Price, network speed may limit iPhone sales
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The price of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and the cost of switching to AT&amp;T Inc.'s wireless service may suppress demand for the device, according to a survey by the research firm IDC.
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Apple Inc.&#39;s  upcoming iPhone  is shaping up as this year&#39;s must-have gadget, but several  perceived shortcomings are pushing some potential buyers to  wait for an updated version.
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(InfoWorld) - The first generation iPhone is barely on the streets, but some users and analysts are already talking about when a second-generation model will be launched to take advantage of faster 3G wireless network speeds for speedierÂ  Internet browsing. The first version of iPhone supports AT&T's EDGE -- Enhanced Data Rates for GSMÂ  Evolution -- network, a 2.5G network advertised as providing download speeds ofÂ  70Kbps to 135Kbps AT&T and Apple chose that network because it isÂ  the largest network, reaching 270 million people,Â company officials said last week. However, several analysts and reviewers believe that the next-generation iPhone, which could ship early next year in the U.S., will be provisioned toÂ  handle a faster 3G network, such as AT&T's High Speed Downlink Packet AccessÂ  (HSDPA), to support download speeds of 400Kbps to 700Kbps. However,Â  AT&T and Apple would not comment Thursday on their plans or a timetable forÂ  iPhone 2.0 or AT&T's HSDPA. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel stressed that "HSDPA is available in 160 metro areasÂ  and AT&T will continue to build it out through the rest of the year, soÂ  obviously we're continuing to build 3G. " But Siegel also repeated comments made last week that iPhone users will acceptÂ  the slower EDGE speeds, especially since the iPhone can access faster WiFiÂ  networks when a hot spot is available at home or a coffee shop. "We haven't hadÂ  many complaints about EDGE," he said. "What really matters for a real humanÂ  being using the iPhone who doesn't know anything about EDGE is that this isÂ  going to be a great experience in totality, whether searching for a stock quoteÂ  or a map or many other things. We think overwhelmingly that people will beÂ  thrilled using this device. The experience they have on EDGE will be a reallyÂ  good one." Siegel's comments, however, don't match user consternation about EDGE speedsÂ  registered atÂ theÂ MacRumors forums, or concerns raised by some reviewers, including one who said itÂ  took two minutes to download the Yahoo Web site home page. The discussion thread at MacRumors asked people to post their EDGE speeds overÂ  iPhone using a network measuring tool. Some reported speeds were higher thanÂ  those advertised by AT&T, but most were slower, with 64Kbps on July 3 inÂ  San Diego and 71Kbps in Los Angeles that same day. "Boooooo!" is the onlyÂ  comment from the San Diego user identified as FreeState. GnarleyMarley87 inÂ  Atlanta reported 126Kbps in Atlanta on EDGE, but 1,245 Kbps over WiFiÂ  at home. Other uses weighing in on Macrumors about the differences between 3GÂ  and EDGE and why Apple is waiting indicate that iPhone users are aware thatÂ  AT&T's 3G network is not widely available in the U.S. Users also noted thatÂ  3G-capable phones consistently run down batteries faster than those on slowerÂ  networks. One analyst, Ken Dulaney at Gartner, recently confirmed that aÂ  3G phone can use up a battery at a rate 30 percent faster than a 2.5G phone. Apple officials would not comment on a timetable for the next iPhone release,Â  or even whether it will support 3G. Two analysts tended to support the decision to release the first iPhone overÂ  EDGE in order to get the broadest network reach over higher bandwidth. "EDGE isÂ  not a show-stopper for iPhone, and I think the next version will likely haveÂ  3G," said Michael King, an analyst at Gartner Inc. King said some industry experts believe Apple can have a second generation device ready by October, but that Apple won't unveil them so closely behind theÂ  first version's June 29 release. King believes AT&T's HSDPA network will beÂ  more widely available for U.S. users in late 2008. "It's a pretty usableÂ  network now," he said. With a second generation iPhone, Apple is also likely to support QuickTime, giving access to streaming video that will also use more bandwidth that willÂ  tend to require a 3G network, King said. Shiv Bakhshi, an analyst at IDC, said that Apple was "wise to have chosen unibiquitous network reach over bandwidth ... a culture of mobile data consumption in the U.S. is only beginning to set in. By the time it takes hold,Â  Apple will be out with 3G iPhones and AT&T will likely roll a 3G HSDPA networkÂ  across its national footprint." Asked when both will happen, Bakhshi said "in under a year." But Bakhshi said that it is not clear how much current iPhone users will be downloading from the Web. Songs and video can be imported from a PC, so EDGEÂ  speeds might not be an impediment for the average user. "Every network falls short as your expectations rise higher," he said."SomeÂ  people will always be high-end users and will find EDGE really frustrating, butÂ  for the average Joe Blow like you and me, it will suffice." Bakhshi said that data usage may not be the biggest driver of iPhone sales."The single biggest driver of iPhone may not be data usage," he said. "Instead,Â  it might be just its ability to invoke envy in your friends." Â
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Despite the positive hoopla about the launch of the Apple Inc. iPhone, the  EDGE network it uses may not thrill users for speed -- and the upgrade to a faster version could be costly.
