Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yep out of order but hardly a massive deterent from buying an iPhone...
Apple iPhone and related items (cont.)
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hiraethified
According to the author, you can access multiple Gmail accounts, see threaded views and google contacts, archive (quickly), star messages and other functionality missing from Apple’s Mail.app.What's the difference between that ap and jumping to Gmail online through the Google ap say. Apart from it being quicker and using less bandwidth?
I can't see why iPhone users shouldn't be able to choose what email client they prefer to use and I'm baffled why Apple elect to block innovation.
untethered
For industry & decency
You know how Apple have done really well with their digital music players, those little iPods?
I reckon they could repeat that success in the mobile phone market which has traditionally suffered from unimaginative design and poor usability.
With their flair for stunning contemporary design and canny marketing, Apple could really be onto a winner here. They'd certainly give Nokia and SonyEricsson a run for their money!
So when are we going to see a nice shiny MacPhone or MacPhone Pro from the boys in Cupertino?
I reckon they could repeat that success in the mobile phone market which has traditionally suffered from unimaginative design and poor usability.
With their flair for stunning contemporary design and canny marketing, Apple could really be onto a winner here. They'd certainly give Nokia and SonyEricsson a run for their money!
So when are we going to see a nice shiny MacPhone or MacPhone Pro from the boys in Cupertino?
Lazy Llama
Suburban robots that monitor reality
That app is only useful if you have multiple Gmail accounts and need to switch between them.
Otherwise you may as well just create a bookmark icon for Gmail which gives you everything except the account switching.
Otherwise you may as well just create a bookmark icon for Gmail which gives you everything except the account switching.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
Once someone writes a lovely email client, its nearly impossible to for apple to recover that ground, it becomes the iPhone email standard app. That would hurt their supposed 'enterprise phone' (haha) status. I don't think Apple are exactly overflowing with developers so it really would be a blow to them for someone to kill off their email client.
Apples own email client is so especially shit any developer worth his salt could do it without too much trouble. It also makes it an App store juicy ripe plum for the picking. I'd consider paying $1 for a decent email client.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yep, hence my comment above. Seriously, how many potential iPhone users are going to be put off by the lack of ability to switch between multiple gmail accounts?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I don't think the point is that it will put people off, more about highlighting Apples rather shitty attitude to certain software developers.
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hiraethified
Users should be able to set up their phones how they want, not how the phone manufacturer thinks they should set it up.
Why shouldn't users have a choice of mail apps to choose from? If Apple's default email client is so good then why should they be bothered to ban third party products?
Lazy Llama
Suburban robots that monitor reality
Sure, but the app in question is distinctly NOT an email client. It opens the WebKit web browser with a default link to Gmail. That's all.
I'm not aware of any alternate mail clients which are either available for the iPhone or have been rejected. Similarly there don't appear to be any other web browsers right now, other than apps using the embedded WebKit. Maybe Opera have ported their browser to the iPhone and are keeping quiet that Apple are not making it available, but I doubt it.
There are alternative calendars, notepads, contacts, clocks, calculators, weather and stocks apps. These are all relatively easy to write, maybe that's why we've not seen any alternate mail clients yet.
I'm not defending Apple's frankly cranky selection criteria, just pointing out that this particular app isn't worth getting excited about, though it has slightly more functionality than the pointless $999 app which Apple allowed and then withdrew.
There are some good points to the AppStore, in that you get notified of updates automatically without having to visit each vendors website, and it makes it easy for software developers to get paid.
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hiraethified
But the point is: should the phone manufacturer have absolute control over what users can and can not install on the phone they've spent their money on?
Do you really think this is the way that the mobile industry should be progressing because it worries the fuck out of me.
Rainingstairs
Well-Known Member
I'm happy with my iphone see--->
but beggars can't be choosers cause they bleed the bejesus out of the US market for every cent, knowing that we're the type of consumers that will throw out our 3 month old phone cause a even newer.better.shinier.faster.etc version just got released.
check it like, did this happen there? We had the iphone that came out around March 2007. no 3G like $400 for 8gb...clunky and well, I wasn't all up in line buying it.
Then a year later a new faster better version gets released with twice the memory at half the price. Why didn't they just skip the beta-max all together and go straight to the real deal
but beggars can't be choosers cause they bleed the bejesus out of the US market for every cent, knowing that we're the type of consumers that will throw out our 3 month old phone cause a even newer.better.shinier.faster.etc version just got released.
check it like, did this happen there? We had the iphone that came out around March 2007. no 3G like $400 for 8gb...clunky and well, I wasn't all up in line buying it.
