CNET editor Kanellos: ‘Apple iPhone will largely fail’

“Apple is slated to come out with a new phone. Reports say that it will have a slide-out keyboard, 4GB or 8GB of storage, and work on CDMA or GSM cellular networks. It will start at $249 before subscription rebates,” Michael Kanellos writes for CNET. “And it will largely fail.”

“Initially, of course, it won’t look that way at all. As with any Apple product release, it will be ushered into the world on a wave of obligatory gushing,” Kanellos writes.

“Sales for the phone will skyrocket initially. However, things will calm down, and the Apple phone will take its place on the shelves with the random video cameras, cell phones, wireless routers and other would-be hits,” Kanellos writes. “Why won’t the Apple phone succeed? It will be a great piece of hardware that, if I wasn’t the cheapest man in North America, I might buy. The entire strategy, however, is based on what I call ‘iPod magic.’ Apple succeeded with the iPod, the theory goes. Therefore, they can break into other categories and turn them upside down.”

“But the iPod looks like it may turn out to be a non-repeatable experience. Look at the historical record. When the iPod emerged in late 2001, it solved some major problems with MP3 players,” Kanellos writes. “Unfortunately for Apple, problems like that don’t exist in the handset business. Cell phones aren’t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good.”

Fans of insipid blather can read the full article here.
The phones that the vast majority of people have today suck. Kanellos’ amazingly incongruous point that they call the Blackberry the “Crackberry,” so it must be good and therefore nobody will want the iPhone, could only have any chance of working if: a) it actually is good and b) if the vast majority of people have Blackberry smart phones, which they don’t. Kanellos also thinks that because Apple hasn’t sold 100 million Mac minis that the iPhone will be a failure. No, really, he does. With that kind of “logic” in play who needs nonsense?

While a requiem for vapor is yet another interesting way to waste bandwidth, we’ll wait for the product to actually be released before we comment further, thanks. In the meantime, you can bet your Mac that Kanellos’ article has been iCal’ed here at MDN for future reference.

81 Comments

  1. The only way in which phones are good is in that they pack a lot of stuff in a small package. The problem is that they don’t offer a good user experience. Most functions go unused or used to a minimal extent. Where the iPhone or indeed any other product could succeed is by stripping down to what people can make use of and need and by doing it in a way that allows them to take advantage of the advanced technology being provided to them.

    There is this seemingly neverending rush to make phones smaller and lighter and pack in more features but no thought as to why they’re doing it. You get to a point where an object you hold in your hand becomes too small, is too light to comfortable wield and has too many features to be bothered with. Apple succeeded with the iPod by hitting that sweet spot of features, design and usability that resonated with the public. No-one is denying that phones will be harder since it’s such an establised and unfamiliar market but to say that the competition is good is nonsense. If other phones were so good then people wouldn’t be so excited by an iPhone and would use them instead of iPods.

  2. Slam something that exists in rumor alone – very good journalism, Kanellos! Trying to skip out on work early this week? Save some time by rattling off the first piece that comes to your head?

    And, Des Gusting, too damn funny!!!

  3. Cell phones are the most badly designed piece of portable hardware you can carry around with you.

    This guys is speaking out his ass!

    People are literally crying out for a simple you use phone that has an intuitive control method and interface.

    There is NO phone on the market that has this and Apple is the only company that can do it right.

    Besides – amazingly enough most people now dont give a shit about all the multi-media crap a phone can do (poorly I might add!) – people want a phone that they can make phone calls on!!

    Now there IS an original concept – how about a mobile phone that is easy to make phone calls on…

  4. Dippy. He needed something to write about and negativity sells.

    People still don’t seem to understand that Apple is a profitable company, even if it sells relatively few of anything. The iPod exploded its bottom line, but they made a lot of money before the iPod. All an Apple phone/device would need to do is sell 1% or even less, and Apple will be successful.

  5. Microsoft at work. From Seattlepi.com.

    In its latest report on major electronics manufacturers, Greenpeace ranked Apple dead last on environmental issues because it still uses harmful chemicals in many of its products and because it does a poor job promoting recycling efforts for its iPods and other products.

