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Topic: Apple announces Apple TV and iPhone (Read 157596 times)
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naum
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iPods being liquidated at Costco http://theappleblog.com/2007/09/08/ipods-being-liquidated-at-costco/Apparently today Costco has various iPods at insanely low prices while they try to liquidate their stock of them.
Here are the supposed deals available:
* 2GB Nano: $49.97
* 4GB Pink Nano: $99.97
* 4GB Silver Nano: $99.97
* 8GB Black $149.97
* 30GB White/Black: Unsure
* 80GB Black/White iPod: $229.97
Head over to your local Costco and see if there are any still available. I can’t imagine they’ll stay around very long at these prices
Given reports of a less than stellar UI that is on the new line, may not be a bad idea to snatch one from the discontinued line at a discount… |
"Should the batman kill Joker because it would save more lives?" is a fundamentally different question from "should the batman have a bunch of machineguns that go BATBATBATBATBAT because its totally cool?". ~Goumindong
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Viin
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Rumors of a 3G iPhone in November.... If they came out with one of those and you could still get one for $400, I might just have to do that ... (but we'll see if it comes true - if not, it's back to the original plan of a BB Pearl on Sprint)
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- Viin
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Jeff Kelly
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I'm an apathetic, hedonistic, utilitarian, nihilistic existentialist.
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Rumors of a 3G iPhone in November.... If they came out with one of those and you could still get one for $400, I might just have to do that ... (but we'll see if it comes true - if not, it's back to the original plan of a BB Pearl on Sprint)
Why does it have to be 3G? Standard 3G data rates are up to 384 kBit/s (if you are the only one using it in your 3G-Cell), the same as with EDGE (maximum data rate is 384 kBit/s) 3G would make sense if it were a HSDPA chipset (up to 3.6/7.2 GBit/s) and that is most likely no option for the EU launch because the baseband unit would have to be completely redesigned. For standard UMTS, only a WCDMA-Coprocessor is needed to make the Infineon S-Gold2 chipset UMTS capable and there is space on the baseband module left for that thing. |
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Trippy
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Jeff Kelly
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I'm an apathetic, hedonistic, utilitarian, nihilistic existentialist.
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While EDGE is technically 3G, here in the US when people talk about 3G they usually mean HSPDA/UMTS as in like this:
So? I know that. Reread my post. All that I am saying is that pure UMTS isn't any better than EDGE as far as data rates are concerned because both can do up to 384 kBit/s (under ideal circumstances). You'd have slightly better audio quality because the audio codec is better and can use more bandwidth than with GSM, but the maximum bandwidth is exactly the same with EDGE or UMTS. 3G only makes sense if you have an HSDPA capable chipset and the baseband of the iPhone would have to be completely resedesigned for that. HSDPA-capable chipsets also have sad battery life at the moment. My super duper N95 only lasts half a business day in UMTS-mode. The GSM part of the iPhone is an Infineon S-Gold2 Chip (Quadband-GSM + EDGE) one of the features of that chip is that it can be upgraded to UMTS by using a WCDMA-Coprocessor and the current iteration of the iPhone already has the solder pads for another chip on the baseband module most probably for such a coprocessor. So they could upgrade it rather easily to a "real" 3G iPhone, but without HSDPA you wouldn't gain anything (except feeling better because you have an UMTS iPhone). To incorporate HSDPA would mean a complete redesign of the RF section and I don't think that they will do something like that for the EU launch. It also would mean that the RF section would be much larger than today because HSDPA-capable chipsets are not as highly integrated as their GSM or standard UMTS counterparts. |
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Baldrake
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Posts: 636
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Hewlett Harbor man racks up $4,800 iPhone billJay Levy and his family took their iPhones on a Mediterranean cruise. Now the Hewlett Harbor entrepreneur feels as if he got taken for a ride, receiving a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless. He put his phone into sleep mode while travelling overseas, thinking that meant it was off. His iPhone regularly called home to preload his email for him, while charging overseas data rates. Pundits now recommend removing battery from iPhone while on the road. Epic lulz.
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« Last Edit: September 10, 2007, 07:03:58 AM by Baldrake »
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Tebonas
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It that is true (leaked instead of fake), I'll buy me one of these:  |
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60350
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$700 phone + nearly $100 a month for the only reasonable plan? Man, that's fucked. It's a _goddamn_phone_ that isn't that useful as a _goddamn_phone_ to begin with.
