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Apple May Bring a Non-iPhone To Verizon Wireless
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Apr 28, 2009 04:40 PM
from the media-pad dept.
from the media-pad dept.
The Narrative Fallacy writes "According to BusinessWeek, Verizon Wireless is in talks with Apple to distribute two new iPhone-like devices that are not iPhones. (Apple has created prototypes.) AT&T's contract with Apple, which has not been made public, is believed to cover all models of the iPhone, but only the iPhone. So if Apple builds something that isn't an iPhone — and perhaps doesn't even make cellular calls — they won't be violating their exclusivity contract with AT&T, which runs through at least 2010. One device is a smaller, less expensive calling device described by a person who has seen it as an 'iPhone lite.' The other is a media pad, said to be smaller than a Kindle but with a bigger screen, that would let users listen to music, view photos, watch high-definition videos, and make calls over a Wi-Fi connection. (And read books?) Apple could use the prospect of an iPhone-esque device as leverage to prevent Verizon Wireless from introducing the Palm Pre, or at least to delay its introduction on Verizon's network. 'The media pad category might go to Verizon,' said one person who has seen the device. 'We are talking about a device where people will say, "Damn, why didn't we do this?" Apple is probably going to define the damn category.'" Reader stevegee58 writes with word that Verizon may be playing both ends against the middle. Marketwatch reports that Microsoft and Verizon are in talks to develop a touch-screen mobile phone that would run on Windows Mobile.
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Question (Score:2, Insightful)
T&T's contract with Apple, which has not been made public, is believed to cover all models of the iPhone, but only the iPhone.
I don't mean to be nit-pickey, but somehow, the meaning got lost in the translation.
Re: (Score:2)
THIS makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)
The back story here is that verizon is switching away from CDMA. they are expected however to maintain CDMA for voice and phase in the new network for data. Apple has said they are not eager to develop for CDMA since it has no future.
So if apple came out with a data device, say a netbook, for verizon it could run on the new network and not bother with CDMA.
makes total sense.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
In an attempt to keep things exciting, most 3g technologies use a CDMA (or W-CDMA) carrier.
Serious Verizon/WinMo WTFs (Score:5, Informative)
I have a touchscreen phone that uses Windows Mobile. It's the HTC mogul and it's a damned sweet phone when you load it up with SkyFire browser. (IE mobile takes suck to whole new levels)
I browse and post on slashdot/digg/reddit/etc, watch movies on hulu, play mp3s and all that jazz but unlike the iPhone, it has a real keyboard that doesn't suck to type on. (touch screen keyboards blow HARD)
It's a pretty awesome phone. But dangit, it's still windows with all its suck. The interface is inconsistent, laggy, it runs out of memory when you run too many progs at a time, and it just crashes about 1x/week without warning. Oh, and there's no spider solitaire.
It's a great phone except for the windows part.
It was great irony this morning... using Outlook mobile, Exchange (Zimbra) and Office mobile, it refused to open a word document in an email because it might 'harm my system'. Something ironic about MS' product telling me that another of their products is dangerous to use?
I opened it w/my Linux laptop, Kmail, and Open Office just fine, thank you!
PS: I typed this post on said phone. Verizon is developing a touch screen phone? What am I using, then?
Parent
This sounds exciting... (Score:2)
> Microsoft and Verizon are in talks to develop a
> touch-screen mobile phone that would run on
> Windows Mobile.
Seems to me there used to be a bunch of these options, and they all failed in the market.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
My current "smart" phone is a Windows Mobile device, and compared either to my previous Palm OS device or the iPhones I've handled, the OS seems not only not great as a phone, but not great for the PDA features of a smartphone, either. When I replace it, I can guarantee that the one thing I won't be considering is another Windows mobile offering.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You should be aware that the iPhone can do those things with a 3rd party app.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The iPhone has free SSH and VNC apps. I have them installed.
5 MP in a cell phone is fooling yourself. Zoom one of those pictures up and inspect it pixel by pixel. You MIGHT be getting 2 MP effective resolution. Everything else is just wasting memory capturing lens blur.
Re:This sounds exciting... (Score:4, Insightful)
One of my CS professors in college said something I wrote down, because it was a great quote, especially since he has a very thick Czech accent. Here's the quote, with all grammatical mistakes intact:
"When you pick up phone at your house, it just works. You don't wait two minutes to boot up, then it gives you blue screen of death."
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Full Keyboard and Captive touchscreen
Decent enough resolution camera with built-in video recording
Copy/Paste
Bluetooth Tethering
Full Bluetooth features
Built-in GPS
An OS with the ability to easily add in software from any source (and the official source must not have stupid restrictions like the app store on the iPhone)
A decent media player with all major codecs supported
Flash, and if not Flash then YouTube and othe
Re:This sounds exciting... (Score:5, Funny)
So, in other words, you want a laptop.
Parent
Re:This sounds exciting... (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, the iPhone has all of those except tactile keyboard, copy/paste, tethering, MMS, and Ogg support. If you count the upcoming release of the iPhone OS, you'll only be missing a tactile keyboard and Ogg support.
Seriously, why do people get so hung up on Ogg support? Less than 1/10th of 1 percent of digital music listeners even know what it is or care to use it, so why should Apple support it? DRM free AAC is good enough quality and unencumbered enough to use (unencumbered as in Apple pays for the license so wtf do I care?).
Parent
FTW (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not sure that's really "funny" as it's been modded. Anti-Trust measures WERE being considered against Apple in some jurisdictions, on the basis of Apple's iTunes DRM.
