For Mac fans check this out

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about the new stuff announced today. Just ordered an AppleTV, and plan on optimizing some future DiveFilm Podcast Videos for 720p TV viewing. Also found it very interesting that the new iphone promo shot on Apple's home page currently features an uw image.

Mary Lynn

http://www.local6.com/technology/10703050/detail.html#

I was waiting for the 8 Processor Tower, should be real soon.

But the couple of new toys look good. Apple TV looks like alot of fun, and I am hoping since the phones run OS X, perhaps some basic video capture to a HD so the laptop can stay home (yeah I know, alot to wish for )

Makes me wonder if the next iPods will run OSX (and wireless), too. And with OSX, why not put in a couple USB2 *host* ports? An i* would then be very nice as a travel multimedia hub with a compact HD and a card reader! (Or a USB keyboard, even). Well, a fella can dream...

Once again Apple just leapfrogs over "normal" thinking with the iPhone.

And the iTV is just the kind of thing my wife and I have been waiting for to integrate my iMac (and likely a new MacBook) into a home entertainment center.....

Watching my Apple stock hopefully crest over the $100.00 mark soon!

dhaas

Oh man, I'm watching Steve Job's keynote address from this morning and have to say that this whole development (AppleTV and the iPhone) is huge!

Wow!!

And Apple stock...well, it was a very good day.

Mary Lynn

The Apple page does say that the phone runs OSX. That apple TV looks pretty good.

I liked the idea of Apple TV first, but now when I think about it I'd rather pay $300 more and get Mac Mini connected to TV instead.

That gives way more functionality, especially if you add TV tuner to it.

iPhone is cool. It's quite exciting when you think what the next models may become (e.g. with built-in iSight or GPS module).

<snip> iPhone is cool. It's quite exciting when you think what the next models may become (e.g. with built-in iSight or GPS module).

Usually I stay out of "mac stuff". So I've no idea what is making me post and be labeled a hater.

Still.

There is nothing new about the Mac phone. All the functions could be had off-the-shelf (in a single cell phone) 2 years ago. I've enjoyed playing music and videos, editing photos, surfing the web, managing my schedule, and sending email on my cell phone for years.

And my phone will work anywhere in the world (except in some parts of Japan).

Okay, there is something new...resizing photos with that tweezer-like motion of the fingers. That is kind of cool.

I'm sure they will sell like hotcakes, though, which will be good for Apple. Anything that generates more mobile phone/PDA users of any kind, I'm all for; it opens up bigger data pipes for everyone.

All the best, James

fdog,

With all due respect, I'll bet your phone you've been doing all this stuff on isn't 1/2" thick. Or usable with your finger, or as bright a screen without all those silly little keyboard buttons Palm and others have crammed on their phones.

IMHO it will be more than a "hit". It will change the way people think about what such a device should and can really be

YMMV

dhaas

fdog,

 

With all due respect, I'll bet your phone you've been doing all this stuff on isn't 1/2" thick. Or usable with your finger, or as bright a screen without all those silly little keyboard buttons Palm and others have crammed on their phones.

 

IMHO it will be more than a "hit". It will change the way people think about what such a device should and can really be

 

YMMV

 

dhaas

Indeed you are correct...YMMV.

FWIW, my phone is not 1/2" thick, it is (I just measured it) 9/16". That's pretty close. I am told the replacement model is 1/4" thick.

I use my finger all the time, I hardly ever use the stylus. There are no situations when I can't use my finger. Actually, most of the time, I don't even use my finger...I am wearing my Bluetooth earpiece and tell my phone what to do. "Scroll down" "Open browser"....whatever.

I routinely use mine outdoors in bright, direct sunlight. I can't see how much brighter it needs to be than that.

My phone has no keyboard. My previous mobile phone, a PDA2K, had a slide-out keyboard, which I never used, so my current phone has none.

As I said, I'm sure Apple will sell a truckload of them. It's just not something new at all.

YMMV!

All the best, James

There is nothing new about the Mac phone.

I think there is. It's just the little things that add up and make it special. Yes, all of these technologies are old. It's the way they are brought together that I appreciate.

e.g. My Nokia can play MP3, but I never use it for that because I would need to remember to manually copy files, setup playlists etc. I did it few times when I got the phone to see how it works but then I don't bother to do it again and again. With iPod, it just works, looks and sounds great. I expect it to be the same with iPhone.

Also, my mother will be able to use advanced features of iPhone I think, while she struggles with contacts and sending SMS in her regular phone.

fdog,

 

With all due respect, I'll bet your phone you've been doing all this stuff on isn't 1/2" thick. Or usable with your finger, or as bright a screen without all those silly little keyboard buttons Palm and others have crammed on their phones.

.. or fires up a whole new industry of organ donor trades

it does look nice, but I dont really understand how people can rave so much until they've actually held the device and played with it. If it works as advertised, I'll buy one the moment it's got a large HD, and I can buy one without a cell service included..

The Apple TV looks nice too, but I probably wont replace my modified xbox with it.

Cor

James,

Glad you weren't offended Andrezej brings up a good point, in that very few people listen to music on their phones, not with 100 million iPods sold...Plus people might use a technology that is more intuitive.

I heard from a grapic designer friend that Apple has anthropologists in their engineering department who consider how tools were used in the simplest form. Not sure if that's 100% correct, but it sounds like something Apple would do in product development.

Cor is also correct in that a lot of excitement is due to Apple marketing which is the envy of many industries. I confess to falling for it. But in daily use it does make my life of computing, photo use, emailing, web browsing, musinc and address book life much, much simpler.

An iPhone will simply streamiline it even more for me personally.....But maybe not for everyone

dhaas

There are always other technology options available whether it's computers, mp3, players, phones etc. In fact Apple seems to do better when they are not the first kid on the block with something very new. They were ahead of PC with a graphic interface and mouse point-and-click, but then got creamed by Windows for various reasons, the Newton PDA is another example.

But no other company take existing technology, make it easy and even fun to use, looks cool, and just works, like Apple does, marketing or not.

Now that all the hoopla has settled down, and Apple has actually released specs, I've had a chance to look at what the mac Phone can and can't do. It's pretty easy to draw a big conclusion on who will buy this phone.

Anyone that uses a PC phone to boost their productivity (business people) will avoid it like the plague. Without going into a bullet-point list, the reasons why are lengthy. This phone is crippled.

The Mac enthusiast or those who want to project an image will buy it, just because of where it came from.

But, it's personal preference...as long as the person that buys one is happy, I'll be happy for them.

All the best, James

Comparing specs or features, as in many venues doesn't mean a user will actually benefit from "better". Look at all those Canon 1Ds MKII and 5D, or Nikon D200 cameras out there taking snapshots.....

Since this is Apple's first shot at such a device, I wouldn't expect it to be perfect. As far as "business" users, oh yeah.......Those are the Windoze guys constantly reloading their drivers, registries, blah,blah, blah.....Or calling their "Microsoft Certified Specialist" who will gladly ring up more charges to fix software conflicts.....

Ask any school system administrator who switched to Macs how much less problematic and costly they've been.

This iPhone idea will just keep getting better and better, with the others playing catch up......Time will tell if it ends up being the money maker the iPod has been, "only" capturing about 80% of the MP3 market.....

But hey, YMMV!

dhaas