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Tebonas
Terracotta Army
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You don't know much about our WONDERFUL data rates, obviously. 50 Euro for Unlimited Data Rate is a steal at least here in Austria.
My current provider takes 55 Euro for 5GB data per month and 0,10 Euro for ever MB after that.
T-Mobile Austria gives you 10GB/0,10 Euro for the same price.
And thats just data rates, no free telephone calls or SMS included.
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naum
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4263
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Hewlett Harbor man racks up $4,800 iPhone billJay Levy and his family took their iPhones on a Mediterranean cruise. Now the Hewlett Harbor entrepreneur feels as if he got taken for a ride, receiving a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless. He put his phone into sleep mode while travelling overseas, thinking that meant it was off. His iPhone regularly called home to preload his email for him, while charging overseas data rates. Pundits now recommend removing battery from iPhone while on the road. Epic lulz. He should have just went into Settings and toggled on "Airplane" mode, which shuts down any Wi-Fi/cell phone transmission… …still, I hope he gets alleviated from that egregious bill… And, I broke down and bought an iPhone, taking advantage of the discount & all… …the monthly plan is cheaper than my current one (T-mobile), and unlimited email/internet + virtually unlimited night/weekend minutes is cool — I don't do very much SMS, so I didn't have to contract for additional text message allotment, which is where one gets raped here. Though with unlimited internet, don't see why someone can't just email into Jaiku / Twitter / Tumblr / Flickr (photos) to accomplish the same — all of those can be configured with an obsfucated email that you can ping messages to… Seeing the 160 DPI live in person actually sealed the deal, it is a small screen display unrivaled by any other smart phone. I looked at Blackberrry and RAZR, but they are inferior IMV, at least for my needs. Still, it's far from a perfect solution fo all my needs (would be nice if I could DL text/html files for reference/reading, but there are enough viable workarounds), but it sure could be, if they ditched the stupid lock-in and let me treat it like a device (yes, I know that's possible w/others, but they are gimped in other ways to me…). Have not had a problem with the touch keyboard, other than then O/P on the right edge that my large and fat fingers haven't grokked yet, but far better than the tiny buttons on other phones. And the web browser experience is unmatched by any other, due in large part to touch screen finger UI… …the iPod features are sweet, but disappointed that the sync cannot be manual. Well, technically, you can sync manually, but the podcasts and songs are specified via parameters (like last 1/3/5/10/etc. unplayed/new for each checked…, 10 most recent, etc.)… |
"Should the batman kill Joker because it would save more lives?" is a fundamentally different question from "should the batman have a bunch of machineguns that go BATBATBATBATBAT because its totally cool?". ~Goumindong
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schild
Administrator
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You don't know much about our WONDERFUL data rates, obviously. 50 Euro for Unlimited Data Rate is a steal at least here in Austria.
My current provider takes 55 Euro for 5GB data per month and 0,10 Euro for ever MB after that.
T-Mobile Austria gives you 10GB/0,10 Euro for the same price.
And thats just data rates, no free telephone calls or SMS included.
Thankfully, data on a phone is still, totally, a luxury. If prices were like that in America, I'd have a dataless phone. See, that's why prices here are low. We won't pay if they're too high. Stop paying for WONDERFUL data rates and prices will go down. |
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Tebonas
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So, what exactly makes you think I care about that? I have the money it would cost me, so why should I give a fuck that I could start a capitalistic crusade if I deny myself the luxuries I want to have?
I just explained to you that the rates are not high for around here, because you didn't know that. I compared with existing rates to give you the ability to put the price into context.
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Viin
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6159
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And, I broke down and bought an iPhone, taking advantage of the discount & all… …the monthly plan is cheaper than my current one (T-mobile), and unlimited email/internet + virtually unlimited night/weekend minutes is cool — I don't do very much SMS, so I didn't have to contract for additional text message allotment, which is where one gets raped here. Though with unlimited internet, don't see why someone can't just email into Jaiku / Twitter / Tumblr / Flickr (photos) to accomplish the same — all of those can be configured with an obsfucated email that you can ping messages to…
Yah, what's lame is that they count AIM traffic as text messages too - even though you have an unlimited data plan. That's the one thing I'd probably use it for regularly.. aim'ing while traveling. |
- Viin
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Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23657
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To incorporate HSDPA would mean a complete redesign of the RF section and I don't think that they will do something like that for the EU launch.
