Recent Comments:
Nokia 3555 coming to T-Mobile too, sez FCC {Engadget Mobile}
Jan 7th 2008 11:42PM OK, now can Nokia release one of its higher-end phones, like the N95, to support T-Mobile's 3G network? The unfortunate thing is that T-Mobile's market share is probably too small to support unlocked phones by itself, and T-Mobile only seems to buy every manufacturer's cheapest and lowest-end phones.
French buy 70,000 iPhones in first month {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jan 5th 2008 5:29PM @9, Virtual GPS is already on Google Maps for other phones. I've used it on my Nokia N95 when out of GPS range. It's OK, but no real substitute for true GPS. It can be up to a mile off (usually it's within two blocks or so). It makes Google Maps searches far more useful (since it kind of knows where you are), but I suspect iPhone will add real GPS sometime this year (maybe next week). I used Nokia Maps while on a trip, and it came in handy (although voice navigation costs extra).
@ author - French law allows the phone to be unlocked for free after six months, and Orange offers 12-month contracts for an extra €5/month so I'm not totally surprised at the number of unlocked phones. It will be interesting to see how many customers stick with Orange, and whether other operators start offering true unlimited data plans in 6 months or a year, hoping to attract "switchers." It probably depends on how well iPhone sales continue in 2008. 70,000 isn't bad, but I think it will dampen expectations of 5 million iPhone sales by next week (1 million of which were to have come from Europe according to the rumor), unless it REALLY sold well in the US. If it did, it points to a huge disparity between US and European sales, and perhaps points to a separate Euro line in the future. A tri-band 3G variant would be much appreciated, but I wonder how Qualcomm's latest court setback would affect that prospect.
Nokia, like Apple, will seek its slice of the revenue sharing pie {Engadget}
Dec 12th 2007 12:42AM I think they recognize that, Doug, and have stated that they want to increase their share in the US. They have started by releasing basic phones for AT&T (6555) and T-Mobile's new 3G network. They are also attempting to sell their high-end phones such as the N95 unlocked through other channels. Verizon's decision to open their network (and switch to 3GSM's successor LTE in the future) may also open the door for Nokia to return to the CDMA market. Their abandonment of CDMA is the real reason they have lost a lot of market share. You can't expect to be number 1 when more than half of mobile subscribers can't use your phones.
Nokia, like Apple, will seek its slice of the revenue sharing pie {Engadget}
Dec 12th 2007 12:40AM I think they recognize that, Doug, and have stated that they want to increase their share in the US. They have started by releasing basic phones for AT&T (6555) and T-Mobile's new 3G network. They are also attempting to sell their high-end phones such as the N95 unlocked through other channels. Verizon's decision to open their network (and switch to 3GSM's successor LTE in the future) may also open the door for Nokia to return to the CDMA market. Their abandonment of CDMA is the real reason they have lost a lot of market share. You can't expect to be number 1 when more than half of mobile subscribers can't use your phones.
Nokia's N95-3 sees first firmware update {Engadget}
Dec 12th 2007 12:32AM To take this thread back to its intended purpose, I'll add some word about my experience. I installed the firmware upgrade and think most users can skip it for now. V10 of the N95-3's firmware was already pretty stable (far more stable than the v12 firmware in the original N95-1). I don't think the supposed "new features" are anything new, as they were on my N95-3 before. I think this is a standard fare bug fix upgrade before the (hopefully) much more substantial upgrade that will come soon to add N-Gage support and the features that were added to the N95-1 in v20 (which, incidentally has not yet been released in the US).
That said, I did notice that one rather silly bug has been fixed. The help screen for the WLAN wizard was originally written in Spanish in the original N95-3 firmware. It's now in English. :-)
I also think a few submenus might be a tad faster, but it could just be the placebo effect. I'll see what impact the upgrade has on battery life over the coming days.
