UK iPhone news..

[Aaron]

In fact I would challange anyone to be able to tell the difference between the same MP3 played using the same earphones on iPod, Zune, Zen or IRiver in a blind test.

I've never tried a Zune, but I agree that the sound quality between the iPod, Zen and iRiver players is negligible. The only range of players that really stand out for me are the ones made by Sony. They seem to be a couple of levels above the others in terms of sound quality.

[kapowaz]

But you just proved my point - technically speaking the Zen is a better player. However, if you're particularly concerned about looks, yes the iPod wins.

I'm not saying it's bad to prefer something because it looks better though... within reason... I'm just saying that the iPod - although great technology - is still more of a fashion accessory than a cutting edge piece of tech - it's a close call I admit, but with the iPhone that gap is widening.

You're missing one extremely important piece of the pie that makes a product though; user experience. It's incredibly difficult to define in terms of a bullet list that you can slap on the side of a product box, on a website or fire off in a forum post, but it's nonetheless massively important. Earlier I mentioned that I nearly bought a Zen before trying an iPod for the first time. It was the interface - not technical specs - that sold me on the latter.

Perhaps looks and marketing are the main reason so many people buy iPods, but I'm sure that in most cases the reason they keep buying and recommending them is that they have such a satisfying user experience with them.

[Cloudane]

A valid point - user experience is why I love Macs (couldn't give a diddly about flashiness)

So long as they keep the user experience *without* ignoring features/flexibility - something that they did beautifully with OS X for instance with its Unix background - I have no complaints. I just happen to think they have sacrificed those important elements - in exchange for looks and 'experience' - with the iPhone (and to an admittedly much lesser extent the iPod)

[kapowaz]

Well, I guess time will tell if you still think that's true eh? Maybe you'll think differently once they're on sale here, or maybe you won't. My final words on the subject come from a friend, who said the following on IRC earlier this evening:

19:11:16 < underpangs> iphone == sex
19:11:26 < dom-> o_O
19:11:42 < underpangs> just played with one
19:11:46 < underpangs> wow
19:12:03 < underpangs> I was pretty pessimistic until now, but it's damn sexy

[Stoo]

To be honest the arguments about the EU implementation of the iPhone is rather pointless at the moment as it's all conjecture until Apple release the details..

But if we're talking hypotheticals then my guess is that we won't see it until next near with a redeveloped "v2" based on feedback from the American version running on 3G, I'm also guessing they'd announce it late this year as part of the Leopard launch keynote, with availability some time in late Q1/early Q2..

[kapowaz]

True, it is all speculation being taken at far beyond face value at the moment (look at all the people waiting for the iPhone nano, for instance). We'll have to wait and see.

Personally I suspect they're more likely to put it on the market late this year in Europe so as to take advantage of the Christmas retail period (this has always been the quarter that Apple sells the most iPods too - both in the US and Europe); unlike most contract phones*, the iPhone can be purchased by somebody other than the intended end-user, so it could end up being a popular gift.

*I know this isn't technically true, as you can buy unlocked phones free of contract, but given that you can usually get the same phone on a contract for free/very little, there's not much sense in buying one as a gift.

[dangel]

Meh, i'll stick with my touchscreen/slide out keyboard/gps/wi-fi-/bluetooth/3g/mp3/memory card/etc/etc phone come this August I think Fraction of the cost too..

I applaud Apple for their UI on this device (aside from the obvious pitfalls of a no-button touch screen) but it's sorely lacking in every other regard.

[AndyO]

Meh, i'll stick with my touchscreen/slide out keyboard/gps/wi-fi-/bluetooth/3g/mp3/memory card/etc/etc phone come this August I think Fraction of the cost too..

I applaud Apple for their UI on this device (aside from the obvious pitfalls of a no-button touch screen) but it's sorely lacking in every other regard.

Couldn't have said it better. Its an ipod that makes phone calls and browses the web. Woohoo. Very nice.

I'll take my wider software base and better spec on Windows Mobile any day.

But hey, that's also the reason I use a PC not a Mac, so kudos to jobs to producing a Mac Mini. Oops, sorry that's already taken. Mac Micro. Whatever.