    Greenpeace states that Dell is one the good guys.

    To Greenpeace- “I’ll buy only Apple compatible products from now. Go hug a tree, but look out for metal spikes that your lot have hammered into them.”

  6. “Hmmm, now why couldn’t THIS guy have been the one to take a trip to Oregon?” That is just wrong. I would never wish someone to die because of reporting on some non-existent imaginary product.

    I appreciate somebody finally saying something bad about Apple. Having used Macs for over 15 years, I’m not used to the good news.

  7. He wants it to fail so he can say “I told you so” if does. CNET are notorious for attention grabbing headlines as well. We must give him hell if he’s wrong.

    If the phone is pulled off well I’ll no doubt be a success. How many people carry around an iPod, mobile phone and a PDA? The Blackberry / Motorola Q / Samsung Blackjack are too big to cram in your pocket. How good would it be to have one little package that does it all. Add the Apple interface and you’ve got a winner.

  8. The moon is truly made of cheese and we never landed there – it was all done on a movie set.

    The world is really flat – the pictures of the world as a big blue ball are all done on a movie set.

    Cell phones aren’t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good.”

    Sheesh… this guy is the best example of eating ones own dog food I have ever seen. Cell phones SUCK!! They offer 1001 “features” that all suck because they aren’t implemented well or offer horrid user interfaces. The cell phone industry is the best poster boy for selling worthless features at the expense of real usability I have ever seen. Hopefully the iPhone – if it ever exists – will change all that.

    MDN Magic word “likely” as in: This guy is likely to take the clueless FUDmeister award away from Rob Enderle.

  9. “Granted, Apple will use contract manufacturers to assemble their phones, but designing these phones takes experience and talent. And the cell carriers are far deeper into it here.”

    Last time I checked carriers such as Sprint, Cingular, T-Mobile, etc. don’t make phones.

    This guy has no idea what he’s talking about.

  10. “While a requiem for vapor is yet another interesting way to waste bandwidth, we’ll wait for the product to actually be released before we comment further, thanks.”

    Hey, what are you talking about? You and lots of others said a bunch of times way before it came out that the Microsoft Zune would be a big piece of poop and now that it is actually out… well… umm…

    So that proves… ummm… that…

  11. actually an “iPhone” would be a very difficult thing to pull off. Articles like these are necessary to keep the pressure on to execute at all levels.

    possibly Apple could simultaneously license Mac OSX Mobile to Motorola.

  12. I’ve had a number of cellphones and they vary between out and out dreadful and adequate. My current Sony Ericsson 750 is the best one I’ve had, but it’s still very clunky to operate and there are aspects of it’s operation that infuriate me, so it’s no better than adequate.

    If anybody comes out with a phone that suits me better, I’d swap that day. If anybody comes out with a phone that better integrated with my Macs, I’d pre-order it ahead of release.

    I have every confidence that if Apple manufacture a phone, it will be quite different to the phones we are used to and the first one may have fewer features than many others. Some will inevitably hate it because it isn’t what they’re familiar with, but you can be quite certain that it will have been designed to do a great job of the things that Apple reckons that it’s users will be doing with it. Their needs will doubtless be different to those of the geeks who always end up reviewing them and just as the iPod was initially met with a lukewarm reception, the iPhone will prove it’s worth by actually doing what people really want it to do.

  13. Spreading the FUD pretty early now aren’t we CNET? You don’t have a clue what the iPhone is or it’s features and you think it will fail. Apple came into the MP3 business quite late in the game and all of you FUD spreaders said the same thing about the iPod.
    Look what happened.
    Apple is a different breed, everyone is stuck in the 90’s breed of Apple. Well this new Apple is much different and much smarter and they’re proving it everyday.
    So let’s just see what the iPhone can really do and how it really works before we spread the FUD, shall we. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”angry” style=”border:0;” />

  14. – “I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player?”

    – “All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field is starting to warp Steve’s mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.”

    – “Better bring that price down or you wont sell any of these babies”

    Comments from clueless readers after the 2001 iPod introduction.

