iPod Cell Phone?
 

So, just incase this actually gets done tomorrow I wanted to post first (and since I'm worried it's just a sham, I'm doing it in the Coat Room). According to AppleInsider there is an Apple Cell Phone coming out tomorrow, or in the next couple weeks at least. AppleInsider says it's one of their best sources, we'll see... All I know is that if the sham is not a sham, I hope the phone looks like this:

Possible iPod Phone

Possible pricing: 250 for a 4GB, 500 or so for the 8GB.

No idea on the accuracy, but the video sure is spiffy.

I thought the rumors pointed to MWSF in Jan?

The name 'iTalk' is already used by Griffin.

Functionality wish list?
 

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I would love to see Apple come up with an elegantly designe mobile phone! As far as I can see from the existing competition, there is a lot of potential for improvement.

When it comes to functionality, I’m frankly more interested in the non-music aspects of it. Just one example: That it will double as a wireless phone for my landline number, when I’m in range. I would like to see a brilliant business phone with Apple’s trademark ease-of-use interface.

Not holding my breath – but I have been delaying purchase of a new mobile in the hope that there is truth behind the long-circulated rumours.

Best regards,
ArcticStones


PS. I’m curious: What functionality would other Forum members like to see in a true Apple mobile phone?

Yeah, that's what I was told initially as well. But the source usually gives reports like this a few weeks before it happens. Honeslty, if they can get it out the door right now, it would be bank for Apple and all it's share holders... But no real time frame was given, it was merely suggested in the article.

AppleInsider.

It should be pointed out that AppleInsider is also carrying an article that talks about the new iPod or Phone coming out at MacWorld.

You know, I'm not sure what I'd want. If I can have my cell phone and iPod as one device, it means one less thing to carry, that's all I care about. But if it's truly touch screen I hope it has some scheduling software as well, then I can go PDA/Cell/iPod for 250 and only carry one thing...

That would be a great feature.

I'm still using an increasingly ancient Motorola v60 - never was a great phone, but I bought it to avoid locking in to a contract.

Phones come in two basic flavors: CDMA (mostly North America) and GSM (almost everywhere else). Be really nice if the AppleMobile could deal with either so you wouldn't be stuck with a particular service provider.

The source that Zalister speaks of, Kevin Rose (founder of digg.com) accurately predicted the iPod nano release just a few days before its release, complete with accurate price points...so he seems to be a reliable source.

He said that it would be available from all carriers.

I have a so-called triband phone, like most of my compatriots that travel. Works fine in the USA as well as Europe. Anything less from Apple would be a downright disappointment – as would limiting initial sales to North America.

PDA features are definitely the way to go. I think there is a huge market waiting to tapped by a well-designed PDA/mobile/iPod combo.

It’s worth noting that most mobile phones are abominably short on memory. Putting a generous amount of memory to good use through scheduling features and other essential PDA functionality is a winner!

The "feature" I would most want to see is a good UI.

I've had many phones right from the early days and IMO the UI's have been getting worse and worse as they try to jam as many features in as possible. When you are getting phones in this day and age that take six clicks minimum just to send a text (and that's with all my shortcuts and defaults set up) I really think it's an area that Apple particularly could shine in.

I like the references in the patent to a ceramic outer shell...mmm touchability

Absolutely. The UI is my number 1 grievance with EVERY cell phone i have ever encountered. Clunky, confusing, and just plain ugly. Nobody seems to get that simple and intuitive is better than cramming in 1000 features -- 900 of which you have never heard of and 80 of which you have heard of but the mere thought of performing such functions seem more laborious than running a marathon with someone on your back.

This article from Think Secret on November 15th reports that Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision just recently got a contract to manufacture handsets for Apple. If this is true, a release just a few days away seems unlikely to me.

But who knows for sure? not me.

I use a blackberry for scheduling, contacts, and phone.
I sync it with iCal and Address book w/a third party app.
I would LOVE to have an apple device that does the same. Had been looking into Palm Treo, but waiting for the resurrection of the iNewton.

Well, we got our hands on a pre-production demo of the iPhone, and it does look fantastic. The UI is pretty Mac-typical, in brushed metal beauty, and you can see that it includes a mobile version of MS Office for the mobile business user.

