Just off the top of my head, since Apple released the original iPhone a little over two years ago, they've added: third party apps, a robust SDK, the app store, cut and paste, MMS, GPS, video recording, a greatly improved Mail app, Exchange support, push notifications, parental controls, wireless music and movie purchases, Spotlight search, voice memos, a better camera, faster CPU, more memory, and a slew of smaller usability enhancements like more pervasive availability of landscape keyboard. I'm sure I've left a few major improvements out.
Maybe those things aren't on your wish list, or you think some of them "should" have been included originally, but it doesn't seem reasonable to say that Apple has been sitting still with the iPhone, competition or no.
Thank you, for pointing all that out! It's irritating when people actually think Apple has been sitting still. If you want to talk about sitting still on something, just check out Microsoft Office. The ribbon has been the biggest innovative thing they've added to Office since release 1. Did you know an Access 95 book is 100% valid and can be used to understand how to use Access 2007 outside of visual differences. That is sitting still.
The problem I see is...they've already sold the Storm and it was a MAJOR bust. NOW they want to make a Storm2?
SO Umm, how is this good business? They would be better off with a slight redesign and a NEW NAME! It's like Wal-Mart building "upscale" stores but they still call 'em Wal-Mart! Do they not realize that a lot of decision making is psychosomatic. When people hear Storm they hear Crap, when they hear Storm2 they hear CrapAgain, and when they hear Wal-Mart they hear Hillbilly, no matter how nice your floors are. This isn't rocket science.
When I buy a product that sucks I don't wait for it to get better, I find a better product. In this case I'd find better hardware and a better UI elsewhere.
The original Newton was a bust, especially the handwriting recognition. When Apple fixed the Newton they didn't change the name. I dunno, maybe they should have.
Apple creates paradigm shifts all the time without a trace of competition.
This. Apple's approach seems to be proactive, while everyone else's is reactive.
Apple doesn't really need any competition. They're defining the market in the absence of any real strong competition in nearly all the spheres in which they operate. Even in operating systems, Apple is the only one occupying the Premium sector, and they've got a lock on it right now.
It's irritating when people actually think Apple has been sitting still. .
If Apple is at a standstill, what does that say about the industry pioneers? You know, the guys who have been at this for 20+ years. You would think it would be one of those guys showing Apple how to create a phone, yet it's the other way around. Now they're all scrambling trying remain relevant in a space they once dominated.
Who was it that said Apple wouldn't just be able to come in and get it right right out of the box? Now take a look at this company's current product. It's basically an iPhone clone that only gets mentioned when Apple updates iTunes and breaks its synchronization with it.
With all these emerging devices taking a run at the iPhone, although it's good overall for the industry, I still remember those first oohs and ahhs of the unveiling at the time and remember, "We have over 200 patents on this!"
I would have thought that some lawyer letters would have been circulating by now.
1) The Palm Pre is underrated, with less than stellar build quality. I think the fluid, multi-tasking 'card' layout really deserves more mention.
The first time I saw the multi-tasking 'card' layout on the Pre, I instantly thought that's the iPhone's Safari multi-'paged' browser just implemented more widely across the phone OS. This will come to the iPhone, I'm sure.
you guys need to understand that even a die-hard apple fan like myself needs to have other options until this whole exclusive ATT deal is over. I love my storm.
That is the only reason I do not own an iPhone. However, I do own an iTouch.
Storm 1 was a dog. they had to give them away in 2-for-1 deals.
Storm 2 is decent but not great. good enough for people already committed to Blackberries, but not for converts.
Storm 3 next year probably will be pretty good. may be the actual "Pre killer."
the iPhone is in a whole other zone. no one is going to buy a Storm "instead" of an iPhone.
where this is all leading it the conclusive marginalization of WinMo and Symbian phones within two years. by RIM and Apple on opposite flanks, and Android head-on.
What's interesting is that, even after the introduction of the iPhone, the smartphone market has remained largely a stationary target. Sure, everyone has rushed to bring out their version of a phone with a big touch screen and a decent browser and apps, but no one seems to be doing much to advance the art.
