New iPhone to land in US on 7 June June 7 is now a near-certainty to be the launch date for the latest iPhone, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs kicking off the firm's Worldwide Developers' Conference on that day (and with US retailer Wal-Mart halving the prices of the current iPhone 3GS in readiness). That would suggest that the new handset would hit the shelves in …
I can spend my money upgrading Apple kit faster than I can upgrading Microsoft software! That's what I call PROGRESS!
Whatever. For my on-the-go telephony needs, I'll stick to my 10 year old Nokia 5185, TYVM ... at least until someone makes a better cell phone. I'm not holding my breath.
Given only recent versions of Android have added multitouch I think Apple were ahead. Or do you think pressing little + and - buttons in a brower to zoom is advanced?
It's not all about features, if I wanted a phone with loads of features I would have stuck with Windows Mobile or some Symbian rubbish. But what use is features with a god awful UI?
The thing that grates me about Android is knowing the apps are basically coded in Java. The class format is different and it's their own JVM. But it's still Java, garbage collected, compiler/interpreter language. It's no match for Objective C which compiles to native ARM code.
@Jerome 0:
Please elaborate, for I don't recall what it was that Google introduced in its Android OS that was not attempting to "catch up" with the iPhone already.
Is it that "multi-tasking" thing, the one that has been acknowledged even by Google to suck the batteries dry? Or is it the single-touch screen that somehow is more technologically advanced than the multi-touch aware iPhone one? Perhaps its the online phone market, which recently was quietly put down to rest for lack of interest?
-dZ.
In units shipped, I expect you're perfectly right though I can't be bothered to check.
In aesthetics, originality (take completely revolutionising the smartphone market from what's now been shown to be piss-poor bred from little competition to a fairly competitive good market now), general features, etc etc, NO. It may have a dictatorial App Store/etc, but the fact remains the Phone itself is great.
The world and his wife have been playing catch up with their phones ever since the iPhone was released. I am by no means uncritical of Apple (and indeed it is highly unlikely I shall be buying the next iPhone) but the fact is that no-one has come close so far and the idea that Android will even be close behind, let alone surpass the iPhone is frankly laughable.
Every time a new smartphone comes out, all the tech sites have headlines along the lines of "Is the X the iPhone killer?" and the answer, every time, has been no.
The iPhone is very far from being perfect, but so far it has no real competition. This may not be true forever, but I'll eat my hat if Google can come up with anything that has half the appeal or sells half as well as the iPhone in the next two years.
Why does the world insist on comparing hardware and software, and declaring one to be better than the other?
Android = software, wrapped in different handsets (and numerous at that)
iPhone = hardware running an OS to make the hardware useful
The release cycles of these are very different especially when there is one Apple handset, so the argument, "better than" vs. "catching up", to be quite honest is pointless.
I have a first generation iPhone (gift from my company). Every May I'd get excited by the rumors of the next iPhone, just to be disappointed by the actual specs.
Now rumor has it that my iPhone won't support iPhone OS 4.0 with its multitasking and other cool features. Is it finally time to bite te bullet and buy a new phone?
I would. The original iPhone is very, very long in the tooth (I don't think it was all that great to begin with, either; if you ask me, the iPhone didn't start to shine until the 3G came along) and Apple don't actually support it anymore. As of today, they appear to also have discontinued the iPhone 3G from 2008.
I'd say there's no reason not to upgrade, if you can. I don't currently have an iPhone, but kind of fancy one so am waiting until June 7th to get the official word from Apple instead of some very dubious leaks.
MSNBC and FOX News had announced that "all android platforms together" outsell iPhone, at this time. Clearly, iPhone has a larger installed user base, though. The key question is whether flash-less iPhone will simply churn its existing clientele with the new release OR whether they will tap into new populations with it.
Android 2.2 came out this week and has Flash 10.5. It also runs non-flash existing applications over 100% faster.
