A few minutes after the iphone 3GS announcement yesterday I tweeted that it was still the most important MID out there. Despite some ridiculously lame announcements (MMS and tethering for example) the fact that the processor has been upgraded, that a compass has been added along with video capability, that there’s a turn-by-turn navigation offering and the introduction of a ton of ebooks into the store highlights that it can stretch its wings across nearly all the segments that mobile internet devices should be in. Internet, gaming, photography, communications, ebooks, navigation and media playback.
The fact that it’s capable of all these things (albeit in ‘standard definition’ and with carrier-tied 24month contract) makes it important to watch. Imagine what’s going to happen within the iphone developers ecosystem. The creativity contained within it is incredible and we’re going to see amazing applications, new usage models and a ton of new user-created data.
But…
It’s still not quite the MID most of us are looking for. Keyboard, hi-res screen, 720p recording, hi-def playback, video-out (wasn’t this supposed to be in the new OS?), removable battery, processing power, camera flash, Adobe flash and a general dash of openness are going to be big issues for pro-mobile types and that’s why it doesn’t really challenge devices like the UMID, the S5 or new devices like the Compal KAX-15 or the rumoured Nokia N900. Looking to 2010 and Moorestown/Moblin 2 the iPhone is going to look positively low-def if what’s promised comes true.
It looks like the hardware problems are solved and we could have our ideal MID tomorrow but that software ecosystem is key to gaining a fan-base, developers, word-of-mouth marketing and, quite simply, sales. Moblin and Maemo need to attract some of that creativity otherwise we’re left with some good hardware and a set of basic applications. App stores, stylish hardware, compelling API’s, unique features and attractive brands are a must. The iPhone may not be the MID that any of us would create in our dreams but it’s still the most important MID out there.
New article: iPhone 3GS – The Most Important MID http://cli.gs/6M7DDD
RT @chippy: New article: iPhone 3GS – The Most Important MID http://cli.gs/6M7DDD
Don’t agree with calling iPhone a MID but points are good. RT @chippy: New article: iPhone 3GS – The Most Important MID http://cli.gs/6M7DDD
The iPhone 3GS is only what the iPhone 3G should have been when it was initially released. There is nothing innovative in announcing to the world that your premier product can now ‘cut & paste’. Nothing!
So barring ‘cut & paste’, Apple R&D has managed to squeeze a solitary pixel into the new phone! Hmmm…
Meanwhile Samsung announces the release of their first 12 megapixel smartphone for release this month. Sony’s Satia at the end of the year. Let’s not forget the Omnia HD.
The Nokia N97 is due for imminent release, but as has been already stated Nokia seem hell bent on ‘self sabotaging’ their whole game with that Ovi thing.
Duke
“The iPhone 3GS is only what the iPhone 3G should have been when it was initially released.”
Many people said that the iPhone 3G were only what the original iPhone should have been when it was initially released! ;-)
I’d say the iPhone 3Gs is just what the original iPhone should have been. But – it’s here now, and it’s pretty cool.
I’m looking forward to replace my iphone classic with the new one ;)
I think the new iphone is a good step forward, but i like the design of the classic more. looks better to me.
I guess im one of the few who just doesnt give a damn about the whole iphone fad. Im rather tired of my newsfeeds getting gunked with a ton of mundane ihpone jibberjabber.
Not taking my grudge out on umpcportal though.
Just thinking this phone toy is getting hyped way tomuch.
No, you are not alone. I am with you 100%. I wouldn’t be surprized that all that hype is actually financed by Apple through some blogers, trying to make a quick buck and so called “advertisement agencies” that will pay anyone who is willing to go on any blog, warship iPhone and spit venom on its competition s.a. Windows Mobile. Fave you noticed like all those posts starts with well scripted “I was WM user for […] years, but now I am in love with iPhone, it just works, etc…
It is getting very annoying!
