IPhone 3G is finally official | Hacker News Reader

IPhone 3G is finally official

engadget.com

49 pointsdbreunig61 comments

I'm really impressed that proper GPS has been added. I think this will open all kinds of applications.

Battery life on iPhone 1.0 is already fine for me. In practice, I dock it with my iMac about every 3 or so days and the battery never drops below half. Mainly I SMS my wife, and surf the web though. The 3G iPhone sounds even better.

For me though, the biggest surprise of the keynote is that only 4000 developers are out there.

I would expect this to rise as iPhone sales take off. $200 is a much better price point than $400.

> For me though, the biggest surprise of the keynote is that only 4000 developers are out there.

You mean, only 4000 developers were approved by Apple. Over 250K downloads of the SDK and 25K developer key registrations says to me that the bar is being set pretty high to qualify as an authorized iPhone dev shop.

The bar isn't that high. I got approved, and I'm just some dude. I think much of it had to do with how soon you got into the approval queue.

The mac hardware to develop was a big limitation on large swaths of capable programmers. Recently two things, the iPhone SDK and Unity3D engine are Mac development environment only which really hurts. Do I need to get a mac just to develop for mac? I knew this was coming.

$30 a month for the 3G data plan ($20 for the iPhone 2G)

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/09/199-iphone-sure-with-a-...

Here's another cost to consider:

The SMS messages are not bundled anymore, and you pay for what you want. Again, the prices are based on what you buy.

http://gigaom.com/2008/06/09/att-mobility-ceo-new-3g-iphone-... (towards the bottom of the interview)

I think the lowest SMS plan is an additional $5/month for 200 messages.

I wonder what the terms will be like here in Canada. Since Rogers is providing it, I am sure the terms will be absolutely abysmal compared to ATT.

My predictions: - phone will be more expensive - you will not get unlimited data - you'll need a 3 year contract - you will once again feel ripped off by the horrible wireless industry here in Canada.

It's a shame about the lack of Java support. I know Java gets a lot of criticism here, but it's still the only way to build cross-platform applications for mobile devices. (I know you can build web apps and access them through the browser, but for certain use cases those just aren't adequate.)

still waiting for android phones to surface... anyone else? Then again perhaps I can get one for $200 and still wait ;)

I think Google's strategy is much better. Apple has tied itself to a device, whereas the software is really the important part. Obviously in the best of worlds, you would want to sell people the device+software like Apple is doing now. But in the long run, Google will probably benefit more because it doesn't matter what phone the Android is on. It will probably benefit users as well since you could switch between Android phones without a problem.

Has the Android software actually been adopted by any phone providers? Until any big wireless corporations do, I'm not holding my breath.

http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html

shows sprint, tmobile and others... for making the phones, LG, HTC and Motorola.

Note since you have to have a 2yr contract to get it for $199 I'm out; Im sick of closed, locked down mobile environments

Benefit how? How is Google making money from Android?

Apple's making money hand over fist from the iPhone. How's Google going to beat that?

It's the same strategy that any software maker has: get your software on as many computers as possible. Obviously, after that, Google can figure out how to make money off Android...probably through ads.

Given that the software is the most important piece (in my opinion), Apple has limited themselves by tethering it to one single device. In the future, that could be a serious constraint. They've done it in the past (OS X, etc.), and it hasn't worked out so well.

It's worked exceedingly well.

Have you been tracking Apple's stock price over the past 8 years or so?

I can only assume it has gone up, but that has been due to the overwhelming success of the iPod as well as other peripherals. They've gained a little ground on the consumer PC market, but not much. I think Apple is going to do very well in the short-run with the iPhone, but in the long run I think Google has more potential because it is platform independent.

They've actually gained a ton of ground in their PC market. Apple doesn't target every Joe on the street like most Windows PC makers. Just as Mercedes does great in the small luxury car market and poor in the large consumer market, Apple does great in the small high end market and poor in the larger inexpensive PC market.

FYI. Their stock price has gone through the roof over the years. Currently their Market Cap is $160B to GOOG's $175B, and in the past 5 years has far outperformed GOOG.

Since we're all just making assertions about what caused Apple's stock price to go up, I'm not going to argue further on this point.

However, I do disagree with Apple being called the 'Mercedes' of the consumer PC market. If anything, it's the Scion. ;-)

I think google just want a good phone OS and proper browsers and fast net in everyones pocket. Android is just something to help out with that mission.

The iPhone (and Mac) are great because Apple makes the whole package.

Jobs likes to quote Alan Kay: "People who are really serious about software should make their own software"

(of course the converse isn't true: there's countless phones with awful software made by the hardware manufacturers)

I doubt we'll ever see serious innovation on Android like we saw with the iPhone for exactly that reason.

If you mean that the Android platform itself probably won't be as innovative as iPhone, you're probably right. However, I think an open platform makes for a lot more potential for innovation on top of it.

Google's strategy is the same as Microsoft's -- and it certainly hasn't served Microsoft well in this space.

What about OpenMoko? The second major revision of their hardware just went into mass production and is supposed to be available Real Soon Now.

$199 price tag, too on the 8s.

not too bad, though i would've liked a dip in the monthly cost to boot.

$199 without a carrier subsidy? That's the straight retail price? Wow!

"Requires new 2-year AT&T rate plan, sold separately."

for a unlimited-data-only package:

old iphone: $399 + $20/mo * 24 mo = 880 TCO

new iphone: $199 + $30/mo * 24 mo = 920 TCO

new iphone "business" user: $199 + $45/mo * 24 mo = 1280 TCO

RUH ROH

Is a data-only package really only $20 a month? If so I'd be tempted to get an iPhone with a data-only plan and stick with my cheap prepaid for voice.

iirc, yeah. i'm unsure if you can get it separately, as i've never tried to, but i think its a good point of comparison.