Why not? UMTS/HSDPA support/covereage in the US is very poor but that's not the case in Europe. Analysts have been saying for a long time now that not having UMTS/HSDPA would hinder adoption in Europe. Do you not agree? Sure battery life is going to take a hit (AnandTech did an analysis of the Blackjack with 3G turned on and off) but you can let the user make that tradeoff. |
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Jeff Kelly
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6921
I'm an apathetic, hedonistic, utilitarian, nihilistic existentialist.
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Why not? UMTS/HSDPA support/covereage in the US is very poor but that's not the case in Europe. Analysts have been saying for a long time now that not having UMTS/HSDPA would hinder adoption in Europe. Do you not agree? Sure battery life is going to take a hit (AnandTech did an analysis of the Blackjack with 3G turned on and off) but you can let the user make that tradeoff. If they'd do that the new iPhone would have already shown up at one of the certification bodies either the FCC or one of the european ones if they plan a Q3 release of the phone . Integrating UMTS and/or HSDPA would require recertification of the Phone. Also a HSDPA capable UMTS-chipset is quite a bit larger than the one currently used in the iPhone so they'd need to redesign a significant part of the baseband module. If they had planned something like that I think rumors would already have shown up. |
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Righ
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Teaching the world Google-fu one broken dream at a time.
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Thankfully, data on a phone is still, totally, a luxury.
Not for everybody. |
The camera adds a thousand barrels. - Steven Colbert
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Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23657
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They just dropped the 8 gig iPhone to $399 and are clearing out the 4GB model at $299 if anyone was still on the fence.
If you've been thinking about getting the 4 GB model think faster -- it looks like they are running low, at least here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Edit: oh and the software unlock that's out now? It works, or so I've been told. Edit2: heh, Apple's iPhone Finger Tip videos aren't viewable on an iPhone. |
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« Last Edit: September 13, 2007, 06:24:48 PM by Trippy »
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Venkman
Terracotta Army
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$700 phone + nearly $100 a month for the only reasonable plan? Man, that's fucked. It's a _goddamn_phone_ that isn't that useful as a _goddamn_phone_ to begin with.
It's a Newton with a phone latched on to sell it, just long enough for them to announce the obvious and predictable follow on :) Having said that, I'm seriously considering the iPod Touch even though 11 PDAs in my life prove I'm not a PDA kinda guy. I'll probably wait a few months though to see if Sprint picks up the iPhone (doubtful), the iPhone gets 3G capabilities, or they extend that cool "works over your wi-fi too" phone capabilities to it (or have they?) |
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Trippy
Administrator
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One more time: Sprint is CDMA, the iPhone is GSM. Also, the iPod touch is not a PDA.
Edit: and even if they could manufacture a CDMA version of the phone in the near future, making it available on Sprint would break their exclusivity deal with AT&T and I'm sure the AT&T lawyers would be happy to draw up a lawsuit (ching ching ching).
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« Last Edit: September 14, 2007, 09:27:29 PM by Trippy »
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Trippy
Administrator
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BTW, the iPod touch released two weeks early -- some Apple Stores started getting them in yesterday (in very limited quantities).
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Venkman
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The iPod iTouch is an iPhone without the cellphone capability. It's a PDA + iPod + camera.
And I didn't say any of that was going to happen. I'm just saying those are the gates.
Forgot about the CDMA/GSM thing though, but the AT&T exclusivity isn't going to last forever if the thing becomes a bigger hit. A million units since launch isn't bad, especially if they hit their wish of 10 million by years' end. That'll turn some heads. It's not like either company is any stranger to renegotiation.
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Trippy
Administrator
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10 million is by end of 2008.
As for the iPod touch being a PDA they took out, among other things, the Notes app that the iPhone has (even as crappy as it is). The iPhone nor the iPod touch even have a todo list. It's really not a PDA unless you just need a very stripped down Calendar and a very stripped down Contacts list but a regular iPod can do those things and I don't see people calling those PDAs.
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Venkman
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Why the hell did they take the Notes app out? It has Safari so I'd just be using iGoogle anyway. For the most part I'm never somewhere that I need a PDA that doesn't have wi-fi. But still seems odd to leave the Contacts and Calculator and take out the notes/drawing thing.
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Trippy
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No idea why they took out Notes. Maybe they moved it somewhere? it's not one of the buttons on the Home page.