sadly, i suspect its very little payment, and very much the latest iteration of what this guy dreamed up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Kawasaki
Apple does not pay bloggers to write about the iPhone. They don’t need to. They have a very good public image, and the iPhone is a pretty cool device. Once you get hype to a certain stage (which the iPhone reached well before it was officially announced – not the 3Gs – the original iPhone) – the hype machine just feeds on itself. People talk about it because people are talking about it. If you are a tech blogger of any shade – game systems, phones, laptops, UMPCs, MIDs, netbooks, cameras, software, tech deals, whatever – and you haven’t talked about the iPhone at some point over the last 3 years – it’s because you are purposefully trying hard to avoid the subject. The iPhone is a genre spanning device that touches everything. If you write about netbooks, Apple has said the iPhone fills that space in their lineup. If you write about software, the App Store has added a new way for developers to reach their audience. If you write about gaming – there are plenty of games for the iPhone, and it’s hard to not compare the DSi’s Club Nintendo to the iPhone’s App Store – or the new PSPGo’s shrinking act and storage offering to the iPhone’s design. There’s no reason for Apple to pay people to do what they are already doing.
Although, Apple, if you are looking for someone to blog about your iPhone, I’d be happy to do it for a reasonable fee. Also, I’d of course need a review sample of the product in order to give my opinion on it – contract free, of course.
LOL. I am one of those “I was WM user for […] years” people! My first UMPC-like device was a Casio which ran Windows CE 2.0
I still have a soft-spot for WM and would like to see WM7 succeed but it is hard to ignore how much better the iPhone OS is.
iPhone has been capable of TV out for a few iterations now. (You need the component AV cable and the universal dock adapter.) I’m think you mean something you mean VGA when you say “video out”?
I wasn’t aware that either the UMID or S5 did 720p recording. In particular, I’m fairly certain that the S5 doesn’t have a camera much less a flash and that the UMID webcam isn’t good enough for 720p. Certainly, the S5 doesn’t have a keyboard. Also, since they both come with XP, you can’t really call them open (unless you blow that away and replace it with Linux).
As for Moorestown in 2010, surely next year at about this time, Apple will announce a new iPhone. It seems unfair to compare next year’s vaporware to this year’s hardware. (Also, 720p seems like a waste unless it comes with a larger screen. At that point, people will complain about how it’s a total brick and way too bulky to be a cellphone. Manufacturers can’t win…)
Having said that, I think it’s always been about the software. No one but Apple has been willing to admit that the user experience matters until now. Everyone talks about how awesome multi-touch is, but as we’ve discovered, what makes it awesome is not the base technology by itself, but the software that takes advantage of it. (Not multitouch but, Win XP Tablet didn’t have the user experience it should have, for example, because very few applications treated the stylus as anything besides an oddly shaped mouse.)
The battle, IMHO, isn’t so much over hardware specs as much as how easily the user can take advantage of that hardware. (iPhones may not appeal to you, or most readers here, but the mainstream has different requirements.) Whether Apple stays ahead in terms of good user experience or not, for now, they certainly have a head start.
I think there are two aspects to a good UMPC (MID/whatever):
1) That the hardware can do what you want it to do
2) That the software utilises this in a simple fashion and is able to make use of the hardware and meet people’s expectations.
iPhone has got decent hardware (not the best), and the software is fashionably simple. This is why it has met and raised consumers expectations. Business users though aren’t impressed because it didn’t do cut and paste for example.
My WinMo can almost do everything the iPhone does (and it is a year older.) New smartphones blow the iPhone out the water – this isn’t vapourware, but stuff released already. However, for consumers Apple still has the edge. WinMo isn’t going to change that until WinMo7. Android is challenging, and now you have UMPCs with Voice capability squeezing from the other side.
I think Chippy’s point though is fair to the degree that consumers are impressed with it and it has just got better. It therefore remains a benchmark.
“As for Moorestown in 2010, surely next year at about this time, Apple will announce a new iPhone. It seems unfair to compare next year’s vaporware”
Good point. For now, the iphone hardware is pretty good. There’s better hardware around but I take your point about Moorestown.
JC, by open he meant “a general dash of openness”, not FOSS. I think the point was openness for developers to release software for the platform. Apple wants to keep a tight control over the whole experience and while it is sometimes good and guarantees a better experience – stuff released for it really does work – it also limits your options. MIDs running XP are open for developers to release anything users want or have accustomed to using.