  15. Cell phones suck. They’re crap to program and navigate on.

    Apple has a real chance to change the way people use cell phones, marry it to the computer with good software, killer interface and great features.

    I’m ready to ditch my Razr, it REALLY sucks and it is the best cell phone I ever had.

  16. Kanellos should work at Microsoft. With his attitude that existing products are already so good that there’s no need to innovate further, he’d fit right in. In fact, I’d like to suggest to him that, over the course of human history, everything that needs to be said has already been written, so he should put away his keyboard. All the words we need are already available, and anything new that’s written is bound to fail.

  17. “Cell phones aren’t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good.”

    no, they’re not, in my experience. they’re not rugged, they’re flimsy, and navigating the menus is often a frustrating experience. personally i DO want Bluetooth on my phone, but if i want that feature i have to get a phone with some crap camera feature i’ll never use.

    if all Apple does is come out with a more rugged, reliable phone that has an intuitive user interface…and that’s ALL…i’d buy it.

  18. What other predictions has Kanellos made and how accurate has he been in seeing the future? Surely, Kanellos has a history of his prognostic skills. He could be right on the mark or he could be full of crap.

  19. I have a Treo 650 which is good but is SO lacking in SO many areas. The GUI is mediocre at best (and it has one of the best GUIs out there, IMHO). There’s SO much room for improvement.

    I only know one thing: Steve Jobs has impeccable taste and I, for one, will put up my Treo on eBay the day the iPhone comes out.

  20. I agree that the iPod had a very different position in the market than the iPhone will and that, because of that, is not analogous. I do not recall anyone saying that is the cases. I also do not believe that the iPhone has to, or can, dominate the cell phone market like iPod. Only the very delusional would think so. It has to sell well enough to be profitable.

    However, there is one part of the iPod story that is analogous – people are drawn to hardware that is simple and easy to use (eg clickwheel). I agree that there is already a lot of good hardware out there. However, if Apple can give a better onboard software experience, that will differentiate it. I really like my phone, but the menu system is needlessly complicated and poorly organized. Part of this comes from the service provider wanting to stick their bullshit in and to impose their limits on the hardware.

    The related area is integration of hardware with computer. Oh, I can connect it. But the experience is very MicroShaft-esque. If Apple can deliver a phone that actually is easy to sync and manage, like an iPod, then THAT will be something that no phone delivers in the US right now. It is also something people will gravitate to. Not saying RAZR like blockbuster. Saying profitable.

    The last thing is that, sure, cell phones in the US are good. However, in other parts of the world, they are great. The service providers cripple them or make sure they do not have top of the line features in some areas while they wait to figure out how to monetize the features. Hopefully, the iPhone will change that.

    Of course, that is all based on Apple’s track record. However, the argument that US cell phones are state of the art is goofy.

  21. Seriously… The phones from Apple are going to have a hard time cathcing op to some of Sony Ericssons best. Trust me, I want an iPhone but if it is less than stellar, my K800i is coming out of the drawer again. Slow interface and unintuitive texting kills phone companys. Ask Siemens/benQ. If the iPhone is not super, it will become a kiddy-phone, like LG or Samsung… Not the best segment. My two cents…

  22. I am a S.F. analyst too.

    And I am a friend of Michael Kanellos.

    Let me tell you guys, Michael Kanellos is ALWAYS right.

    If he says that the iPod phone will fail — IT WILL FAIL.

    That’s why he is an analyst and you guys are not.

    He went to school for that stuff.

    He has a degree in that stuff.

    He has experience saying that kind of stuff.

    And when an analyst like Michael Kanellos say something,
    everybody listens — and Mac Daily News publishes what
    he says — because everyone knows he is most likely CORRECT.

    So there you have it.

    Michael Kanellos is an analyst and Michael Kanellos knows the iPhone
    WILL FAIL.

  23. My Motorola looks really cool…and I hate it. Non-intuitive interface. I make a call/receive a call. I do ot use any other feature, even the camera (it sucks). The radio in it sucks….needed a special connector which I bought and used for 1 day.

    My wife literally hates her Treo. What a piece of design garbage that is.

