iPhoneStuff.org

Without officially testing each of these phones, but rather running off of the manufacturers’ websites, here are the cold hard facts about the iPhone against other leading smart-phones today:

Only a week before the iPhone is released! Here are some last-minute iPhone facts that will hopefully help you to make your purchasing decision before the countdown is over.

1. The iPhone will support IMAP, POP3 and Yahoo Push email. It will automatically recognize phone numbers in email messages and provide one-click access to dialing them. However, it will not support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), so users won’t be able to send text messages with pictures or video to other mobile phone users. The iPhone will not let users chat with friends directly via instant messaging (IM).

2. When watching a video on the iPhone and a call comes in, the video will automatically pause while you take the call, then resume when you hang up.

3. The iPhone does not offer GPS capability.

4. Third-party applications will be allowed only as web-based applications loaded from the internet on the iPhone’s Safari web browser. Apple will roll out a Windows version of Safari, which should drive support, application development and awareness of the browser to improve the Safari-centric iPhone experience, especially for Windows users.

5. As demonstrated in the latest iPhone ad, featured below, the iPhone will be compatible with Youtube. As earlier reported on iPhoneStuff.org, a spokesman for Apple confirmed Youtube, and yet said that Youtube does not necessarily mean Flash support. The last time I checked, Youtube does require Flash to work, so it seems that the iPhone comes equipped with a specialized version of the Flash player that works only with Youtube, and not in the built-in Safari browser.

This brings me to the next point:

6. The iPhone will not support Flash in it’s Safari browser. Running off the heels of the last iPhone fact, it would appear that the iPhone has a limited version of the Flash player built into it, so it will more than likely be only a matter of time before Apple releases a fully-fledged Flash player for the iPhone’s Safari browser.

7. In order to use an iPhone, buyers will be required to first set up an account with the iTunes store using their credit cards, even if they have no intention of buying anything there. This is in addition to the required carrier contract with AT&T. Current iTunes account holders will be able to use existing accounts.

8. We already knew that iTunes would provide sync capability between iPhone and email, contacts, calendar, photos and other data on both PCs and Macs. We learned this week that the synchronization is automatic when the iPhone is plugged in.

Sources:

Mac Rumors
PC Advisor

The other day, I was driving to a doctor’s appointment in a doctor’s office I’d never been to before. I was referred there by a sports-clinic doctor with very messy writing. I read the address of the doctor’s office as “XXXX St. Mary’s.” I did a quick check on Google Maps for the address and set off for my appointment.

The slip that the sports-clinic doctor gave me said there was a $75 non-attendance fee, so I was nervous to be on time. I got to St. Mary’s Street with about 2 minutes to go, and was feverishly looking for the right address. I had printed out my Google Map guide so I knew exactly where to look. The funny thing about this map, was that it pointed to a spot in the middle of a park. “Oh well, it must be a nice office,” I thought to myself.

I’m checking addresses, checking addresses, I’m in the right area, but there’s no building in the park, no building next to the park, and no building ANYWHERE NEAR the park with that address on it. It’s basically a residential area with no businesses anywhere to be seen. I’m freaking out. Where is this place?

It occurred to me then, that I might have the wrong address.

The point of this story is near. I don’t own a cell phone, but ever since I was young, I always carry change with me in case such a situation occurs where I need to find a pay phone to make a call. I don’t know if I’m the first to realize this, but there’s NO PAY PHONES ANYMORE. With the rise of cell phones and their sheer mass popularity, nobody needs pay phones anymore, so telephone companies don’t maintain them.

I drove up and down this St. Mary’s Street where there’s more businesses and signs of life, but no pay phones in sight.

Thus - the point emerges: The market is saturated with cell phones, PDAs, mobile communication etc. The amazing punk band Randy wrote a song about how people today are Addicts of Communication. How true this is. Many people can’t wait in line at the grocery store without pulling out their phone for a quick call or text message. I’ve noticed also that more and more people think it’s not rude to talk through the entire check-out process, just passing their VISA to the cashier when he/she slightly opens their mouth and motions for payment. It’s rude, but people are addicted.

Feeding their addictions are the cell phone and PDA manufacturers. Much like computers, a cell phone or PDA is obsolete as soon as it’s taken off the shelf. Life cycles of these mobile wonders of technology are getting shorter and shorter and people are just waiting for their contracts to run out so they can get a new contract and product because all their friends have a better shinier one.

The newer shinier one currently: Apple’s iPhone. Everyone wants one, and will stop at nothing to get one. Sure, it’s a little pricier than most of the competition, but man will it make my friends jealous! That is - until one of the competitors which releases a new phone every month makes a slicker one.

Apple makes products that last years, are quality products, and can usually be sold for almost as much as you paid for it. An Apple cell phone will not be any of these things. It will not last years, even if the contract does, it might be a quality product, but just imagine the damage scratching that touch-screen will cause, and lastly, by the time you want to sell it, it will be so outdated you’ll just want to get rid of it.

Will the iPhone be Apple’s biggest mistake? Only time will tell. Mr. Jobs has usually hit home runs with his products, but this is a very risky move, and one that other cell phone manufactureres are definitely watching closely.

I’ve compiled a list of 7 facts about the iPhone that are often overlooked, and also what they mean to me, and maybe to you too.

1. The iPhone features a built-in battery that is not intended to be user-replaceable (”we knew that,” you cry), similar to existing iPods. The battery is capable of providing five hours of video, web browsing, or talk time. HOWEVER - the battery life for music playing is 16 hours. It is unknown how long the batteries will last in sleep mode.

