Lets not get carried away. The iPhone 2 really only adds 2 new features. GPS and 3G. Everything else is software which will be available on the iPhone 1.0. Where are the features that were missing from the first iPhone? Guess what, they are still missing. Voice Dialing, Bluetooth Modem, copy and paste, video recording, instant messaging, MMS, etc. These are show stoppers for a LOT of people including myself. I believe my Palm Centro has more capabilities than the iPhone. Granted, the UI sucks.
The iPhone still has a lot of room for improvement. And its going to need it. Especially after watching the demo of Android at Google's I/O Conference a couple of weeks ago. Because if Android can provide as good or good enough user experience with the UI, it will kill the iPhone in a feature comparison.
As far as the price, you do realize in the long run the iPhone costs more now? Sure its nice that you can save some of that money now and just pay more every month, but wow, $70 a month, just to get started is getting pretty steep.
Why do people think a souped up Mac mini would cannibalize sales of the iMac? If so, wouldn't that be a good thing for Apple? After all, the difference in cost to produce each is negligible. If they could sell more Mac mini's don't you think Apple would do this?
I have a Mac mini and a Power Mac Dual G5. I need to replace the G5 but I can't really afford a new Mac Pro. And I'd rather not get an iMac because I've got dual 20" widescreens now. Apple needs another standalone machine with good graphics.
Aurora77,
You can't compare licensing the OS now to back in the 90's. Why? Because in the 90's, there weren't that many people interested in Apple's OS. So the only people buying the Mac compatible computers were current Mac users. Its different now. There are a lot of Windows and Linux users who would be willing to pay $129 for a copy of OS X if they could run it on their current machine. Do you know how much Apple makes off a PowerMac or iMac? I'd guess around $500. Thats four copies of OS X.
I, for one, do not think many Mac buyers would switch to another hardware vendor if OS X were available for PC's. I think most Mac owners know their hardware just works better. But I also believe that Apple would get more people using OS X if they could run it on their PC's. Which in the long run may get some of them to switch to Apple hardware.
Don't expect iTunes to lead the way in DRM-free music. Apple may not have been a fan of DRM in the beginning, but you better believe they love it now. Why? Vendor lock-in. With FairPlay, you are locked into playing your music only on an iPod.
I really think within 5 years the labels will give up on DRM and you'll be able to purchase your music from any online store and play it on any player. It will be interesting to see if Apple resists this or embraces this. If they resist, I think they lose a lot of market share. If they embrace it, they lose a little market share.
I'd like to see two things. First, the iPod should support Ogg Vorbis. I think Ogg Vorbis is the best audio codec out there and you'd get a lot of open source folks buying iPods.
Second, make the iPod support higher resolution video. It doesn't necessarily have to play them on its own display, but give it the ability to play an HD clip to an external display capable of playing HD.
Kelmon,
Please don't ask for iTunes to manage our video. It already does enough. But you're right. We have iPhoto for our pictures and iTunes for our music. We need something to manage our videos. THAT is the missing piece. I'd rather not have it in iTunes which is the direction I'm afraid Apple is going. We need something called iVideo or iFilm. I'd suggest iMovie but we've already got that for making movies.
Not going to happen. Apple has no interest in a PVR. Why? For one, they want to stay buddies with Hollywood and Hollywood doesn't like PVR's. Two, why provide a way for people to record stuff over the air when they have a store that is selling the TV shows on it? No one would buy from the store if they could record it, would they?
So if you want a PVR, better stick with TiVo, ReplayTV, EyeTV, or MythTV because Apple's not going to do it.
My problem with the keynote address is that it is nothing more than an infomercial for iLife every year. Steve spends half of the keynote doing a demo on iLife. And quite honestly, I've bought my last copy of it. Too much integration with .mac for my tastes. I like choice and Apple seems to be trying to limit my choices here. A .mac membership should be included in the purchase of iLife. And from the first review I've heard of it, its like the typical Apple software product. Lots of flash, lots of bugs and slow as molasses.
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