Apple did it again - iPhone 4

[Empty V]

If you're a mac hater check your negativity at the door. Apple is revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other, again. It won't be perfect, but it'll be new and something none of us have seen before.

Design Video - FaceTime Video

[Jesda]

If you're a mac hater check your negativity at the door. Apple is revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other, again. It won't be perfect, but it'll be new and something none of us have seen before.

Design Video - FaceTime Video

Mac love/hate is irrelevant. I went to the trouble of putting OS X on my PCs but hate AT&T and can't get much out of the iPhone without better email and a real keyboard.

iPhone 4 has an outstanding high-res display, HD video camera, and still camera. Videoconferencing is restricted to Wifi. iPhone has an excellent battery.

HTC Evo has a faster and wider network, videoconferencing, and a less restricted platform. Battery life is weak.

Both of them are $200. [I bought a new Blackberry yesterday.]

[HashiriyaS14]

As a former Blackberry user, I've *never* wanted for a real keyboard on my iPhone 3G. I can type infinitely quicker on it than I ever could on my 8900 curve.

I wish it could multi-task (i.e. play Pandora while doing other things), and I wish it worked on Metro underground like Verizon does, but AT&T will by next year. I DO obviously wish it was an open platform, the lack of Flash and the restriction on apps is obnoxious.

I might switch to Droid if my office ever moves off AT&T, but so long as they're buying the phones and the plans, I'll probably stick with it. I'll have them pick me up an iPhone 4 once it's been out for a little bit and I've read impressions.

[sbird1]

I agree with Jesda. It's a nice phone, but I'd rather have the HTC Evo. I have several Apple products, but I still hate Apple.

[flohtingPoint]

I need a more business oriented phone with an actual keyboard. I cant be fiddling with toys and gadgets and crap, I only have use for a clean, professional phone. My Blackberry Curve 8300 is perfect for me.

No Mac hate or anything like that, it's just the iPhone is more of a personal phone.

[Jesda]

As a former Blackberry user, I've *never* wanted for a real keyboard on my iPhone 3G. I can type infinitely quicker on it than I ever could on my 8900 curve.

I despise virtual-anything or touch-anything. I want a tactile feel -- I hate how ATMs are going with touch screens now. I like my new Tour but I miss the clickety-clacking sound of the keys on my old Curve.

iPhone 4 does multitasking.

[AppleBonker]

Wait, what haven't we seen before?

[Otto.]

Apple is revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other, again. It won't be perfect, but it'll be new and something none of us have seen before.

Not quite. I'm not an Apple hater. They have done some pretty neat things in the past. I just don't like what they are doing now.

The new iPhone is in no way "revolutionizing the way we communicate". It's a limited device. Sure, it looks nice and has phenomenal build quality. The OS is too simple (which is good for some people). The main camera is average at best with a 5 megapixel sensor. People are acting like the front facing camera is a new thing. We have had video calling for what... 2, 3 years now? The "multitasking" on the new iOS is hardly that. Its more like switching between apps. The things that they can do in the background while you are, say, typing an email or browsing the web is limited.

Apple are geniuses at design though. The way the device and OS look is great. Its a nice, clean, and simple approach to the normally cluttered menus of other phones. The way menus scroll and the way it switches between pages is very smooth. Probably more smooth than any phone out there and it has been that way since the first one came out. The size of the App Store is another plus. It's bigger than anyone else's, and it pays to have that many developers working for your device. I almost picked up an iPod Touch because of the App Store alone.

I will admire any company that has grown from almost nothing to one of the largest companies in the world. Apple has done just that. Steve Jobs is a smart man and knows how to sell a product. My personal preference is function over form and that's why I like Android devices better. They do what I want and then some. The iPhone is a solid device. It just doesn't deserve all the hype it gets.

[krash]

^Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Jesda]

Function is actually why I'm waiting until later for Android. I tried a Hero for one day and found it too cluttered and unpolished -- Android needs another year of refinement. It wanted to be too many things to too many people. To do what I need to do, quickly, I want the OS to stay out of the way and make itself unnoticeable. Apple does that very well, and little things like that add up to time saved.