Chippy, only one typo: “stretch it’s wings” should of course be stretch its wings. :)
Great article. The iPhone really is the most serious platform right now. I don’t have one, not even a smartphone of any kind, but I’d get one in a heartbeat if it gave me enough battery life in MID use and was not Symbian-based.
How do you figure they got those battery life figures of “9 hours” of “Internet use” over WiFi and “5 hours” over 3G? Shouldn’t a faster processor etc. reduce online time, if anything? (6 and 5 hours stated on old model.) I don’t see it sporting a significantly different battery, so it must be marketing math with e-mail use etc. with not that much data transfer and page rendering going on. Of course a faster CPU can get idle faster after finishing work faster… but they also state increased video and audio playback times.
For the battery, a faster processor means you could do more in the same amount of time (download 1 page while reading another), the more you do the more the battery is drained. Also the 3g hardware is going to support faster speeds, so you will get pages faster and spend less time waiting.
There are lots of things that drain battery, if you compare the iphone to the ipod touch you will see that the iPhone can last longer playing back video but can’t last as long playing back audio.
The reason why it is happening is because the iPhone has other things that are draining the battery besides audio/video playback (like the cellular radios), and the longer the iphone is on the more those other things will have drained from the battery.
Maybe, but a download has just as much to do with the wireless as the cpu. Another thing is that you want the cpu to go idle and clocked back as much as posssible. yes, a facter cpu may help here, but also one that can redraw a screen without having to fully clock up. Saying that a faster cpu gets more things done on the same battery is a somewhat simple statement that hides a lot of factors…
Where’s an Nvidia APX smartphone when you need one?! :)
Chippy is absolutely right about the need to sell. If your product doesn’t sell, really all your prototypes, and trade show appearances don’t mean anything. Consumer based marketing is going to be the key to the success of any new MID for the long haul. Because as we can see with the iPhone, relatively slow technological changes to the product haven’t decreased popularity. The iPhone wins (in terms of sales) hands down because of many reasons;
easily accessible for consumers (every mall in the U.S.)
affordable with a contract (huge factor for parents buying for their kid)
well marketed and stylish
overall coolness factor and ease of use
With the new $99.00 price for the current 3G I am sure they will easily unload to a market that was unreachable even at $199.00 pricing.
Bottom line- Ten engineers with no marketing department might make the next handheld teleportation device, but……….
Brian you just got it right!!
Cheers!
I think affordable fits in the category of accessible. You can be in every mall but if you are not affordable then your not really accessible.
And hey, with a handheld teleportation device who needs marketing :)
The problem with the UMID, S5, Compal KAX-15 or Nokia N900 is that they’re COMPANION devices while the iPhone is a cell phone, designed to be carried with you 24/7. The iPhone and other smartphones should minimise the need for these type of devices.
The iPhone hardware may not be state of the art (maybe except the sunlight readable touch screen) but the software is years ahead of the competition.
There are several other phones with argueably far better hardware like the HTC Touch HD, Nokia N96, Samsung Omnia HD, etc but they lack the useability of the iPhone. I listen to several mobile tech podcasts and while they get the chance to test out these uber-hardware smartphones, they keep going back to their iPhones.
I don’t agree that the iPhone software is fashionably simple. In my view, it has a powerful “backend” based on a POSIX kernel with a well thought-out and extremely well designed front-end UI.
Years since the original iPhone was released, the best Nokia could come up with is S60 5th edition. Fail.
Years since the original iPhone was released, the best Microsoft could do was Windows Mobile 6.5. Utter fail
Android.. promising but its not there yet.
Blackberry Storm… enough said there!
The iPhone OS, despite Apple’s iron-fist control, will be a mobile platform to be reckoned with.
Compared to other platforms, its a heaven for developers:
1) The App store (generally) makes it easy for developers to make money. Developers need to eat too!
2) Extensive, POWERFUL APIs allow for extremely rich multi-media applications.