    Would love to have a useable camera with easy to transfer pictures An intuitive contact list. Maybe an iTunes music interface to play a few tunes. But most of all, good sound!

    Apple has a chance to do it right. Will they, who knows but experience tells me that since Stevie-boy has been taking his time on this, I suspect he will be doing it right. I will buy one.

  24. If the iPhone is real
    If it works half as well and intuitively as my iPod
    I will replace my RAZR in a heartbeat
    else
    I will continue to live with a crappy interface, crippled features,
    and unbelievably bad support
    else
    I will be sad.

    Cell phones: “really good.” Hahahahahaha. Like Windows, cell phones and the cell carriers have taught untold millions to accept mediocrity, inconvenience and frustration as the norm. And THAT’s unfortunate.

  25. For myself, the success will stand and fall with the pricetag and the phone being not bundled with a certain provider.
    The iPod wouldn’t have been a success either if they would have bundled it with a subscription.

  26. I saw this guy as a guest commenter on cNBC. His bias against Apple products was so palpable and evident, that I remembered his name (never heard of him before.)

    At the time, he was ridiculing the Macbook as far too expensive, and nobody will buy it (except fringe groups like silly students who think its pretty) when they can get a Dell for $300 less. What struck me is that he NEVER mentioned the differences and advantages of the Mac OS. I became suspicious of his motives…

    Now it’s all clear what Kanellos is all about…

    ~~My sincere sympathies to the Kim family and friends~~

  27. Funny, my Mom just got a new cell. And it took ME about 10 minutes to find the voicemail command. Then I begged my mom to write down the key sequence so she wouldn’t get lost in the menus. It reminds me of the days of DOS software “It’s user friendly cuz it’s menu driven…”

    SJ does not walk on water and I don’t know if Apple will get it right. But there IS definitely room for improvement. And if Apple gets it right, they’ll certainly get mindshare and have distribution clout.

    Honestly, I find it hard to find the phone in the current generation of phones.

  28. How many of you who are slamming this guy now poo pooed the Zune before it was out and called it a failure?

    — Don’t get me wrong, the Zune is pretty much failing but there is hypocrasy (sp?) in you busting this guys balls when you didi the same thing.

  29. My worry is Apple can’t control the Cellphone experience. They can make a GREAT cellphone/Ipod

    But they cant make a GREAT cellphone carrier.

    Plenty of people get a cellphone and think it sux when in reality the Carrier is the problem. Especially since Carrier service varies so much in differing parts of the country.

    Bad carrier service will result n many unjustified but complaints against apple.

  30. Dark Side of The Moon:

    The difference between slamming the Zune before it’s release and postulating on the Apple phone is the fact that most of the details of the Zune were know prior to release and were easily compared to the iPod. That comparison showed that the Zune was nothing special, and that is putting it nicely.

    Nobody knows ANYTHING about the iPhone because there are about 10 people at Apple that know about it, and they are not on this board.

    Let’s wait and see.

    It should be good knowing Apple’s track record lately. That is the only speculation anybody can make.

    What I want out of a phone: RECEPTION, LOUD EARPIECE, LOUD AND CLEAR SPEAKERPHONE, and of course iSync support. It seems lots of phone manufacturers have forgotten what a phone should be all about!

    I have a Nokia e61 and while it is a very capable device given its size, the interface is not good, the battery life is OK, and the buttons are too small. The volume is poor. The browser kicks butt, that is about it.

    Best phone I have ever had was probably my SE Z600 as far as reception and battery life.

    I think the best part of this iPhone will be the fact that Mac users will not be left fending for themselves in the software area.

  31. Listen here, Kanallas, it’s not about design [“Samsung…Motorola…KDDI”] nor how big an LCD screen [“Sharp”].

    It’s about:

    a) If you want to carry an iPod and a phone, you can choose to have both in one device;

    b) Software.

    And it’s the latter that you’ve discounted – understandably so because of a lack of information and/or imagination. (a) is a big enough market by itself, but (b) is where Apple has a track record eclipsing the abovementioned companies’ strong points.

    Apple has disappointed before because users’ wish lists can be pretty extreme, but it would be foolish to discount the product development team’s ability to come up with some pretty attractive functions on the software side. Design-wise, we take it for granted that it will not suck. Technology-wise, we take it for granted that it will be advanced even if expensive. The interface will be elegant. Music? We take that for granted too. What are we missing here? What else will it do and how will it do it. Even if you have some information on the latter that we don’t have, you have no basis for predicting a flop.

    Good troll article though. Happy birthday, kid.

  32. The author forgets to mention that Blackberry’s history is in the corporate market. RIM just came out with a consumer-oriented Blackberry (the Pearl) and it is still far from “iPod revolutionary”.

    I used Sony Ericssons for a long time and they weren’t bad. Never had everything I was looking for, always had to compromise on some feature. I am now using, gasp, hold your breath, a WM5 Smartphone. It’s has been a horrible experience with the only bright spot being the Missing Sync for OS X. It’s even better than MS’s own ActiveSync (I have a PeeCee at work).

    I for one can’t wait for the iPhone.

  33. While I agree that current cell phone HARWARE is generally okay (keep your accursed flip phones), the software & interfaces SUCK! I’ve owned Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones and have been appalled by them ALL!

    The Treos are as good as it gets today, but I HATE the Pygmy keyboard and small screen. Palm needs to release a Treo TX… a Palm TX with the same big screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, SD card slot, audio jack… PLUS, Quad-band phone capabilities and with full screen SOFTWARE virtual keyboard. You could even use graffiti, too! For me, THAT would be perfect!

    If for NO other reason, I look forward to see what Apple will do with the phone user INTERFACE.

    Could Apple possibly make them USABLE? With all the functions easily accessible and logically arrayed? Well, if ANY company could, it’s Apple. The author is clearly clueless and lacks any sort of imagination, in that regard!

    Can you imagine a phone running Mac OS X Lite?

    OMFG… I’d buy one in a SNAP! Adios Sony Ericsson…

  34. There’s nothing more entertaining than reading the postings of pissed off Apple fans. Did Kanellos tweak your little noses too hard? Boo hoo. Everything he wrote made perfect sense. What exactly is THE VOID that the iphone will fill??!! Answer: None. It will just appeal to shallow, got-to-have-the-latest-thing-with-an-apple-logo-on it-sect.

  35. I keep asking this question, but nobody has answered it:

    Don’t these ignorant twirps have editors? Do they write any hare-brained thing that pops into their empty heads? The tech press is starting to give journalism a really bad name!

  36. “Cell phones aren’t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good.”

    This motherfscker probably doesn’t realize that Nokia for example has the most complicated menu system in mobile phones or mobile thingys. That is an achievement.

    And they change the menus every time they change the model (twice a year), probably just to make sure it feels “new”. It’s the same crap every time and the phone lasts 18 months max.

    Hmmm… Kinda reminds me of one big corporation from north america. What was the name, it was some ___shit or ___suck or something like that. Started with M, I think.

  37. LOOK ABOVE – They said it – MDN actually said they will “not comment” any further on an iPhone until it is actually released by Apple.

    Does this mean they’ll no longer post any stories about this “rumored” iPhone? Because, after all, any post is a comment in and of itself.

    Here’s hoping.

  38. THIS GUY IS SO WRONG!!!!

    But actually he does make me think. And I think I should buy shares in Apple even though they are already up 100% this year.

    I have another thought…. If the iPod gave the Mac a reasonable halo effect, then a well executed iPhone is going to set Mac sales on fire.

    EVERYONE I KNOW HATES THEIR PHONE.

  39. “How many of you who are slamming this guy now poo pooed the Zune before it was out and called it a failure?

    — Don’t get me wrong, the Zune is pretty much failing but there is hypocrasy (sp?) in you busting this guys balls when you didi the same thing.”

    Well part of the difference is, the Zune was a real product announced my MS. The phone he’s blasting has not been announced by Apple, so you do not know if it’s real, or what it’s features are.

    Kind of a big difference I’d say.