You can't order data plan by itself.

Wrong.

Tell them you are deaf and can't use voice minutes (because you are friggin deaf) and they'll sell you a stand alone data plan.

LOL. You're a quick one. Good luck with that.

http://www.wireless.att.com/about/disability-resources/text-...

"Customers will need to qualify for this plan by completing the disability certification forms."

Visual Voice mail: "The visual voice mail interface allows a user to see who called without having to navigate a phone tree. This means a deaf or hard of hearing user wouldn't have to use a relay or other type of service to see who called and subsequently call them back." http://www.i711.com/my711.php?tab=2&article=245

The more accurate comparison is the present-value of the series of cash flows. Assuming a 5% annual risk-free rate (that's actually high), the old iPhone is still cheaper:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pBCygk5WFZ3xS06GS2OSf...

$199 for the 8GB phone itself, and then plans start at $70 per month including unlimited data and basic voice (450 minutes).

Its very tempting, but I've read that many people are disappointed with the features. Everything seems great to me, any complaints here?

I love mine. I had a Blackberry before and this (for me) is far superior. If there's an easy upgrade path to this new one then I'll upgrade. Disappointed the camera has stayed at 2mp though - I could have done with that being a higher res

It's actually $60 for 450 minutes. If you think I'm nitpicking, making the same $10 mistake the other direction gets you 900 minutes for your $70.

$60 - 450 minutes $80 - 900 minutes $100 - 1350 minutes

Basically, for an additional $20/mo, you're getting unlimited data and 200 SMS - standard ATT rates with the only difference being that you don't get to choose data plan or no data plan.

If you got a smartphone/treo/blackberry, you'd be paying more per month for data. Unlimited data for a blackberry adds $30/mo without any messaging. The cheapest PDA plan is $50/mo (but includes unlimited messaging).

You just don't want to pay for data - neither do I, but this isn't Apple's fault. Data plans just add a lot to the monthly cost.

Anyone in the know about SMS plans with the new contract? Is it still 200 msgs included or did that change? I am very tempted to `upgrade' my Blackberry Curve, but I text a lot.

The $10 increase in price doesn't bother me so much after the DoD discount.

stock price is down 4% at the moment. been quite volatile today though

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl

it's been dragged down by bad news from other firms afaik.

Apple's funny that way. Keynotes revealing new products and quarterly meetings announcing record breaking quarters usually drive their stock down. There was a time around 2000 that is was like clockwork. Now it isn't quite so reliable, but still a good bet.

Apples stock price is ridiculous, and great news does seem to almost always drive the price down, especially if it is expected.

It is one of the strongest companies with the riskiest stocks (and counter-intuitive swings) that I have followed.

That's because the market already priced in the 3G announcement - I doubt that the price would have stayed up there unless there was a real surprise today.

But no plans for launch in Russia yet. I just keep wondering why. It's been almost a year since launch, and there's version 2 coming but there are ABSOLUTELY ZERO plans to launch iPhone in Russia. You know, we have cell phones here too, and many of them, actually! (here: 140 million http://www.mnweekly.ru/business/20070809/55266704.html)

No 32GB version?

I'm also curious what this means for the touch, both in terms of price and features.

I would suppose that the Touch will stay at it's current price but get a size increase right after that "Buy a Mac get an iPod" deal runs out.

Better links:

http://www.iphone.com

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iph...

Found out that AT&T has killed their revenue sharing plan and will be increasing the data plan from $20 to $30. The base iPhone plan will now be 70 bucks instead of 60.

$10 increase * 24 months = $240

$399 old price - $199 new price = $200

Nice, save money upfront to pay 40 bucks more overall. I would have preferred expensive equipment cost and cheaper monthly costs.

Unfortunately most people won't realize what's happening and will think "Price reduction!"

I wish there was a way for me to downvote something to show my displeasure :(. (I upvoted your post of course.)

It's not proper etiquette to downvote or upvote because you're displeased. That's not what the moderation system is meant for.

Most customers would definitely prefer cheaper upfront cost and more in the long run. It's a consumer credit economy.

Amortizing the benefit fits better with periodic payments. It's easy to imagine getting $10 of increased benefit monthly if a site loads 3X as fast, with more accurate GPS. I don't like the lock-in though.

More importantly this means no T-Mobile iPhones. All iPhones will be activated at the store.

I think this is a huge piece of news, since requiring in-store activation will be a huge hindrance to the blackmarket. I guess we'll have to wait see if they release unsubsidized pricing.

i really love my current iphone, but now i kind of doubt i'm going to upgrade. i already do about half my browsing over wifi, so 3g isn't that big of a deal for me. i don't feel like i'm getting much for that extra ten bucks a month.

That new price means you won't be able to sell your existing one for very much.

I got very lucky. A bunch of us in our office (seven of us in total) all sold our iPhones for $350 each over the past 2 weeks... I'm definitely glad we did, because it just became impossible to sell the old ones for even a third of that.

An office full of shysters. You should start selling the ice from the freezer to eskimos. Congrats on the sales though, that's pretty bad ass.

Well, every phone we sold went to someone on T-Mobile who wanted an iPhone. Since we had no problem jailbreaking & unlocking the phones, I suppose that added to the value.

I would really have liked to have seen a micro-sd slot somewhere. I may be picking one of these up, need to hear more reviews first.

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