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naum
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10 million is by end of 2008.
As for the iPod touch being a PDA they took out, among other things, the Notes app that the iPhone has (even as crappy as it is). The iPhone nor the iPod touch even have a todo list. It's really not a PDA unless you just need a very stripped down Calendar and a very stripped down Contacts list but a regular iPod can do those things and I don't see people calling those PDAs.
The Notes app is sufficient enough… …at least for to-do lists, meeting notes, or stuff (like goals)… …was surprised that the Calendar app did not support to-do lists, but it isn't like the OS X calendar app is any great shakes… …but the ability to take notes and have contacts, calendar, etc.… makes it function as usable PDA for me… …I love my iPhone but I think all iPhone owners have a love/hate relationship with it, and I believe more than ever now, that Apple is at a juncture here, that they could leverage all the market steam they've accumulated or blow it all as they did in the late 80's - mid 90's… …the devices need to be open, and they should be "team players" and be able to interface with other devices… My mini review of iPhone: GREAT: * …it's a better iPod than an iPod, and works (thus far for me) seamlessly with the phone, i.e., the microphone clicker/control on the headphones will answer calls, skip to next song, stop/start playback… * …one click email of photos, notes, etc.…… …probably the easiest tool to post to web (via email that feeds, or even JS bookmarklet…) * …best mobile "yellow pages" type resource I've seen to date… …last night, located a pizza place (via Google maps), from there, a 1 touch to phone/email/visit web site and the Google maps application is spectacular, the way it crisply scales up and down, and seems to function even better than the web (browser) application… * …160 DPI, Nokia 800 has that beat, but there iPhone w/ cool image resizing tech makes better use of the space… * …best mobile phone browser I've seen to date, * …like that I can carry one device to handle phone, PDA, iPod… …my iPod is sitting now, and is a candidate for eBay (if I don't donate to someone with lesser means…) GOOD * …the keyboard touch interface is very good, and IMV superior to the tiny button deals on like products… …unlike other devices, response is quick and no pressure needed, still haven't mastered keyboard entry by any stretch (especially when using Grafitti on old PDA, I could enter w/stylus faster than I could type) but I'm competent enough at it to enter text at a decent rate… …and the integration with the web form entry is done better than I've ever seen on a device this size or less… MEH * Dumb app icons that cannot be adjusted (why I do need to 73 degrees and Apple stock on Home panel?, calendar icon shows current day, why can't those display your 1st/default choice)… * Web browsing on a phone, is not the primary use of a phone… DUMBFOUNDED AT MISSING FEATURES * …no GPS which would utterly make this device spectacular with the Google maps application, minus all the other pieces… * …NO CUT AND PASTE FUNCTIONALITY, come on, a 10 year old Palm OS PDA can do cut and paste, but the company that caters to making delicious UI can't implement cut and paste? POOR, BIG REASONS NOT TO RECOMMEND * …doesn't play well with others! Needs iTunes to sync and the sync, unlike the iPod, is at a "summary level" — i.e., sync limited to playlists, or last 1/3/5/10 unplayed/new in podcasts (works well for weekly news type podcasts, but not series which you'd like to start at episode 1)… …simply cannot believe that with Wi-Fi, it cannot access/be accessed by other machines at file level… * …amazed at the number of apps available, given there is no SDK, hopefully this will change… …this device could be mind blowing even if you did Safari 3 development to place your own widgets hitting localhost… * …AT&T, though all the carriers suck IMV, except possibly for T-Mobile, who suck but not to the gutter level as the others… * …despite Bluetooth capability, cannot use phone as a modem, if I was still circuiting across the continent on a regular basis as I did a few years ago, that would certainly be a deal stopper * no IM, and AT&T rapes customers on SMS (lowest plan only gives 200) |
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« Last Edit: September 15, 2007, 10:18:56 AM by naum »
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"Should the batman kill Joker because it would save more lives?" is a fundamentally different question from "should the batman have a bunch of machineguns that go BATBATBATBATBAT because its totally cool?". ~Goumindong
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Viin
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* …AT&T, though all the carriers suck IMV, except possibly for T-Mobile, who suck but not to the gutter level as the others…
* …despite Bluetooth capability, cannot use phone as a modem, if I was still circuiting across the continent on a regular basis as I did a few years ago, that would certainly be a deal stopper
* no IM, and AT&T rapes customers on SMS (lowest plan only gives 200)
These three reasons here are why I haven't bothered to get one, even though I have at least $400 budgeted for my next phone. |
- Viin
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Venkman
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I easily use the browser (Opera Mini, thanks again to all that helped with that one) on my RAZR way WAY more than I use it to make calls, so lean more on the Blackberry/Jack side of things than pure-cellphone side. I've been able to play around with the iPhone quite a bit and have gotten used to most of the features, including the keyboard. But it's the phone service that isn't any good in the area I live, the lack of 3G support (afaik) and by extension that it cannot be used as a modem which, and the number of OS nuances that I'm sure will be patched over time that am making me wait. I had thought the iPod Touch was Robot Jesus, what I'd get so I didn't have to tie myself to AT&T. Until this thread.
