Apple announces Apple TV and iPhone

[Venkman]

The new nano is fucking gorgeous. The new iPod is fucking ugly.



No.

Wuh? Looks the same except the silver border/back shape to match the 3G iPhone.

[schild]

It's not an iphone though. It doesn't need that giant border. Trim that shit down. Odds are they're saving that change for a revision they can sell for full price even though they could do it now.

[Venkman]

I'd guess it's more a line look aesthetic thing. Silver is the new black. Further, without having one to hold, that curve they added to the back makes this look suspiciously close to the size of the 3G iPhone housing, which is overkill for the Touch but can be explained away as spreading their existing manufacturing tool/process (vacumetallizing is pricey) over multiple SKUs.

[Trippy]

Except the 3G iPhone's back is plastic.

[Kitsune]

It's not an iphone though. It doesn't need that giant border. Trim that shit down. Odds are they're saving that change for a revision they can sell for full price even though they could do it now.

I see the 'border' as actually being places to put your thumbs when holding the thing in widescreen mode without your own fingers obscuring the video that you're trying to watch.  If they cut that border out, you might be able to hold it between thumb and pinky if you had a decent-sized hand, but that would have to get hellishly uncomfy after the first few minutes.

[Venkman]

Except the 3G iPhone's back is plastic.

Do we know for sure the iPod Touches shown there isn't? Vacuum metalising plastic is not electroplating metal.

I just took a look at my 3G iPhone though and the form of the back housing does appear to be different, so no common-mold efficiency gained there. Schild should be happy to see though that while the Touch has the same silver frame around the front, it is at best 30% of the visual line weight of the iPhone.

[Ookii]

Apparently these episodes are free on iTunes right now:

    * He That Believeth in Me - Battlestar Galactica, Season 4
    * Fun Runs, Pts. 1 & 2 - The Office, Season 4
    * Lipstick Jungle: Pilot - Lipstick Jungle, Season 1
    * Four Months Later... - Heroes, Season 2
    * Pilot - In Plain Sight, Season 1
    * Mr. Monk Buys a House - Monk, Season 7
    * Ghosts - Psych, Season 3
    * Merit Badge: Pilot - Life, Season 1
    * Bad to the Drone - Eureka, Season 3

Go to Tuaw for the linkies.

[Trippy]

Except the 3G iPhone's back is plastic.

Do we know for sure the iPod Touches shown there isn't? Vacuum metalising plastic is not electroplating metal.

Yes we know for sure:

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/whatsnew.html

iPod touch feels even better in your hand thanks to the stunningly thin, contoured enclosure made of polished stainless steel.

[Kitsune]

Posting from my iPod now... The keyboard is freaking me out in that I can type without looking at the keys.  On general principle I feel obligated to despise typing without buttons, but I have to confess that it is well-implemented.  Too early to say whether it'll ever be more than a toy, but as toys go it's pretty swank.

[Oban]

All of the executives I know have replaced their Blackberries with iPhones. 14/14 converted.

Had one hold out in California, but after two months he became one of us.

[Murgos]

Posting from my iPod now... The keyboard is freaking me out in that I can type without looking at the keys.  On general principle I feel obligated to despise typing without buttons, but I have to confess that it is well-implemented.  Too early to say whether it'll ever be more than a toy, but as toys go it's pretty swank.

Have faith in the auto-complete.  You have to mangle the word pretty bad for it not to work.

[Oban]

Duck, ducking, shut and trucker.

Auto-complete wants me to clean up my language.

[Murgos]

I guess I don't curse nearly as much as I thought because I hadn't run into that yet.

[MrHat]

Duck, ducking, shut and trucker.

Auto-complete wants me to clean up my language.

After a while of correcting it into Fuck, it starts to autocomplete that way.

[Oban]

Yes, I noticed that.  Still made for a week of interesting emails.

[Kitsune]

All of the executives I know have replaced their Blackberries with iPhones. 14/14 converted.

Had one hold out in California, but after two months he became one of us.

Fuck the iPhone (notice the autocorrect capitalized the p).  At least until they put in some actual phone features like voice control over Bluetooth headsets, and put it on a better network than AT&T.  Plus, being a microsoft (gee, autocorrect didn't capitalize that one) partner, I'm mildly obligated to recommend windows mobile to customers looking to integrate a phone with their exchange server and would look suspicious if I did that while carrying an iPhone. 

[Oban]

Windows Mobile, what a ducking piece of shut.

[schild]

Windows Mobile sucks. Really, everything sucks. I'm in desperate need of a new cell phone, and I'm half tempted to hope the SE Xperia X-1 comes out here.

I need a keyboard. The entire cell phone market can eat my ass.

[Tebonas]

Have you tried the iphone keyboard or is this preemtive hatred?

Because from my experiences with the Blackberrys we use at work it handles worse than my iphone.

[Oban]

I just bought a prepaid Motorola RAZR2 because I want a phone to place and receive calls.

Nothing fancy, just something that sounds good and is small enough to not make a bulge in my suit.

Still using the iPhone when I travel, bought an unlocking chip for my 3G, but it is not an everyday phone for sure.  The keyboard is quite nice, but I only SMS and send mobile email when I am out of the country.

[Viin]

I'm planning on getting a BB Bold in a few weeks.

[schild]

Have you tried the iphone keyboard or is this preemtive hatred?

Because from my experiences with the Blackberrys we use at work it handles worse than my iphone.