The Android crowd considers a "power user" someone who downloads movies in HDTV or plays 3D games. To RIM, a Blackberry power user churns through messages and stays in touch with customers, management, and their team. I'm of the latter group. The idea of function is very different.

[IanS]

That fact that I am forced to download a special plugin, just to see the video seals my dislike of the evil monster that apple has become. Im tired of all the elitism.

To Steve Jobs: You used to be cool man, you used to be cool.

[IBCoupe]

And next June they'll release the iPhone 5. I probably won't be excited then, either.

[Jesda]

That fact that I am forced to download a special plugin, just to see the video seals my dislike of the evil monster that apple has become. Im tired of all the elitism.

To Steve Jobs: You used to be cool man, you used to be cool.

You mean, Quicktime? Not much different than having to download Flash.

Youtube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHngLJ0R ... r_embedded

[IanS]

That fact that I am forced to download a special plugin, just to see the video seals my dislike of the evil monster that apple has become. Im tired of all the elitism.

To Steve Jobs: You used to be cool man, you used to be cool.

You mean, Quicktime? Not much different than having to download Flash.

Youtube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHngLJ0R ... r_embedded

I know its easy enough, its the principle of the thing. The quicktime plugin for firefox is clunky and it tries to take over every possible video format, as well as changing a bunch of your settings when you install it. Not to mention trying to get it off your computer is near impossible. Ive gotten viruses that were easier to get rid of.

[AppleBonker]

Why is the iPhone being covered on local news? Did not enough people kill each other in Chicago today to fill the time slot?

[Kompresshun]

I saw it today and was impressed myself. Mainly because I expected it to be as disappointing as the 3GS, but they really did a nice job with it I believe. I think that it's still not revolutionary like Apple hypes it up to be, but that being said, I do believe that the new updates will work just as smoothly as the rest of the OS does. Will I buy one though? Absolutely not. I hate AT&T and I don't have a need for what everyone else loves so much about the iPhone. I could see myself possibly upgrading my iPod Touch but I have no use for the iPhone or iPad, and when it comes down to it they're all just a trio of cool toys, none of which I don't have any true need for. I do not dislike any of the products though, I just cannot find a reason to own them myself for the cost.

I think it has plenty of followers that love it but I would get an Android phone still way before i'd ever consider an iPhone. As Jesda said though, I don't think I will make the switch to Android until they refine it a little more. I will probably stick with a Blackberry for another year before making the jump to Android.

[Empty V]

And in come the haters. Here's the deal. We've seen video conferencing on a phone before, but not to this scale. The way they're revolutionizing communication is not necessarily how but how often. They have such a huge customer base that most iPhone users will have this ability. Tell me how often do you see people video conferencing on their phone? I've never seen it, not once. Tell me how often do you think you'll be seeing it after this? You're going to see it wherever you've got WiFi i.e. airports, coffee shops, any school campus blah blah blah. Now tell me that's not revolutionary.

I need a more business oriented phone with an actual keyboard.

Please explain what a business oriented phone is because I do business form my phone every single day and it works perfectly fine.

[Empty V]

Why is the iPhone being covered on local news? Did not enough people kill each other in Chicago today to fill the time slot?

Because the local news will cover anything. I'm sure they even reported on location at an Apple store to offer credibility.

[Empty V]

That fact that I am forced to download a special plugin, just to see the video seals my dislike of the evil monster that apple has become. Im tired of all the elitism.

To Steve Jobs: You used to be cool man, you used to be cool.

You're complaining about quicktime? What does that have to do with the thread? I've never heard anyone complain over a plug-in download.

[AppleBonker]

Why is the iPhone being covered on local news? Did not enough people kill each other in Chicago today to fill the time slot?

Because the local news will cover anything. I'm sure they even reported on location at an Apple store to offer credibility.

But they don't cover any of the other notable phone releases. What makes this special?

And in come the haters.

So I don't like the excessive coverage. And I don't find the phone particularly revolutionary. Does this make me a hater?

[Jesda]

I know its easy enough, its the principle of the thing. The quicktime plugin for firefox is clunky and it tries to take over every possible video format, as well as changing a bunch of your settings when you install it. Not to mention trying to get it off your computer is near impossible. Ive gotten viruses that were easier to get rid of.

