iPhone: Safari ad, unofficial hands-on, anti-interference patent
Apple has already aired another commercial as part of its iPhone advertising blitz. Also, one waiter claims to have had some early unofficial experience with the device. And a US patent may show the way towards trouble-free calls.
4th iPhone spot airs on TV
On the heels of its first three ads, Apple has begun circulating a new ad on TV networks.
The 30-second ad, first noticed on CNBC, follows in step with the previous ads but shifts its attention to Safari's ability to display websites as their creators intended -- the "real" Internet, the ad says.
The ad is not yet available at Apple.com but can be seen via a YouTube capture at the end of this report.
Restaurant server gains iPhone practice?
Meanwhile, one employee of a high-class Manhattan restaurant may have been one of the first outside of a small circle of owners to try the iPhone for himself.
Posting in Ars Technica's Mac forum, "Felix K" says a customer dining at Balthazar lent his rare cellphone to the waiter for a few minutes of direct contact. The experience was "amazing," he says, proving the interface to be quick and stable. The screen was allegedly free of streaks and the mystery client easily typed out text when the phone was returned.
Even the packaging, which had accompanied the phone's owner to the New York City eatery, is reportedly an "elegant" black cube, giving the employee an almost uniformly positive impression of the device despite the inability to test calling, EDGE Internet access, or e-mail.
"It feels like an Apple product. Consider it another Mac," Felix adds. "That made me pretty eager to get it. "
Patent guards against dropped iPhone calls
Apple has also been granted a recent US patent for a device that could eliminate potential signal drop-outs and other interference that could interrupt phone calls and other essential wireless traffic.
Described as an "accessory detector," the module would be embedded in a "wireless mobile device" such as a cellphone and tie into both black and white lists on the parent device to warn the user when nearby devices might interrupt the normal wireless signal. Borderline acceptable peripherals could force the handheld to adjust its antennas or its frequency tuning, the patent explains.
It's unclear at this time whether the patent, filed in late December of last year, might apply to the first-genertion iPhone or might be considered for a future model.
4th iPhone spot airs on TV
On the heels of its first three ads, Apple has begun circulating a new ad on TV networks.
The 30-second ad, first noticed on CNBC, follows in step with the previous ads but shifts its attention to Safari's ability to display websites as their creators intended -- the "real" Internet, the ad says.
The ad is not yet available at Apple.com but can be seen via a YouTube capture at the end of this report.
Restaurant server gains iPhone practice?
Meanwhile, one employee of a high-class Manhattan restaurant may have been one of the first outside of a small circle of owners to try the iPhone for himself.
Posting in Ars Technica's Mac forum, "Felix K" says a customer dining at Balthazar lent his rare cellphone to the waiter for a few minutes of direct contact. The experience was "amazing," he says, proving the interface to be quick and stable. The screen was allegedly free of streaks and the mystery client easily typed out text when the phone was returned.
Even the packaging, which had accompanied the phone's owner to the New York City eatery, is reportedly an "elegant" black cube, giving the employee an almost uniformly positive impression of the device despite the inability to test calling, EDGE Internet access, or e-mail.
"It feels like an Apple product. Consider it another Mac," Felix adds. "That made me pretty eager to get it. "
Patent guards against dropped iPhone calls
Apple has also been granted a recent US patent for a device that could eliminate potential signal drop-outs and other interference that could interrupt phone calls and other essential wireless traffic.
Described as an "accessory detector," the module would be embedded in a "wireless mobile device" such as a cellphone and tie into both black and white lists on the parent device to warn the user when nearby devices might interrupt the normal wireless signal. Borderline acceptable peripherals could force the handheld to adjust its antennas or its frequency tuning, the patent explains.
It's unclear at this time whether the patent, filed in late December of last year, might apply to the first-genertion iPhone or might be considered for a future model.
Comments
Oh, and Balthazar is fantastic. I highly recommend it.
I've got to say, I'm disgusted that Apple let this ad get out. It's not "the internet", it's "the world wide web".
I share your disgust! Apple is worse than Hitler!
I share your disgust! Apple is worse than Hitler!
Ah wilco, you just keep the constructive posts coming, don't you?
For a leading technology company such as Apple to describe the world-wide-web as "the internet" is very poor. Where is Apple's "attention to detail"?
I've got to say, I'm disgusted that Apple let this ad get out. It's not "the internet", it's "the world wide web".
Oh, and Balthazar is fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Personally, I'm glad Apple used "the internet" the ad is meant to apeal to a wide audience and more people understand what "the internet" refers to as opposed to "the world wide web." Plus it just kinda sounds better.
Personally, I'm glad Apple used "the internet" the ad is meant to apeal to a wide audience and more people understand what "the internet" refers to as opposed to "the world wide web." Plus it just kinda sounds better.
Here's a pretty direct analogy: calling the world-wide-web "the internet" is like calling newspapers "roads".
I dislike the idea of dumbing-down to the lowest common denominator. Besides, I'm really not sure that people wouldn't understand if the ad said "web" instead of "internet".
And you are wrong that more people understand what "the internet" refers to. When you say "internet", what most people are actually thinking of is the world-wide-web, and when you say "world-wide-web" or "web", everyone thinks of the web.
And, HEY Y'ALL, I've been reading this site for a few months now, and since most of you have an opinion which sometimes is similar to mine and sometimes is just way out to lunch, I thought I'd join you for lunch! I hope you don't mind!
Edit: Mr. H snuck in there. I disagree with your comment, Mr. H. To bring up another analogy, if we were to "not" dumb down our terminology then what you probably "typed" your comment on shouldn't be referred to as a computer, for in reality, it is so much more. Yes, in its rawest form, it has computational ability, but the sum of its parts is far more than simply a "computer", and yet, that is what we call it, and a "personal" one at that.
As long as the person understands the capabilities and how the "internet" or "web" or "world wide web" can be used productively, does it really matter what it's called?
And that's my buck fifty in my first post on Apple Insider! (Your valuation of my comments might differ...)
As long as the person understands the capabilities and how the "internet" or "web" or "world wide web" can be used productively, does it really matter what it's called?
Do you think it matters that roads and newspapers have different names? Do you think it's important that people understand the difference between a road and a newspaper?
Man, I wish Apple's mac commercials were this direct and descriptive. I've had enough with the PC vs. Mac commercials. I need some substance.
Hear! Hear! Apart from this internet/web mix-up, the iPhone ads are exactly what Apple's non-existant OS X adverts should be like.
Man, I wish Apple's mac commercials were this direct and descriptive. I've had enough with the PC vs. Mac commercials. I need some substance.
That's part of the problem/difference with a computer. Depends on what you want to do with it, whereas with a phone... well, heck even babies know what phones do.
I've got to say, I'm disgusted that Apple let this ad get out. It's not "the internet", it's "the world wide web".
Oh, and Balthazar is fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Wahoo does this mean that an iPhone BitTorrent client, a Usenet client, and of course an iPhone Apache micro-server are all on the way
edit: and it will not be complete unless mIRC is ported over to the iPhone!
all sarcasm aside, with Apple saying "Internet" instead of "World Wide Web", I hope this means that there will be many, many internet apps for the iPhone.
All this nit picking.
with Apple saying "Internet" instead of "World Wide Web", I hope this means that there will be many, many internet apps for the iPhone.
With the entire ad focussing on Safari, it is clear they should have said web not internet. And you raise a very good point; that Apple could actually be got for false advertising on this. They claim it's the internet. Will the iPhone do Voip? doubtful. Will the iPhone allow access to the iTunes store? Steve's already said no. etc. etc.
I've got to say, I'm disgusted that Apple let this ad get out. It's not "the internet", it's "the world wide web".
Yeah, because no-one refers to the world wide web as the internet.
It's too bad apple spends millions on marketing and advertising firms that do public polling and test screenings on the target audiences to find the best way to word their advertisements to get the message out clearly to the most amount of people, when they could just call you up and have you tell them how to best word their ads.
Who calls it the world wide web anymore anyways? That term sounds like it's straight from 1994 and brings back memories of the netscape world animation when a page loads from Netscape Navigator. They might as well call it eWorld.
BTW... I was at taco bell today and a guy in front of me had an iPhone. I don't know who he was, but he let me play with it for a few minutes. It was awesome. It was so smooth and elegant and worked very well... Can I now have a mention on a front page article on AI that adds nothing to what we already know? BTW... I promise this really did happen.
Sorry but the ad is really fine. You get "Internet" access from an "Internet Service Provider", people are used to that. As most of them use it (The Internet) for emails and browsing the web, There is no problem from the terminology of the commercial.
All this nit picking.
If my home ISP considered the internet to be web browsing/email and prohibited me from anything else, yet marketed it as the internet I would sue them.
Yeah, because no-one refers to the world wide web as the internet.
The fact that most people are ignorant is no excuse for Apple to join in.
Again, calling the web "the internet" is exactly like calling a newspaper a road. The world wide web is delivered to you over the internet, and a newspaper is delivered to you/your-local-shop by road. Lots of things other than newspapers can be delivered to you by road, and lots of things other than the web can be delivered to you via the internet. For Apple to advertise the iPhone as having "not a watered-down version of the internet" implies that it can take full advantage of the internet. In fact, the iPhone cannot. This is false advertising.
The fact that most people are ignorant is no excuse for Apple to join in.
Again, calling the web "the internet" is exactly like calling a newspaper a road. The world wide web is delivered to you over the internet, and a newspaper is delivered to you/your-local-shop by road. Lots of things other than newspapers can be delivered to you by road, and lots of things other than the web can be delivered to you via the internet.
No offense, but that analogy is retarded.
No offense, but that analogy is retarded.
While I wouldn't have worded it that way, I also think the analogy is incorrect. You can't get to the WWW without the internet, but I can drive on the road without a newspaper, or read a newspaper without the road.
Steve