[thebiggfrogg]

"Some of the iPhone's capabilities would make a very fine PDA, if they were developed in that direction.
I'd be very glad to get an Apple PDA to replace my 2nd generation Newton... (just kidding: I own a Newton, purchased as a collector's item, but my PDA-in-charge is [still] a venerable Palm III ).
If it had no cellular phone inside, I'd be even happier, otherwise I could settle for an unlocked phone, with a plain pay-per-call SIM chosen by myself, and the ability to keep the cellular completely off while using the PDA."
Hear! Hear! I don't need the phone, but man I'd love the rest of it. I am very disenchanted with my Palm Zire 72 and Palm support in general (when was the last time they updated Palm Desktop--like 1996?! One of the few times I found myself envying Win-dohs software) The Palm III was great and I can see why you'd hang on to it. I hope the next gen iPod is a stripped iPhone and I can use it as a PDA. I suppose I better not hold my breath for awhile, until the iPhone hype runs out of steam.

[Quoth_the_Raven]

From my experience with the iPhone and EDGE, it's not so bad. Holds me over quite well between Wi-Fi hotspots. It's aslo pretty amazing how the iPhone automatically switches over.

[bigh]

I've been impressed with AT&T's EDGE network so far - it's been very usable in the small southern towns I live in and travel through. Even more impressive when you consider that it's the "real" web, and not a compressed version like my BlackBerry used.
The iPhone has surpassed my expectations in nearly every way. I'd like to see a Flash plugin (coming soon?), the ability to copy text, and the ability to save items and gain direct access to the internal memory, but EDGE isn't one of my complaints.

[hayesk]

Quote:

---

Has any site validated that the current iPhone cannot support 3G? Apple disabled 802.11N in the iMacs and Macbooks only to enable it later.

---

The 802.11N standard wasn't final when the early MacBooks and iMacs were released. To say that Apple "disabled" it is simply incorrect.

[Peter Cohen]

The 802.11n standard still isn't final and isn't expected to be until 2008.

[iron_chef]

my prediction....
The iphone Shuffle.
/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[gumguy]

Can the 1st Generation iPhone be updated through software update or firmware update to accommodate the faster EDGE 3G system?

[joesporleder]

Does anyone know outside of AT&T and Apple how long their exclusive partnership for the iPhone in the USA market is? Various stories, blogs and forums such as this one on the web, I sometimes that the exclusiveness of the partnership is 2 years and other times I hear 5 years. AT&T doesn't really have service in my part of Kansas. Alltel & Sprint do well, but those are CDMA/EVDO. I'm currently with Alltel and am able to use my RAZR as a broadband modem with my MacBook and get up to 500-600kbps in my region. However, it'd be great to sometimes leave my MacBook at home and still stay connected with an iPhone.

[Spark]

Quote:

---

i just took the test at http://iphonenetworktest.com/.
my result on EDGE was 170 kbps in new york city.
another fud article.

---

I just took the test in Palos Verdes (SW Los Angeles County) and got 197.6 kbps on Edge.

[Benjamin]

Quote:

---

Has any site validated that the current iPhone cannot support 3G? Apple disabled 802.11N in the iMacs and Macbooks only to enable it later.

---

Check the SIM card. It has "3G" written on it. Not exactly hidden. I don't know that much about cellphones and if it would need a new chipset to support all the features of the SIM card already in it, but even still, why would apple put a 3G SIM card in a 2.5G phone if not to enable it some day?
Ben
[Written from my iPhone!]

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
The SIM card isn't what enables / disables a feature like 3G data / voice access. Why does the SIM have the AT8T 3G flame icon? My guess is that all of the AT&T SIMs do. I haven't looked at my SIM. I had no need, they put it in my SGH-A707 for me. It's likely just the generic appearance AT&T has decided on. I thought the Cingular SIMs did look a little bland. However, it's a SIM, you rarely ever look at it.
Interesting to read / hear that the loudest gripe some users are having is data access speed ( EDGE <2.5G> vs. 3G ).

[bigh]

"Does anyone know outside of AT&T and Apple how long their exclusive partnership for the iPhone in the USA market is?"
Just a speculation, but I suspect that the exclusive deal is just on the 1G iPhone. Steve likes to have options. I imagine the next iPhone might be offered through another carrier in addition to AT&T, and at some point it might be offered unlocked (officially unlocked, that is). I also expect Apple to move much slower than other phone manufacturers with the rate at which they release new models.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Yep. The main purpose of a SIM card is what it is, a Subscriber Identity Module. As stated, the SIM also stores contact information nowadays and usually has basic carrier numbers included by default. This smart card is what allows your phone to be identified and authorized in order to communicate with the cellular phone network of which the card was provided. For example, my Cingular SIM was de-authorized ( barred ) from use on AT&T's once I got my new phone -- which came with an AT&T SIM. The SIM has it's own identifying number -- which is really what the cellular network cares about -- but, I think, the SIM also passes the phone's IMEI number to the network. The SIM also stores your cellular account phone number and most phones have an option to display this within their settings.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
I knew it is separate from the SIM and I thought it was also shared with the network. I never really thought of that kind of scenario but did understand it was also another authorization / restriction method.
Thanks for the reminder / confirmation. Sometimes old information is hard to retrieve. Dang brain needs an upgrade already. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif