Mobility Today Podcast #112

Can I say Jerry doesn't know what the hell he's talking about?

It took Palm months to realize their mistake with a non-removable battery in the Treo 600. This new iPhone is just like a 3G Treo 600.

For corporate environments, you need a phone with extended, interchangeable battery and an option for no camera. There are court houses, corporate offices and government facilities folks from my company must visit that require us to use crappy phones (like a Nokia E61) just because I can no longer get Treo 680 w/o camera.

Apple is hot for the enterprise and I am shocked how far this device missed the mark. This is good news for Palm and Google. It buys them another 8 - 12 months to develop a device to knock off Blackberry without a threat from Apple.

Yes, you will have to pay for the same data package as AT&T does not have any programs for a reduced rate for non 3G customers. Sorry, just hope that this will help the company expand its 3G calling area.

For [George Kowalski]

I'm pretty sure you will have to pay the same rate regardless of whether or not you can actually get a 3G signal. When I first signed up for data service for my laptop I purchased a 3G card. But at the time the Atlanta area had no 3G service, only edge. There was (and currently is) no option to pay a lesser amount because of connection speed. The only options I've seen through AT&T on your data service are based on the amount of bandwidth you plan to use per month.

"on a personal note, releasing the iphone to third party development is the end of apple as we know it. while we all know that windows is crap, the biggest problem is compatibility with software/hardware, apple had avoided that by being very strict on there proprietary stuff, thus making their system stable. that's out the window now."

I don't think it's as bad as you think. Apple will be very strict as to what apps can and will be sold via the store. That's both good and bad. However, the SDK supposedly doesn't not give developers carte-blanche to do anything they want, so in that respect, we might see more stable applications as opposed to some of the garbage written for WM. I have used some "stinker" apps in my WM days. :)

Also remember, that developers don't have to worry about running on a gazillion forms of hardware, which makes things alot simpler.

ok... the tilt does come w/o a camera (model 8900) as do most corporate WM devices in one form or another... iphone currently has a photo-sensor which auto adjusts brightness so one can assume the new one does too... MANY MANY companies will NOT allow any type of cameras for SECURITY purposes... streaming media is not there because AT&T's networks can't handle it right now, but look to the future... Apple has a lot of work to do as a business device due to the well-know fact of the iphone being hacked (eventhough wm is worse, it isn't as public) and that makes companies very wary... as for the gps software, look for a future app between google and apple so apple can utilize the, now, global reach of the iphone (hint) ... companies will not be eligible for the 199 pricing on the 45/mo plans... people standing lines? yes, but not anyone besides those that don't have one cause they can't afford them, most current users largely don't see a reason to upgrade, stock wise, apple will keep the inventoy low to keep it in the news and the hype up, (who talked about the 360/PS3 when you could easily get them anywhere?)

I will post as much I can without saying too much when I finish listening (non-disclosure anyone)

on a personal note, releasing the iphone to third party development is the end of apple as we know it. while we all know that windows is crap, the biggest problem is compatibility with software/hardware, apple had avoided that by being very strict on there proprietary stuff, thus making their system stable. that's out the window now.

-SKy

iPhone 3G has a GPS chip inside and like the iPhone v1.0 it also uses the cellular and Wifi towers to obtain positions. That could make it more reliable compared to other smartphones with GPS only.

I have a concern regarding AT&T iPhone data plan costs: an additional $10 for the 3G coverage but where is this coverage? I do not live in a city and when you check the AT&T 3G coverage areas, I think that most of the country does not have that service. Do I have to still pay the $10 extra per month even though I cannot get 3G? I have also heard that the cheapest plan is $70 per month for 450 minutes and that does not include text messaging. Also, I heard that the GPS is assisted GPS.Keep up the great discussions and Jerry, I used Macs when they first came out and Apple machines before that!:-)

I think using software to disable the camera is ineffective. Where as one could quickly glance at a typical phone to determine if it has photograph capabilities if you go with a software solution then the form phone's form is no longer an indicator of whether or not it conforms to the restrictions of the organization; actual interaction with the phone would be required to determine compliance, which may be unreasonable.

The software solution could potentially create an environment in which one could take pictures in plain view without raising suspecion.

Side note: back when I had an iPhone it seemed that the brightness automatically adjusted for the environment. Assuming this was not my mind paying tricks on me then did it use the camera to do this or was there another light sensor in the phone.

Dave I think you've been working in highly secured workplaces because I don't think most places restrict phones with cameras. Additionally, the iPhone camera can probably be disabled by software so creating a new piece of hardware without a camera isn't necessary. The iPhone is working its way into the enterprise not by selling to the IT leaders, but by getting the average worker to bring their own to work and use it seamlessly in the Exchange environment (and because it has the appropriate security precautions). The iPhone will take share away from Blackberry and more non-enterprise people will get them, too, because of the lower price point.

With respect to a comment about the total cost of ownership of a phone, that's actually something I consider with my phones, but I may be in a less usual position. I currently have an excellent unlimited data plan on a PDA type phone through AT&T for $15/month + unlimited voice for $99/month. I don't think I can get an unlimited data plan for $15/month any more. As such I've avoided getting any new phones through AT&T because my data rate would go up by another $15. I'm much more content paying full price for a phone through a third party because in the long run the phone will cost me less than if I got one through AT&T and raised my data rate cost. I had an iPhone at one point and decided to hacktivate it to avoid loosing the plan.

Thanks for having me on again guys, always fun!