  40. If there is an iPhone – and all evidence points to that – the only reason it might fail is if it eschews the high quality of software integration previously adopted by the iPod.

    What Kanellos seems to ignore is that just as iTunes is actually the cause behind the iPod’s success so the enhanced version of iTunes will be the reason why the iPhone will succeeed; a few more switches in iTunes will be the most that some people will see once the music-only iPhone is released and probably another tab in iTunes (for Windows) and iSync (for Mac) will be the limit of the new software for the “executive” smart-phone.

    Anyone who has used the entry-level Blackberry services provided by most of RIM’s network partners will know that they are criminally underdeveloped and prone to malfunction. As for Blackberry’s enterprise version, it is unrealistically priced for any SME.

    I’ll lay odds that Leopard Server will come with hooks for iPhone’s smart-phone model; which means that you could acquire a full copy of OS X Server for $500 and get a complete platform for remote access as opposed to Blackberry Enterprise which costs several thousand dollars to buy and set up.

    If my bet is accurate, iPhone’s corporate model will probably be as much of a trojan horse for Apple into the SME and enterprise marker as iPod was into the previously brainwashed Windows community; add in some of the functionality from the latest version of Parallels Workstation (some of which borders on the disturbingly surreal) and Apple can deliver a universal “Swiss Army Knife” client, a phenomenal value-for-money server offering and probably the best and most complete user experience in the computing mainstream.

  41. Kanellos writes “Cell phones aren’t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good.” – Um has he used a cell phone ever in his lifetime? I have dozens of them, buying the newest latest and “greatest” right when they come out – there’s nothing not clunky about them (Sidekick) they don’t work well at all (anything by motorola, have you seen the reception on them – horrible), and as far as not being inadeqate, unless you have a windows mobile phone you have to pay $50.00 plus a cable to integrate you contacts, dates, etc. I hardly find anything “really good” about cell phones thus far. Apple will do to the cell phone what it did for the MP3 player, there is no doubt.

  42. This time last year, we were all sitting here talking about the exact same thing, minus a few dreamed up details. I put off my Ericson purchase until after Christmas last year. No one really knows anything about the possible iPhone! All this speculation and dreamed up facts, but again, no one knows nothing!! In the back of my mind, I am preparing myself for the iPhone to already be the existing Razor and Sliver with iTunes.

  43. Even if the first generation is gonna suck, I’m not gonna be able withstand the attraction. I expect others feel similar. (Though normally it would be wise to wait for the second generation of a new product.)

    Apple will sell millions…

  44. “‘ll lay odds that Leopard Server will come with hooks for iPhone’s smart-phone model; which means that you could acquire a full copy of OS X Server for $500 and get a complete platform for remote access as opposed to Blackberry Enterprise which costs several thousand dollars to buy and set up.

    going against RIM. makes alot more sense than a ‘normal phone’…

  45. This guy is OUT of touch with reality, simply put.

    I have NEVER seen a cell phone that I can say I really like, and certainly never seen one I would want to buy. I guess I’m kinda like Steve Jobs in that respect.

    I’m not in the market for one yet, but I bet my Mac that the Apple phone will be the nicest looking (and nicest to use) cell phone I’ve ever gotten my hands on if/when it is released.

  46. I can imagine how this will work. Apple will make the phone sync with iapps the same way iPods sync with itunes. You will update your phone from your computer. When you take a picture it will sync with iphoto. Your calender with iCal. Your contacts with the address book. Your music with itunes. You will be able to use the camera with video depending which memory module you use. Then the video will sync with imovie, itunes or iphoto.

    The click wheel will be used to select the contact you want to call in your address book or event in your calender or to Todo list. The click wheel will also be used to take pictures in camera mode.

    Because of the OSX software integration it will take phone makers years to catch up.

    The smart phone will include all the features of the smaller model but will use a mobile OSX with richer feature set. iChat video with Skype or Gizmo type features. If apple make the phone internet capable. It’s all over but the crying part.

    This will free up memory on the phone. It will have a front row type interface. The phone makers will zune their pants with hot wet brown mud patties.