About the only newish things I've seen are the Pre's card metaphor and the recent rage for aggregated social networking screens (which seem gimmicky and cluttered, to me).
So while the iPhone has been steadily ticking off the "missing" features, has anyone else been adding any real, useful functionality?
Like it or not, the messaging and text input on the Blackberry is still lightyears ahead of the iPhone.
I need to type both Cyrillic and Latin characters. From my point of view, the messaging and text input on the Blackberry is still lightyears behind of the iPhone.
Oh, and I really like the contextual keyboard. You are entering an URL - the slash, .com are right there. You are entering a number - the numbers and a couple of special symbols used in phone numbers are there. If you spend a day learning to use the iPhone keyboard you will save that time in less then a month. Most people will find out that they are actually more productive with it.
Not to rub salt in that wound, but the situation up here in the GWN really is pretty good. Rogers/Fido has the exclusive now, but that's OK because their service is nothing short of spectacular. I have to drive at least an hour outside of Toronto before I lose 3G. Oddly, my GF's house is one location where I sometimes do.
But if that were not enough, the other two major carriers, Telus and Bell, are both scared crapless that the Olympics meant everyone that visited with a GSM phone would go right onto their sworn enemy's network, Rogers. So they spent the last year moving every major urban location across the country to HPDSA+ In less than one year they did a cross-country rollout of 21 Mbps! The iPhone becomes available from both of them next month.
The good news here is that the switchover from CDMA/PCS to GSM doesn't appear as difficult as the pundits said. I expect the same sort of switch will happen within the next year or two in the US as well. Then Apple has some real room for movement.
Maury
'major urban location' being the key there. i live at the left end of the trans canada highway and 'nothing short of spectacular' is not the way i would describe rogers' service. it will mean little to the rest of canada (probably means NOT toronto & vancouver) that bell & telus went to HSDPA, when they cherry pick the two biggest markets and likely not much else. just because they sit at opposite end of the GWN doesn't make that a 'cross country' rollout either. i'd have to drive 3 hours to get 3G on rogers and even edge is spotty at home. it'll be years before telus gets around to us, probably just after i'm at the end of my contract. :-)
it also means little for the consumer, because with the 'help' of the CRTC we are not going to get any real competition, just more price fixing between the telcos. now you'll have a choice between a red logo or a blue logo on your bill - all will likely require the same 3 year (!) contract and i doubt the price will be anything but competitive.
good news for apple - no doubt, and hopefully it means rogers gets a bit more motivated to improve their coverage out side their cash cows.
The original Newton was a bust, especially the handwriting recognition. When Apple fixed the Newton they didn't change the name. I dunno, maybe they should have.
Now that was a device well ahead of its time.
i don't think a name change would have helped. they would have had to rewrite history to make the newton to be 'not favoured by sculley' to keep it from being 'steved'.
there are still things i miss about my newton and i often wonder where it could have gone in the right environment. it was well ahead of its time and despite its untimely demise still has a place on my desk. but yes - it does require occasional dusting these days.
i remember the first time i played with an ipod touch and my second thought being: what took you so long? we were more than half way here years ago?
i also think that the newton's crown jewels are possibly a good 'insurance policy' for apple should it ever come to a patent showdown with palm.
If Apple is at a standstill, what does that say about the industry pioneers? You know, the guys who have been at this for 20+ years. You would think it would be one of those guys showing Apple how to create a phone, yet it's the other way around. Now they're all scrambling trying remain relevant in a space they once dominated.
Who was it that said Apple wouldn't just be able to come in and get it right right out of the box? Now take a look at this company's current product. It's basically an iPhone clone that only gets mentioned when Apple updates iTunes and breaks its synchronization with it.
