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Didn't broadcom recently announce a low(er) power 3G chipset? I think they are well on thier way. I don't see why Apple wouldn't be able to bring out a 3G version by next summer.

3G chipsets are power hungry and are only needed for data. Why can't they intro auto band shifting - ie. low power for standby and non data switching on to 3G only when required ?


As for O2, 8,000 activations doesn't exactly sound like a tidal wave

And the beat goes on........

@max, there you go! You've done it again!!! What makes you compare the number of activations with a tidal wave?

What data are you sourcing to induce you to make such a desparaging remark?

Has there in the history of mobile phone activations ever been a number of activations greater than that in the same period of time?

I left you a nice message in the last blog but this time I think we can all see where you are coming from, so this is my last reply to you.

Apple's contract with ATT and O2 may be for 5 years, but YOUR contract is only for 2 years or 18 months respectively.

Apple needs to make clear what happens after OUR contracts expire (at about the same time for US/Europe), since you should be legally able to unlock your phones to work on other networks, even though Apple itself is still tied to THEIR sole provider for another 3 years.

Well my little American friends, seems my little propoganda lessons have not been in vain.

After all, it takes one propoganda minister to recognize another.

"100,000 iPhones sold in two days" bah!!

Remember dear Americans, there are no WMD's in Iraq.

(because we sent them to Iran before you showed up!! hehehehe!!)

PS: I would have balked at a 5 year contract too. Especially no 3G.

Apple just shot themselves in the foot.

"O2, 'had just over 8,000 iPhone activations at the close of business on Friday...' " Jacqui Cheng reports for Ars Technica...

MacDailyNews Note: iPhone went on sale on Friday at 6:02pm in the UK.

So, he question is, 'What time did O2 close on Friday?' 9:00pm? 10:00pm?? 8,000 phones in 3-4 hours 'doesn't exactly sound like a tidal wave'???

It does to me.

Judging by some of the snide comments and FUD above, I see the Microsoft asstroturfers are out in force today...

iPhone Rev 2

1: 3G.

2: More storage and battery life.

3: Thicker design.

I was one of those who activated their iPhone on Friday.

Considering the iPhone was on sale for only 3-4 hours on Friday I think 8000 activations is bloody amazing when you think that people had to get home as well.

and no the iPhone isnt a flop - I went to the brent cross store today and some O2 stores and they were all sold out.

How can it be a flop when apple has never sold any mobile phones before?

max,

That would work for CDMA (Sprint, Verizon) 3G phones where the data signal is separate from voice but GSM (AT&T;, T-Mobile) have them intertwined on the same signal. While it allows for simultaneous voice and data transfers, you can't cut off the 3G signal for data without cutting it off for voice, essentially putting your phone in Airplane Mode.

That was my solution at first, simply allow us to turn 3G data off until we need it but by going GSM, Apple is shit out of luck until they can increase battery life. Of course they could do like everyone else and just make thicker phones but I doubt it.

Zune Phone Rev 1

1. Shamelessly rip off iPhone case and UI
2. Add DRM
3. Like audio files, "3 calls or 3 days" then phone blows up
4. Get monkeyboy to dance, insist that this was plan all along

5. MW: INCOME

@Camel MD

This phone has been plugged to death in gadget mags for months. There are also huge numbers of Mac converts in the last few years.

My point is that with all this build up and hundreds of outlets across the country all releasing phones at 6.02pm on a Friday we didn't see anything big enough to get onto the national news. If the first weekend rush wasn't take-off how much pent up demand is there out there.

Gil Bates, I heard the voice of Gollum in my mind as I was reading your talking points. I've got it. Is Steve Ballmer = Gollum? The desire for riches and power is slowly making him insane...

Dunno why 3G is such an issue.

I have a Vodafone usb for my MacBook Pro, and I can tell you that the number of 3G connections I've had in the last YEAR can be counted on the fingers of two hands.

And those have been in motorway cafes or metro areas, where iP owners are likely to find Cloud or other wifi zones.

Why not power off the 3G chipset when it's not needed and not in use? How hard could that be? Turn it off while you're on the phone, turn it off while you're on wifi, and it shouldn't be much of a power issue at all. I can't believe Apple with all their programming genius can't make that work.