I've tried it, yet. I don't like the blackberry keyboard either. Right now I'm on an HTC. Those keyboards are mostly love. A tiny bit cramped but then, it's a phone.

[Kitsune]

The new Treo Pro is a sweet Windows Mobile device.  Onboard GPS/Wifi/Bluetooth, voice control over BT, expandable storage, 320x320 touchscreen, real keyboard, built-in VPN and remote desktop support, everything I want in a phone.  Unfortunately it's only out for GSM networks right now, leaving me out in the cold.  Palm's commissioned HTC to build a CDMA version, and I'm hoping it'll be on shelves before the year's out, 'cause I wants it a lot.

[Ookii]

The new HTCs just came out today.

[Jain Zar]

My Cellphone will continue to be my NGage QD with a nice cheap Go Phone option.  (25 bucks every 3 months, 1 dollar per day I use the phone and 10 cents per minute.  Renew in time and the money rolls over into the next.  No requirements to actually pay bill on time or anything.  Perfect for emergencies and the odd convenience call.  WHICH IS WHAT CELLPHONES SHOULD BE USED FOR PLEASE GET THOSE FUCKING IDIOT STICKS OFF YOUR FUCKING EARS PEOPLE YOU DONT NEED TO YAMMER EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY FOR FRACKING SCHNARK!!)

And I ordered the new Touch because its basically a pocket computer.  Mine even is getting the engraving.  (My RL name and "In space, no one can hear you scream."  This will be rad.  If only there were all the color choices the V4 Nanos have.  I'd love a deep blue.)

220 plus 59 for Applecare (I used the service on my Dual Core Imac when the HD decided to stop being.  They sent a tech to my home to replace it.  And in a quick timeframe.  One of the few protection scams that's actually WORTH IT.) and its still 30 bucks cheaper than if I had bought it the previous week sans Applecare! (The extra 10 is for the App Store functionality those turtlenecked fuckbags decided to charge for on the Touch V1.)

Plus I can use this program on it:
http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2008/08/21/machdice-offers-arbitrarily-sided-dice-rolling-simulation/

I just need to then grab a PDF reader program (or similar file manager for extra usefulness..) and I have a portable RPG and Hobby Gaming minicomputer that also plays all my music and has lots of other nifty uses.  Even movie playing.  Plus with the built in speaker I can RL grief the fighting videogame players who are taking up space and buying very little at the game and comic shop whilst I play the Warhammer.  (Can we say Wesley Willis on an endless repeat loop?     )

And I don't have to be the Anime Schoolgirl to AT&T's Tentacle Monster.

[schild]

The new HTCs just came out today.

o rly what carriers

[Trippy]

iTunes 8 takes down Vista with 'blue screen of death'

Oops.

[schild]

I updated yesterday and didn't have a problem. But I didn't plug in my iPod.

[Engels]

no problem for me with my iPhone (edge not 3g) and the new iTunes.

[Kitsune]

So, I sorted out all of my music.  Found album art for everything.  Loaded it all on the ipod.  Took two nights, but everything's all pretty and working.  That done, I turned my attention to programs to add to it.

NERD RAGE ENSUED.  HULK SMASH SHITTY ITUNES APPLICATION STORE!

Holy crap, for being a company based on user interfaces, Apple did a piss-poor job of laying out the application store.  The only way it offered to sort things was by date, name, or 'popularity'.  I say 'popularity' because some of the most 'popular' things on the listing had piles of bad reviews, so apparently something doesn't have to be liked to be popular.  The applications had nothing in the way of keywords or meta tags, and many of them have names with no hint about what the hell they do.  I went in looking for basic network IT tools, but every search I attempted would dredge up piles of useless crap with just a few good hits.

It's not an insurmountable problem, but it is an inconvenient time-waster, and Newegg and Amazon both make it look like a retarded chimp.

[Engels]

wait, your issue is that the iTunes store has a amateurish way of indexing songs/iPhone apps available for purchase? Nothing to do with your iTunes songs and how they are listed on your own computer? I ask because, sure, I agree, Apple is very very lazy about the iTunes store, like any monolithic company. I suspect Microsoft wouldn't do a better job either.

[Kitsune]

wait, your issue is that the iTunes store has a amateurish way of indexing songs/iPhone apps available for purchase? Nothing to do with your iTunes songs and how they are listed on your own computer? I ask because, sure, I agree, Apple is very very lazy about the iTunes store, like any monolithic company. I suspect Microsoft wouldn't do a better job either.

Yeah, my problem's with their app store index/search.  I've never really had a problem with finding music on there, and my own music library's disarray was my own fault, which's why it took me so long to neaten up.

Never having seen Microsoft's music store, can't really say whether they did it better.

[schild]

Supposedly, SUPPOSEDLY, T-mobile will have Android phones next month. So sayeth some newspapers.

9/23 in fact.

[Jain Zar]

I ordered my Touch Tuesday.  Fed Ex arrived today.  They left their stupid YOU MUST SIGN FOR IT thingie.
I could have had it today!  It would have been a perfect reason to call in sick from work! 
DAMN YOU FOR BEING EARLY FED EX. 

Never have I wanted a company to be.. slower at shipping. 
I had a printed out presign paper I was gonna stick to the door monday, but they had to be 3 business days early.

[Ingmar]

I need a keyboard too, which is why I <3 my Tilt. Nobody else at my company really goes for it though, I'm the only one on one.