Austria iPhone details revealed; Apple's design process exposed

***AppleInsider*** · 03-13-2008, 05:52 PM

T-Mobile Austria has posted listings for the iPhone and its plans ahead of an Apple announcement. Also, a senior Apple engineer has revealed the company's unusual approach to its software design.

Austria reveals iPhone service details

Although yet to be discussed outside of the site by either Apple or T-Mobile, a special iPhone page has appeared that lists 8GB and 16GB handsets as selling for 399 Euros and 499 Euros respectively, matching similar pricing in France, Germany, and Ireland.

The company also reveals that its iPhone plans will offer more than its fellow T-Mobile division in Germany: a "Classic" plan at 39 Euros will include 1000 minutes of airtime for calls to any network versus the 100 minutes available with Germany's starter 49 Euro plan. A "Supreme" plan at 55 Euros adds 1000 SMS messages and also supplies 1,000 extra minutes each to other T-Mobile customers, the voicemail inbox, and other providers.

However, while the plan includes access to Visual Voicemail, the company reveals that Austrian users will encounter a data cap similar to that in Ireland: both the Classic and Supreme plans are limited to 3GB of data per month.

T-Mobile has not revealed its launch date but is reportedly set to launch the iPhone as early as tomorrow. In a statement on the Austrian site, the carrier says it expects to sell the phone through its 39 retail shops as well as its online store.

Apple manager discusses company software design

If Apple's software looks unusually well-designed and provides unique solutions to problems, that's because the company doesn't obey typical rules, Apple senior engineering manager Michael Lopp has revealed in a South by Southwest technology panel attended by BusinessWeek's Helen Walters.

Design mockups, which replicate the interface look and its mechanics, are one of the most important differentiators, Lopp says. Rather than sketch several crude mockups that will need to be changed later, Apple designers often create ten mockups that almost exactly mimic the final appearance. This adds extra time up front but pays off by preventing mistakes.

This is more than the seven or less renderings that come from other companies, the engineer adds, and is carried through to the completion stage: designers are given enough time to create their concepts and pick the top three, which themselves are refined for three months until the final interface is chosen.

The company also follows the unusual practice of holding two seemingly contradictory meetings each week. In one, the developers are encouraged to think of any design that might work, no matter impractical it initially seems; in the next, the same team is asked to determine how it could make a given plan a reality and focuses on concrete development. In doing so, Apple opens up the possibility of a creative solution even very late into production.

Importantly, Lopp adds, this also safeguards against conflicts in so-called "pony" meetings: gatherings where management outlines its desires for a product, no matter how unrealistic they might be for the actual designers. By learning what the team considers workable at any given stage, executives not avert long-term disasters but also may get the features (or "ponies") they want through different means.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

BjK · 03-13-2008, 06:27 PM

It seems to me that 3GB isn't much of a cap. I looked at my usage data over edge, and, since june, I have only sent and received 700 MB... I'm not a power user or anything, so maybe that's just me. I'm curious, do any of you use more than 3GB a month?

solipsism · 03-13-2008, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BjK

It seems to me that 3GB isn't much of a cap. I looked at my usage data over edge, and, since june, I have only sent and received 700 MB... I'm not a power user or anything, so maybe that's just me. I'm curious, do any of you use more than 3GB a month?

Oh yeah! I know I've gotten to 7GB at one point, though that was for a little over 30 days.

BjK · 03-13-2008, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

Oh yeah! I know I've gotten to 7GB at one point, though that was for a little over 30 days.

ok, I'll shut up now...

i386 · 03-13-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

Oh yeah! I know I've gotten to 7GB at one point, though that was for a little over 30 days.

I reckon the 3Gb cap will change by the end of the year, seeing how things are going here in Austria. Currently you can get UMTS (3G at 7.2Mb Download/ 1.2Mb Upload) with 3Gb of download for 16 Euros per month. The prices on 3G data is dropping all the time to compete with Broadband. Just in the last few months all Broadband offers have gone flat rate.

Nevertheless I'd hang on for version 2 with 3G

solipsism · 03-13-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BjK

ok, I'll shut up now...

I get hundred of emails a day to my phone (even when I'm not using it). Mostly from AppleInsider. But when I do use I'm almost continuously using Safari, and often I find an open WiFi spot to use it.

PS: I have also gotten a call from my internet provider about how they will cut off my residence for one year if I continue to use the amount of bandwidth I am using. I'm well into the terabyte range each month and I pay extra for 20Mb/s. Which, to my surprise, is sometimes exceeded.

webfrasse · 03-13-2008, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

I get hundred of emails a day to my phone (even when I'm not using it). Mostly from AppleInsider. But when I do use I'm almost continuously using Safari, and often I find an open WiFi spot to use it.

PS: I have also gotten a call from my internet provider about how they will cut off my residence for one year if I continue to use the amount of bandwidth I am using. I'm well into the terabyte range each month and I pay extra for 20Mb/s. Which, to my surprise, is sometimes exceeded.