Waits patiently for the next iPhone Killer.
ahhh, yes. it's always sweet to relive that moment when yet another ceo from a competitor made predictions against apple's ability to take money out of their pocket. some of them still dominate the market by sheer numbers, but apple is siphoning off the top end the market, while showing them how it's done.
i'm sure there were some interesting discussions going on back then, in board rooms at rim, palm, nokia, etc. and of course microsoft. i'm wondering what their engineering teams had in mind for the future of mobile computing before they all started to make 'iphone killers'?
I'm wondering what their engineering teams had in mind for the future of mobile computing before they all started to make 'iphone killers'?
You have to assume they were just going to keep cranking out endless new versions of terrible UIs and indifferent hardware, distinguished by cosmetic flourishes and gimmicky features.
After all, a lot of industry people thought Apple would have a hard time competing in the "cell phone industry" because of "the pace of change."
What they were referring to, of course, was a pace of change akin to the athletic footwear industry, wear random stylistic variation counts as the statement du jour.
I love my iPhone. I mean, I really love it. But I am getting sick of it not having any competition. Apple needs to be inspired to add and develop new features- although I think the 2010 model will be the leap the 3g and 3gs were not.
But seriously- we need some competition- otherwise, Apple can just sit there, and not make it better!
Man, you said you loved it ... just be happy.....don't worry, be happy!
But my point is that if they just continue to kick the shit out of every other phone out there without any effort, then they may not put as much in to making it as good as they are able to, just as good as it needs to be to stay ahead of the curve. To be honest, the best thing to happen to us iPhone users would be to have a phone come out that is actually better. How, I have no idea. I just want to see competition produce better goods.
.
You know, in all honesty, I think you're missing the point about Apple. They don't compete with others as much as they compete with themselves. The way that they go so far beyond what is considered "normal" tells us that. Steve has said , over and over again, they take pride in making products and service that they would want for themselves. Have no fear about Apple losing it's competitive edge .... it's part of their DNA.
I have a friend in the Air National Guard who has to use the Blackberry for official business, but got an iPhone a few months ago for personal use and loves it. Why can't the iPhone be secured like the Blackberry?
Comments
Just off the top of my head, since Apple released the original iPhone a little over two years ago, they've added: third party apps, a robust SDK, the app store, cut and paste, MMS, GPS, video recording, a greatly improved Mail app, Exchange support, push notifications, parental controls, wireless music and movie purchases, Spotlight search, voice memos, a better camera, faster CPU, more memory, and a slew of smaller usability enhancements like more pervasive availability of landscape keyboard. I'm sure I've left a few major improvements out.
Maybe those things aren't on your wish list, or you think some of them "should" have been included originally, but it doesn't seem reasonable to say that Apple has been sitting still with the iPhone, competition or no.
Thank you, for pointing all that out! It's irritating when people actually think Apple has been sitting still. If you want to talk about sitting still on something, just check out Microsoft Office. The ribbon has been the biggest innovative thing they've added to Office since release 1. Did you know an Access 95 book is 100% valid and can be used to understand how to use Access 2007 outside of visual differences. That is sitting still.
The problem I see is...they've already sold the Storm and it was a MAJOR bust. NOW they want to make a Storm2?
SO Umm, how is this good business? They would be better off with a slight redesign and a NEW NAME! It's like Wal-Mart building "upscale" stores but they still call 'em Wal-Mart! Do they not realize that a lot of decision making is psychosomatic. When people hear Storm they hear Crap, when they hear Storm2 they hear CrapAgain, and when they hear Wal-Mart they hear Hillbilly, no matter how nice your floors are. This isn't rocket science.
When I buy a product that sucks I don't wait for it to get better, I find a better product. In this case I'd find better hardware and a better UI elsewhere.
The original Newton was a bust, especially the handwriting recognition. When Apple fixed the Newton they didn't change the name. I dunno, maybe they should have.
Now that was a device well ahead of its time.
Apple creates paradigm shifts all the time without a trace of competition.
This. Apple's approach seems to be proactive, while everyone else's is reactive.
