Daily Breakfast #228
This show is dedicated by David Williams to his 6th grade Faith Formation Class at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary, North Carolina. In this episode: My take on Steve Jobs’s presentation of the iPhone and the MacTV at MacWorld 2007; Holy Drinking Water for sale at your local supermarket?
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The keynote was a little dissapointing, 2hrs on 2 products, eh. But that phone WOW. I soooo want this thing but I like many are already tied into another provider for a certain time so phone is outta my reach.
gah!
When you donate money to Rosary Army, to receive a rosary, you still get a blessed rosary?
The iPhone five years ahead? I beg to differ. It’s only a 2G device. The rest of the world has already moved on to 3G networks. Also it lacks the ability to replace the battery, there’s no GPS or FM radio build in and it lacks a digital camera. There’s also no third party software available and I understand that one cannot synchronize with Outlook or use Microsoft Exchange server (which the entire corporte world uses).
On the other hand there’re plenty of devices out there that offer everything the iPhone has (including touch screen and web browsing) plus all the extra I mentioned above for quite some time already. Just check out the Nokia N95 or the latest HTC devices.
I’m alwaws surprised about the amount of hype Apple gets. They have a good marketing department and their human interface is really good. However their products are just mediocre.
Just my 2 cents.
@Ole: a donation is a free gift. Rosary Army distributes Rosaries for free. So there is no problem there.
The iPhone has a built in 4 Gig or 8 Gig models, neither with an expansion port. Darn! Maybe in future models. The issue would be about the copyrighted music (DRM) and the music companies. It has two wireless technologies one using EDGE connectivity (think cell service) and the other is WiFi. GPS and FM radio would certainly be cool. Apple likes to do things well. I wonder if the iPod accessories for these kinds of technologies would be compatible. Remember that it is good for Apple to create new industries surrounding their products… think of it as additional advertising.
I would agree that Apple is the king of hype. Being at Macworld Expo, I was just amazed at the massive amount of people just trying to get get close to one of the two actual models enclosed in glass displays.
I own a Palm Treo 650 and the iPhone is a lot cooler and more capable. While no software has been released other than what was demonstrated, I am sure there will be a pleathora of other software soon made.
My fear is about the durability of a touch screen like the iPhone. I imagine that it will create another industry for products just for the iPhone as has the iPod.
I agree with Fr. Roderick that the iPhone is not available yet. In fact, this is the first Macworld Expo I can remember where no products were actually available on the same day of the Expo. I am so amazed how much excitement has been created and is still present even when no actual products are ready. One Apple can pull that off.
First, I will have to move cell providers as I am not a Cingular user. Some have speculated that eventually it will expand to the CDMA markets such as Verizon (that’s me). I wouldn’t be too hasty on that, but if the iPhone takes off, the other cellular companies will want to get onboard. It could very well turn around the power players from demanding it their way to conceding to such a power play as Apple. Two year contracts are standard here in the U.S.
Regarding the AppleTV device, it is ideal exept that it doesn’t record broadcast TV as Elgato’s eyeTV. Both will stream content from the computer to another Airport Express connected to your theater system.
Bottom line, I’ve never heard of such attention/hype/expectation surround the release of a cell phone. But, hey, it’s Apple, the king of media promotion. Okay, okay, I will admit… I want one!
First, a comment for Fr. Roderick. I seriously doubt the iPhone comes WITH a 2yr contract. When you sign up at Cingular you have to sign a 2yr contract. That means you buy the phone for $499/$599, pay monthly for a phone plan at $19.99 and up, AND you’ll have to pay the monthly $39.99 for unlimited data services if you plan on connecting to the internet when wi-fi is not available. So, that’s $60/month for 24 months on top of the price of the phone. Cingular isn’t just going to GIVE away that much service to all those people.
The rest is just my unimpressed impression of the iPhone.
I’ll have to agree with Stefan, the iPhone is nothing special, just apple hype.
I practically laughed when I saw the term “Breakthrough Internet Device.” No UMTS/HSPDA capabilities. I’m not in a huge city with huge coverage of Wi-fi hotspots, if I’m going to one (usually a café or park), I’m taking my laptop to do more serious computing than browsing, but then again, you’ll probably need that speed to buy music or video on the go without 3G speeds.
Windows Mobile really isn’t clunky or hard to use, and I think runs better than the desktop counterpart. The only difference with a pop-up keyboard as opposed to “plastic keys” as Fr. Roderick says is screen space. Honestly, I would make more mistakes having all those flat keys and not being able to feel them. Oh, and remember, no expansion memory, or add-on programs. Want to put other files on there other than audio and video to have on hand? Probably can’t do that either.
iPhone, is overhyped and overpriced. My uncle, Dad, and I are all early adopters of new smartphones, so I have good experience. Like Fr. Bill, I have a Treo (I just bought the spankin’ new 750, it’s nice). My new phone cost $399, I could easily buy expansion cards to make up the difference in memory and stay under the cost of the new iPhone.
