Decaflon

I'm with RightOn...can't see a physical keyboard, especially after Jobs mocked it at WDCC. They can make one unit that is capable of changing languages at any time, within moments. Plus more moving parts = more opportunities for shit to break, something Apple wants to prevent.

In the wake of the iPhone, the market is moving towards touchscreen technology. Look at how many have been released in the last year. Why would Apple go backwards?

I downloaded the kit last night. I'm going to try and build a native app that interfaces with Chyrp or Tumblr. I will probably just give up when someone else beats me to the punch though. :)

June? :(

Oh yeah, I didn't think about that.

Yay for App Store! Gimme gimme gimme!

Though, he did say on every iPhone...not iPhone and iPod Touch...hmmm?

Yay for an AIM client!

Dude! Finally MS Exchange integration. My life just became so much easier. :)

I can't wait! There are so many apps out there I like, but I'm not willing to jailbreak my phone (anymore) and risk bricking it (as a friend of mine did last week).

Also, it's about freaking time already. :)

/ryanarrowsmith

You are dead on Kyle. I've been thinking that we've yet to see that one iPhone site that makes you go "daaaamn", then everyone else follows suit.

Kyle has something up his sleeve me thinks. :)

You know I love my Tyme, even if she uses a PC. :)

jesus h. christ, really took an intelligence dump around here.

giving the money back (or store credit) proves the point, bad PR from hiking the price artificially for new adopters.

get a damn clue!

I find people resort to obscenities when they run out of logical points for the debate.

I don't think we're the ones without a clue. I think you're unhappy with Apple either way, given the history of your comments, so it's more about a personal situation than about a company's actions.

Even if this is a PR stunt to negate the response to the price drop, isn't that exactly what you wanted? The consumer to hold them responsible.

I'm just at a loss with your retorts because you constantly contradict yourself.

Yeah, Article19...you seriously need to pick a point of view and stick with it. You've been calling Apple unethical. Well, they just did something to take care of their customers and that seems to meet your standards either.

Yeah, I know. Me thinks it was Scrivs.

I think it's awesome his comments stay, chainsaw gif and all, but mine got deleted.

So you were getting strong... ;)

Someone forgot to close his strong! :)

I guess we're not seeing eye to eye. I don't see this as an ethical situation. It was a business decision that Apple made to guarantee the brand's continued success. It's not like anyone was forced to buy a product. We're all responsible for our choices and how we spend our money, no one else is.

Apple has every right to do business how they see fit. Like I said, if you don't agree with them, don't support the company. It's as simple as that. But going around and implying that changing a product line or price point is unethical is just absurd! If we applied your logic to all corporations, we'd be hard-pressed to find one you'd deem ethical.

Wal-Mart cuts their prices on perishable items as the expiration dates approach. Should they hunt down every person who bought the same item earlier and offer a refund on the difference? I bought a car earlier this year that now, because of the year model change, is cheaper. Should I go back to the dealer and demand my money back? I bought a polo at Banana Republic in May that's now on end-of-season clearance. Should I go back and demand a refund, even though I know they offer a 30-day price guarantee (as a note: Apple offers a 14 day guarantee).

All of these companies knew they'd eventually have to adjust their price to move their merchandise so, by your definition, they are unethical.

And I didn't get ripped off, that's a pretty silly assumption. That implies that, for one reason or another, I didn't fully consent to the price I paid for my phone. Obviously I did. I knew it was $599 and, in all likelihood, it would be cheaper at a later date. I still made the decision and paid the asking price. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I love this little phone - it's one of the best investments I've ever made.

As an early iPhone adopter, I'm obviously not happy about the $200 price drop. Am I ready to start talking conspiracy theory? No. I think that's a little paranoid.

I think that, because Apple is getting a lot of buzz lately, people fault find more than they should. Dropping the price of a new gadget isn't an Apple specific strategy. It's a response to the market. Just like when Microsoft lowered the price of the X-Box and X=Box 360, then Sony with the entire PS line. (PS3 anyone?) If you want to talk cellular, look at the Sidekick or the Treo line.

Do I think the iPhone was priced too high? Obviously not, I bought one. But obviously Apple had to re-evaluate their own business strategy and do what they thought was best. Who are we to dictate what they should do to continue to thrive?

The choice is simple: support them or don't. But they are a company based in the retail of electronic gadgets. They are not a public service company. Their entire purpose is to make money, so don't fault them when they are successful at it.

And about the ringtones: what's the big deal? I came from Sprint. I had to pay up to $2.99 for a ring tone, no matter if it was a song I already owned. Now, I can buy a song I want for $.99, make it a ring tone for another $.99 and then keep the song forever. To me, that's a much better deal.

But that's not mandatory. I use iFuntastic already, which allows me to set my own music as ringtones - no additional cost.

Well, this whole discussion is personal opinion. I can tell you who uses what technoology and why it's better, and I can tell you how I had better reception with this carrier vs that one. But what it comes down to is your particular area.

