Apple iTV, widescreen iPod, and iPhone just announced

It won't revolutionize the industry. All they did was take a bunch of gadgets like MP3 players and other devices and crammed them into one phone. The problem is, at $599 all the features that comprise the Iphone can be purchased separately a lower prices. The cell phone industry is a joke. You want to talk about revolution? Lets talk about VOIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol. This is a real technology that allows small businesses to compete with the telecommunications giants.

 

Nice gadget. Too pricey though.

 

Don't know about being five years ahead, but they have changed the playing field for certain. The cumbersome keyboard? Gone. The lack of true email? Gone. The annoyance of wading through voicemails? Gone. The best MP3 player around? Present. The stunning UI? Present. A full blown web browser? Present. Google maps? Present. Full operating system for application development? Present.

Convergence. All they did was bring together many (I expect later versions of the iPhone to cover still more ground) of the digital aspects of our connected lives into a handheld unit.

 

Agree. Most cell phone companies are already selling 3G phones but the iPhone is only 2G (kinda disappointing). Their camera also only has 2.0 megapixel. It definately can't be 5 years ahead of the cell phone industry.

 

Today Apple introduced the iphone. a cellular device that reivents the phone.
this monster is 1 part phone, iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply pointing your finger at a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log. It also automatically syncs all your contacts from a PC, Mac, or Internet service. And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want. 1 part ipod, iPhone is a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets you enjoy all your content — including music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a beautiful 3.5-inch widescreen display. It also lets you sync your content from the iTunes library on your PC or Mac. And then you can access it all with just the touch of a finger. and 1 part Internet communication, Phone features a rich HTML email client and Safari — the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device — which automatically syncs bookmarks from your PC or Mac. Safari also includes built-in Google and Yahoo! search. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background over Wi-Fi or EDGE.

http://www.animeseat.com/tech-forum/504-iphone.html#post6944

 

The main point here is that this is a convergence device and the killer app for phones - as so well describe at the keynote - is making calls. They showed the ease of conference calling and the fade in / fade out of the music - all in all it was pretty slick. As for being 2G both Apple and Cingular were hinting at things yet to come and I suspect you will see an upgrade in both those categories as volume manufacturing brings the price point down.

 

Plus, you get Apple's support of the product. It's amazing how many people are poo pooing a beta version basically. I mean hell, look at the iPod. I still have one of the first made and it's nothing like the stuff today.

For the initial target market, the price isn't even a factor. Yes, there are millions of people out there with careers, people that own businesses, people that love Apple products and so forth.

Obviously the kids or some guy making $2k a month isn't the target. Perhaps in 2-3 years we'll see a decrease. Of course, there's always the possibility of some sort of promotion deal down the road.

 

I would imagine that most die-hard Apple fans are going to jump on this, despite the steep price.

I may even consider it when it comes to Canada

 

Yes, they will.

Up up and away with the stock.