Then a year later a new faster better version gets released with twice the memory at half the price. Why didn't they just skip the beta-max all together and go straight to the real deal
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
I think its specific to Apple and you've yet to convince me that its any different to the consoles which have been that way forever. If you don't want it don't buy one. Its a trade off over their autocratic regime and the functionality the phone gives you, which I do think is the best phone I've owned by miles even with all its faults.
I'm hopeful that over time Apple will get fed up with the constant criticism and be much more relaxed. Certainly for free applications.
Android is showing that this isn't the way that it will go. Certainly if its a truly open platform. Release today did you say?
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hiraethified
You're not comparing like with like. Consoles have nothing to do with the mobile industry - no other phone manufacturer has tried to introduce the restrictive practices that Apple did.
The way that people are forced to go through endless ridiculous jailbreaking cycles while risking having their phone broken just so that they can install useful apps is truly ludicrous and it sets a terrible precedent.
You've bought the phone and you should be able to install what you want. No matter how pretty the iPhone is, that doesn't stop Apple's restrictive practices being deeply concerning for the future of the industry.
I hope Android spanks its ass and teaches Apple that open, non proprietary systems offering the consumer real choice is the future.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
All the phones before the iPhone I've used were closed devices. As this is the 1st phone I've had which has the ability to run 3rd party applications coupled with a very impressive software order/delivery service. I've nothing else to compare it with, consoles were the closest fit, the Xbox Live service for the 360 being the only other mass market device like it.
If it was a shit device then its gonna fail, but its actually pretty decent so I can take that side of things to some extent.
What is needed is some decent competition for this in terms of ease of use. Or size in the case of an N95, o.m.g. picked one up the other day, thats not a phone thats a house brick!
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hiraethified
It may be impressive to you, but the notion that all software has to be approved solely by the manufacturer and can only purchased through their own store (or face the possibility of an intentionally knackered phone/broken warranty), with the phone only available on a single network sets a hideous precedent for consumers.
Can't you see that?
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
The precedent has already been set though. Most phones have been locked down since the beginning. So it's a shame that Apple won't open up the phone to all comers, but it's not like they've stepped into a wonderful free world and put the clamps on. It's business as usual. Shitty business as usual, but nothing different.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
But if it's not going to make a difference to anyone other than a bunch of ranting geeks on the net who really cares?
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hiraethified
Not if you're talking about smartphones. And I've never heard of a phone manufacturer intentionally trying to bork people's handsets before.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
Its very impressive technology the app store. Very simple to use and buy stuff. How its used is meh to me, its not ideal no but its not killing off application development. Application overload on there now. So many it needs a bit of an overhaul.
I can always buy an android phone, if I get utterly pissed off. I can guarantee it'll not be as nice and its not an iPod, which is the reason I got the iPhone. The android not being a iPod will have a clunky UI for music 100% guaranteed, nearly 9 years after the iPod nobody has really challenged the original iPod and Apple have moved on and consolidated their position.
Competition is a win win thing for me in this respect, the release of a 1/2 decent phone from Google can only focus Apples mind. I get better software for my phone, perhaps sooner. If they don't innovate and push the platform forward I can jump ship in a year or so. More mature, perhaps other phones by then anyway.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Pretty much agree with that, Android will do for Apple what Apple has done for other, non Palm, smartphone makers...
editor
hiraethified
The G1 is way better than 'half-decent' and it's already besting the iPhone with some of its apps and features - have you seen the street view feature with compass?
And, best of all, there's none of Apple's control freakery going on, so I'd say that the future looks very bright for Android - and there's still a lot more phones to come, so expect a ton of applications and innovation soon.
It's great news that an open source, highly capable alternative has risen up to challenge Apple's proprietary and restrictive practices.
Lazy Llama
Suburban robots that monitor reality
Makes Palm's new OS look dead in the water though.
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hiraethified
Yep. I really can't see how they can pull back from this, with the company being squeezed tight between Apple's vast reservoirs of development cash and the huge rate of development that's going to follow the launch of Android.
Add the consumer-friendly iTunes and the even cheaper Amazon music distribution channels to the mix and I really can't see much space for Palm to differentiate themselves.
