[iBook] The iPhone: Touchscreen interface, runs Mac OS X, ships in June (Keynote notes)

[Anne Cartwright]

Angus,

It is my understanding that the iPhone will be running something akin to 
Mac OS X lite. Also you will not be able to add any applications. Apple 
may come out with some more for it , but initially what you buy is it. 
That's not all bad since they seem to have so much on it and with the 
limited drive (4 or 8 GB) you wouldn't be able to add much and still use 
it for music, video, etc. that it is designed for. (No telling what 
future generations of the iPhone will be like, especially if it evolves 
like the iPod has.)

Also it sounds like the resolution of the touch screen is really much 
better that any other screen in a handheld.

My main problem is I can't see what I would need it for. I don't have a 
cell phone or iPod or PDA and get along nicely, in my own way, with my 
iMac and PowerBook. But the iPhone really, really looks neat!

Anne Cartwright


Angus Wallace wrote:
> Hi Tom,
>
> Sorry if I caused offense - I wasn't intending to be patronising.
>
> I'd call myself an Apple fan too, but not a rabid one either ;-) (I don't think
> AppleTV is very exciting, for example, and I don't like the ITMS)
>
> I think the big difference between the iPhone, and phones running Windows
> Mobile, is that the iPhone is running OSX - not OSX-lite (or something
> similar). It will have a slightly different window manager, but it is very
> likely (in my opinion) that Apple will release a developers kit to enable
> anyone to write applications for the iPhone.
>
> The iPhone will be much more independent than a PDA - you won't need to sync it
> in the same way, because we'll stop using computers to do things like email,
> addressing, and just use the phone. Laptop computers will be consigned to tasks
> where we need the power, screen, storage etc that we don't get with the phone.
> This is kind of similar to the way that laptops have somewhat displaced
> desktops.
>
> The name iPhone is really a misnomer. It seems to me that this is a
> sub-subnotebook computer, with a touch-screen interface, that happens to have a
> phone built in. I don't think it will run 'Pocket Office Applications' - I think
> it will run the applications themselves.
>
> People will install drivers, so that the iPhone can be used with a Bluetooth
> mouse and keyboard. It might even be possible to drive an external display.
> Hell - the iPhone is probably powerful enough to perform voice recognition!
> (which is already in OSX, so is probably standard on the iPhone too)
>
> People will use it as a remote control for their computer or TV. I'm sure
> they'll be streaming video/audio/photos to AppleTV.
>
> Because the iPhone is running BSD underneath, you will be able to use it to
> remote access computers elsewhere, through WiFi. 
>
> I think that anything you can do on a laptop, you'll be able to do on the
> iPhone.
>
> And.. probably by next year, they'll have 16GB of storage too ;-)
>
> Maybe it won't live up to expectation - I realise I'm expecting a lot! ;-)
> But... Apple have pulled it off in the past, and my current gut feeling is that
> they're doing it again here...
>
> Having said all this - I probably won't get one.. at least for a while. I don't
> need it, and it would definitely fall under the 'toy' catagory :-). But... I
> reckon a lot of people will be able to justify it - and even more will buy it!
>
> (I _am_ looking forward to playing with one in a store though! ;-)
>
> -Gus
> _______________________________________________
> iBook mailing list
> iBook at listserver.themacintoshguy.com
> http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/ibook
>
> Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff:
>          http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984
>
>