iPhone: Apple working on a phone/PDA combo?

[marlof]

<a href="http://makeashorterlink.com/?V2A152E81">http://makeashorterlink.com/?V2A152E81</a><br /><br />It's that time of year again, where rumors are spread that Apple is working on re-entering the handheld market. As to some a new Newton is similar to the Holy Grail, those people might rejoice. But if <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/19/technology/19APPL.html?ei=5040&en=2b81ab7f102dce30&ex=1030334400&partner=MOREOVER&pagewanted=print&position=bottom">this New York Times article</a> (source: <a href="http://www.brighthand.com">BrightHand</a>) is correct, the new device will not be Newton like. Last years rumored Apple PDA was the iWalk. This years rumor is called the iPhone. According to an article in the New York Times, Steve Jobs sees no future for the PDA, but he sees a future for phones having PDA capabilities.<br /><br />"We decided that between now and next year, the P.D.A. is going to be subsumed by the telephone," he said last week in an interview. "We think the P.D.A. is going away." And even while protesting that the company had no plans to introduce such a device, he grudgingly acknowledged that combining some of Apple's industrial design and user-interface innovations would be a good idea in a device that performed both phone and computing functions." <br /><br />First of all, I like the use of the word "decided". I think most of you will agree that phones with PDA capabilities will have a big future. But I don't see PDAs in itself go away. There might be a big move from disconnected PDAs to the new connected kind ( like the T-Mobile / O2 XDA / HP Jornada 928 WDA etc. ), but I feel there will always be a market where users would like a bigger screen and better input methods, but they would still want their device to be pocketable, and not luggable.<br /><br />In the article some analysts are quoted, where they state that several features in the new Macintosh OS software would make more sense in a hand-held device than a desktop computer. "Of the 12 new OS X features the company has been emphasizing on its Web site, most would be desirable for a hand-held phone, including chat capabilities, mail, an address book, calendar features, automatic networking and a synchronization feature that will become available in September. And several of the features, including the company's handwriting-recognition technology and Sherlock information-retrieval program, would be much more relevant to a small, portable device than to a desktop computer. Sherlock in particular has been repositioned in a way that would make it a perfect counterpart for a portable phone. Its original purpose, which was finding files and content on the computer's local disk, has been transformed into a more general "find" utility program. Now, Sherlock is being extended to search for types of information like airline and movie schedules and restaurant locations. The software can display maps and driving directions."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/sandal.jpg" /><br /><br />Somehow I get the feeling that some people are so desperate to see Apple return in the PDA market, that they're labelling everything Apple does as a sure sign it's going to return. But is it a sign, or just a lost sandal?

[Ravenswing]

Nice touch. Not everyone can find a link between Apple and Monty Python :D

[heov]

Come on, the Newton created the PDA market. Apple even coined the term PDA. It had a 160 MHz StrongARM processor in 1997. It had a resolution of 320x480 (ala Clie). It was expandable with either 1 or 2 PC Card slots (I am sure if the Newton still lived today, they would have made it smaller...). It's wordprocessor is STILL better than Pocket Word. There was so many things going for the newton, except size of course. It was just ahead of it's time.

Now iPone has been rumored before, ever since they registered the domain. I don't think Apple will create their own phone, I think it will be rebranded as Apple's own.

[mookie123]

I would consider Apple a serious player if they decide to enter smartphone arena, even so than Palm.

Apple weakness is that they don't have connection with the phone industry, the same problem Microsoft has, but they know design and software.

Probably the phone industry will adopt Apple in theory that the enemy of my enemy is my friend line of thought to counter MS smartphone, who knows.

Symbian is certainly not going anywhere, too few application and doesn't connect very well with desktop.

One thing is certain after this news: Palm is dead. phone or no phone. (Handspring is more than dead now, it's only a matter of time they will get bought out.

[jmulder]

First of all, I like the use of the word "decided".

Yeah, I agree. It almost sounds like Jobs thinks he can will PDA's out of existence. However, if he had used the word determined, I'd almost agree (I say "almost" beacuse there are certain people I will never be able to agree with...Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, my father, etc. :? ).

Let's be honest, PDA's aren't mainstream now. They're common, but not mainstream. Amongst this forum, we all use them, but we're hardly representative of the public at large. Meanwhile I went out to dinner with a large group the other night and somebody wanted to call a missing guest but couldn't because he had forgotten his phone. As soon as he said that, the six people nearest him (probably all those who could hear him) all pulled out their phones, including a seventeen-year old just starting her senior year in high school. Of the seven of us, I was the only one who even owned a PDA, and I hadn't brought it with me!

It's much more likely in the public at large that phones will take on PDA functions than PDA's with phone functionality will begin to supplant phones. Maybe for a certain segment of the population (represented here), but not in the general public.

IMO, neither technology will disappear, but if I had to invest in phones or PDA's, my money would be in phones.