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naum
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… But it's the phone service that isn't any good in the area I live, the lack of 3G support (afaik) and by extension that it cannot be used as a modem which, and the number of OS nuances that I'm sure will be patched over time that am making me wait. I had thought the iPod Touch was Robot Jesus, what I'd get so I didn't have to tie myself to AT&T. Until this thread.
A few tidbits on the Edge coverage… …it seems drastically variable, at times it works like a charm with no irksome delays and other times it flakes out/becomes extremely slow… …but interesting thing is that it's only readily apparent on my email fetching (I have like 4 email accounts setup on the deal…)… …web browsing seems to render at same pace as Wi-Fi (for most pages)… |
"Should the batman kill Joker because it would save more lives?" is a fundamentally different question from "should the batman have a bunch of machineguns that go BATBATBATBATBAT because its totally cool?". ~Goumindong
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Trippy
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Venkman
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Great summary. Thanks for linking. iGoogle may fulfill most of the needs I'd have that were stripped out, but I'd need to test it a lot more before trying. Next time I'm in an Apple Store...
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bhodi
Moderator
Posts: 6817
No lie.
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I'm a consumer whore. (And how!) - I got an iPhone this weekend.
Jailbreak/3rd party app install & unlock is now done through an automated process so easy a chimp could do it - achieved through numerous programs on windows and osx. Independence and brickr were the two I saw first and I used brickr since I have a PC. It took about 10 minutes, with a click-through step by step process. I signed with AT&T, since it was only $5 more than t-mobile, that $5 wasn't worth the risk that the next iphone firmware update breaks the unlock stuff.
There are tons of aftermarket apps on it now, and it seems to do everything I need it to do -- a phone, sms, gmail, a car mp3 player for my audiobooks, mapping program, web surfer / ebook reader for killing time, and a little camera. It also plays videos but I don't really see the need to watch stuff tv on a 5 inch screen.
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« Last Edit: September 17, 2007, 08:06:16 AM by bhodi »
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schild
Administrator
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Not getting an ipod touch after reading that article. What a bunch of completely unnecessary gimping.
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Big Gulp
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Not getting an ipod touch after reading that article. What a bunch of completely unnecessary gimping.
If and when my 60GB video iPod dies I think I'll do the unthinkable; get a Zune. I don't watch movies on my iPod, I don't care about photos. All I care about is audio, and the Zune at least seems capable of that. Plus, it's way cheaper. |
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Trippy
Administrator
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It's $50 cheaper for 50 GB less space.
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naum
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4263
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Jailbreak/3rd party app install & unlock is now done through an automated process so easy a chimp could do it - achieved through numerous programs on windows and osx. Independence and brickr were the two I saw first and I used brickr since I have a PC. It took about 10 minutes, with a click-through step by step process. I signed with AT&T, since it was only $5 more than t-mobile, that $5 wasn't worth the risk that the next iphone firmware update breaks the unlock stuff.
There are tons of aftermarket apps on it now, and it seems to do everything I need it to do -- a phone, sms, gmail, a car mp3 player for my audiobooks, mapping program, web surfer / ebook reader for killing time, and a little camera. It also plays videos but I don't really see the need to watch stuff tv on a 5 inch screen.
Yes, if you unlock the phone, tons of apps available… …including the ability to tether the phone's net connect to your laptop… …myself, I've been leery of jailbreak, at least just yet… |
"Should the batman kill Joker because it would save more lives?" is a fundamentally different question from "should the batman have a bunch of machineguns that go BATBATBATBATBAT because its totally cool?". ~Goumindong
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