3) You design software for one hardware form-factor, a keyboardless 480×320 device. If you develop for Windows mobile, you need to cater for a million different form factors and CPU/GPU configurations.
4) FREE SDK (hello Microsoft!) with a great developer community.
5) Oh yeah, lets not forget they got Apple’s marketing department behind the platform!
1.) Yeah, who will pay for the thedious labour of making a FART button..
2.) Exadurated.
3.) Thousands ifnot millions of little apps have been made for winmo, so its quite obviously not rocket science.
4.) ^^^
5.) Lets not forget the hypemachine?
Furthermore just the fact that its got a 480×320 resolution makes it not even worth my time and certainly not my money.
This thing is merely this popular because the half chewed apple is a status symbol. Youre “posh” or “cool” with your chums if you have something apple. Be it phone, pod or notebook, its all the same backing. The macbook is a pile of garbage, yet people line up for it. I dont see how this iphone fad is any different from the rest of it all.
1) Obviously a lot of people are willing to pay for fart apps which is why developers keep selling them. BTW, have you taken a look at the quality of the applications in the iPhone app store? You won’t find games like Simcity, Sonic, Fieldrunners or Myst on Windows Mobile.
2.) Talk to a hundreds of iPhone developers who have switched from developing for Windows Mobile. The Cocoa Touch APIs are far more extensive (especially for graphics) than the rubbish provided by the .NET CF APIs.
3.) In less than 1 year, there are now MORE applications for the iPhone OS than for Windows Mobile. Considering that Windows mobile has been around for almost a DECADE, that is quite a feat.
4.) ^^^
5.) I don’t think the hype is completely unwarranted. While Apple is putting a lot of marketing dollars behind the iPhone, it wouldn’t be so successful if it wasn’t such a good product.
BTW, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of people lining up for the MacBook. These people generally don’t buy MacBooks for the hardware, they buy it for the software.
1. Thats what we need, simcity on 480×320.. Besides, all other games you mentionned can be run by a simple emulator on any WinMo.
2. If theres millions of apple zombies waiting to buy whatever crap you shovel out, id switch too.. Its not a matter of a better platform, its a matter of more cattle to cater to.
3. And you base that on what exactly?
4. —
5. Thats exactly how a mac user thinks.. “everyone has it, so it must be the best”.
And you dont buy a 2k usd laptop for the OS, thats utterly retarded.. For half the cash and a littlebit of “hackintosh” to disgrace a normal laptop you get the same result. But its all about that apple decall for most people..
1) Simcity on the iPhone works a lot better than you think. Smart interface designs have made it a very playable game. I’ve wasted hours on the bus playing Simcity, and judging by the feedback on iTunes, so have hundreds of other people.
As for your claims about being able to play the other iPhone games on a WinMo phone with an emulator.. dream on! A lot of iPhone games make extensive use of 3D graphics that wouldn’t even be supported by a WinMo-native app. Even if an emulator did exist (which it doesn’t), there is no chance it would provide usable performance on today’s WinMo handsets.
There are few native graphics-rich games for WinMo so most people make do with simple J2ME games and to put it bluntly there is no comparison between J2ME and iPhone games… chalk and cheese is an understatement. J2ME is even more limited than .NET CF.
2) You might want to take a look at the applications in the Top 100 Paid-for list. Most applications there simply couldn’t exist on WinMo due to its lack for universal accelerated graphics support (and the need to support dozens of different screen sizes)
3) I don’t think anyone truly familiar with the WinMo platform would deny this fact. I listen to Msmobiles and WMExperts (as I have a Samsung i780 WM6 device) and even those guys weren’t surprised when the number of iPhone apps surpassed the number of WinMo apps. Details here: http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/20357/
5) Spoken by someone who has not done his research. Check out mobilitytoday, thecellphonejunkie or mobiletechaddicts. These guys are pretty much platform agnostic and have had the chance to own and/or play with all the major smartphone platforms. Guess what… almost all of them (including a guy who started one of the first WinMo iPaq sites) have switched to the iPhone.
And to top it off, Edward from msmobiles, a hardcore WinMo fanboi, also bought himself an iPhone.