I will admit, the coolest thing on it is the multi-touch touch screen.
Just a correction to a previous post, the iPhone does have a 2MP Camera built in.
It’s pretty pricey, but definitely has an elegant user interface. I would be more inclined to buy it should they offer it without the phone part as an upgraded iPod and at a much lower price. I would not be surprised to see that happen in the next 6 months.
Woops, can’t even spell my own name correctly!
Somehow, my previous post vanished.
I just pointed out that the iPhone does have a 2MP camera built in and yes one can add files at least in the form of notes and address book entries. That can be done with current iPods as well.
It is a little pricey, especially considering the monthly phone charges. I would be much more inclined to buy a model without the phone part (at a cheaper price) - wouldn’t be surprised to see that in the next 6 months. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the cell phone market.
Hey guys,
Here’s the kicker though. Apple may not have reinvented the wheel, but they made a better and easier wheel to use.
Case in point: Before I bought my iPod, I had an MP3 player (Archos Multimedia) that held 20gigs and also shot video and recording music. Had playlists and even synced with MusicMatch or whatever.
But the Apple product kicks its butt. The iPod interface was enormously better. (+Wheel+) I can do more with less so to speak with my 15 gig 3rd generation iPod.
So I look at this new iPhone and already I can tell you it destroys the non-Apple smartphones. The interface and touch screen are right on target - and I find myself watching the demos OVER AND OVER again.
This product is not meant for business people, which the other smartphones really are. This puts them in the hands of everyday people, for the same price as an iPod and a cell phone. So, an 8gig Nano costs $249 right? A smart phone (as per Sean) cost him $399. For $499 I can now have the smart-er-phone + an iPod that does video AND can handle nearly whatever I want it to in terms of Widgets. The sky is the limit with the iPhone really, which even has a camera.
If anything, the iPhone is -UNDER-priced for what you get. The interface is the key and Apple has that hands down. Other products are clunky.
The thing I’m disappointed with is the Apple tv. Does it really only work with widescreen televisions? I hope not, because that is really lame.
I just read that Cisco has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to prevent Apple from using the iPhone name, according to a statement today. As far as I know their Linksys division holds the right to the name iPhone. Here’s the link with more information:
I’m sorry but I don’t know how to use the XHTML correctly. Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=as8jWrr0Bv2g&refer=home
@Father Roderick
So I am confused about your peculiar bunch segment. Can a church refuse baptizing a child because the parents do not (or cannot) pay the “required donation”? I am quite sure that if we didn’t pay the required donations, then we cannot have a Marriage Ceremony or Baptism.
Hey Fr Roderick,
Just left you some voice feedback agreeing with your comments about MacWorld, and to bring to your attention another program to stream movies to the Xbox 360.
As far as I can tell Connect 360 is only available for the Mac, but I have an alternative for the PC. It’s a program I found a few weeks ago call TVersity (www.tversity.com) which enables you to stream all sorts of media formats from your PC to your Xbox 360. I have the wireless network adaptor for my 360 which sits in my home thatrea, and this program works great, allowing me to stream a range of media including DivX and Quicktime Movies. Check it out.
Regards,
Paul Baggaley
http://www.baggas.com
[...] Father Roderick from SQPN has a good review of the Macworld announcements on his latest Daily Breakfast podcast, and I heartily agree with his comments, including his reservations about the iPhone and Apple TV (Apple’s new media server device). The biggest problems are : [...]
“This product is not meant for business people, which the other smartphones really are. This puts them in the hands of everyday people, for the same price as an iPod and a cell phone.”
BINGO!
Apple TV is the biggest ?? for me. So which one: Nintendo Wii or Apple TV? I think we’ll spend the money on Wii next month… but I got my eye on Apple TV!
I’m a little concerned about the way usually “normal” people are reacting to the announcement of a new piece of “stuff”.
The audio that you played on the announcement sounded like a bunch of trained animals whooping and hollering over what? A phone?
Do we all need to step back a bit and remember that technology is here to serve us and not the other way around.
Apple had a commercial some years back that featured a long line of zombie like people sitting and listening to a large screen… like slaves. It looks like Apple has become what they spoke out against.
Let’s remember what we are supposed to be about and put “things” in their place.
I figured if Apple ever released a cellphone (I was skeptical), it wouldn’t just be a phone and an iPod. It would have to be way more revolutionary than that. But I never, ever expected the iPhone!
When I found out about it, honestly, my immediate reaction was “I can’t wait to hear Father Roderick’s show!”
Here in Canada, the phone nor Apple TV is even mentioned on the Canadian Apple website. So I have the feeling we aren’t getting the phone in June. But I’ll wait for a 2nd generation. If I can!