-Jim

[TBone]

I am not an Apple fan--very much the opposite in fact, but I do think that a cell phone by Apple could manage to be their savior. Their price hike won't show as much in the expensive cell hardware market, their incompatibility with other systems won't matter, and their design sensibilities will work well with the platform. They have to remember two things, though: first, they have to keep it small, instead of increasing the size with packed features, as most people to whom an Apple phone would appeal do not want to lug around a PDA; and second, they have to resist the temptation to sell extra pay-services with it, the way Jobs wants to do with .Mac.

[Madoc Owain]

As a long-time Newton owner and fan, I would like to see Apple return to the PDA market.. but it will never happen so long as Steve Jobs is at the helm. It was Jobs who killed the Newton as one of his first acts upon returning to the company he had once very nearly destroyed. It doesn't matter whether the company can produce a superior PDA OS, or whether the Newton handwriting recognition software is superior to those used in Palm and Microsoft PDAs (it is still, by the way), because for Jobs to go back and resurrect the corpse of Newton would be like admitting Jobs was wrong. Seeing as how the premise of existence is based upon the infallibility of Jobs, proving he was wrong would unmake Creation .. oh, sorry, that was "Dogma". Nevermind! :P

[jweitzman]

they have to resist the temptation to sell extra pay-services with it, the way Jobs wants to do with .Mac.

Oh no, we wouldn't want anyone to charge actual money for providing services, now would we?
:roll:
JW

[ThomasC22]

As a long-time Newton owner and fan, I would like to see Apple return to the PDA market.. but it will never happen so long as Steve Jobs is at the helm. It was Jobs who killed the Newton as one of his first acts upon returning to the company he had once very nearly destroyed. It doesn't matter whether the company can produce a superior PDA OS, or whether the Newton handwriting recognition software is superior to those used in Palm and Microsoft PDAs (it is still, by the way), because for Jobs to go back and resurrect the corpse of Newton would be like admitting Jobs was wrong. Seeing as how the premise of existence is based upon the infallibility of Jobs, proving he was wrong would unmake Creation .. oh, sorry, that was "Dogma". Nevermind! :P

In my opinion this is exactly why he very well might enter the SmartPhone market. Jobs won't make a PDA because of some old grudge against John Sculley but he has shown that he does realize PDA functionality is important (iPod for example) and I think a smartphone would be the perfect cop out to allow him to re-enter the PDA market without re-entering the PDA Market.

[Jonathan1]

I WANT MY NEWTON BACK!!! WAH!!!! :cry: :cry: :cry:

Dang you Jobs for killing my baby :twisted:

[Will T Smith]

A previous generation has marveled at the gadgets and doo-dads from Star Trek. Tri-Quarters, PADDS, Flip-Phones, even some electronic bio-medical devices are now coming to fruition (IR pulse detecters, the Hypo-Spray, and soon BIO-CHIPS that can analyze blood sample to detect viruses or genetic vectors, MRI and Active MRI imaging technologies).

Once again, I think that Gene Roddenberry was right with his (postumus) series "Earth: Final Conflict".

&lt;OFF TOPIC RAMBLE>
Even though the show has gone downhill recently (I LOVED the Talons, always thought that the Da-Ahn overthrowing Zo-Or angle should have played out, somehow I think will see the Talon&lt;->Jaridian composites back if the series survives. Hopefully we'll see humans begin to explore space after they finish of the Ativas and blow up the mothership and Sandoval for good.

BTW, has anyone noticed that Sandoval is now the ONLY original character (or even remotely original) character to survive the series. Usually the protagonist stays fixed while transient antagonists are defeated. That is save the arch-antagonists like: Lex Luther, The Joker, Dr. Moriarty, Romulans, "Jaws" from the Bond Movies, etc... It's kinda different (and interesting in a way) to see all the good guys go by the wayside while the personification of complete disloyalty, Sandoval, always lives to fight another day by constantly switching sides.
&lt;/OFF TOPIC RAMBLE>


Back to the topic. That is the cool "Global" devices that the agents carry around (complete with AT&amp;T screen savers). The pocketability, roll-up high res screen combined with voice/teleconference capability and of course a built in full featured computer with voice recongnition.

THIS is where the PDA is going. I would add a few extra doohickies. Bluetooth headsets, and High speed bluetooth virtual displays (sunglasses) that project images directy onto the retina.

I don't think will see wireless teleconference anytime soon though. Rather the Video would be largely a snap and email affair. Serving the function of a lower quality digital camera. With GSM like capability, one could even establish a secure connection to your "personal online data server" to store the image.

Another intesting technology is the single hand "keyboards". That is that one can enter text by simply moving the right combination of of fingers. Imagine a five bit morse code. It would take a while to get used to, however once you did you could achieve seriously fast input by simply wearing a wristwatch (bluetooth enabled) that would monitor your wrist for characteristic "twitching" in the tendons attached to your fingers.

BTW, this is not a bizarre concept. Try tightly holding your wrist and then flex individual fingers while your typing. You can literally "feel" which finger your moving by the location and "texture" of the pressure wave. A wrist based detector would be relatively easy to construct.