I agree with that. The Windows version gets really "grabby". On the Mac it behaves differently. I use it for basic audio and video editing and conversion, and its superior to VLC (clearer playback of xvid, single-monitor full screen mode) for the video formats that it supports.

[Jesda]

Why is the iPhone being covered on local news? Did not enough people kill each other in Chicago today to fill the time slot?

I think theyre hoping for a riot or a shooting.

[Empty V]

I agree with that. The Windows version gets really "grabby". On the Mac it behaves differently. I use it for basic audio and video editing and conversion, and its superior to VLC (clearer playback of xvid, single-monitor full screen mode) for the video formats that it supports.

If you don't have flip4mac get it. It handles WMV's for quicktime and works extremely well. The pro version offers compression to and from WMV's as well.

[Empty V]

So I don't like the excessive coverage. And I don't find the phone particularly revolutionary. Does this make me a hater?

I don't remember calling you out individually and I'm not sure why you would think that would dignify you as a hater. It was a general "in come the haters."

[AppleBonker]

Just that there weren't too many other people posting in here. Also, I wasn't claiming you called me a hater. Just asking if my opinions/comments would make me a "hater".

[Jesda]

I agree with that. The Windows version gets really "grabby". On the Mac it behaves differently. I use it for basic audio and video editing and conversion, and its superior to VLC (clearer playback of xvid, single-monitor full screen mode) for the video formats that it supports.

If you don't have flip4mac get it. It handles WMV's for quicktime and works extremely well. The pro version offers compression to and from WMV's as well.

WMV is a pretty dead format these days. Its only used by terrorists and child molesters. I read about it in Newsweek.

[Mitchum]

I picked up a 3g the week it dropped in Canada and was blown away. I chose to skip the 3GS because it didn't seem worth my time, but now that I'm almost up my contract a iphone 4 is looking very appealing.

everyone that hates an iphone doesn't have one. period. I don't care that your brothers friend has one and you played brick breaker on it for 5 minutes once and decided you hate it. If you like Black berries, good for you, there not better than Iphones, they're not worse than Iphones, its all user preference/attitude. I cant text anything on a black berry, you cant text anything on an iphone, lets trade phones for more than 5 minutes and i GUARANTEE that would change, it took time for me to get used to the Iphone screen, it took you time to get used to the black berry keyboard.

see what im doing here? i have zero experience with HTC phones, or anything android, so therefore my opinion on those is moot.

[Empty V]

I picked up a 3g the week it dropped in Canada and was blown away. I chose to skip the 3GS because it didn't seem worth my time, but now that I'm almost up my contract a iphone 4 is looking very appealing.

everyone that hates an iphone doesn't have one. period. I don't care that your brothers friend has one and you played brick breaker on it for 5 minutes once and decided you hate it. If you like Black berries, good for you, there not better than Iphones, they're not worse than Iphones, its all user preference/attitude. I cant text anything on a black berry, you cant text anything on an iphone, lets trade phones for more than 5 minutes and i GUARANTEE that would change, it took time for me to get used to the Iphone screen, it took you time to get used to the black berry keyboard.

see what im doing here? i have zero experience with HTC phones, or anything android, so therefore my opinion on those is moot.

I did the same exact thing and stuck with the 3G figuring the next release would be big. I've had PDA's since the first Palm. IAs a phone/PDA I owned a Treo 600, 650 and 700p. They were all button keyboards and I had no problems transitioning to the virtual keyboard. When I hear people complaining about it, it's usually because they want to complain.

[Watermelonwarrior]

I need a more business oriented phone with an actual keyboard.

Please explain what a business oriented phone is because I do business form my phone every single day and it works perfectly fine.

Oh please. Hardly anyone in business uses an iphone. The blackberry dominates the business world.

[Empty V]

Oh please. Hardly anyone in business uses an iphone. The blackberry dominates the business world.

I'm not sure what business you're in but the industry I'm in (entertainment) is DOMINATED by the iPhone. Maybe you should step outside of your bubble and look around, it's an amazing world out here.