Apple announces iPhone deal with Cingular and iTV |
Today during Steve Jobs keynote he announced the Apple iPhone running OSX will be available in a partnership with Cingular (will update when I see date). Since the keynote wasn’t broadcast and I’m not there, I’m going off various media reports. Andy Merret liveblogged the event complete with pictures of the iPhone. Steve Jobs just can’t resist bashing the competition:
“we want to make a product way smarter than what’s been around before here it is … ‘They’ call these devices “smartphones” - they’re smart, not easy to use.”
He’s kind of right though, most of those smart phones are either good at being Pocket PCs or good at being phones, but how many are good at both?
Are people going to be rushing the stores when these iPhones are available the same way they do when there’re a new iPod? I don’t know about the masses but I’d guess no. Most people are tied into contracts and if they aren’t with Cingular, they’ll have to wait for the contract to end or pay steep early cancellation fees. Me? Our cell phone contract terminated 21 days ago and we didn’t renew.
I’ll show you ourNewPhones. They’re inexpensive, carry no monthly fees, expensive minutes or yearly contracts. If you listen on the right channel you might pick up some emergency services cross chatter. Here’s a picture:
Don’t laugh too hard now. If your office is within a mile of home these aren’t a bad solution. Yeah, they aren’t a long term cell phone replacement solution, but that’s what we’re using at the present along with 100 minutes we bought from OnStar.
Seriously, I don’t see running out to buy an iPhone when they become available. I’m curious, but not ready to buy one the minute I see one excited. Nor am I that excited over the iTV stuff that will be available in the Apple store for $299 and ship in February. We already have media in our living room on the Xbox 360 and Apple seems too late for the party. My feelings could change as I dig into both these products more, but I don’t see Apple taking over the cell phone market even with the iTunes/iPod tie-in.
Being an Apple shareholder I’m happy to see them enter both these markets, but I don’t see our family buying either one in 2007. I am interested in getting a new Intel based Mac. Maybe I’ll be more into iTV when I pull that trigger. How about you? Will your next Cingular phone be an iPhone?
Update 1/10/07 8:47am PST: Watch Steve Job’s keynote address and iPhone introduction.
See comments at the site below for discussion on pricing and release date.
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I’m already on Cingular, and I’ve been putting off renewing the two-year contract and getting my free upgrade for a couple months now, in case an iPhone came out and I had to switch carriers. Now that it’s announced - and the interface looks sexier than I thought - I’ll preorder the first chance I get.
Comment by Greg — January 9, 2007 @ 4:00 pm PST
Is the price you heard, Greg, $599 + a two year contract? If that’s the case, that seems a bit steep to me. I agree that’s a nice looking interface though. Earlier in chat a few guys were wondering about smudging.
Comment by TDavid — January 9, 2007 @ 4:51 pm PST
Its just too expensive. And I would need to know whether 3rd party software (ie skype) would be installable. Which would make it much more appealing.
Comment by Bill P — January 9, 2007 @ 11:13 pm PST
Iphone has a great UI and functionality, but it is missing some key points. 1st gen iphone is like the first gen ipod. It can only get better. The silo lock-in to Singular(yes I spelled that wrong) is a big mistake, but apple can’t just sell phones without partners.
On the Apple TV, I am a big fan. Sure you have xbox 360, but I am Apple mac threw and threw. I want a seamless experience for the mac environment, and what I have seen in the marketplace, I can’t get. I know it’s my fault for being locked in to itunes and apple, but I am invested in it. Itunes users like me with and HD setup will love the apple tv.
Comment by Steven — January 10, 2007 @ 3:00 am PST
TDavid - yes, I heard the price. What can I say, I’m a sucker for Apple design - although I am hoping, as someone who currently can cancel penalty-free from Cingular, that they’ll drop the price for me a bit in exchange for me re-signing. (They’re currently offering me most smartphones for free or very significant discounts.) But yeah, I’d probably blow the price as advertised on it if that was my only option.
I *am* getting a little tired of Apple’s new tendency to announce not-yet-available products. I quite liked the ‘and you can buy these TODAY’ of Apple keynotes past.
Comment by Greg — January 10, 2007 @ 3:36 pm PST
[…] Before getting to more Sony good and bad news, the biggest buzz this week, at least from the coverage I’ve been reading thus far, seems to be about Apple’s iPhone announcement at Macworld in San Francisco. Some think it will be cool, even one person stopped by in the comments area and said he’d be buying one . I’m reading many others saying no way, too expensive, battery life concerns, what about smudging and so on. And then there is the whole Cisco lawsuit over the name iPhone. APPL stock (disclaimer: I own some) seems to have emerged unscathed. For whatever it’s worth, I think the news at last Macworld with the release of the Intel Macs was much more exciting. […]
Pingback by Sony will fall short of global shipping goal of 2 million PS3 » Make You Go Hmm — January 11, 2007 @ 4:50 pm PST
I know it won’t be my next phone. If I were to shell out a lot of money for a “smart phone” I’d go with the other opened system phones that allow third party programs. That’s a big difference maker. PC compatibility is big because most households have PCs. What’s the use of an OS built in if you can’t use it to open word and excel files? It’s stylish, and that’s one thing that will bring in a lot of buyers, but its utility isn’t as great as it’s made to seem, but I could be wrong so we’ll have to see in June.
Check out my blog for a preview of the iPhone features
Comment by vic — April 2, 2007 @ 11:37 am PST