[Will T Smith]

As a long-time Newton owner and fan, I would like to see Apple return to the PDA market.. but it will never happen so long as Steve Jobs is at the helm. It was Jobs who killed the Newton as one of his first acts upon returning to the company he had once very nearly destroyed. It doesn't matter whether the company can produce a superior PDA OS, or whether the Newton handwriting recognition software is superior to those used in Palm and Microsoft PDAs (it is still, by the way), because for Jobs to go back and resurrect the corpse of Newton would be like admitting Jobs was wrong. Seeing as how the premise of existence is based upon the infallibility of Jobs, proving he was wrong would unmake Creation .. oh, sorry, that was "Dogma". Nevermind! :P

Like Gates, Jobs really doesn't innovate. He simply takes other peoples ideas and messages them into fruition.

Unlike Gates, he does it BEFORE that idea is actually marketed by other companies. Difference two ... he does it with STYLE.

Jobs is right that the PDA market is a potential quagmire. There are two entrenched market leaders, an entry would introduce another fighter in a standardization war while not providing anything more in quality.

The iPod, iMac, eMac, powerbook platinum all introduced a fairly new modality for new, radically more effective form-factors. Furthermore, they did it with STYLE. And they made it EASY for the technophobic. Something that Microsoft is grasping to fully understand.

An iPhone device would serve a yet emerging market. It would complent MOST lifestyles with a pocketable phone with data, MP3 and photography concept. Hopfully, it would be Bluetooth enabled for easy PAN integration. It would directly compete with Microsoft's yet to emerge "SmartPhone" concept instead of the well established PocketPC/Palm markets. It would have and SD slot for MP3, photo and document transportation.

Finally, it would look REALLY COOL. Unfortunately, it would probably only work with Macs which would limit it's application to the broade market. Let's hope I'm wrong and Apple gets it right with out of the box compatibilty for both Macs and PCs (Linux users only get a library as they can write their own software :-))

[Will T Smith]

Come on, the Newton created the PDA market. Apple even coined the term PDA. It had a 160 MHz StrongARM processor in 1997. It had a resolution of 320x480 (ala Clie). It was expandable with either 1 or 2 PC Card slots (I am sure if the Newton still lived today, they would have made it smaller...). It's wordprocessor is STILL better than Pocket Word. There was so many things going for the newton, except size of course. It was just ahead of it's time.

Now iPone has been rumored before, ever since they registered the domain. I don't think Apple will create their own phone, I think it will be rebranded as Apple's own.

Yet another reason why sony should BUY Apple. What a combination, finally a competitor to Microsoft on an EVEN footing.

[TBone]

Oh no, we wouldn't want anyone to charge actual money for providing services, now would we?

In a cell phone, probably not. Users will already be used to paying a flat fee for SMS and their regular service--adding a premium that must be used to get the full use of the phone will not be a popular decision, I don't think.

And charging for services is one thing. Charging for a small online storage space (100 megs is nothing nowadays) and an e-mail is getting gypped, if you ask me. I can pay $50 a year and get the same thing from a web hosting service, minus the stupid virus scan (on a Mac? Give me a break) and some of the integration (although if MacOS does the same thing Windows does and treats FTP as folders, it wouldn't be that different). Bad deal, if you ask me. And pretty stupid calling it .Mac--if it's a blow at .Net, it's severely misaimed.

[Jonathon Watkins]

The Register has an interesting take on this subject in this article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/26731.html
Sony, Apple make phone dream team ... but 'iPhone' unlikely
Speculation that Apple is planning to launch a smartphone has been revived by John Markoff in the New York Times.

This isn't what we're hearing at all - but it hasn't stopped analysts taking the Rorschasch blot test and drawing some wild conclusions:

'"When you connect the dots, you end up at a phone," said Charles Wolf, a financial analyst who follows Apple for Needham & Company'", records the Times.

No, the future points to close collaboration between SonyEricsson and Apple, with a slim outside chance of Apple rebadging one particular SonyEricsson device. But we'll explain how we arrive at this conclusion. ....................

[heliod]

There was so many things going for the newton, except size of course. It was just ahead of it's time.

The talent of being always ahead of time has been for years Apple's biggest praise and biggest curse, at the same time. In today's market you must have the right product at the right time, otherwise you loose money and die.

[ThomasC22]

The Register has an interesting take on this subject in this article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/26731.html
Sony, Apple make phone dream team ... but 'iPhone' unlikely


Wow, you know, if I didn't know better I'd say those Register people are a little sarcastic... :wink:

Seriously though, I don't think their theory holds much water, Apple (to the best of my knowledge) has never simply sold rebranded products. They're way too protective of their image (e.g. we have the best engineers in the world and design everything better). Look at the trouble they went to in keeping the iPod's design a secret.

[Jonathon Watkins]

Well - building a phone isn't trivial. The Reg often has a good take on what's going on. We shall see what happens. After all - people have been saying (hoping) that Apple would produce a PDA for ages now. We shall see if it comes to pass.

[klinux]

Whether you are a PC fan or an Apple fan (I am both), I strongly believe in competition. Had MS not challenged 3Com-Palm back in the days, what would Jason be doing now with his spare time and money??? :lol:

[Jonathon Watkins]

...what would Jason be doing now with his spare time and money??? :lol:
Answers on a postcard............. :beer: :drinking: