TC Commentary: A discussion on the iPhone

miradu

TreoCentral Staff
May 29, 2000
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www.treocentral.com
Will the iPhone kill the Treo? What effect will Apple have on Palm? TreoCentral's Michael Ducker and Dieter Bohn are both gigantic fans of Apple and of Treos - read on to see what they have to say to each other about the iPhone's potentially huge effect on the Treo.

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/1047-1.htm

I hope you enjoyed our MacWorld Coverage!

-Michael Ducker
Editor, TreoCentral.com
michael@treocentral.com
 

moofie

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OK, pardon my ignorance, but who is Dieter Bohn? The way the "interview" read, two blog guys were interviewing each other, quoting other blog guys with speculation about what the iPhone will or will not be able to do.

I mean, I'm interested too, but if all we have to go on is uninformed opinion, maybe you could slow your roll a bit?
 

Iceman6

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I agree, that was a great article. The Treo is a pretty good phone and PDA that also works great as a messaging and internet device. The iPhone is a great music player, pretty good video player (not enough internal memory), probably a pretty good phone (you have to look at it in order to dial), a poor messaging device (foldable bluetooth keyboard anyone?), and a poor internet device when wifi is not available to you. A 3G version of the iPhone will solve the last problem at the cost of battery life. It's not a perfect device, but if you want a phone built into your iPod, here it is.
 

spiVeyx

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Something that really bothers me about the iPhone that I haven't heard anyone else mention is the contact lookup interface. I would HATE to scroll through my 300+ contacts to find the one I'd like to call. So I hope they have a keyboard-enabled contact lookup feature. If they don't, that alone would be a deal-breaker for me.

Oh, and BTW, great atrticle! :)
 

lardawge

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Something that really bothers me about the iPhone that I haven't heard anyone else mention is the contact lookup interface. I would HATE to scroll through my 300+ contacts to find the one I'd like to call. So I hope they have a keyboard-enabled contact lookup feature. If they don't, that alone would be a deal-breaker for me.

Oh, and BTW, great atrticle! :)

It was mentioned by me in a post a couple days ago which was ignored... I totally agree! I have 500+ contacts. Can you say PAINFUL!
 

archie

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This thread (and the article itself) seems to hold some rational people so I would like to pose some thoughts here.

First off, I do agree. This is a good article. I particularly like the format andserved well to bring up the various views and aspects.

To address the vaporware comment in the article, I have to say that a different word probably should have been used. Perhaps asmall knit-picking point but by choosing to call the iPhone vaporware you are insinuating that it will never arrive, OR at the very least, if it does it will not hold all of the features as announced. I have every bit of confidence that Apple will deliver this product and it will arrive delivering above and beyond our expectations as of today.

No comment on my confidence in Palm.

Michael Ducker says flashy graphics do not make a (good) UI. He says, "A UI iis defined by the ease of navigating between forms and the ability to quickly find your information on the display. And for the bulk of the applications, I saw very little differences between Palm OS and Apple's UI"

A UI is how the user interacts with a device/application. Apple has enabled the user to interact with this iPhone device in an unheard of manner. This is accomplished through Apple's designs in hardware (ie: the hundreds of patents published and revealed at places like Macsimumnews.com). In addition, Apple has made it is easy to get around and access the differing features of the apps on the hardware. AND they make it easy to follow (for example, the flashy sliding in and out of various facets of an application), and consequently learn. This is accomplished through Apple's designs in the software (ie: flashy animations).

As an Interactive Designer, I hold considerable more knowledge of this subject than most here. But even so...

To speak of and reference static images in referring to a user interface is to ignore the fact that the UI is there to allow you to "INTERACT" with the phone. So it is my opinion that it is Apple's flashy graphics that make a good UI.

Oh, one more comment in regards to the article. I differ in the opinion that the iPhone is not a smartphone platform yet. Bear in mind that the iPod, along with iTunes and the iTS is an obvious platform. Continuing with that thought, we now have the introduction of the iPhone upon us in about 4 or 5 months. We have to recognize the fact that their IS ALREADY a huge supporting community of add ons. Peripherals that are part of the iPhone platform such as battery add-ons that can be quickly added or plugged in for extra power or charging, obvious hardware accessories that are currently available for the iPod like the camera connector and iPod Radio Remote, developers making games for purchase, content up the wazoo like songs, videos, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, PDF content, iTunes U and its integration with Blackboard, WebCT, and Sakai and others. The iPhone is actually the only product, that I know of, where an entire platform was built up in various aspects with various materials BEFORE the thing is even released.
 

archie

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Something that really bothers me about the iPhone that I haven't heard anyone else mention is the contact lookup interface. I would HATE to scroll through my 300+ contacts to find the one I'd like to call. So I hope they have a keyboard-enabled contact lookup feature. If they don't, that alone would be a deal-breaker for me.
Yes, you can blaze through your contacts either by scrolling OR typing the first letter... then second or even third or fourth letters to see results narrow as soon as you type each letter. Apple has been doing this with all of their apps starting back in January of 2001, and now they are using this capabilty in the iPhone.
 

mikec#IM

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Yes, you can blaze through your contacts either by scrolling OR typing the first letter... then second or even third or fourth letters to see results narrow as soon as you type each letter. Apple has been doing this with all of their apps starting back in January of 2001, and now they are using this capabilty in the iPhone.

Typedown and scroll down contact lists have been around for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time..Maybe Apple started in 2001, but other companies have been doing it/done it 10+ years before.
 

bclinger#IM

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I was under the impression that the iPhone was a "complete" device, one not needing any enhancements. Even Steve Jobs states something to that effect in the following:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/t...d98b8686&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

Now you are saying there is room for improvement. How can one improve the perfect device? I am so confused. We no longer have the perfect device, the perfect PIM, the perfect ...............

Wow.

Ben

Oh, one more comment in regards to the article. I differ in the opinion that the iPhone is not a smartphone platform yet. Bear in mind that the iPod, along with iTunes and the iTS is an obvious platform. Continuing with that thought, we now have the introduction of the iPhone upon us in about 4 or 5 months. We have to recognize the fact that their IS ALREADY a huge supporting community of add ons. Peripherals that are part of the iPhone platform such as battery add-ons that can be quickly added or plugged in for extra power or charging, obvious hardware accessories that are currently available for the iPod like the camera connector and iPod Radio Remote, developers making games for purchase, content up the wazoo like songs, videos, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, PDF content, iTunes U and its integration with Blackboard, WebCT, and Sakai and others. The iPhone is actually the only product, that I know of, where an entire platform was built up in various aspects with various materials BEFORE the thing is even released.
 

copernicus

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Amazing!

I sat through the 30 to 40 minute presentation of the iPhone at MacWorld twice today and was totally blown away with what I saw. This is the most stable "vaporware" that I have ever seen. On the surface, it seems that the device has FAR exceeded anyone's expectations and has without a doubt thoroughly shaken the industry. I don't think things will ever be quite the same after this. Thanks for the very informative article!
 

bruckwine

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I agree, that was a great article. The Treo is a pretty good phone and PDA that also works great as a messaging and internet device. The iPhone is a great music player, pretty good video player (not enough internal memory), probably a pretty good phone (you have to look at it in order to dial), a poor messaging device (foldable bluetooth keyboard anyone?), and a poor internet device when wifi is not available to you. A 3G version of the iPhone will solve the last problem at the cost of battery life. It's not a perfect device, but if you want a phone built into your iPod, here it is.

my take on the matter too Iceman..I'll get this purely because the times when I DO use my iPod it's inconvenient to have another gadget (a phone) no matter how light it is (e.g. razr) -this would solve that problem but not have all the capabilities of a genuine smartphone I think....great complement to what we use already is what I'm thinking - just switch SIMs as the need arises!
 

Malatesta

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Btw does the iPhone have speakerphone? haven't heard anyone mention it yet....
it does and it was used during the presentation during the conference call.

only 1-speaker at the bottom but it is most probably a high quality speaker so it should sound fine.
 

Iceman6

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I differ in the opinion that the iPhone is not a smartphone platform yet. Bear in mind that the iPod, along with iTunes and the iTS is an obvious platform. Continuing with that thought, we now have the introduction of the iPhone upon us in about 4 or 5 months. We have to recognize the fact that their IS ALREADY a huge supporting community of add ons. Peripherals that are part of the iPhone platform such as battery add-ons that can be quickly added or plugged in for extra power or charging, obvious hardware accessories that are currently available for the iPod like the camera connector and iPod Radio Remote, developers making games for purchase, content up the wazoo like songs, videos, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, PDF content, iTunes U and its integration with Blackboard, WebCT, and Sakai and others. The iPhone is actually the only product, that I know of, where an entire platform was built up in various aspects with various materials BEFORE the thing is even released.

I think you misunderstand the term "smartphone". A smartphone, by definition, must allow for the installation of additional applications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

Due to the complexity of the user interface, I suspect that it will be a while before Apple allows anyone other than themselves to add new widgets. But there is no doubt that it's a smartphone. It is a handheld computer with a desktop OS. It's just that the application software can only be updated by the manufacturer.
 

archie

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I think you misunderstand the term "smartphone". A smartphone, by definition, must allow for the installation of additional applications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

Due to the complexity of the user interface, I suspect that it will be a while before Apple allows anyone other than themselves to add new widgets. But there is no doubt that it's a smartphone. It is a handheld computer with a desktop OS. It's just that the application software can only be updated by the manufacturer.

I went to that link. Here is what it said:

A smartphone or sphone is any electronic handheld device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or other information appliance. This is often achieved by adding telephone functions to an existing PDA (PDA Phone) or putting "smart" capabilities, such as PDA functions, into a mobile phone. A key feature of a smartphone is that additional native applications can be installed on the device. The applications can be developed by the manufacturer of the handheld device, by the operator or by any other third-party software developer. "Smart" functionality includes any additional interface including a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry.

In reading the italicized part, it seems obvious that Apple's phone can be classified as a "smartphone".
 

xtant21

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IThe applications can be developed by the manufacturer of the handheld device, by the operator or by any other third-party software developer. "Smart" functionality includes any additional interface including a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen, or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry.[/I]

In reading the italicized part, it seems obvious that Apple's phone can be classified as a "smartphone".

Ok...by that definition maybe we can agree. I think their definition needs to be updated now...a new class has evolved. But seriously...for business use where the term SMARTPHONE really means something...tell me that when you get an email with a Word doc attached on your iPhone and you have no way to open it your not going to be missing your Treo. That's like the days of pagers...someone called me...yep someone called...now let me go find a phone so I can call them back. What a useless leash - I mean piece of technology that was.

Seriously though it is smarter than a phone...but in TRUE smartphone style it isn't quite a smartphone. There are smarter phones out there...are they geniusphones? They definitely have more capabilities...even with less eye-candy and consumer appeal.
 

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