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Sun, Nov 08, 2009 - 10:04 AM EST  —  AAPL: 194.34 (+0.3099, +0.16%)  |  NASDAQ: 2112.44 (+7.12, +0.34%)

Forbes: iPhone 3G makes Apple a serious player in smartphone category
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - 10:10 AM EST

"The latest model of Apple's smart phone and digital media player hybrid went on sale at 8 a.m. Friday in U.S. stores, offering customers a faster Internet connection, a link to the global satellite navigation system and a cheaper starting price," Brian Caulfield reports for Forbes.

"Apple's pricing of the iPhone makes it a serious choice for a wider swath of consumers. Its production plans, including sales in 70 markets around the world, make it a serious player at least in the smart phone category. Apple has said it plans to sell 10 million phones this year," Caulfield reports. "By contrast, Research In Motion sold 4.31 million smart phones in the first quarter of 2008."

MacDailyNews Take: We guess you can contrast the units sold by one company in one quarter vs. a low-ball, publicly-stated, designed-for-media-consumption, first-year annual unit sales goal, but it has no meaning whatsoever.

Caulfield continues, "The original iPhone, launched last June, was a wonder thanks to its touch-screen, easy-to-use software and media smarts. Without a connection to so-called 3G high-speed carrier networks, however, customers could only poke around the Web slowly as Apple added the ability to download fresh music for the machine, and hackers found ways to cram homespun software onto the device. Now, however, the iPhone's speedier connection will allow users to fill the phone's enormous screen with Web pages when they move away from the comfy confines of a friendly Wi-Fi network."

MacDailyNews Take: Caulfield's obviously never seen AT&T's 3G coverage map. Stay near the interstate and/or big cities, folks. Otherwise original iPhone owners are going just as "fast" via AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network.

Caulfield continues, "Built-in GPS, meanwhile, will turn the device into a truly mobile computer, giving users the ability to use the Web to find the nearest pizza spot, carve through traffic in unfamiliar cities or use social networks to do a little face-to-face socializing with nearby friends."

MacDailyNews Take: The iPhone did not need GPS to turn it into a mobile computer; it has been a mobile computer since its debut.

Caulfield continues, "After a year of life in the public eye, the iPhone is finally ready for a mass market. For the iPhone-shy, your wait is over."

Full article here.

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Jul 15, 08 - 09:20 am Comment from: ralph from berlin

please stop all these good reviews and horror news of 1 million iphones sold, soldout stores all over the world and people still queing to get one of the last units available! please stop it! it makes the stock go lower. can't you see that?

msn-word "deep" as in: i don't seem to have a deep understanding of the stock-market

Jul 15, 08 - 09:25 am Comment from: Jamie

My 1st gen iPhone rocks.

That's all I have to say.

Jul 15, 08 - 09:33 am Comment from: M.X.N.T.4.1

My laptop is a mobile computer and it doesn't have GPS. The two are in no way synonymous with each other.

Jul 15, 08 - 09:37 am Comment from: Spark

Brian Caulfield is more concerned with turning a cute phrase than accurate reporting or critical logic.

Jul 15, 08 - 09:44 am Comment from: qka

Even if RIM sells 17+ million per year, you think they might be concerned if out of nowhere someone sells 10+ million in their first full year on the market - what will they be doing next year?

Jul 15, 08 - 10:18 am Comment from: ericdano

Eh, GPS. Big deal. I'll stick with my 1st Gen iPhone for now.

Jul 15, 08 - 10:32 am Comment from: Since_IIci

I'll swap out miPhone for the 3G version as soon as the buzz slows down a bit, my wife will get the hand-me-down and be happy with it. Basic reason, the faster speeds. Sometimes it is painfully slow waiting, and waiting...

Jul 15, 08 - 11:21 am Comment from: joe

eh, I am on the 3g and have accss here in Houston to the 3g network. AT&T;has some work ahead of them. The 3g is not as fast as it has been touted

Jul 15, 08 - 12:37 pm Comment from: Good-GOD

Tone down the snotty attitude MDN. For fook sake! The iPhone WAS an over priced, limited device. If not for the angry mobs the iPhone wouldn't have GPS or the App store.

"The iPhone did not need GPS to turn it into a mobile computer; it has been a mobile computer since its debut."

Jul 15, 08 - 01:06 pm Comment from: KenC

My first gen iPhone is great, but I'm still getting a 3G one, so I can give my 1st-gen iPhone to someone in my family.

Jul 15, 08 - 01:12 pm Comment from: Cubert

My PowerBook doesn't have a GPS unit in it so it must not be a "real" mobile computer.

Jul 15, 08 - 01:21 pm Comment from: Maginary

More interesting question: Is Blu-ray a possibility in future iterations of the Mac lineup? How about remote disk for iphone, AppleTV to launch movies from your home computers instead of the rigor marole (sp? - how in the world is that word supposed to be spelled?) I currently endure?

I also realize that you may need some hard/soft codec installed to convert the BD/DVD contents to a consumable format (mp4) for iPhone/iPod Touch/AppleTV. What's the status of this all-important feature???

Jul 15, 08 - 01:44 pm Comment from: ElderNorm

Forbes. The BS magazine that knows really nothing about anything but is glad to spread FUD anywhere it will bring a click.

Sort of like those "rag" papers at the checkout...... Aliens abduct Elvis. grin

en

Jul 15, 08 - 03:27 pm Comment from: Fook

"The iPhone WAS an over priced, limited device."

You forgot to add - IMNSHO.

I consider it worth every penny from the day I bought it.
But I have decent paying job. The $100 credit was unexpected, not required and a nice touch. The free software upgrades just keep adding value.

Your values may not equal someone else's. I seriously doubt you'll understand that.

Jul 15, 08 - 05:22 pm Comment from: bizlaw

Caulfield's a moron:

Apple sold 1 million iPhone 3Gs in 3 days, and sold out of stock in many places. RIM sold 4.3 million Blackberries in 3 months. I think Apple's on RIM's heels.

3G and GPS have nothing to do with the iPhone now being considered a business alternative to Blackberries. Exchange, ActiveSync, and the iPhone SDK are what truly makes the iPhone a business tool. Sure, 3G speeds are nice and GPS can be helpful, but Exchange support and 3rd party apps are the real story.

Jul 15, 08 - 05:58 pm Comment from: ZumaBebop

...and RIM did that w/15 models, using most carriers... i'm not saying, i'm just saying...

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