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InfoWorld - Consumers aren&#39;t willing to pay what Apple&#160;may ask for the&#160;iPhone, but if the price drops they&#39;ll switch their mobile service to AT&amp;T in order to get it, according to results of a survey released Thursday.
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AT&T said over the weekend that it had nearly sold out of its entire stock of iPhones, while Apple Stores were reportedly not far behind. An analyst with Piper Jaffray said that 500,000 phones had been sold nationwide over the weekend.
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When Apple's iPhone went on sale late last month, there were no doubt more than a few CEO or C-level execs in line. Now they want their new toy to work with their corporate network. What's a sysadmin to do? Seth Weintraub offers some ideas.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple and AT&T on Tuesday released details of the service plans forÂ the iPhone,Â which will be released later this week. The iPhone will have three available plans that will start at $59.99. Individual plans are priced at $59.99 for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes. iPhone customers can also choose from any of AT&TÂ¹s standard service plans, according to AT&T. All three iPhone plans include unlimited data, Visual Voice mail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. The companies also offered details for the activation of the iPhone. As expected, the activation process will be handled through AppleÂ¹s iTunes application â¹ the process, according to Apple will only take a few minutes as iTunes guides users to choose a service plan, authorize a credit and activate the iPhone. iPhone activation requires an Internet connection; an iTunes Store account or a major credit card; a valid Social Security number (as required by AT&T); the latest version of iTunes and a PC or Mac with a USB 2.0 port and one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later; Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later; or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate Edition. The iPhone requires a new two-year AT&T service plan. Customers with existing AT&T accounts will have the option of keeping their existing phone number and upgrading their account to work with iPhone. The iPhone will go on sale on Friday, June 29, 2007 and will cost $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.
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Banners hanging at&#160;Macworld Expo&#160;on Monday read, &quot;2008: There&#39;s something in the air,&quot; suggesting wireless news to come in CEO Steve Jobs&#39; keynote Tuesday morning.Faster cellular service for the iPhone is already on its way later this year, AT&amp;T&#39;s top executive reportedly said in November, but Apple could go beyond that plan and extend high-speed wireless WAN (wide-area network) capability to its MacBook notebooks and even a rumored &quot;ultramobile&quot; computer.Many consumers have been clamoring for more speed on the iPhone since it was announced a year ago with support only for Wi-Fi and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), a version of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) that generally runs below 200Mbps. U.S. iPhone carrier AT&amp;T Wireless and other operators around the world already have a set of faster systems called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) that can deliver more than 1Mbps.At the same time, wide-area wireless has been moving into PC notebooks and smaller PC-like devices. The big notebook vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, and Hewlett-Packard, have rolled out products with built-in 3G. And the Asustek Computer Eee PC and some other small UMPC (ultramobile PC) devices are slated to ship with WiMax.Apple hasn&#39;t made the leap. Mobile Mac owners can hook up to Wi-Fi hotspots but have to buy dongles or other add-on devices from third parties to get fast wireless elsewhere. Offering a built-in 3G card would give MacBook users access to broadband in far more locations.However, that leap would take Apple into a market that hasn&#39;t attracted a large percentage of notebook buyers, analysts said.At least in the U.S., 3G radios are associated with a particular carrier and usually sold along with two-year data contracts. Users keep notebooks longer than they do phones and don&#39;t want to lock them down to a particular carrier, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. In addition, many notebooks are purchased by enterprise IT departments, which demand more flexibility, Golvin said. He doesn&#39;t expect to see another iPhone phenomenon.&quot;I don&#39;t think that laptop users would be as interested in aligning themselves formally with one particular carrier,&quot; Golvin said. One alternative would be to build in a chip that could handle more than one carrier and 3G technology, he added.Avi Greengart of Current Analysis believes Apple&#39;s proven ability to streamline could change the picture.