@Baghdad Bob: You're like a little kid who continues to believe in Santa despite all of his friends telling him there's no such thing. Sure, they sent all of their WMDs to Iran before the US invaded...and none of our spy satellites caught this?

If the Bush administration wants to invade Syria next...then Iraq sent all of their WMDs to Syria before the US showed up...or whatever country they tell you...and you'll believe it because daddy bush would never lie to you.

Sad an adult can be so gullible.

Again (for the benefit of both those who missed my earlier post in another topic, as well as those who are unwilling to acknowledge the truth), Vodafone - the largest UK network - has only 77% 3G coverage in the UK, against 99.7+ coverage using 2G.

Given that 3G coverage is more likely to be in urban/metropolitan areas, it's probable that a Wi-Fi hotspot will be a better and more pervasive option even when you're in range of a 3G signal.

Anyway, let's try and remember another piece of information: activations are (and logically always will be) a subset of sales.

Also, whilst many iPhones will have been sold at Apple's own stores, it's debatable whether the majority of purchasers would have been carrying their own laptops to effect an activation at the point of purchase using Apple's Wi-Fi hotspots. As for phones sold at O2 or Carphone Warehouse stores, they don't have the same luxury of in-store Wi-Fi so they won't have been activated at point of purchase.

The UK, in particular metropolitan UK and the demographic that Apple covets, are likely to be part of the country's renowned "work hard, play hard, drink yourself under the table" culture; an additional factor would be that many people would have faced long journeys home using the UK's somewhat creaky public transport infrastructure.

As a result, I would imagine that a significant number of units sold in the four hours of Friday were nowhere near their intended "host" computer until Saturday.

I suspect that 8,000 activations is the tip of the iceberg and that the real number sold is probably closer to 20,000 for the Friday: 20,000 units would be a unit every 0.72 seconds and in line with the 100,000 figure mentioned on Monday.

As for the iPhone not making the news: I hate to say anything, but it did. I saw a piece that included an interview with Phil Schiller. Given that mainstream "news" in the UK is now polarised between the genuinely important and the genuinely facile, that's probably as much as Apple could expect.

So, lets do the math.

All the O2 and Apple stores opened at 6:02 pm and closed at 10 pm. Thats 3 hours and 58 minutes, or 238 minutes.

238 / 8,000 = 33.6

So that's 33 phones sold every minute.
I'd say ain't half bad for a phone which costs £269 ($557)!

I'm sorry I didn't see Phil Schiller on the TV or it mentioned on the news - must have been down the pub at the time.

I doubt if there are too many crofters in the Scottish highlands worried about 2G or 3G coverage. I bet 98% of the iPhone's target market lives witin the 77.5% 3G coverage ( albeit that the network is O2 and I don't have a clue what their 3G coverage is like)_

Only 8,000. The Register was right about the phone being a huge flop in the UK.

Screw 3G, I want my GPS.

When is that coming to iPhone?

If Apple is concerned about power consumption, they should allow user to switch off the power hungry chips, don't have a need for GPS, turn the chip off.

the only important thing regarding the I'm iPhone is when they are going to be able to unlock it. I'm digging the keyboard on it though. There certainly wasn't as much hype to the UK release, but the iPhone is 6 months old already. So what can you expect.

Sure, they sent all of their WMDs to Iran before the US invaded...and none of our spy satellites caught this?

Sure, just like the cop who pulled you over for a traffic ticket didn't find the roach in your ashtray.

If the Bush administration wants to invade Syria next...then Iraq sent all of their WMDs to Syria before the US showed up...or whatever country they tell you...and you'll believe it because daddy bush would never lie to you.

Even if he lied he probally had a good reason, at least he's on our side and not a enemy communist liberal like yourself.

This is not about now, but the future. Apple have signaled they are going to go and win this market. O2 and ATT know this and that is why they are letting Apple share their revenue.

To hell with 3G. I'd buy the iPhone as it is in a heartbeat. If they're for sale right now (officially). Where i am. Right now. Sigh...

@iFlop

No one is calling iPhone a flop - far from it.

The issue is whether the price-point/features and lock-in has proved to be a winner. As with the US if the price isn't right it wil be adjusted. You just wonder how many people saw the price drop in the US and concluded, like me, that iwait was the best option.