And why wouldn’t you buy a laptop (or a desktop) for the OS? A lot of people prefer OS X and are willing to shell out the extra cash for a laptop with their preferred OS. And lets not forget that Apple (and other companies) have several software titles which are OS X only.
BTW, hackintoshes are technically illegal. Anyway, if OS X was such a lousy OS, why would Hackintoshes even exist?
I suggest you copy paste this with your iphone: “Besides, all other games >>> you mentionned <<< can be run by a simple emulator on any WinMo.” Wich means the games you mention are cheesy 2D games any ARM can run. And id rather save the REAL playing of games for devices that have a control interface other then jabbing at a tiny low res screen with a finger.
And ok, so winmo doesnt support that lame bubble button thing the iphone (mac in general really) got going. But my buttons dont need to dance to be usefull. Not to mention most winmo devices have the same aspect ratio regardless of resolution anyway, so your “different screens” remark is totally moot.
As for there being more apps, its simple, apple has more users (for now). Cater to the biggest group, is what any business would do. How apple aquired their zombie army is a different story all together.
We all like the novelty of an iphone, but when push comes to shove, it really is just that, a novelty with tomuch fanboys idolising it.
And you woulnd buy a laptop for the OS because its like buying a car for its stereo. Just buy the car you like and put in the stereo you want is what id do. But that doesnt get you a fancy apple on the hood, so that woulnd work at all right?
Hackintoshes exist because some users are sick of apples iron fist and wised up, just doing what they did with windows and linux. Break it and use it the way THEY want.
Spoken like a true ignoramus who obviously knows nothing about the iPhone, smartphone platforms or software in general. I suggest you do some actual research before posting because to any informed reader, your comments are laughable.
The only thing laughable about this discussion is your high horse attitude, which befits you quite well as an apple user.
The iphone is nothing more then an expencive toy for the teenage horde since it lacks any sence of productivity. Unfortunately a discussion with you seems futile since you are so narrowminded it makes apple your only answer to everything.
The iphone is.. nice. But certainly not perfect in any way. The only reason its being labeled “important” is because aforementionned teenage horde is jumping on it, praising it to heaven and back.
OK let me pick apart your arguement for you.
“Besides, all other games >>> you mentionned <<< can be run by a simple emulator on any WinMo.”
Wrong. There are no emulators available that are capable of running iPhone applications on WinMo phones. Applications on the iPhone are developed using the Cocoa Touch API (which is iPhone only) and when compiled can ONLY run on the iPhone.
“Wich means the games you mention are cheesy 2D games any ARM can run.”
WRONG again. Again you failed to do your research. iPhone applications have access to OpenGL ES APIs which allow for rich accelerated-3D applications. Most ARM-based devices rarely take advantage of the 2D/3D acceleration features on their SoC because it is not supported by the OS (including Windows mobile).
“Not to mention most winmo devices have the same aspect ratio regardless of resolution anyway, so your “different screens†remark is totally moot.”
Lets see. We have 320×240 and 640×480 (4:3), 320×320 (1:1), 400×240 and 800×480 (5:3). These are currently the POPULAR resolutions. There are other devices with XGA, SVGA and probably other more exotic resolutions.
Same aspect ratio… yeah right. Looks like you’re wrong again.
Also just because the screen retains the same aspect ratio, it doesn’t guarantee that an application will continue to work. Older versions of Skyfire did not work on VGA devices but worked perfectly on QVGA devices.
“And ok, so winmo doesnt support that lame bubble button thing the iphone (mac in general really) got going. But my buttons dont need to dance to be usefull.”
OK. I don’t even know where to begin with this. If you think people buy iPhones because the “buttons dance”, you truly are ignorant.
“As for there being more apps, its simple, apple has more users (for now). Cater to the biggest group, is what any business would do. How apple aquired their zombie army is a different story all together.”
There are currently more users of Windows Mobile because its has been around for longer. Sorry but your reasoning is obviously WRONG again.
“We all like the novelty of an iphone, but when push comes to shove, it really is just that, a novelty with tomuch fanboys idolising it.”