&quot;They have not been in the forefront of 3G on notebooks. However, it wouldn&#39;t surprise me at all if they came out with a simplified offering that just made a lot of sense and became the catalyst, as the iPhone is,&quot; Greengart said. Apple simplified the iPhone experience for customers by sticking with one carrier and letting subscribers sign up with AT&amp;T through iTunes.Apple could also jump-start the market by offering an alternative to the expensive monthly service model that carriers typically use, said Gartner&#39;s Ken Dulaney. Most consumers don&#39;t travel frequently enough to justify spending US$30 or more per month for cellular service on their notebooks, but they might be willing to buy a system with built-in 3G and pay for service as they need it, he said. Verizon has a little-known offering like this, in which users can pay $15 for 24 hours of service, according to spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.Because of its greater mobility, a rumored Mac that&#39;s smaller than a notebook but bigger than the iPhone would be an ideal candidate for 3G. If the company unveils it on Tuesday, that product could lead Apple&#39;s new wireless charge.But that &quot;something in the air&quot; could be a number of other things, too, analysts said. Apple is expected to make its SDK (software development kit) for third-party applications on the iPhone available next month, Greengart said. And the iPhone could gain GPS (Global Positioning System) capability, or some iPods could get Wi-Fi, he said. As always, it&#39;s all speculation until Jobs speaks.&#160;
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Apple made a big splash when it announced the iPhone last month. But with its hefty price tag, restriction to a single carrier and departure from many traditional smart-phone features, buying the iPhone requires careful forethought.
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(InfoWorld) - Gartner, IDC, and 451 Group research analysts, this week warned IT administrators to keep iPhones away from their businesses. "We're telling IT executives to not support it because Apple has no intentions of supporting [iPhone use in] the enterprise," Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said. "This is basically a cellular iPod with some other capabilities, and it's important that it be recognized as such." As if that will stop people from buying them anyway when they hit the market in the U.S. next week. The reality is that no matter how hard IT administrators try, the iPhone will be snapped up by their employees -- and not just the average Joes either. The device is a status symbol that will likely be snapped up by business leaders as the digital technorati. Try telling your CEO the iPhone doesn't play well with your IT systems. Dulaney and other researchers notwithstanding, this device can be good for the enterprise because of the business needs of smartphone users. It is an iPhone, after all, with an emphasis on phone. It offers e-mail -- currently the most popular means of business communications. There's an address/phone Book for quick access to contacts. It offers SMS, a quick way to contact other mobile phone users, and voicemail -- both useful to road warriors. There's a real Web browser -- by far the most underpowered and underappreciated part of a mobile phone. And it contains a slew of enterprise-worthy apps, including a calendar, access to maps, spreadsheets, and a document reader. All of these things are important -- and all can be done to a greater or lesser extent on most business-focused PDA phones. But in the business world, the mobile Web browser is the key to the future of business apps, and it is becoming a platform unto itself. One thing that Apple CEO Steve Jobs made abundantly clear at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is that the iPhone would include a full browser. The Symbian and Linux platforms' best browser is Opera Mini -- which isn't that bad -- but it by no means constitutes a full browser. Windows Mobile's browser isn't bad either, but it also falls well short of Internet Explorer 7. Additionally, the iPhone browser has a lot of zooming and panning tricks that make it more usable on the relatively small screen. In that crucial area, advantage: iPhone. Why is the browser crucial? Because most new business applications are being built around it. AJAX and other browser technology innovations over the past few years have turned the browser into a veritable platform. Sure, a lot of legacy applications still require browserless, platform-specific client applications. But those days are numbered. It's not just the isolated applications that are moving to a browser. All of the stalwart office applications are also moving to the Web. With Google Office (which now works with Safari -- the iPhone browser), Soho Office, and even Web-centric versions of Microsoft Office applications, the browser is truly the new business platform. The iPhone is not without its business-use flaws. It doesn't natively sync up with Lotus Notes or Exchange - and Microsoft, at least, will most likely do everything in its power to try to keep it that way to protect its Windows Mobile business. It can, however, hook up to IMAP email, LDAP address books, and WebDav for calendaring; with a bit of tweaking, that will work well for Exchange-based companies. Microsoft