I've had T-Mobile, Sprint and now AT&T, with various different phones and manufacturers mixed in there. I can tell you that I've had excellent service on AT&T with my iPhone, but my friend who's got AT&T, lives 30 miles away from me and uses a Samsung would tell you they are terrible. She drops calls constantly - I never do.

There are too man factors to make a blanket statement that one carrier is better than the other. They key is to find one that works well for you, in your area.

Proration will get yoi every time: you're paying for the phone the time you had it up until the beginning of the next billing cycle, then the next full month in advance, plus any activations fee. My first bill was $120. The next bill was $66.

So far, my bill was only about 40 pages. I got a text saying they're doinc away with the detail. It will only be available online going forward.

Still going with yes. :) Every day when I go home, plug in my phone and it automatically synchs with my mac, I think, "Man! I love this phone!" I rely heavily on iCal to keep my schedule straight and the ease of synchronization is fantastic. That's not even touching on the other items that synch: bookmarks, contacts, etc. I'm spending so much less time managing all of my devices, it's great.

I spent $400 on my first iPod with it's gray screen. If you look at it that way, I think it's pretty much a bargain. I use this phone nonstop, whether it's taking pictures and posting to Flickr, or listening to music at work, watching a video while waiting somewhere, checking e-mail, surfing the net or, gasp, making phone calls. I've never gotten this much use out of a device before.

And prior to this, I had also spent $400 on a Sprint PCS phone (that was proprietary to their network) that played MP3s, but only those you bought via Sprint. So the ability to put all of my tunes on the iphone is freeing. It also was relatively basic in comparison to the iPhones features.

After having mine for a bit, yes, absolutely worth it.

I don't think you can add the monthly cost of the phone into the overall cost of having the phone. Know what I mean? You buy a Blackberry for $400 and people don't automatically say, "well, with the monthly service, you're paying $2000 for the phone." Same with a hi-def TV. You don't hear people saying that you need to add on the cost of digital cable to the price. Or when you buy a new computer, you don't tag on the electric bill and internet bill to the cost.

You buy the phone, you'd be paying a monthly bill anyway. It's not like it's an added expense specific to the iPhone, so I don't see how you can tag that onto the purchase price. Your monthly service doesn't come free on any device, be it a free phone, Blackberry, Treo or iPhone.

I think it's great that Apple gets $11 bucks back each month from AT&T. The iPhone is being called the most successful product launch of the century, so you know AT&T is gaining hundreds of thousands of new customers based on the iPhone, myself included. I think AT&T should share the wealth with Apple, since it's their product which is pumping the increased revenue in.

But, again, I think it's silly to say that iphone owners are paying Apple anything beyond the purchase price of the phone. We're buying a phone which, yeah, it's pricey, but no one is being forced to buy one. After that, we're paying AT&T an extremely reasonable rate for our monthly service (I'm actually paying about $11 less per month than I was with Sprint for more minutes, so by the above logic, I should be deducting $264 off my phone's cost). Whatever agreement AT&T and Apple have is between them, it's not at the cost of the consumer.

You could never piss me off! :) I was writing too fast, I didn't catch the tone or how it came across until later. So I definitely apologize for seeming jerkish.

To make it up to you, you can pick the restaurant on next Valentine's Day. ;)

@Tyme: I wasn't saying you were. Sorry if it came across that way. You know you're my boo. ;)

The majority of the reviews I've read seem to fault find more than compliment the positive. I was talking more about a few stories I've read where they're reporting major, widespread issues, which I don't think accurately represent the percentage of phones affected. It's more of an issue with the media. They always magnify and sensationalize issues.

I think the fact that the iPhone has so much hype, people scrutinize harder. I've heard of a few battery issues, but I've had mine since the launch and I get better battery life out of it than I did my Samsung, which was heralded as the uber Sprint phone. Brian's father has one and a few coworkers have them now; none of which have had battery issues. I heard a lot of talk about battery life issues with the iBook, Macbook and iPod. After owning all of them, I've never had a single problem myself. Not saying they aren't out there. I just think minor issues get amplified because everyone is looking for a flaw.

You have to look at what you're going to use a phone for. Is it important to you to be able to carry a MP3 player, video player, photos, etc with you, in addition to having a cell? If not, then you probably don't need an iPhone. If so, I'd highly recommend the iPhone. Cutting through all of the hype, the phone is functional, capable and a pleasure to use. Is it a perfect mobile device? Of course not. But I think it's silly how people tend to focus on the negative aspects instead of appreciating the phone for what it is: the next step in mobile handsets.

I'd be interested to hear what other iPhone owners had to say, seeing as a recent poll shows 90% of iPhone users show they are "extremely" or "very" satisfied with their iPhones.

You've gotta make a statement with your dollars. I work as a Sr Circuit Designer for a regional telecommunications provider. We fight AT&T, Qwest and Verizon all day every day, and they push us around more and more. The only way we can get anything done is with our checkbook, but if people aren't choosing smaller providers (who, on average, have much higher customer satisfaction ratings), small providers like Amp'd and Vonage can't pay to keep it up.

Viva la resistance!

It's all personal preference. I was used to the BB keyboard but I've actually grown really accustomed to the touchscreen keypad on the iphone. Its also reeeeally nice that its learning the words I type frequently.

Oh, Rockstar! :) I think you're missing the whole point on this post and focusing way too much on the phone itself. I'm not praising or uplifting the iPhone, I'm looking at the numbers.

You're exactly right -- there are shelves full of mobile devices that do the same thing. The difference is those shelves are still full, while the iPhone is selling out everywhere. I never indicated the iPhone was the first device that brought these issues to light, I'm just saying, with the sheer numbers being sold, this is becoming a more common issue.

I focused this post on the iPhone impacting the design field because of the huge quantity entering the market at once. 700,000 in the first week, estimated 5,000,000 in the first year. Show me another one of the devices you're referencing that have taken off so fully.

But this doesn't only impact the iPhone and iPhone users. Over the next 12 months, we're going to see other carrier's responses to the iPhone. The whole industry will be countering and trying to up the ante. One of those features will be the "full web". And, like the iPhone, I'm sure their first generation products will be crippled by flash, java and ajax incompatibilities. But does that invalidate my point?

As web standards evolved, designer's began coding valid XHTML/CSS, even though, at the time, most browsers didn't fully support what they were doing. They realized the full potential of web standard with the advent of the modern browser. Should we start coding and designing with mobile compatability in mind now, even though it's not a major issue? Or should we wait until a larger percentage of users begin experiencing trouble accessing our content?

In today's environment, mobile devices may be a small market share of the total hits on a webpage, but my point is that that's changing. I used the iPhone to illustrate my point simply because of the rapid influx of new user's it's added, but Apple isn't the only provider changing the game. So, I still pose the question, how does the increased web activity change the design game long term? And the next question: how do you really gauge the percentage of mobile traffic your site is getting? The iPhone hits show under normal Safari hits for my stat tracking. I'm not sure how other mobile hits show.

9rules is a great example. Mike recently noted that he's working on an iPhone version of 9rules. Do you think he's doing it because he has nothing else on his plate? No, I highly doubt that.

And I think it's great you're an Apple share holder. You get a gold star, if that makes you feel better. :)

I had been using a BB for work prior to getting my iPhone. I'm not going to lie, I loved the e-mail on that thing. But I didn't love the web browser or a lot of the other features, which I used just as much. I thought the phone itself was clunky ad awkward to hold. But, damn, it did e-mail like no one's business.

After having my iPhone for a bit now, I can easily say I prefer it over the BB. Yeah, no doubt Apple needs to upgrade the e-mail on this baby, but besides that, I think the iPhone is a better device. I spend 75% less time managing the phone because it synchs with all of the programs I normally use without me telling it to. And I am a music person. The fact that I'm not carrying a bulky phone and a clunky iPod is like being free after years of being a slave to those devices. Also, the web on the iPhone is unreal. Yeah, I can't do all flash and java applications, but that hasn't really hindered me so far.

I've read a lot of reviews about the iPhone that says it isn't a good phone. I think that's partially their reception. I came from Sprint and having a top of the line Samsung that was supposed to have bitching reception and call quality. Well, it didn't. And I had 2 of them. The iPhone, at least for me, is a muuuch better phone. I haven't dropped any calls, I get broken up less and I can always hear people, which is kind of nice. That could be the Sprint/AT&T difference. I dunno. But I'm really happy with the iPhone as a phone so afr.

So, anyway. I wasn't a die hard BB user, but I was really impressed with the little thing. I think, in the end, it's going to come down to what you really use your phone for. If you really need strong e-mail, hold off awhile if you want an iPhone. I know Apple, they'll come up with a solution. But the e-mail is managable on the iPhone, it's just not as intiutive as it could be. If you want a multimedia phone that's smart, sassy and enjoyable to use, get the iPhone.

@Rockstar: I can assure you that this post hasn't directed any traffic to my site, so simmah down nah. :)

Comparing the laptop to a portable phone is like saying you have a home phone, why have a mobile? They do the same thing right?

The fact of the matter is people, and the industry, are moving towards fully web capable mobile phones. At some point, the design community will have to decide if they factor that into how they deliver content.

I agree, it is a mobile phone. But it's a mobile phone that's pulling the full XHTML version of your site, not just a mobile version like other smart phones.

Whether you're trying to cater to the mobile market or not, in the future mobile devices are going to become more and more common as primary browsing devices. I'm just wondering, as we look at the game now, if this is going to have an impact over the next few years as other carriers come out with their response to the iPhone.

Worry dammit! I say worry! ;)

Playing devil's advocate here...how people use Flock? Shira? Opera? Designer's constantly cater to niche markets. How is this different?