  47. iPhone will fail if it’s just a mobile phone that will compete with Nokia and the gang. The trick will be that it’s tightly integrated to the OS X.

    Maybe there really will be a keyboard that the iPhone will dock to which will help u to type sms messages easily.

    Maybe it really is like an iPod but with a extra function of being a phone. If it has a WiFi it could be used as a Skype phone.

    Maybe the trick is that u can steam video and slide shows from your phone/mac to somebody on the run or vise versa.

    The main thing will be that it is a pod ea. extension to your computer.

  48. “People are literally crying out for a simple you use phone that has an intuitive control method and interface.

    There is NO phone on the market that has this and Apple is the only company that can do it right.”

    most people use the number keys, the red and green phone buttons, and perhaps pick a number or two from a contacts list.

    Most phones do that just fine.

    Those that need better email/scheduling use something like a Blackberry, which works just fine. Even the Motorola iTunes phones work just like an iPod, How would Apple plan to “improve” on that?

    “took ME about 10 minutes to find the voicemail command. “

    usually done by pressing and holding one key. Apple’s going to come up with Psychic Voicemail where you don’t have to do anything but think that you want to call it?

    ” If apple make the phone internet capable. It’s all over but the crying part.

    Yes, to date Mobile Internet’s been a real winner. More bandwidth, not an Apple phone is what’s going to change that.

    “I can imagine how this will work. Apple will make the phone sync with iapps the same way iPods sync with itunes. You will update your phone from your computer. When you take a picture it will sync with iphoto. Your calender with iCal. Your contacts with the address book. Your music with itunes. You will be able to use the camera with video depending which memory module you use. Then the video will sync with imovie, itunes or iphoto. “

    Wow, just like any phone with PC sync capability. Only the PC world does this wirelessly over the air for email/contacts/schedule.

    “The click wheel will be used to select the contact you want to call in your address book or event in your calender or to Todo list. The click wheel will also be used to take pictures in camera mode.”

    Wow, just like Blackberry etc only more awkward. Try using the clickwheel with one hand while not looking at the phone. It’s bad enough using a limited functionality device like an iPod while driving.

    “Maybe there really will be a keyboard that the iPhone will dock to which will help u to type sms messages easily. “

    That’d be so non unique.

    “Maybe it really is like an iPod but with a extra function of being a phone. If it has a WiFi it could be used as a Skype phone. “

    Been done, including Skype.

    “Maybe the trick is that u can steam video and slide shows from your phone/mac to somebody on the run or vise versa.”

    Also done.

    “The main thing will be that it is a pod ea. extension to your computer.”

    Already there.

    As the man says, the iPod went into a wide open category in which there was little competition. The iPhone will be struggling to present a unique proposition because whatever it does there’s probably already a proven mobile device which does the same thing.

  49. I wonder what this non-forward thinking writer has to say now that the iPhone has been officially announced? Apple’s announcement was definitely the shot heard ’round the world. Look at the markets – the competitors’ stocks are down, and on the other side of that equation companies aligned with the iPhone are notably up. Apple is trading at an all-time high.

  50. i know it is too easy to post comments about 9 month old posts, but this one by “S.F. Analyst” was goofball stupid even before he foolishly committed it to print:

    <<I am a S.F. analyst too.
    And I am a friend of Michael Kanellos.
    Let me tell you guys, Michael Kanellos is ALWAYS right.
    If he says that the iPod phone will fail — IT WILL FAIL.

    That’s why he is an analyst and you guys are not.

    He went to school for that stuff.
    He has a degree in that stuff.
    He has experience saying that kind of stuff.

    And when an analyst like Michael Kanellos say something,
    everybody listens — and Mac Daily News publishes what
    he says — because everyone knows he is most likely CORRECT.

    So there you have it.

    Michael Kanellos is an analyst and Michael Kanellos knows the iPhone WILL FAIL.>>

    imagine that? (chuckle) an analyst giving the thumbs up to his colleague’s in-depth and pointed critique of a product that didn’t even exist!! sf analyst, you and Kanellos got your degrees at Clown School. the big shoes and big red nose gave you guys away.

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