What raises my hackles is that people have been posting non-stop about the fookin' thing for months! I mean, 86 replies based on something you can't even buy yet?!?!? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. HATE the Apple PR machine, largely because its so bl**dy effective at creating hype.

What? I've just bumped the thread again? Urghhhhhhh

[kapowaz]

What raises my hackles is that people have been posting non-stop about the fookin' thing for months! I mean, 86 replies based on something you can't even buy yet?!?!?

Even if people can't agree on their views of the device, you have to concede one thing: it's been gotten a lot of people to sit up and take notice.

[dangel]

Even if people can't agree on their views of the device, you have to concede one thing: it's been gotten a lot of people to sit up and take notice.

I don't think anyone's questioning the ability of Apple's PR machine. BTW is that your final, final word on the subject?

[kapowaz]

I don't think anyone's questioning the ability of Apple's PR machine.

Apple's? Since first announcing it in January, Apple have barely mentioned the iPhone themselves. The hype has been generated purely by the media itself, all either loving or hating Apple to an absurd degree that they can't help but join the dogpile. It's a curious thing that the media has frequently referred to the iPhone hype, seemingly blind to the fact it created it itself.

BTW is that your final, final word on the subject?

Probably not

[AndyO]

Apple's? Since first announcing it in January, Apple have barely mentioned the iPhone themselves. The hype has been generated purely by the media itself, all either loving or hating Apple to an absurd degree that they can't help but join the dogpile. It's a curious thing that the media has frequently referred to the iPhone hype, seemingly blind to the fact it created it itself.

lol, you do realise that IS the Apple machine, don't you? Lack of information and hype can be just as carefully stage managed as brazen advertising. And Apple are excellent at it! Do you think they'd have let it slide if there was universal disinterest?

Of course, lack of information can also be mismanaged - Microsoft tried the same thing with that Origami crap, and look how that generated hype. Not.

Arghhh!!! Bump, I've done it again!!!!

[kapowaz]

I don't understand. How are Apple responsible for what journalists write in publications? Unless you're implying that Apple coerce them into doing it? And why would a lack of information alone be of interest to the general public? It would have to be related to a subject that had already gotten their intention, surely?

[AndyO]

I don't understand. How are Apple responsible for what journalists write in publications? Unless you're implying that Apple coerce them into doing it? And why would a lack of information alone be of interest to the general public? It would have to be related to a subject that had already gotten their intention, surely?

Simply that hype can be managed! Apple are a very intelligent company with some very expensive advertising/media savvy bedfellows, and I'm sure that much of the iPhone gossip will have been carefully monitored to assess public opinion of the brand!

If there hadn't been enough hype then I'd have expected to see some managed releases of information, from 'employee disclosures' to leaked spec sheets about how fab the screen is...cheaper than paying for air time on the telly, if your brand is strong enough to carry the hype too your target audience! And Apple's certainly is, thanks to the iPod's universal presence!

If they just made computers still, the hype model wouldn't work because only us techy folks would sit up and take notice. But the fact that even your granny has a 30Gb iPod under her teacosy means that on hearing 'iPhone', every punter who knows what an iPod is raises an eyebrow!

[kapowaz]

I don't know. You're speculating that Apple manipulates the media through shrewd drip-feeding of otherwise confidential information, but the evidence doesn't support that. Apple not only maintains a very tight lid on unreleased product information, but relentlessly pursues alleged leaks. If you visit the Apple rumour sites regularly you'll see that whenever they receive photos purporting to be of unreleased Apple products, Apple legal quickly demands they be taken down. There's not much hype to be generated from that sort of thing.

I think the reason that so much hype has been generated is precisely for the reason you mention last; the ubiquity of the iPod brand has ensured that the world sits up and takes notice at the notion of a phone from the same company. Apple don't really have to do anything to set this hype in motion; they already did by making the iPod.

[dangel]

If you honestly think Apple don't do anything to hype their products you're, frankly, deluded. They're no different from any other multinational, aside from they seem a darn sight better at it than many.
What's the problem here? The fact that i praised Apple's (much vaunted) PR machine or that we're talking about Apple, who can't be sullied with stooping to standard business practices? In a strange way, you're actually rather a case in point of how good the Apple PR machine actually is! Ah well.