Apple's Smart Phone Depends on OS X Tie-Ins 260
anaesthetica writes "According to AppleInsider, Apple is not only working on a cellphone + mp3 player iPhone, but is working on a second model designed to be a smart phone, highly integrated with Mac OS and .Mac. The smart phone has gone through several iterations, as the notoriously demanding Mr. Jobs ordered the elite team working on the phone to redesign and re-engineer their prototypes. Capabilities are reported to include Front Row interface, syncing contacts and iCal with .Mac, "call ahead", iChat video conferencing integration, WiFi, and a slide-out keyboard. Too good to be true?"
I see that Mr. Jobs..... (Score:5, Interesting)
Here is what I think would sell like hot cakes.. (Score:5, Interesting)
A nice easy interface to do this with.
Stop dollaring us to death when we want a picture or a ring tone that we create.
If it can have music as well, bonus.
IT would be neat if it used the same connection as the iPod
Re:What you need is a new provider (Score:3, Interesting)
Now if they'd only lower the bloody price on their unlimited data plan....
Re:What you need is a new provider (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not for or against palm, as long as I can sync to something with a calendar and contact list.
Integration with Leopard Features a Plus (Score:5, Interesting)
This is interesting, considering the Leopard release of iCalendar Server for OS X Server v. 10.5. Granted it talks about .mac integration now, but as long as it can sync with other iCalendar software (iCal Server, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, etc.), the product becomes that much more impressive. That alone will be good news for current Mac users that want to have direct calendar updates without the hassle of syncing their calendar.
The other thing I liked was the mention of iChat Video Conferencing from the handset to a PC. That's something I have wanted with the Pocket PC for ages, and even various video phones. They have a camera, why couldn't they do video conferencing? With 3G wireless networks and phones that can take advantage of it, the technology is finally in place. That would make the iPhone worth it for me alone.
I had been trying to get cell-phone free for the past two years, and it looks like Apple is going to make that harder for me with this release.
Microsoft will never allow...? (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, and just to note...
http://www.pocketmac.net/ [pocketmac.net]
You're welcome.
it's nicer when it's official (or least reliable) (Score:3, Interesting)
those sync methods are sometimes unreliable. it seems to be oddly inconsistent even with the same devices. i have heard this from users i know to be above average with nrrdyness. some have a great time, some have lots of problems.
i have the Motorola E815 un-smartphone. i have had some luck with bluetooth sync of address book and ical. the problem is that when it doesn't work, the end result is often phone numbers going away or things being erased from my calendar. the kind of thing you not always notice at first. when i lose items it is generally when they are on the phone and not my Mac. my whole reason to sync the address book is so i have a backup in case i lose or upgrade the phone. randomly pruning some numbers kind of defeats that plan.
i appreciate all the work 3rd party developers are doing, but some stuff is risky. i hate typing this because i feel like it is the argument that M$ uses to bash *nix, but in this case there are so many devices that change so frequently that it generates sync issues (i guess?). i loved using BitPim on my old cell phone to extract pictures, upload graphics and ringtones and backup my phonebook. that never did anything destructive if it wasn't working. that is a darn great app.
Re:Here is what I think would sell like hot cakes. (Score:2, Interesting)
There will be THREE (3) phones (Score:4, Interesting)
Apple will follow their usual model:
One axis with consumer (think MacBook, iMac, iPod nano)
One axis with prosumer (think MacBook Pro, MacPro, iPod video)
In all squares good, better, best
(Think MacBook White 2x1.83, White 2x2, Black 2x2)
(Think iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Video)
Same for the phones,
iPhone small and inexpensive
iPhone nano/macbook
iPhone pro
My guess is that the mid version iPhone (nano/MacBook) will be first to be released and at a premium price (like $400 with no contract). After 4 months the iPhone (pro) will be released at a slightly higher premium price (like $500 with no contract) and the mid version iPhone (nano/MacBook) will be reduced to $250 and "one more thing" the youth low end model iPhone (small and inexpensive) will be released like the Nokia 3-series for $149 with no contract.
- - -
http://edu.org [edu.org]
AppleInsider is full of crap (Score:3, Interesting)
I work as a software engineer at Wacom Technologies. If Apple were going to make such a device, they would be using our hardware, and likely some of our software. They have not, so there is likely no such project. AppleInsider is posting items from their wishlist.
-- Hamster