[IP] WORTH READING more on All hail the new iPhone - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "William S. Duncanson" <caesar@starkreality.com>
Date: January 12, 2007 7:06:30 PM EST
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: RE: [IP] more on All hail the new iPhone - Pittsburgh  
Tribune-Review

My guess is that the subsidy to get the price down to $599 is pretty  
large.
Remember that all the prices we've seen are the 2-year-contract  
subsidized
prices.  Cingular probably demanded an exclusive deal in return for a  
big
enough subsidy to make the iPhone (I really hope Cisco wins) appear even
remotely attractive price-wise.

I would guess, judging by the subsidies other phones get, that the
unsubsidized price of the iPhone is probably well north of the $1000  
range.
For a phone that is, for all practical purposes, only innovative in it's
interface.

A brief list of the problems I have with it:
Price - $600 WITH contract?!?  Oh, and don't forget that you can't  
just buy
phone service, you have to get a data plan too.  Figure a $50 voice  
plan,
plus the $20 data plan, over 24 months, and the phone winds up  
costing you
almost $2500.
Technology - EDGE?  Hello?  There's this thing called 3G, and parts  
of the
world are already pushing to 4G!  802.11 is nice, but notice that  
there's no
VOIP support...
Carrier Lock (Apple/Cingular are already calling the people who will  
unlock
their phones "bad guys."  Even though the LoC appears to disagree, with
their recent DMCA exemption for unlocking cell phones..)  Want to use  
your
phone in Europe or Asia?  Tough.  Cingular states quite clearly one  
their
support pages that they will not unlock a phone.  To "protect customer
security" of course.
No 3rd party apps (This is huge.  There's a huge market for 3rd party  
apps
for Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices, that allow you to  
increase
your phone's functionality virtually infinitely.  Apple is having  
none of
this, claiming they "have to protect the network from the phone.")

Apple had the chance to knock some sense into the cell phone  
companies by
providing an unlocked, uncrippled, open platform with cutting edge
technologies.  Instead, they crawled into bed with Cingular, and  
delivered a
device that is overpriced, intentionally crippled, and technologically
inferior to products already on the market.  Sure, it's got a pretty
interface, and the orientation sensor/touch screen thingy are nice, but
they're nothing more than eye candy.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave@farber.net]
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 15:33
To: ip@v2.listbox.com
Subject: re: [IP] more on All hail the new iPhone - Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review



Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@warpspeed.com>
Date: January 12, 2007 4:00:52 PM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@warpspeed.com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] re: [IP] more on All hail the new iPhone -  
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review
Reply-To: dewayne@warpspeed.com

[Note:  This comment comes from reader Thomas Leavitt.  DLH]

From: Thomas Leavitt <thomas@thomasleavitt.org>
Date: January 11, 2007 9:40:44 PM PST
To: dewayne@warpspeed.com
Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] [IP] more on   All hail the new iPhone -
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I'm utterly baffled as to why Steve Jobs would tie the success of the  
launch
of this product to a single vendor... unless follow on phones might be
released in editions exclusive to other providers, or other versions  
of the
product might be available on multiple platforms. In fact, if it is his
attention to capture 1% of the WORLD cellphone market, that seems almost
mandatory...



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