Despite my non-stop blogging (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/search?q=iphone) on the topic, I would like to remind everyone that I will NOT be among the droves lining up for an iPhone this weekend. The device fits my needs, but I don't have $500 to waste on a luxury and I certainly don't want to drop my service provider Working Assets Wireless (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2006/08/working-assets-wireless.html) for one of the big evil guys. That may change, but for now I'm going to resist the call of the only phone I actually look forward to owning.
The same can't be said for Josh Bancroft (http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/2007/06/i-changed-my-mind-i-am-getting-an-iphone/), who in a surprising (or perhaps, unsurprising) turnaround, announced he would be aiming to pick up an iPhone this weekend, despite dire predictions that the launch could be a "disaster of epic proportions" (http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/2007/06/the-iphone-launch-is-going-to-be-a-disaster-of-epic-proportions/)! :p (or perhaps he intends to make it a disaster with stink bombs and silly string.)
Good luck to him and anyone else aiming to get their hands on an iPhone this weekend. Me, I'll be moving into my new townhouse.
In their press release (http://www.apple.com/iphone/pr/20070626plans.html) today, Apple and AT&T announced they have three service plans for the iPhone. Reuters (http://tinyurl.com/3cdj8j), AP (http://tinyurl.com/2ml83z), and NewsFactor (http://tinyurl.com/2os6a4) echoed the news. Problem with that is there are actually twelve plans posted on the Apple site (http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html), in addition to three upgrade options for existing customers. Granted, the press release is wrong, but the service plans have been posted for hours. So why are the news guys still reporting there are three plans?
I've been waiting for someone to come to market with a dual boot device for years. The concept is simple: instant-on to a simple OS anytime and boot to a full OS when you need it. DualCor (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/search?q=dualcor) tried to bring it but couldn't deliver. Sideshow in Windows Vista offers potential (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2006/10/umpcs-and-vista-sideshow.html) but no one's explored it yet. But recently, news leaked (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/htc-shift-what-.html) that HTC is working on a version of their Shift UMPC that runs Windows Mobile and Vista. Here's hoping they get it done and get it done right.
Apple and AT&T finally announced service plans for the iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html), as well as the method of getting the plan. Nothing too surprising, at least to someone with my powers of prediction.
First, my prediction (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-iphone-predictions.html) that many will be sold without phone service is officially dead, while also being ironically accurate. It turns out all iPhones will be sold without service; they just won't work without service. Yep, even to use it as an iPod, the iPhone must be activated and signed up to a phone and data plan with two-year commitment.
iPhone activation and sign-up is handled entirely by iTunes on your own computer. This is right in line with my thoughts (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/prediction-1-picks-up-steam.html) on the iTunes Store account requirement, and it means buying an iPhone will be a grab-and-go experience, which should help make the product launch as smooth as I predict it will be (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/iphone-reinvents-product-launch-sort-of.html).
Admittedly, my first prediction was a big stretch. I'm sure Apple didn't want the restriction of a two-year commitment, and I'd hoped AT&T would be content with five years of exclusivity, but that apparently fell through. However, Apple (or hackers) may yet lift the restrictions and allow the iPhone to work as an iPod and Internet device without phone service. Time will tell.
One thing that troubles we is AT&T runs a credit check at activation. So what if you don't pass? Sure, you can return it, but what about that time you wasted getting it? Hopefully, that will make the line-waiters think twice, but it strikes me as a hole in the system caused by AT&T's two-year service requirement.
News has spread (http://www.robweir.com/blog/2007/04/math-markup-marked-down.html)across the web (http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/12608/1023/)that leading scientific journals (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-heffernan-/why-does-microsoft-hate-i_b_52992.html), such as Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/about/authors/prep/docx.dtl) and Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/submissions/template/index.html), are not accepting articles submitted in the new Microsoft Word 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2007) .docx format. The primary issue is that the default equation editor in Word 2007 is not compatible with MathML (http://www.w3.org/Math/).
While I don't write equations in word on a regular basis, I do process submissions for The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (http://jnm.snmjournals.org/) and The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (http://tech.snmjournals.org/), so this flaw does directly impact my work, and I've been aware of compatibility issues (though not this particular problem) since March.
Fortunately, Microsoft's crack marketing team has done it's usual job, so I've only seen one submission in .docx format. And let me tell you, as long as Word 2007 remains unusable by our authors, I won't see many more.
Okay, if anyone needed anymore convincing that the iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/internet/?feature=feature05) is not an enterprise device, I give you a button on the iPhone screen dedicated to YouTube (http://www.apple.com/iphone/internet/?feature=feature05). Yes, it doesn't just play YouTube over the web browser; it actually has a dedicated YouTube player app on the main menu. Now that's a consumer device.
BTW, why the f#&? is this story all over the web? I know the kids love the YouTube, but is it really that big a deal? It's not like we didn't know Apple and Google were making content deals.
Obviously it's way too early for any of My iPhone Predictions (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-iphone-predictions.html) to have come true, but the groundwork is being laid for the first one: Many will be sold without phone service.
First, the blogosphere is starting to notice that Apple has dropped the line (http://www.theapplepress.com/?p=131) about a two-year service contract from their TV ads. I spotted the omission a couple weeks ago, and it's been there (or rather, not there) ever since. Obviously, phone service might still be required, and even the two-year deal might still apply, but the removal of the line was no accident, so something's up.