SharePoint can also be browsed from the Web interface, but to what extent? Time -- and the work of apps developers -- will tell. A newly anointed relationship with Cisco on all things iPhone should also let the device into the VPN and might even let an iPhone play well with Cisco VoIP solutions. And of course, don't forget the arduous task of getting your conservative IT department to accept the idea of letting loose an Apple phone -- or even MacBook Pro -- into the office. Previews of the phone haven't yet touted an instant messaging client like Apple's iChat or AOL Instant Messenger. It is likely, however, that Apple will include something with instant-messaging functionality in the near future -- there are still four slots left in the iPhone's application window. It's also true that the first-generation iPhone isn't the raw specs winner by any stretch. That honor goes to the Symbian/Windows Mobile 6 Phones coming from Toshiba (the G900), Nokia (the N95), Samsung (the F700) and HTC (the Shift). AT&T's EDGE wireless network is slow by today's standards, and while Wifi connectivity will help, there are questions about why Apple has forsaken the HSDPA/UTMS component and when an update might occur. Given that battery life is a factor -- Apple this week released updated specs that go beyond what it touted in January -- EDGE makes sense because it's more energy efficient. Also, the 8GB max on storage is seems low. At a time when you can buy an 8GB SD card for less than $80, Apple likely looked to keep costs down with an eye on upping that storage when it's economically smart. Most users would likely be happy with a micro/mini/SD card slot now standard on most smartphones. There is, of course, the price. The iPhone's hefty $499 and $599 price tags, depending on which model you buy, is a definite disadvantage in business. With relatively comparable gear (from a corporate standpoint), such as the Motorola Q, which is almost free with a service plan, buying an iPhone requires serious justification. We're talking about spending the equivalent of a budget laptop. Of course, something that you spend half your day using should justify the premium that this delicious piece of hardware demands. And then there are at least two intangibles: Usability. Apple's legendary reputation for making painful tasks easy will totally transform the mobile phone industry. And remember, companies love productivity from their workers. Until now, the big players have been Microsoft Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and Linux. They all had successes. But it's the last 10 percent of usability that Apple always manages to squeeze out its products will be the differentiator. Apple did the same in the computer industry until Microsoft caught up. Apple has learned from this and patented every minute detail of the iPhone, making it harder for copycats to appear anytime soon. The few seconds here there that the iPhone saves users will quickly add up. It's the little things that make for big savings across an entire enterprise. Business bling, baby. Everyone knows that this is the phone to have. Just look at the buzz ahead of the June 29 launch. Apple has spent the last few years building up its brand across all channels and is reaping the rewards like no other company in the industry. As much as the enterprise IT guys will want to recite better specs for rival Windows Mobile devices, nobody wants to hear that. I can imagine any number of CEOs saying, "I don't care! Just make the iPhone work on our systems!" And if it works for the CEO, you can bet the sales folk will want in on the action, too. Think they'll want to show up to a meeting with an important client and whip out last year's "hot" phone? They might as well wear parachute pants as well.
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AN FRANCISCO  - Some of the first iPhone buyers were divided about the news that Apple is slashing its price by $200, barely two months after the cellphone was launched.
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Apple decided this week to require a credit card or debit card to buy an iPhone, and there's now a two-iPhone limit at its retail stores.
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Hold onto your hard-earned for just a few weeks more Apple enthusiast website, 9to5Mac has received word that Apple is planning on dropping the prices on the iPhone and iPod line within the next month or two - perhaps at the rumoured late February announcement.â¦
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InfoWorld - The number of iPhones manufactured by Apple may not be enough to meet customer demand when the smart phone goes on sale later Friday, CEO Steve Jobs said in an interview published the same day.
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The number of iPhones manufactured by Apple may not be enough to meet customer demand when the smart phone goes on sale tomorrow, CEO Steve Jobs said.
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Among the hundreds waiting in line yesterday to buy an iPhone were Computerworld's Michael DeAgonia and Seth Weintraub. It's been less than a day, but they're sold: It's worth the high price and offers a peak into the future.