12 unanswered iPhone Questions
The 3G iPhone is here. Well, sort of. But there's still a lot to learn. Alex Kidman has created the 5 minute iPhone FAQ.
So, overnight, the Apple faithful who've been slavishly waiting for a 3G iPhone since well before the original iPhone was made available were thrown a bone -- a rather stylish looking 3G bone in the shape of the new iPhone. And for once, Apple's been fairly forthcoming with the details, showing off applications, the new unit, battery life and so on and so forth.
That doesn't mean, however, that the 3G story is done and dusted, especially for Australian users. Here's a dozen observations that flitted through my head during this morning's keynote presentation. Of note, like most of the Internet, I wasn't present in the Moscone Center in San Francisco for the keynote; these are observations based on the net-based reporting of the event.
1: What will it actually cost? Yes, Jobs said US$199, but that's a lock-in price, and Australian consumers aren't big on the idea that you might pay for a phone now -- and then in monthly instalments to boot. It's reported in a couple of places that he said US$199 maximum worldwide, but I'm taking that with a huge grain of salt at this stage.
2: How will the GPS work? Yes, I know -- Apple did detail some of this, talking about synchronising straight GPS information with known WiFi towers and mobile tower triangulation. But is this the same as "assisted" GPS, a service that will rack up extra data charges?
3: What will it cost to run? This is crucial for Australian users, and could well be a key criteria for many buyers. Existing Blackberry users, for example, can buy plans that offer unlimited browsing and email, but will such plans be available for the iPhone?
4: The official Optus line essentially boils down to "wait", although I imagine Optus sales staff will be sick of being asked questions they can't answer by the end of today.
Speaking of Optus, they have a nice bit of accounting going on around the iPhone. You can "pre-register" for an iPhone, which boils down to giving them $100 of your hard-earned cash until launch day. For the privilege of letting Optus earn some interest on your money, you get a shiny new receipt, and "priority queuing". Note: There's no guarantee of availability -- just priority queuing. Will iPhone customers bite on this?
6: What's Vodafone's angle? Their announcement included the tantalising carrot of "pre-paid" iPhone usage, but how does that work, exactly? Will they sell minutes and data, or just data alone? What happens when you run out?
7: Where the heck is 3? Given the brand's heavy youth advertising, and its strong association with 3G services, you'd think they'd be all over the 3G iPhone, and cost be damned.
8: Speaking of the damned, Telstra's also noticeably absent from the vendor listings. Is this just fulfilment of what they said many months ago -- that in essence, they didn't rate the iPhone very highly -- or could a deal not be struck?
9:Were all those rumour sites talking up the "unlocked iPhone from Apple resellers" talking out of their backside?
10: With the OFLC's rules on rating games content below R18+ -- and the highly suggestive possibilities that "touch screen" games bring -- what will happen to games software on the iTunes application store?
11: Why do iPod Touch owners get slugged again for a feature update that's free for iPhone users? It's not even a tax on early adopters this time around.
12: Dammit, Apple. Why can't I buy one now?
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