With great timing, Palm have just announced that the release of the new OS has been hauled back to mid 2009. I'd hate to see them go because the market needs great innovators like Palm, but I wouldn't be buying shares in them right now.
Lazy Llama
Suburban robots that monitor reality
Here we go again. 
Mac users have been blindly defending Apple's restrictive practices for 20 years while PC users have been enjoying more apps and more power for less money. Now we've got iPhone fanbois already dismissing Smartphone users as 'geeks' who are making a fuss about nothing when they complain about Apple trying to bully small companies out of business. Apple is as greedy and wicked as IBM was in the '70s and they'll get their come-uppance in the phone market. They won't be able to defeat the combined might of Microsoft, Google, Nokia, HTC and all the other hardware companies. Not a chance.
The naivety of the iPhone fans is hilarious - they actually think the iPhone is new. Ignorance is bliss. I've had a Windows smartphone (an HTC Blue Angel www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/18/review_htc_blue_angel/) with touchscreen, wi-fi, bluetooth, mp3, Office, video, blah blah blah since 2005! It runs tons of freeware without Mr Gates trying to interfere. I'm still using it - it does a great job. I would never buy an iPhone until Jobs gets his head out of his arse. And I doubt there will ever be any need, with such great products from HTC, Nokia and now Google.
The iPod story is equally hilarious. People buy them just because they look pretty and the glossy magazines say they're cool. So you get stuck with a proprietary platform which rips you off, gives you crummy sound quality and tries to take over your PC.
The mass market gets the products it deserves I suppose.
Mac users have been blindly defending Apple's restrictive practices for 20 years while PC users have been enjoying more apps and more power for less money. Now we've got iPhone fanbois already dismissing Smartphone users as 'geeks' who are making a fuss about nothing when they complain about Apple trying to bully small companies out of business. Apple is as greedy and wicked as IBM was in the '70s and they'll get their come-uppance in the phone market. They won't be able to defeat the combined might of Microsoft, Google, Nokia, HTC and all the other hardware companies. Not a chance. The naivety of the iPhone fans is hilarious - they actually think the iPhone is new. Ignorance is bliss. I've had a Windows smartphone (an HTC Blue Angel www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/18/review_htc_blue_angel/) with touchscreen, wi-fi, bluetooth, mp3, Office, video, blah blah blah since 2005! It runs tons of freeware without Mr Gates trying to interfere. I'm still using it - it does a great job. I would never buy an iPhone until Jobs gets his head out of his arse. And I doubt there will ever be any need, with such great products from HTC, Nokia and now Google.
The iPod story is equally hilarious. People buy them just because they look pretty and the glossy magazines say they're cool. So you get stuck with a proprietary platform which rips you off, gives you crummy sound quality and tries to take over your PC.
The mass market gets the products it deserves I suppose.
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
I used to have a WM device too. It was painful to use. The interface was like desktop windows, except you had to use a tiny stylus to pick away at things with.
The iphone and the ipod aren't good because they do lots of things, they're good because they do a smaller amount of things very slickly and intuitively. My mum can use itunes and ipod without any help from me at all. This is unprecedented in the world of technology, and it's down to Apple's UI expertise. I bought an ipod because I found itunes to be the most friendly and intuitive way of managing my music, and the ipod to have the simplest easiest interface. Not because some style mag told me to.
The iphone and the ipod aren't good because they do lots of things, they're good because they do a smaller amount of things very slickly and intuitively. My mum can use itunes and ipod without any help from me at all. This is unprecedented in the world of technology, and it's down to Apple's UI expertise. I bought an ipod because I found itunes to be the most friendly and intuitive way of managing my music, and the ipod to have the simplest easiest interface. Not because some style mag told me to.
Ok, that is all true. But your mum is getting pretty poor value for money. She could be getting the same thing much more cheaply. It's a shame that Apple's UI expertise comes at such a price.
BTW, I lost my smartphone stylus yonks ago, but my fingernail does the job. And the blue angel has a full qwerty keyboard, which helps. But then I've been using DOS/Windows for 25 years so I don't find Apple products especially easy to learn.
BTW, I lost my smartphone stylus yonks ago, but my fingernail does the job. And the blue angel has a full qwerty keyboard, which helps. But then I've been using DOS/Windows for 25 years so I don't find Apple products especially easy to learn.
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