The market will show whether Apple continues its fabulous growth OR if there really is a competitor now that sells more new phones than Apple.
guess apple is desperate to be the king in mobile phones with there iphone taken over microsoft and other makes. news flash htc is competing with you apple and you dont like it. apple is surrounded buy apple fan boys good god its sad im happy to try any make of phone but im just sick of all this iphone chant going on. iphone this iphone that woopy do. although i would like to try android or any other make like nokia or samsung or htc
succumbed to his own reality distortion field? With version 2.2, Android leaves iPhone's OS in the dust, and even with 2.1 Android was still ahead in terms of usability and functionality. I like to able to listen to a podcast while thumbing through an ebook and downloading crap in the background. I like to be able to flick over to Aura to see how my Eve Online character is progressing without having to stop my ebook, my download or my podcast. I like being able to do this with my choice of web browser, ebook reader and podcast software rather than being limited to what the manufacturer included because that's the only software that will multitask. In short, I use my phone as a highly-portable computer that also happens to be able to make phone calls. I simply cannot use an iPhone in that way.
The iPhone is still not a bad bit of hardware (except for the non-removable battery and the ugly plasticky casing), it's just badly let down by a half-rate operating system. It's like buying a modern PC only to run Windows 3.11 on it. Or more to the point, it's like buying an HTC HD2 - nice hardware, locked-down crappy operating system.
Some of the self-admitted Apple fanbois in my office have had a good look over my Nexus One and have decided that their next phone will be an Android phone.
As for pinch-to-zoom, well, I have it on my phone but it's really not that useful. I prefer the double-tap to zoom since that nicely reflows the text I'm looking at so it fits into the screen properly without having to scroll left & right. Have Apple implemented that yet? I certainly haven't found it in the 3GS.
I wouldn't say the iPhone is crap, far from it, but it has a lot of catching up to do.
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Oi.. Don't you go slagging the Best MMO out there....
I'm 38 and most of my corps members are in their 30's.. In fact Eve's user profile is generally much older than WOW's because the game takes patience, strategy and teamwork..
Annoy us again and we'll come camp your house with our Ttians!
much a clue, have you? I mean that has got to the worst Android sell I've read yet. Have you actually used an iphone before? Do you colleagues actually know how to use theirs?
May I ask you, how exactly is it that Android as of 2.2 leaves iPhone in the dust? Is that battery issue fixed yet? Or is it all those Flash sites you're visiting? And hey.... I guess while you're doing all these things on your Android phone simultaneously, you have it tethered to some kind of power source, right? I mean surely you're not *actually* mobile, or else your phone would be flat in a few hours.
The other thing you said, in regards to "I want my choice of apps to do all these things that I do frequently", and not be stuck using the manufacturers apps that support multi-tasking" or however you said it. Do you actually know how this thing works? The new iphone SDK for OS 4.0 allows every app to be updated using the new API's that Apple have provided for multitasking, and therefore there will be a plethora of choice for all iphone owners for all those app types you mentioned, and they will all support multi-tasking. Not only that, but Apple have implemented it much better than Android, and quite shortly the world will see that. We won't be rushing off for that power point as often as you will !
And for crying out loud Apple have had double tap zoom as well as pinch zoom for AGES. Sheesh!! Are you actually sure you've ever used an iPhone?!? I'm really starting to doubt you!
Basically everything you have said about the iPhone is wrong. Apple aren't playing catch up, they are playing chess. iPhone 4 with OS 4.0 will be the King, and once again, the handset to beat. I'm a phone mercenary, but I cant just sit back and let people like you fill other people up full of so much rubbish. And on a personal note, I've used Android, and meh. Maybe one day, but not yet. I will most definitely be purchasing the next iphone however, and that is something Im excited about.
I must have touched a nerve.
Battery issue? Don't know if it's "fixed" since I've not had any battery issues myself. I get a day of solid use or a few days standby with minimal use. I understand the iPhone gets similar, although I believe many other Android devices get longer than that. And yes, I do indeed do all that multitasking while mobile, though admittedly a few hours of that kind of use will drain the battery by around half. Since I can remove my battery, of course, I've been thinking about buying one of the 3400mAH ones which will let me multitask away all day long and late into the night. If I'm going to be away from all sources of power for a week, I can bring a spare battery or two with me, another option I don't have with the iPhone.