Second, Apple's "Get Ready for iPhone" (http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/getready.html) page states an iTunes Store account is required to set up your iPhone. Curiously. it states nothing about an AT&T account. Wouldn't that be a requirement to use the phone? Actually, no. My phone uses the Sprint network, but my account is with Working Assets Wireless. It would not surprise me if Apple (in true Apple fashion) is handling all the payments through iTunes.
So does that mean you can buy one without phone service? Not necessarily, but the fact they specifically omitted mention of any phone service requirement is quite telling, and paves the way for the prediction I made before either of these signs were revealed.
Josh Bancroft at TinyScreenfuls.com (http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/2007/06/the-iphone-launch-is-going-to-be-a-disaster-of-epic-proportions/) thinks the iPhone launch will be a disaster. Warner Crocker (http://wickedstageact2.typepad.com/life_on_the_wicked_stage_/2007/06/is_the_iphone_l.html) and others agree. Certainly I think it's possible, but not with the numbers Josh is using.
The iPhone is scheduled to go on sale June 29th at 6pm. That's confirmed. So assuming stores open at 10 am, that's an eight hour window to fill out agreements and sign people up for service before they can put their hands on the device. This scenario is not confirmed, but why else launch at 6pm? If the customers are there, the sales reps will sell them phone service. That's not exactly a farfetched proposition.
The idea of not selling a product as soon as the store opens is unusual for techies. They're used to lining up in the dead of night for game consoles and the like. However, fans of Hurry Potter know how it works; midnight launches have been the norm for the past few books, even though that's well past many kids' bedtime. If kids can wait until midnight for the new Harry Potter book, I would hope adults can wait until 6pm for their iPhones.
Josh also cites the 3 million count being bounced around as the initial stock as a factor since it would be impossible to complete the paperwork for that many. True, but I assumed the 3 million count was to prevent shortages. I don't think anyone expects Apple to sell 30% of their target at launch or even within the first month.
Anyway, assuming the 3 million count is accurate and the salespeople do their jobs, I see this launch moving as smoothly as a Harry Potter book launch, but with adults signing contracts instead of kids playing in costumes. No big deal.
Kevin C. Tofel (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/ink_blogging_on.html), the Samwise Gamgee of mobile computing (that's a compliment, really) has caved to peer pressure (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/james-kendrick-ink-blogger.html) and posted an inked blog entry (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/ink_blogging_on.html) (giving a not-so subtle nod to Late to the Party (http://jezlyn.wordpress.com/) in the process). Good stuff, and I must say, even using a touchscreen, Kevin has very sharp handwriting.
James Kendrick, the White Wizard of mobile computing, has been spilling a lot of ink lately (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/another_cool_pe.html), much to the dismay of some of his readers. So I guess it's time to add jkOnTheRun (http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/) to my list of ink blogs.
James is a great inspiration for anyone who's thought about ink blogging because, let's face it, if he can post entries in HIS handwriting, anyone can do it. :P
Good stuff, fellow inker. Now if only your co-blogger would join the action.
[Photo] Being right is nice but sometimes it is better to be wrong, especially when it means my blog is more accessible than I thought.
Cheryl at Late to the Party (http://jezlyn.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/fyi/) read my post yesterday that ended with my assumption that the iPhone (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/06/iphone-can-display-scribbles.html) will be the only phone that can properly display my blog. Well, it turns out that the S60 web browser in Nokia phones are also up to the task and she posted shots of Scribbles on her Nokia N95 to prove it. That is really cool and well worth the price of being wrong. Although, S60 is based on the same tech as Safari, namely WebCore from Apple, so I'm only docking myself half credit on that.
BTW, if anyone else is interested is disproving me, please feel free to follow Cheryl's example and post a photo of your device displaying my blog. I also question whether Scribbles will display properly on the big screen in Times Square or The Colbert Report.
When Steve Jobs announced that web apps designed for the Safari (http://tinyurl.com/35jzjz) browser would run on the iPhone, a lot of attention was paid to the possibility of adding apps to the iPhone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone) via this method. That's good, but I found this aspect rather secondary compared to the confirmation that the iPhone version of Safari is as functional as the Mac version. To me, that's the major news.
Until now, I had assumed iPhone's Safari was measurably scaled down, like all other phone web browsers. But if it can run web apps, it is way ahead of the other guys. More importantly, if it can properly render JavaScript and CSS, the iPhone will be the only phone that can properly display Sumocat's Scribbles and that's a big deal to me.
Okay, it's no secret that I'm an Apple fan, but I'm also a devoted Tablet PC enthusiast, so why do I love their stuff when I'm primarily a Windows PC guy? One word: insanity.
No, it's not that their designs are crazy; it's that they trigger madness in the tech masses. The bigger the product, the bigger the craziness around it, and the iPhone is the biggest ever. The opinions have been fast, furious, and conflicted, even among the same base. Aggregate the talk together and the consensus is people will line up to get it at empty stores, but can't get one because there will be too many in stock.
Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple stirs up emotion and gets people talking. I wish they'd hurry up and release a tablet so the mainstreamers can remind us how the form factor is dead yet continues to grow.