Novelty? So I guess that is why businesses begged Apple to add enterprise support when the iPhone was first released?! iPhone 2.0 added extensive enterprise support including full MS Exchange support. My WinMo phone can’t even read HTML mail from our MS Exchange server while an iPhone can! How pathetic is that!
Also for such a novelty device, I wonder why banks are developing applications for the iPhone for their customers to access their accounts and perform transactions. I don’t remember too many banks releasing Windows Mobile applications.
Bloomberg are also known for being a novelty company targetting “the teenage horde since it lacks any sence of productivity” right? I wonder why they have developed one of the most popular finance applications in the App Store?
Companies like Citrix (IT), Epocrates (Medical), NYTimes (News) and QuickOffice (productivity) are also known for making novelty applications right? Because they’ve developed applications for the iPhone too.
“And you woulnd buy a laptop for the OS because its like buying a car for its stereo.”
That is poor analogy. A computer without an OS is useless. The main purpose of a car is to take you from Point A to Point B. A car without a stereo is still able to take you from point A to point B.
A more accurate analogy would be to purchase a car for its engine (obviously an essential part of the car, just like the OS is on a computer).
“The iphone is nothing more then an expencive toy for the teenage horde since it lacks any sence of productivity”
WRONG again. According to Solutions Research Group, the average iPhone customer is a 31-year-old man with a college degree and an income of $75,600 per year — a salary 26 percent higher than the American average. 69% of iPhone users were aged OVER 25 and this was BEFORE Apple added business enterprise support in iPhone OS 2.0
Oh, and apple invented simcity, myst, sonic? Dont be stupid, these games are well available over countless platforms.
Reading html mail is as easy as using a webmail, so whatever.
Im using my winmo device to access my bank so stick that up your pipe too.
People make apps for the iphone because ignorant apes like you are prepared to fork out money for every single activity.
No matter howmuch you whine about my anology, paying 2000usd for having macOS is still utterly and completely RETARDED.
As for your various knitpicking and whining, goodluck with that. Im done with your thick yammering, you can proceed humping your apple goodies now, because I give up. There is more reasoning to be done with a WALL then there is with you.
Goodluck with your life, 31 year old man with a fat wallet and PHD who just spent hours bitching about a phone.. youre pathetic.
Sokonomi – you just spent the same amount of time arguing about a phone – only you had no actual facts to back up anything you said. What does that make you?
How can it be considered an MID when it had:
A HVGA screen + No flash on the browser
If you want to compare the iPhone to MIDs, I think it’s fair to say that the iPhone is like the wii of MIDs.
Low end hardware low res graphics, but cool wiimote controller (iPhone has the multitouch capacitive touch screen).
Games that are for casual users and not so much for hardcore gamers (iPhone has apps for casual users and not really full productivity suites).
I really don’t like the ipod/iphone hardware but hell i’d love to have some of those apps on my MIDs or UMPCs. The location-based and social networking apps lead the way.
At this stage it could be argues that the only people in a position to be able to build a ‘real’ MID with the right applications is Apple. How on earth is everyone else going to catch up?
Android and Moblin/Intel are both in a good position but Apple are accelerating ahead now.
If a Nokia N900 with Maemo 5 comes out before an ipod plus then i’ll probably buy that (although i’m looking at the KAX-15 closely.) This level of device gives me the real internet that I require but i’ll be hankering after some of those tasyy iphone apps!
What is an “iPod Plus”?
I don’t really know why people feel the need to take such strong emotional stands on technologies such as iphone, android and windows mobile, etc. That is likely a science project within itself. I am glad we have all of them to pick from and they drive one another to develop better solutions for us. So, I love the fact that we have so many choices.
The competition is what makes these organizations keep pushing and developing new features and technologies. Imagine if the only choice we had as one of these. Do you really think we would have the level of high-end devices that we enjoy today? I seriously doubt it. So, in my humble opinion the free market is what drives innovation, creativity and wonderful gadgets that you and I get to use for work and at home. As a software developer I have developed for all of these major mobile operating systems and while there is some overlap each one has its own unique and positive attributes that it brings to the table.