Apple doesn't really need any competition. They're defining the market in the absence of any real strong competition in nearly all the spheres in which they operate. Even in operating systems, Apple is the only one occupying the Premium sector, and they've got a lock on it right now.
It's irritating when people actually think Apple has been sitting still. .
If Apple is at a standstill, what does that say about the industry pioneers? You know, the guys who have been at this for 20+ years. You would think it would be one of those guys showing Apple how to create a phone, yet it's the other way around. Now they're all scrambling trying remain relevant in a space they once dominated.
Who was it that said Apple wouldn't just be able to come in and get it right right out of the box? Now take a look at this company's current product. It's basically an iPhone clone that only gets mentioned when Apple updates iTunes and breaks its synchronization with it.
Waits patiently for the next iPhone Killer.
I would have thought that some lawyer letters would have been circulating by now.
1) The Palm Pre is underrated, with less than stellar build quality. I think the fluid, multi-tasking 'card' layout really deserves more mention.
The first time I saw the multi-tasking 'card' layout on the Pre, I instantly thought that's the iPhone's Safari multi-'paged' browser just implemented more widely across the phone OS. This will come to the iPhone, I'm sure.
runs on Verizon (eventually)... WIN.
you guys need to understand that even a die-hard apple fan like myself needs to have other options until this whole exclusive ATT deal is over. I love my storm.
That is the only reason I do not own an iPhone. However, I do own an iTouch.
Storm 2 is decent but not great. good enough for people already committed to Blackberries, but not for converts.
Storm 3 next year probably will be pretty good. may be the actual "Pre killer."
the iPhone is in a whole other zone. no one is going to buy a Storm "instead" of an iPhone.
where this is all leading it the conclusive marginalization of WinMo and Symbian phones within two years. by RIM and Apple on opposite flanks, and Android head-on.
About the only newish things I've seen are the Pre's card metaphor and the recent rage for aggregated social networking screens (which seem gimmicky and cluttered, to me).
So while the iPhone has been steadily ticking off the "missing" features, has anyone else been adding any real, useful functionality?
Like it or not, the messaging and text input on the Blackberry is still lightyears ahead of the iPhone.
I need to type both Cyrillic and Latin characters. From my point of view, the messaging and text input on the Blackberry is still lightyears behind of the iPhone.
Oh, and I really like the contextual keyboard. You are entering an URL - the slash, .com are right there. You are entering a number - the numbers and a couple of special symbols used in phone numbers are there. If you spend a day learning to use the iPhone keyboard you will save that time in less then a month. Most people will find out that they are actually more productive with it.
Not to rub salt in that wound, but the situation up here in the GWN really is pretty good. Rogers/Fido has the exclusive now, but that's OK because their service is nothing short of spectacular. I have to drive at least an hour outside of Toronto before I lose 3G. Oddly, my GF's house is one location where I sometimes do.
But if that were not enough, the other two major carriers, Telus and Bell, are both scared crapless that the Olympics meant everyone that visited with a GSM phone would go right onto their sworn enemy's network, Rogers. So they spent the last year moving every major urban location across the country to HPDSA+ In less than one year they did a cross-country rollout of 21 Mbps! The iPhone becomes available from both of them next month.
The good news here is that the switchover from CDMA/PCS to GSM doesn't appear as difficult as the pundits said. I expect the same sort of switch will happen within the next year or two in the US as well. Then Apple has some real room for movement.
Maury
'major urban location' being the key there. i live at the left end of the trans canada highway and 'nothing short of spectacular' is not the way i would describe rogers' service. it will mean little to the rest of canada (probably means NOT toronto & vancouver) that bell & telus went to HSDPA, when they cherry pick the two biggest markets and likely not much else. just because they sit at opposite end of the GWN doesn't make that a 'cross country' rollout either. i'd have to drive 3 hours to get 3G on rogers and even edge is spotty at home. it'll be years before telus gets around to us, probably just after i'm at the end of my contract. :-)
it also means little for the consumer, because with the 'help' of the CRTC we are not going to get any real competition, just more price fixing between the telcos. now you'll have a choice between a red logo or a blue logo on your bill - all will likely require the same 3 year (!) contract and i doubt the price will be anything but competitive.
good news for apple - no doubt, and hopefully it means rogers gets a bit more motivated to improve their coverage out side their cash cows.