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/temp/dec/iphone1.jpg

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/temp/dec/iphone2.jpg

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/temp/dec/iphone3.jpg

I'd like a looooooong battery life, short recharge.

Go take a long walk on a short pier, Carlos – and be sure to carry the only existing example of this prototype! :D

CAlvarez-- Having a hard time buying that one, considering how much trouble you would get in for showing something like that off... Do you have a video of your phone in action? ;).

PS- Honestly, who would want Word one a cell phone? Could you even imagine typing a document with the guess software T-mobile has?

To me, the real point is the 16x9 screen. When the iPod Video came out, I could care less because it was 4:3.

I agree with Arctic, having it interface with a landline (simple transponder hooked to your phone line) would be great! Simple, and you can buy the transponder separately.

It would be also nice if the cell phone would allow the option of Pay-as-You-Go. My wife and I are not cell-phone dweebs who cannot get off the phone. We use it for emergencies and "Where are you?" calls. With Pay-as-You-Go, we put pay apprx. $7.50 per month, and we build up unused minutes.

Word and PDF viewing are actually quite usable. They've been on handhelds for a very long time. You obviously don't want to compose a 20-page report, but the biggest use for it is being able to review a document sent by e-mail, possibly make some small changes, or write a basic letter. I have one client who uses a Bluetooth keyboard to write longer documents, and he uses the Pocket PC as a laptop replacement.

Back when the Newton was still around, I carried it instead of a laptop for many years. With the Newton keyboard and something to hold it at an angle, I typed up many a document. Granted, the Newton had a larger screen, but the resolution wasn't great and the visibility was crappy in some lighting situations.

All GSM phones have that option. You simply buy a prepaid SIM and put it in the phone. Now, some phones are locked to a carrier, and may or may not allow that by a software lock, but those are always removable. That is only done when a carrier sells a subsidized phone, not when you buy a phone at retail.

I'd be very sad to see a Verizon phone with merely the Apple OS. For a real market shaker they'll need to make it as svelt as the iPod inside and out. An iPod phone would be the biggest status symbol of the year.

A shiny white phone that will be great until it gets yellowed and scratched up. Then they'll release colored brushed aluminum models a year later that are smaller and have brighter screens with longer batter life....yeah, I'm bitter.

Verizon? I think that would be impossible. Verizon is sleazier and more closed-minded than the RIAA. Unless Apple turned around completely, there's no way their consumer-friendly model would work with Verizon's anti-consumer practices. Verizon is the opposite of simple and friendly.

That would be immensely satisfying for me when I’m on the run! I’ll gladly sacrifice oodles of nice-to-not-have functions to get that.

If the iPhone has 4–8 GB of memory, Apple could offer really good camera functionality as well. :cool: It might be way down on my own priority list, but it would surely cause large numbers of consumers to pick them up like cupcakes. And I just might start shooting again.

May I also suggest a radically new all-in-one software: a total MobileBridge between your iPhone and Mac/PC. Firewire and BlueTooth. Lightning-fast synching, transfer of music and photos, selected documents and emails. And more...

Intelligent triband mobile phone, a business phone, PDA, iPod, camera all in one? The best GUI ever seen in a mobile phone? The trademark elegance of Apple industrial design? :)

Sold!

oops, yeah, verizon blows. I meant to type T-Mobile...and I guess my brain just puts them in the same boat. I'm not to informed about the different wireless carriers. My point is just that while the Apple OS is great, it's the combo of a usable OS and shiny white package that will make this product a success.

Apple doesn't have a history of putting their OS on generic hardware, so I wouldn't expect that. T-Mobile doesn't make phones. But the same companies that OEM the Apple hardware also make phones. It's a fairly small bridge to cross.

A T-Mobile alliance makes more sense than any other. They are international, and use a world-standard technology for mobile telephony (GSM). Cingular also uses this, but they are a US carrier only. Verizon, Sprint, and Alltel use CDMA, a closed architecture that doesn't travel well and always locks the phone to the specific carrier who sold it.

Why not offer iPhone on all carriers?
 

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Why couldn’t Apple make the iPhone available on all carriers: Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel – giving the customer absolute freedom of choice?