Multitasking on iPhone4 better than Android (lol)? I'll believe that when I see it. We can't really argue about that one though - nobody's got any hard information on that yet thanks to Steve's love of secrecy. I can't see him giving up to much control to third party apps though. Speaking of control, how's that now-you-see-it, now-you-don't software in the App Store working out for you?
And I'll agree the iPhone does have double-tap to zoom, but from seeing it demonstrated on my workmate's phones it either doesn't have text reflow, or it implements it really badly. Testing it on articles in The Register cut off the edge of the text when zooming in, while the N1 fit the text to the screen perfectly. So go right ahead and be excited about the next iPhone, I know which phone fits my needs.
And Hedley Lamarr - I'm in my mid-thirties, thanks, how about yourself? Let me guess, you only play grown-up games like chess or poker, right? I'm sorry nobody wants to publish many decent games on the Mac for you.
Look, I did really want to know how you think Android leaves iphone in the dust, it's a shame you could not articulate that. Truth be told, I'll back whatever device I have, but I always try and make sure I have the best device going around at the time. Now one could argue the 3GS isn't the best device going around right now, but it IS nigh on a year old, so one would have to suspect it's been surpassed by something else now. And maybe, just maybe Android 2.2 running on a high end HTC might cut the mustard. BUT, the next iphone is just around the corner and noone not under an NDA can tell us exactly what's in store for us. I will argue the point about iphone multitasking though, there is quite an amount of info on that now, the SDK and OS 4.0 betas are out, Im using them, and the same information is out on Android. It's almost a certainty that Apple's implementation is better. Now, not to be a hypocrite, I will admit that iphone battery life under heavy usage is a day of usage at most. And that's not even 24 hours. But even Eric Schidt himself admits there are problems with Android battery life, but he blames 3rd party developers! LOL. Too much control to crappy coders. iphone doesn't really have thast problem persay, due to the locked down nature of the OS. And they couldn't afford to, with already sub-par battery life. My single biggest gripe with the iphone. Also, you are kind of right about the reflow, the double tap zoom doesn't exactly reflow text, but I dont agree with it cutting off text from articles as I have never seen that and use that feature daily.
Look, anyway, each to their own, its funny arguing about these things, and I personally like these kinds of conversations as for a lot of people reading them it serves as education, I learn stuff from reading crap like this all the time. And one other thing, there may be some now you see it now you dont software in the app store, but don't forget, dont ever forget, the iphone has a darkside, its called Jailbreaking, and it opens up a whole new world to the iphone, whilst devs are getting behind Android at a rapid rate, the dev base on iphone both on the light side and dark side simply dwarfs every other competitor.... And that's where the true power of the iphone lies. I dont think that will change anytime soon. :) Enjoy your froyo, but i hope iphone 4 can convince you to come back! :) And if it doesn't do it for me, hell, I'll join you.
It's AT&T, plain and simple.
Need an example?
NEW YORK — AT&T's new digital home phone service failed across the country Tuesday, illustrating continuing reliability issues with Internet-based phone service.
Customers of AT&T Inc.'s U-Verse Voice said their landline phones have had no dial tones since the morning. Reached by cell phone, the customers said those who call them get a message that the line has been disconnected. Support personnel are telling customers that a server crash brought down U-Verse Voice in AT&T's entire 22-state local-phone service area.
LOL!
After nearly a year of pretty good service at the office, AT&T has gone back to flaking out several times a day, often dropping out when I'm talking to the wife. It's not just that I'm inside either, I see it happen even when outside. I'm thinking about turning off 3G at the office, just to see if I can get a reliable EDGE connection.
Launching the iPhone onto other networks would be great - it would give AT&T some incentive to fix their problems. Or else.
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