The fact that underneath all the gloss and music and video, it is a cell phone, here’s hoping that the sleep mode battery life will be at least 48 hours. Most cell phones can be left on in sleep mode for a few days.

2. There will be new headphones which are similar to those of current iPods, but which incorporate a microphone.

If you thought you had to hold the iPhone right up to your mouth to talk, and worry that you’ll drop it, worry no longer. Also, if it’s illegal to hold a cell phone and drive at the same time where you are, out of the box this will not be a problem for you with this corded solution.

3. Calls can be answered and ended by squeezing the microphone.

I hope you don’t have an itchy finger for squeezing, because if you squeeze twice quickly, you would have just answered and hung up on your friend. A good way to lose friends!

4. The loudspeaker is used both for handsfree operations and media playback.

That’s right - it has a built-in speaker. Well of course it does, it has MP3 ringtones doesn’t it? Annoy all of your coworkers while you watch the latest episode of Scrubs or The Office without headphones!

5. Storage: 4 or 8 GB Flash memory, storing files (music, video, contacts, photos) and operating system.

Unlike current iPods, the iPhone will use flash memory, not a hard-drive based memory storage. This is good news for a cell phone, which will more than likely get tossed around more than an mp3 player. A hard bump and you might get the sad iPod icon on an HDD based iPod, but flash memory is solid with no moving parts like the USB thumb drive sticking out the back of your computer right now.

6. Apple has announced that the slimmed-down version of OS X running on the iPhone will take up “considerably less” than 500MB.

Does this mean it will take up 495MB? Add a couple of widgets and most likely it will be close to 500MB. This means that on a 4GB model, you will be able to add only 3.5GB of your own songs, videos, and photos. Also of note is that the flash memory will not be upgradeable.

7. The iPhone has three switches on its sides: sleep/wake, volume up/down, ringer on/off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen.

We knew that it was basically an all-finger operation, but I for one am glad to see a manual volume control on the side. When I used to ride the public transit bus through the heart of the ghetto known as the north end in my city, I always kept my CD player in my backpack and just reached in to adjust volume. I didn’t want to pull it out. The problem with the iPhone is that if you want to change tracks without looking, you might have a tough time.

That’s my roundup of things I found interesting that haven’t been talked about to death. Anything I missed?

The iPhone is a lot of things, including:

• a cell phone
• an iPod
• a photo viewer
• a video player
• a wireless web browser

This package of features will retail for $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) USD and be available in June in the US.

Now let’s switch gears and talk about another touch-sensitive device. The Nintendo DS.

The Nintendo DS is currently the most popular hand held gaming device on the planet. Because of its’ widespread popularity, it also has a massive fan following. Part and parcel nowadays with a fan following, is a modifications following; a group of individuals who seek to unleash the DS for all that it can be. Some of these modifications and newfound abilities the DS has come across make the Nintendo DS:

• free VoIP wireless phone
• an iPod
• photo viewer
• video player
• web browser
• personal organizer
• a TI-85 calculator
• AIM, MSN Messenger, and IRC chat
• Linux
• a Gameboy, a SNES, and a Dreamcast emulator
• a live weather updater
• an FTP client
• and many, many more

Here’s a video of the iPod homebrew program running on a DS Lite:

Something of note here, is that in order to be more than just a regular Nintendo DS, one would need to purchase a Nintendo DS storage device. One such storage device is the R4DS which requires no actual modding of the Nintendo DS in order to run homebrew programs.

The Nintendo DS retails for $129.99 USD. The R4DS retails for $44.95, and a 4GB micro SD card with USB adapter for the R4DS retails for $118.99.

The grand totals:

Apple iPhone:
$499 USD (4GB) and $599 USD (8GB).

Nintendo DS Lite + R4DS + 4GB Micro SD card storage:
$293.93 USD.

Of course, the iPhone is made by Apple, and many of the homebrew applications for the DS are made by any regular Joe, so they definitely won’t be as pretty. All told, however, if you don’t absolutely need a new cell phone, and want to save a few bucks, the Nintendo DS is the clear winner for features and price.

Apple’s iPhone may be the only king of touch-screen phones in North America, but the Japanese have had country-wide 3G service for a while now, touch-screens are nothing!

In this article from Joystiq, it explains that the phone - called the D800iDS - has dual screens that resemble the Nintendo DS, and no keys.

Its’ features include a PictoChat-like utility, enabling users to scrawl messages to eachother, and focus mainly on games and fun.

While North America anticipates the arrival of its’ first innovative cell phone in… forever, Japan quietly puts out highly superior products on a regular basis. Will this phone ever be available in the United States or Canada? Most likely not.

German Apple enthusiast magazine Macwelt recently drew new details out of Apple Germany, and in this article, discuss a few things the iPhone has, and has not.

One item of note, is that Macwelt discerned from Apple that iPhone users will not be allowed to use their multimedia mobile communications device for VoIP. That means that connecting wirelessly to the internet via WiFi will not get you a free call.

This news is disappointing for users who tie their other mobile devices - like laptops - to their wireless bluetooth headsets. It also comes at a time when many critics have been hitting Apple with bad reviews of anticipation due to a number a recent details about the iPhone’s limitations.

Being 5 months away from production and shipping, Apple surely has some tricks up their sleeve that will make us salivate even more as we get closer to June.