No SIM swapping before iPhone activation {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 27th 2007 6:32PM There's a difference between being SIM-locked and using a non-standard SIM or having a user-non-accessible SIM. Matthew's question about being able to sign up for AT&T, and then remove the SIM and use it in another phone is a valid one. iPhone may be hardwired to accept only one specific SIM (i.e. not just an AT&T SIM, but that specific SIM that it comes with), but that doesn't necessarily mean I couldn't pull that SIM out and use it in another phone. It would be nice to know the answer to that one. For instance, some of us may use a different AT&T phone at the office (say a Treo), or might travel overseas with a cheap phone (not wanting to risk having your fancy new $600 phone swiped while going through airport security), and thus it might be appealing to be able to use the AT&T SIM in another phone. There's no logical reason why either Apple or AT&T would block that.
The Missing iPhone Data Plan {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 25th 2007 9:36PM Leonard, if they announced the plans today, rather than on 6/28 ("pre-6/29"), they'd generate more buzz if the plan were cheap (e.g. $15 unlimited). For all you know, AT&T's trying to gauge reaction and see if they will still be able to sell out their inventory with a pricey $40 unlimited plan.
Most so-called iPhone alternatives are nothing of the sort {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 25th 2007 9:29PM Nick, the n95 is one of the most returned phones in Europe, but it's also one of the best selling (which may explain it). I don't know how it's return rates compare with other phones. It's almost unheard of in the US for a top-selling phone to run into the hundreds of dollars. I think that will be iPhone's biggest impact on the market. Nokia has this habit of releasing products too quickly (hence the firmware updates and the bugs upfront). Apple went through a stretch with the initial MacBooks where there were a lot of issues, so they aren't immune to it, either. It remains to be seen how iPhone will fare.
Most so-called iPhone alternatives are nothing of the sort {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 25th 2007 4:52PM I think the comparisons are being made because the iPhone is getting consumers interested in the idea of a $600 phone, and people are interested in getting to know what's out there. Also, just because these devices aren't direct competitors now doesn't mean they or their successors won't be in the future.
I considered an iPhone, but as David Chartier would point out, I am interested first and foremost in having a phone that doubles as a great camera (I got the SE S700i when it first came out in 2004 - the first cameraphone that could really be used as a camera with its sweet CCD sensor and great-for-the-time 1.3MP camera). Having said that, I've discovered that the S60 web browser works quite well, and the phone integrates beautifully with Opera Mini as well. iPhone's 2MP camera doesn't cut it for me.
That said, I certainly am not an apologist for the n95's shortcomings, and think Nokia can learn some things from Apple (just as Apple can learn some things from Nokia). Not having to wade through layers of menus as on the N95 looks nice, as does the touchscreen.
N95 would be almost perfect for me if it supported enterprise mail out of the box (I have a clunky Treo for that). Exchange can be added with software, but VPN can't. I'd like a device that connects me to the office as well as home so I don't need to carry two devices (the Treo has a paltry camera and is too big to carry around all the time). iPhone, with a better camera and Exchange and VPN support, would fit the bill.
Don't think Apple (or Nokia, or SE) is standing still. They need ideas for 2008 and beyond.
Nokia changes its tune on touchscreens. Entirely. {Engadget}
Jun 25th 2007 11:28AM The interface is the biggest innovation on the iPhone. Patents on specific technology notwithstanding, the touchscreen will be implemented on other phones by other manufacturers in a similar fashion.
The problem I have with Apple is that they put together a nice phone with a slick interface, and then dummy if up by putting in a 2 megapixel camera instead of a 3.2MP or 5MP like other phones, not supporting MMS, and making the battery and memory non-removable instead of using removable batteries and microSD. Also, what's the point of putting in a rock-solid operating system such as OS X if you're not going to allow third party apps (those web apps Jobs is touting will be easily ported to other browsers - particularly the S60 browser, and so won't be unique to iPhone)?
Also, AT&T has a 3G network, so why not release a phone that works with it Day 1? I'm sure it will in the next version, but why wait?
As for iPod, the main advantage it has is the iTunes music store. That was a smart move by Apple, since it gave them the ability to build a Microsoft-style monopoly on the music player business. Innovation on the iPod slowed to a crawl after 2004. Hopefully, some of the iPhone features will make it to the next iPod.