The original Newton was a bust, especially the handwriting recognition. When Apple fixed the Newton they didn't change the name. I dunno, maybe they should have.
Now that was a device well ahead of its time.
i don't think a name change would have helped. they would have had to rewrite history to make the newton to be 'not favoured by sculley' to keep it from being 'steved'.
there are still things i miss about my newton and i often wonder where it could have gone in the right environment. it was well ahead of its time and despite its untimely demise still has a place on my desk. but yes - it does require occasional dusting these days.
i remember the first time i played with an ipod touch and my second thought being: what took you so long? we were more than half way here years ago?
i also think that the newton's crown jewels are possibly a good 'insurance policy' for apple should it ever come to a patent showdown with palm.
If Apple is at a standstill, what does that say about the industry pioneers? You know, the guys who have been at this for 20+ years. You would think it would be one of those guys showing Apple how to create a phone, yet it's the other way around. Now they're all scrambling trying remain relevant in a space they once dominated.
Who was it that said Apple wouldn't just be able to come in and get it right right out of the box? Now take a look at this company's current product. It's basically an iPhone clone that only gets mentioned when Apple updates iTunes and breaks its synchronization with it.
Waits patiently for the next iPhone Killer.
ahhh, yes. it's always sweet to relive that moment when yet another ceo from a competitor made predictions against apple's ability to take money out of their pocket. some of them still dominate the market by sheer numbers, but apple is siphoning off the top end the market, while showing them how it's done.
i'm sure there were some interesting discussions going on back then, in board rooms at rim, palm, nokia, etc. and of course microsoft. i'm wondering what their engineering teams had in mind for the future of mobile computing before they all started to make 'iphone killers'?
I'm wondering what their engineering teams had in mind for the future of mobile computing before they all started to make 'iphone killers'?
You have to assume they were just going to keep cranking out endless new versions of terrible UIs and indifferent hardware, distinguished by cosmetic flourishes and gimmicky features.
After all, a lot of industry people thought Apple would have a hard time competing in the "cell phone industry" because of "the pace of change."
What they were referring to, of course, was a pace of change akin to the athletic footwear industry, wear random stylistic variation counts as the statement du jour.
I love my iPhone. I mean, I really love it. But I am getting sick of it not having any competition. Apple needs to be inspired to add and develop new features- although I think the 2010 model will be the leap the 3g and 3gs were not.
But seriously- we need some competition- otherwise, Apple can just sit there, and not make it better!
Man, you said you loved it ... just be happy.....don't worry, be happy!
But my point is that if they just continue to kick the shit out of every other phone out there without any effort, then they may not put as much in to making it as good as they are able to, just as good as it needs to be to stay ahead of the curve. To be honest, the best thing to happen to us iPhone users would be to have a phone come out that is actually better. How, I have no idea. I just want to see competition produce better goods.
.
You know, in all honesty, I think you're missing the point about Apple. They don't compete with others as much as they compete with themselves. The way that they go so far beyond what is considered "normal" tells us that. Steve has said , over and over again, they take pride in making products and service that they would want for themselves. Have no fear about Apple losing it's competitive edge .... it's part of their DNA.
Who cares it if vibrates up a storm (get it)?
It's everything else it either can't do or lacks.
Mr. Nice Guy, and a humorist too ....who knew? ..... I'm loving it.
Dude... the screen clicks when you touch it. How cool is that? The last time I heard clicking this cool was during The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Either I'm tired and giddy or everyone's sense of humor and wit has really been elevated tonight.
Right now, if you need an unlocked phone, that puts Nokia, Android, and WinMo far ahead of both Apple and RIM.
You're probably right but let's face it, a POS phone that's unlocked is still a POS!