whenever I want. That way when I fly to England (which I'll be doing again this year) I can pick up a Virgin Mobile SIM at the airport (or more often in London... they're cheaper there) and just pay as I go with a UK phone number for the duration of my trip. Plus then I have my regular contacts, calendar and stuff with me (not to mention my eBooks).

    I'm no on a contract with Cingular, but I stick with them today because they provide me decent coverage, decent service and don't really seem to care what kind of phone I attach to their network.

    Now, to those who ARE balking at the price with a 2-year contract... well this is a smartphone. As such, compare it to smartphones, not to the standard handsets. Even devices such as the SLVR don't compare despite their limited music-playing capability because the Apple phone is going to be a smartphone in the same way that the current PDA phones are. It just runs OSX instead of Windows CE or Palm. The price is about in-the-range that you'd expect to pay. For an unlocked phone, expect around $200-$250 more.

    Now will I pay $850 for the phone I want? Probably. I paid about $500 for my MPX220 and I've had it for two years so far. 3 years out of that investment I think is reasonable... given inflation over the last couple of years I think I can justify $850 for my next three-year investment in a decent cellphone. The fact that it'll replace my MPX220 and iPod Nano at the same time, as well as give me an OSX based system is just the icing on the cake for me.
  • More expensive than a Blackberry. Requires a two year Cingular service contract. Lame. :)
  • by IceCreamGuy ( 904648 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:18PM (#17527512) Homepage
    I'm going to freeze myself until this comes out. Remember that tree over there and get me in June.
  • ssh, x-windows (Score:5, Interesting)

    by blofeld42 ( 854237 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @04:18PM (#17527522)
    It should be easy to get an ssh terminal running on this thing. In fact, I think you could get X running on it.

    An obvious home run. Crackberrys are history. Every admin is going to be leashed to one of these things.
  • OpenMoko (Score:5, Informative)

    by p7 ( 245321 ) on Tuesday January 09, 2007 @07:59PM (#17532080)
    Lots of the iPhone features will be available this month on the FIC Neo1973 Smartphone. It is also an open platform.

    http://www.openmoko.com/press/index.html/ [openmoko.com]

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