With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen model
The iPhone has only been out a week, but analysts and users are already talking about what a second-generation version of the phone might be like. more
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen model
Seems like Apple would be shooting themselves in the foot by using a battery-sucking 3G chip and not having a user replaceable battery. I hope Apple comes up with some new battery technology or some amazing power management software. Good luck with that. I think iPhone users are asking too much from such a slim device at this point in time. No one seems to accept compromises any more.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
Quote:<hr /> Seems like Apple would be shooting themselves in the foot by using a battery-sucking 3G chip and not having a user replaceable battery. I hope Apple comes up with some new battery technology or some amazing power management software. Good luck with that. I think iPhone users are asking too much from such a slim device at this point in time. No one seems to accept compromises any more.
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Consider, though, that the iPhone was originally advertised as having a 4-5 hour battery, and then later was upped to 8 hours. A 3G phone uses about 30% more power, meaning it would still be a 6 hour battery, even if running 3G. Also, this article continues the misconception that Apple was forced to choose between bandwidth and coverage. A dual-mode 3G/GSM iPhone would also have had the ability to receive EDGE and GSM signals (as do existing 3GSM phones sold by AT&T, such as BlackJack).
I think an early 2008 release of a 3G iPhone is likely. It will give the first model a chance to build some traction in the market, while giving Apple some more time to write the software to take advantage of the higher speeds.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
Quote:<hr /> 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.
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I thought that a lot of the blogs had covered the "dissections" of the iPhone and concluded that no hidden 3G chips were to be found. It would have had to be included in the product's FCC application, and there was no sign of communication on the 1700MHz bands, either. Anyway, if a 3G chip were included, there would be no reason for Apple not to have activated it. What's the downside in making 3G available if it's already in the box? The difference with 802.11n was that the OS wasn't ready for it, and it wasn't even a real standard when the MacBooks were initially released.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen model
All I can say is I don't have any problems with EDGE. I think it suits my needs for the time being, and I do need the 8 hours of battery life probably more than most. Although I do work near a Starbucks and receive their WiFi signal which is real fast, but It's like driving a 454 chevy big block withy dual 4-bbl carbs on it. I can watch the gas gage drop when I step on it. Same goes for WiFi. It just drains the battery like crazy.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to more propa
Well, I for one have been testing my iPhone in various spots around Denver, Golden and Boulder Colorado. I got 36 to 45 kbps in parts around Golden. The best I've received is about 101 kbps in Downtown Denver and Boulder.
So I can't help that 200 kbps average people are talking about.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to more propa
Regardless of the EDGE speeds, my results blow away those I experienced on my BlackBerry with GPRS. 3G, blah, blah, blah. This is a huge improvement from my perspective.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
Well, I'd heard RUMORS that AT&T's 3G network wasn't quite up to the task of handling all the iPhones coming online in all the states. Are there that many phones that support 3G now? Maybe there would be even more network outages. Your dual network phone sounds reasonable enough if the chip can fit inside the iPhone. It's just that I don't think it's as easy as snapping your fingers and it's done. Maybe there needed to be an ample supply of chips and such. I sure don't have all the answers, but Apple must know what it's doing and I believe AT&T is the slacker. A nationwide network is a pretty big project to tackle in a short time. I'm not making excuses, but it's easier to sit back and ask for perfection than to achieve it. So many people think it's easy to make such a large project come together within six months or so (I'm talking about the prototype testing). Give Apple and AT&T at least six more months to work out the kinks.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
HOLY CRAP! IF I DON'T HEAR SOMETHING FROM APPLE ABOUT THE MAC I WILL SCREAM!!!!!!!!!! ME WANT MAC NEWS!!!!!!!!
ok, I feel better letting that out. Anyway. . .
I don't own an iPhone, but I would assume that the article is correct in that the average user might not need a faster network (for now). I can see the iPhone being a great device for casual web surfing, but for power surfing a computer would seem better. I'm a grad student. I don't think I would ever do any deep database searches online with something as small as the iPhone. However, it wouldn't hurt to offer the faster networks.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
For the iPhone owners I know, including myself, The Edge network is plenty fast. I'm not sure where you are getting all these complaints? At home, Wi-Fi screams, and on the road, pages take a bit longer but this is not meant to be a replacement for your laptop. I use it several times a day to look up a few pages of info and locate or telephone a company or restaurant. It is an incredibly useful multitasking tool that is for the most part a joy to use.
Did you see Cnet TV's speed test vs. the Apple commercials. Even they were impressed how it matched up to the adverts... http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-28172.html?k="iphone"&tag=cnetfd.vid
IMHO - The people looking to the next gen are the ones holding out on the iPhone . From what I hear from others who have it already, we generally are in agreement - it ROCKS.
PS - NO problems with two iPhone activations here. Both completed in 20 minutes sitting at home - NOT stuck in a cell store.
Re: With iPhone out, attention turns to second-gen
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.
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