I don’t understand the US system. Why is an exclusive alliance with a carrier needed at all? I almost get the impression that mobile phones (cell phones) are sold in the US with more focus on the carrier than the producer? That can hardly serve the producer!

In Norway, when Samsung, Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Motorola or whoever offers a cell phone to the market, it is sold in the following way:

* The phone is offered on all carriers
* The same shop may offer various carriers
* The competition is in the degree of subsidy offered, i.e.: price
* Typically, a new phone is "locked" for 12–24 months
* You can also buy an unlocked phone, at an unsubsidised price

As mentioned, the strong focus on the carrier in the USA does seem to water down the cell phone procucers’ branding and marketing opportunities.
It seems to me that this does not serve Apple well.

So: Is it possible for Apple to offer the iPhone on all carriers?
Or is this simply "not done"? i.e. not the American way?

Best regards,
A puzzled European

The lock-in to carriers is purportedly to avoid confusion, i.e., you turn on the phone and it connects to the carrier you subscribe to. Where this is a real nightmare is when you are travelling. If I don't arrange for roaming rights at a destination, the strongest local will answer and ask for a credit card or phone card number before you can make any but a 911 call, and, of course, you can't receive one.

The local phone company here in Nova Scotia, for example, uses Sprint as its roaming partner. In the North Eastern United States, however, cell service is dominated by Verizon and Sprint cells can be hard to reach. On many occasions in New England and New York I've had colleagues chatting away on their Verizon phones (same brand and model as mine) while all I can get is an analog signal from Sprint. It would be fantastic to be able to push a couple of keys and switch using a calling card of some sort.

Not to mention when you’re travelling internationally. Wouldn’t it be great, when in France, to be able to switch to a local carrier – and have local calls be charged to your credit at local rates?

I’m sure it’s the same when you are visiting Europe. To receive calls from Norway to my cell phone on my California visit, was even more expensive than making those calls myself. And if I wished to dial a local number, to a business 10 miles away, it got routed twice across the Atlantic and charged correspondingly.

Unnecessary!

But profitable :D

As you know, the world standard for mobile phones is GSM. However, the US carriers went with other technologies for the most part, and GSM was an afterthought. VoiceStream, which later was bought by T-Mobile, was the GSM pioneer in the US. Everyone else went with CDMA except for Nextel which uses iDen (proprietary) and AT&T used TDMA (only one to use it). AT&T migrated to GSM and was bought by Cingular, which had its own mediocre deployment of GSM. Sprint bought Nextel and is absorbing them into the CDMA network, but will keep iDen running for a while.

None of the phones use a SIM card like you're used to (except iDen, but it's a proprietary card). This means it's not just as easy as dropping your card into a new phone. A CDMA phone's identity is built in, hard coded (the ESN). Your carrier has to activate your phone on its network.

And why won't they do that? Because each carrier bastardizes the phones to suit it. They remove key features (Verizon) to force you to pay its fees to do the same thing over the network, and add crap to try to sell you/charge you more.

This doesn't apply to the GSM carriers, which work like they do in Europe.

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What? No SIM cards?! Then what in the world do you do if your phone dies and you need to be up and running immediately?

Well, I suppose that sort of Stone Age approach to technology may explain why I drove from the west of Redding (California) to the coast, and south beyond Eureka for many hours with an "Emergency Calls Only" signal. I repeated searched networks with no success. And Eureka is a major town.

Shocking!

It is also worth mentioning that my phone was tri-band.

When I asked at a Cingular dealer, he looked at a coverage map and confirmed that my experience was not due to technical trouble. But he quickly put the map away when I asked if I could have a copy.

"Cingular – raising the bar."

Right...

You drive to the Sprint store, take a number, and wait about 1.5 hours. Then the tech takes your phone and tells you to either wait an hour or come back. When you come back you take a number and in about half an hour the tech hands you back the phone and says that they can't duplicate the problem, or that they don't have a replacement, or any one of the other excuses on their list, and tells you to call phone support to see if they want to do something different or ship you out a phone. Then your wife drives over to T-Mobile, while you're still on hold with Sprint customer service, and comes home with two nice new GSM-based phones, before you even get a human to answer at Sprint.

Not that I'd know from personal experience or anything.

I think it would be interesting if Apple offered it's own carrier. Kind of like .Mac. Or maybe a .Mac packaged deal, or something.

I take out my SIM card, put it into the phone of any friend who has the same carrier, punch in my access code – and I’m up and running.

That takes about 90-120 seconds.

But just to be clear Stones, that only works in Europe, I assume?

No. If I’m in the US with my wife, and my phone dies, inserting my SIM card would work just as well. Pretty darned sure.

The code and needed info is relayed to Norway and back again, giving me access just as if I was using my own phone. The only requirements are that it is 1) a tri-band phone that works in the US, and 2) that the phone is not locked to a different Norwegian carrier.

We use SIMs in Australia too. If your phone isn't network locked you can swap your SIMs to use different networks to take advantage of their cheap times.

Most SIM phones have a workaround as well. My friends phone died recently, so I gave him my old SIM phone and he got it to take his SIM even though it as a different network. Just took some work, that's all... Though honestly, I doubt you would want to do that every single time, if you planned on switching a lot...

There was a (very) brief blog post on engadget that was Dugg that said there would be some information about the 'iPhone' being released today...

Didn’t you hear?
The iPhone was released today!
BusinessWeek.cm has a major article on it.

Oh, I fully understand that, which is why we switched back to GSM. CDMA has the fastest data rates, but that's not worth much if you can't make a call and your carrier's support sucks.

There are four bands in GSM, with some being used only in some areas, and some phones only do some bands.
850MHz -- US
900MHz -- Asia/Europe
1800MHz -- Europe mostly
1900MHz -- US

There is an upcoming 2.5GHz band, but I don't think there's anything there yet.

Phones also may have a "SIM lock" so they only accept a SIM from the same carrier. However that can be forcibly removed from nearly any phone, and carriers will usually give you the unlock code if you are a customer in good standing.

Wow, that truly sucks Carlos!

Re: data speeds/bands, what is the status of 3G network deployment is the US now?

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A digression, if I may:

Do you have any difficulties send SMS (text messages) from US phones to abroad? I’m asking because my American friends had trouble replying, although they received my messages just fine.

Are there technical barriers that I don’t know about? Were my friends just having "finger trouble"? Or has that option been removed due to a request from Homeland Security?

Curious...

That's where the CDMA carriers are ahead. They have EV-DO with real-world speeds of 500-800k, often in the higher part of that range. T-Mobile is still stuck at EDGE speeds, around 130k. Cingular has some HSDPA deployment that is said to be close to 1mb, but since they have such a horrible customer service reputation (JD Power rated "D") I would not consider using them or recommending them to clients.


No, the CDMA carriers are just ignorant, arrogant, greedy bastards. There is no reason for this to be unreliable.

Here in South east Asia, you can stick most any SIM into most any phone, anywhere. Roaming (as long as the agreements between carriers are in place) is as easy as switching on your dog and selecting the carrier of your choice. At the airports herearounds, the Arrivals halls are a barrage of carrier ads, trying to get your custom. Loadsachoice - but do your homework on charges.

I visited the UK a few years back and made £80 of local calls and when I got back to Thailand, my carrier had ramped that bill up to (equiv.) £320 with "operator charges". I have a prepaid UK SIM now and use that. Much cheaper for the time I spend there.

We are having fun ATM with chronically overloaded networks and SMS sometimes arrive a week late. Bizarre, or what?

Roaming my Thai BlackBerry in the UK for a month cost me 25 quid in "operator charges" but I do get stacks of email, so I complain not.

My 2 Baht.
GB

Apple’s iPhone -- learning lessons from Sony?
 

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CNN has an interesting article on potential stumbling blocks, and in particular lessons a wiser Apple might learn from Sony’s mistakes.

Merry Crimble to One and All....

I hope Apple stay independent of a Carrier, or Carriers. Actually, I am sure they will. Sell the device in-store, just like the Nano, etc. Makes sense for them and would be more in keeping with the SJ strategy of controlling the user-experience.

I want on-handed operation and decent pda functions. That'll do nicely. An Appleised Blackberry, if you will.

Wait a minute, why does the Desktop icon of the iPhone mimic that of WinXP's Desktop icon?