Geeky Mac

It hasn’t even been a month since Steve Job announced the iPhone at Macworld, and yet rumors are flourishing. It seams as though there is a lot of speculation regarding Cingular, disappointment in unknown feature access, and rash of anger for the lack of third party development capabilities. Personally, all of this makes rather angry and confused. For heaven sakes the phone has not even been approved by the FCC, and only a handful of people have actually touched one of the prototypes. So lets get our facts strait before we start making unfounded accusations.

The iPhone has gotten so much press, and the majority of it is complete and utter crap. Are people scared that this is going to be the future of phones? Are people pissed that the darn thing costs so much? Why all the bad publicity? And why when no one really even know what the final phone will do. Heck we are more than five months from the proposed release date.

I am truly baffled, I mean this is a real big deal. The news is everywhere. When is the last time we saw the announcement of a cell phone as one the top stories on a local news cast? Um, I think never. For some reason the iPhone is popular, but at the same time there is way to much misinformation out there. If we don’t like a product, that is fine, but come on lets get our facts strait first (if it sounds like I am repeating myself, I am trying to get the point across).

It says right on Apple’s site:

This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

If that is not a clear disclaimer then I don’t know what is.

COST
The cost of the phone is one thing that we know for sure. The 4GB model will run $499 and the 8GB model will run $599. Both come with a 2 year contract from Cingular. Does this mean that the actual cost of the phone is more? No, the cost will be just as Steve mentioned. Cingular may be able to give a discount on service, but that is as far as it will go. How do I know this, I don’t, I am speculating. But lets look at reality, Apple has never really allowed a retailer to discount their product. Whey would they start now? Will Cingular give a discount? Who knows, who cares, we still have five months to go and a lot can change in that time.

So is the iPhone worth $600? Well that all depends. If you just want a cell phone, the $600 price tag may be a little expensive. If you want a phone and an iPod, well now the price may be a bit more reasonable. If you want a phone, iPod and an ultra portable computer, then heck, what a deal.

With a the 2 year contract and the $600 price tag, the cost of the phone is still less than a dollar a day, not including the Cingular service. And frankly I am already paying for the service so…

CINGULAR
Wow, a lot of people are angry about the whole exclusive Cingular thing. First off, that rumor has been around for ever, and the Motorola iTunes stuff started with Cingular. If that is not a business relationship, then what is. But lets get realistic, there are only so many service providers and frankly they all suck. It truly does not matter who Apple would have gone with there would still be complaints, end of story.

FEATURES
Very few features of the phone have actually be revealed and demonstrated. We all know that Apple will continue to develop and update features even after the phone has been released. At this point a lot can change, so why worry. If Apple realizes that the software is not working for the consumer, they have the means to fix it.

THIRD PARTY DEVELOPMENT
This one makes me especially angry. Have you used and iPhone, do you know what an iPhone app takes to run? The answer is NO unless you are one of the very luck few who got to touch one of these few phones. Why do we need third party applications for a phone that does not even exist yet? Sure the possibility of devolving for the phone is cool, but lets make sure that phone actually works and come out first.

Computers are different than phones, we all come to expect the fact that they are not always going to work as we expect. While this is really not acceptable it is a fact of life. We as Mac users are also spoiled by the absence of virus, making one less thing that we have to worry about. I sure as hell don’t want to have to worry about getting a virus on my phone. And while I think that smart phones are great, the chances of me actually using a great deal of third party applications is small. That does not mean that we don’t need them, but I think that Apple need to oversee everything. While this may not be ideal for everyone, I like to have everything working, and consistent something that is not always there on the computer side.

Let’s also realize that this is a very small mobile device, not a full fledged computer. This will be one of the very few products that help bridge the gap between productivity and mobility. And if you like the Mac flare, you should be in for a real treat. Is the iPhone for everyone, well of course not. It is for the tech heavy Mac lovers that want one portable device rather than a phone, iPod, and Palm.

So I think we should wait, see what the iPhone is really like, before we make any judgments. More and more information will come out over the next five months, but lets wait until we actually know something to draw any conclusions.

Why do I want and iPhone?

Because I carry my cell phone and video iPod with me everyday and I want a device that is easy to use to access my contacts and calenders. I can currently sync my cell with my Mac, but it is not effortless. The iPhone appears to give me everything I want in a phone, and all the portable computer features that I need without a computer. It would be a device that I would use everyday, so to me it is work the price. If the cost were to be more, I would still get one (to a point). If the only features the phone has is what has been demoed, I would still buy the phone. And if there is never any third party development, I would still buy the phone. For me it is what I have been waiting for and more. Sure I want to there to be developments, but right here right now there is nothing else that meets my requirements. Apple knows this, and that is why they have the iPhone.

So if you have ready this far you know just how I feel. I am excited about the possibility of the iPhone, but angry about the rumors and speculation surrounding it. Sure things could be better, but this is version one, and we have not even gotten a chance to use it yet. Lets fist make sure that what we are saying is true then we can criticize so Apple can make version two better.