Terabytes...at home...and no illegal bittorents...

What are you doing...running a datacenter?

Seriously...get a life

/Mikael

solipsism · 03-13-2008, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by webfrasse

and no illegal bittorents

I don't even know a bit torrent is.

Quote:

Seriously...get a life

I actually do have an active social life outside the ether, though my participation on this site would say otherwise. I travel often so I have plenty of down time with I tend to waste on the internetI, even while having a beer in a bar or eating at a restaurant, which I often do solo due to my gallivanting.

Delfoniq · 03-13-2008, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

I actually do have an active social life outside the ether.

http://www.netaddiction.com/resource...ction_test.htm

solipsism · 03-13-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delfoniq

http://www.netaddiction.com/resource...ction_test.htm

"You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage."

Despite my excessive usage, it doesn't interfere with my life and often fills time gaps and allows me to get things done quicker. If it was based on time spent surfing I'd surely fail.

lostkiwi · 03-14-2008, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

"You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage."

Despite my excessive usage, it doesn't interfere with my life and often fills time gaps and allows me to get things done quicker. If it was based on time spent surfing I'd surely fail.

I dunno Solipsism, that sounds like denial to me...

Seriously though, I value your insightful comments here, along with Mel's. But not Mr H!

(Only because I detest apostrophes).

S.

solipsism · 03-14-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostkiwi

I dunno Solipsism, that sounds like denial to me...

Maybe it is. I'll look for an online 12-step program today.

Marc OSX · 03-14-2008, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

Maybe it is. I'll look for an online 12-step program today.

You could start an online 'Internet Anonymous' group...

Marc OSX · 03-14-2008, 02:49 PM

Sorry dude, just realised that's the same joke you just made. Pass me the dunce hat, I'm going back to my corner now...

03-13-2008, 05:52 PM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,157	Austria iPhone details revealed; Apple's design process exposed T-Mobile Austria has posted listings for the iPhone and its plans ahead of an Apple announcement. Also, a senior Apple engineer has revealed the company's unusual approach to its software design. Austria reveals iPhone service details Although yet to be discussed outside of the site by either Apple or T-Mobile, a special iPhone page has appeared that lists 8GB and 16GB handsets as selling for 399 Euros and 499 Euros respectively, matching similar pricing in France, Germany, and Ireland. The company also reveals that its iPhone plans will offer more than its fellow T-Mobile division in Germany: a "Classic" plan at 39 Euros will include 1000 minutes of airtime for calls to any network versus the 100 minutes available with Germany's starter 49 Euro plan. A "Supreme" plan at 55 Euros adds 1000 SMS messages and also supplies 1,000 extra minutes each to other T-Mobile customers, the voicemail inbox, and other providers. However, while the plan includes access to Visual Voicemail, the company reveals that Austrian users will encounter a data cap similar to that in Ireland: both the Classic and Supreme plans are limited to 3GB of data per month. T-Mobile has not revealed its launch date but is reportedly set to launch the iPhone as early as tomorrow. In a statement on the Austrian site, the carrier says it expects to sell the phone through its 39 retail shops as well as its online store. Apple manager discusses company software design If Apple's software looks unusually well-designed and provides unique solutions to problems, that's because the company doesn't obey typical rules, Apple senior engineering manager Michael Lopp has revealed in a South by Southwest technology panel attended by BusinessWeek's Helen Walters. Design mockups, which replicate the interface look and its mechanics, are one of the most important differentiators, Lopp says. Rather than sketch several crude mockups that will need to be changed later, Apple designers often create ten mockups that almost exactly mimic the final appearance. This adds extra time up front but pays off by preventing mistakes. This is more than the seven or less renderings that come from other companies, the engineer adds, and is carried through to the completion stage: designers are given enough time to create their concepts and pick the top three, which themselves are refined for three months until the final interface is chosen. The company also follows the unusual practice of holding two seemingly contradictory meetings each week. In one, the developers are encouraged to think of any design that might work, no matter impractical it initially seems; in the next, the same team is asked to determine how it could make a given plan a reality and focuses on concrete development. In doing so, Apple opens up the possibility of a creative solution even very late into production. Importantly, Lopp adds, this also safeguards against conflicts in so-called "pony" meetings: gatherings where management outlines its desires for a product, no matter how unrealistic they might be for the actual designers. By learning what the team considers workable at any given stage, executives not avert long-term disasters but also may get the features (or "ponies") they want through different means. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

03-14-2008, 02:49 PM	#14
Marc OSX Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 39	Sorry dude, just realised that's the same joke you just made. Pass me the dunce hat, I'm going back to my corner now... "Who are you going to believe, me or your eyes?"

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03-13-2008, 06:27 PM	#2
BjK Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fresno, California Posts: 34	It seems to me that 3GB isn't much of a cap. I looked at my usage data over edge, and, since june, I have only sent and received 700 MB... I'm not a power user or anything, so maybe that's just me. I'm curious, do any of you use more than 3GB a month?

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