Open Thread: iPhone Launch Nears. What Are You Doing on Friday?
Too bad there isn’t a lot of buzz about the iPhone this week, huh? Apple’s breakthough device first hit the stage in January, and now we’re finally seeing some speculation turn into reality as the June 29th launch date nears.
We now know that the battery life and outer covering of the phone will be better than originally announced, and developers will be able write applications that can run on the phone through the browser. Apple even released a version of Safari for Windows to facilitate this and make the iPhone experience comparable on both platforms.
What else does Apple have up its sleeve as launch date is mere days away?
Today, Apple and AT&T announced the new rate plans for the iPhone. The companies gave you the good…no standing at the counter for 20 minutes while the phone is activated. You’ll activate from home through iTunes. And the companies gave you the bad…you want an iPhone, you must take one of AT&T’s iPhone data/voice plans starting at $59.99 per month with a 2-year commitment. All folks who had hopes of getting a cheapie voice plan while using the wifi exclusively for their data are not happy campers at the moment. Seriously, now. Is anyone that surprised? Did you think AT&T was in this deal out of the goodness of their hearts? Actually, the iPhone plans are cheaper than other AT&T plans which typically charge $39.99 for voice, $39.99 for unlimited PDA data and $4.99 for 20 text messages a month.
If you’re convinced and you want to get out your current cell phone contract to start over with AT&T, Consumerist has some suggestions to avoid extra fees. I wouldn’t recommend #6, though.
Were you set on buying an iPhone until the rate plans were announced, or is your mind made up and you’ll be camping out on Friday afternoon? If you’re not buying an iPhone now, will you at some point? Personally, I’m planning to wait for a few revisions before jumping in. I spend too much time in email on my phone. I need to see how that virtual keyboard is in real world use. Plus, I want to wait for the device to have more storage capacity. Remember, the first iPod was only 5GB and look at it now, topping out at 80 GB!
Have you bought into the hype? Let’s hear from you in the comments.
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No iPhone for Australia until Q1 2008 AFAIK. And, as beautiful as it is, where’s the 3G? Or HSDPA?
As for what will happen in Australia with respect to plans, we operate very differently to the USA. Here’s how my current plan works:
- $79 cap/month gets $550 calls/SMS (outbound, we don’t pay for inbound SMS), plus
- $49/month gets 300Mb data on HSDPA/3G/EDGE wireless modem
No minutes in there, no rollover, data’s expensive. There’s no way Australian telcos will provide free data any time in the next bazillion years. There’s going to need to be a massive shift in the way Australian telcos manage their plans before the iPhone can even launch here. Until then, $1200 plus pick your plan for an N95 is about the best you’ll do.
I’ll be working cos’ I’m not living in USA (United States of Apple ?). Is that globalization you’re talking ’bout ? Oh, I forgot that was only for drawbacks (and not beeing able to enjoy the uber tech toy).
Enjoy your friday my american friends !
Cedric
hmmm… what will i be doing on Friday? working as usual. the iPhone is overpriced and who wants to fight the mobs for phone?!?!
besides that, i’m on verizon…
What will I be doing on Friday? Hopefully taking off a bit early as I often do on summer Fridays. But no, it won’t be so I can run to the Apple Store or where ever the iPhones are sold.
Too expensive, no value at the moment. Although it looks cool and is an interesting concept, I think I’ll wait a few revs and see what happens.
What am I doing on Friday? Watching all the good little consumer-sheep out there do what the suits in marketing tell them to do… spend their hard earned cash on yet another flashy gadget they don’t need.
If I told you I wanted to go stand in line for one after my daughter’s doctors appointment early Friday afternoon purely because I want my tech folks to develop for the iPhone, would you believe me? Honestly, we shouldn’t spend the money. And I will probably end up waiting until the next version. But in my heart of hearts, I can’t deny that if I had a clear conscience about spending that much cash (considering the $1440 commitment to AT&T in addition to the $499 for the phone proper) and didn’t have small children to worry about, I would already be camped out on Walnut Street, cup of coffee in hand, iPod jamming, waiting like a “good little consumer-sheep” to get mine.
That’s a shame, if you think about it… and I encourage you to do so.
Have you guys seen the reviews that are now popping up? It seems that AT&T will be the weak link here, followed by the keyboard (and the lack of memory expansion and sealed battery). Most reviewers are complaining about the slow EDGE network. I don’t feel it as badly on my Blackberry, but then again I’m sticking with mobile-friendly sites and I’m not trying to download the whole original page like the iPhone does.
I’ve gone to Mac OS X launch parties at Apple Stores before. Yes, I’m a Mac geek, never denied it even though I can be harsh on the fruit at times. It’s fun in a nerdy sort of way….where else can you get into a deep conversation with the person standing next to you about the latest Apple gadget or feature? But this is one I’ll just read about on Saturday morning….on my Blackberry.
Friday? I’ll get home from work, kick off my shoes, get a glass of cold Diet Coke, sit in front of the TV for half an hour and laugh at the fools that trampled over each other to get this unreasonably hyped device. I’ll tivo everything to watch again one year from now when everybody realizes how craptastic it is and start lining up for the iphone-2.
I completely agree on the keyboard aspect. I’m a gadget junkie but love my Pocket PC too much to throw $600 at a new, unknown device. I’m afraid the virtual keyboard might drive me insane. I’ll likely treat the iPhone as I’m treating a 60-inch plasma TV – wait until the price comes down from the stratosphere.