When Apple dropped DRM those calling for anti-trust prosecutions basically lost any grounds on which to fight. The iTunes Music Store doesn't lock you into an iPod anymore...you can play what you buy anywhere and your iPod can play tunes purchased from anywhere. iPods are a bit locked to iTunes in terms of loading data onto it, but there's
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How does using m4a lock anyone out of the iTunes Store? Virtually all of Apple's competitors support it in one product or another, which Apple has done nothing to prevent. How is it remotely an anti-trust issue?
Re:FTW (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Introducing the iFone (Score:5, Funny)
The thinnest, lightest fuck you to ATT on the market!
Re: (Score:2)
And it's only 110 dollars!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5179 [dealextreme.com]
Wow. (Score:5, Funny)
So this an article that isn't about iPhones, but feels the need to define it in terms of an iPhone.
(Car analogy time) That's like saying Ford is developing a new Non-Mustang vehicle.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Wow. (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Wow. (Score:5, Insightful)
You miss the point. All it's saying is Apple can make a device strikingly similar to an iPhone but at long as it's not called "iPhone" it's not required to be on AT&T.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It'd be more like if Ford had a contract with a certain steel company to produce all steel for the Mustang until 2015, and Ford one day announces that they're making a new car that has exactly the same components as the Mustang, but isn't officially a Mustang, so they aren't contractually obligated to keep the same steel supplier.
So (Score:2, Funny)
Palm Pre (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Palm Pre (Score:5, Insightful)
The Palm Pre needs to come out first for that particular plan to work.
Parent
Re:Palm Pre (Score:4, Insightful)
The Palm Pre needs to come out first for that particular plan to work.
Palm needs to break their exclusivity agreement with Sprint for that particular plan to work.
Parent
Re:Palm Pre (Score:4, Funny)
I dont own an iPhone because it doesn't have a tactile keyboard.
The iPhone 3.0 software enables the 'Spring Surprise' tactile feedback:
Two steel bolts that, upon the activation of the keyboard, spring outward and pierce the user's hands and fingers.
Parent
Re:Palm Pre (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Sounds familiar (Score:5, Insightful)
This sounds an awful like what Jobs did when he decided to kill off the clone makers after he came back as CEO. They had a license for OS 8, so he just changed the name to OS 9.
Re:Sounds familiar (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Sounds familiar (Score:5, Funny)
This sounds an awful like what Jobs did when he decided to kill off the clone makers after he came back as CEO. They had a license for OS 8, so he just changed the name to OS 9.
To be fair, it's not like going from 7.5 to 7.6 to 8.0 to 8.1 to 8.5 to 8.6 to 9.0 was a completely shocking progression.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Back then the Mac ran on "System" whatever. System 3, System 6, System 7, you get the idea.
The clone license covered System 7, so they changed the name to Mac OS and revved the number to 8, just to be sure.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
So close! Back then the Mac ran on "System" whatever. System 3, System 6, System 7, you get the idea. The clone license covered System 7, so they changed the name to Mac OS and revved the number to 8, just to be sure.
Not quite: The last OS for the clones was MacOS 7.6(.1).
Me want a TouchBook and here's why (Score:5, Interesting)
I hope the 'Media Pad / TouchBook' end up being true. Because it would be a product that would be useful to me.
I don't want a laptop. I have an old one, and even if my old iBook is rather small, over the years, I realized that it's not small enough for a lot of uses. Example: we don't use it at the dinner table to refer to Wikipedia and I don't bring it often when going to friends and family unless I know I'm going to use it because it's slightly too big and heavy.
On the other end, there's the iPod Touch and the like. Doubtlessly useful, and despite not owning one (I really try to buy as little stuff as possible because 'the things you own end up owning you' ;-), I fear the screen is too small to enjoy it as an input device (very small virtual keyboard) and media device (small screen too). On the plus side, smartphones / iPod Touch *are* really portable, and to a level that won't be attained by any "media pad".
NetBooks. Almost, but I don't think they're for me yet. Waiting for the next wave. Why? It's not really a laptop but it's not really that portable either. (that's obviously subjective)
And last but not least, Apple products integration. I don't consider myself a fanboy, but I want to be productive [me.com]. Despite using Debian at work everyday, Linux is still not up to my expectations yet (yet!). Is there some lock-in with Apple? Yes. Is this a problem with me? Not that much, as long at it doesn't get in my way too often. I'm ready to pay to have more pleasure using a computer. I don't want crap, even if it's free. (this is a general statement, not specifically related to software)
Now, I guess I did not need to write all this other than to have feedback from you: what do you think? Where am I wrong?
Media pad - exactly what I've been waiting for (Score:2)
This is almost exactly what I've been waiting for, although I'd prefer it if I could get this thing without Verizon's taint. The netbook market is growing, and it was only a matter of time until Apple got around to putting in their entry.
Also, here's a thought: if you've already got one of those bluetooth
I want... (Score:2)
A tablet that combines a low-end MacBook and the iPhone. That means that instead of widgets, I want a setup which calls up the iPhone interface for rapid application selection.
I can see the marketing campaign now (Score:3, Funny)
And the great thing about the iPhone is... (Score:5, Funny)
Enough with the rumors (Score:4, Insightful)
Firstly, let's hang up the old rumor mill and improve the S/N ratio.
Secondly, roughlydrafted.com has a pretty insight into why this is probably not going to happen.
I can see it now (Score:4, Funny)
Sounds like wishful thinking (Score:3, Interesting)
I call BS (Score:5, Insightful)
This whole things reeks of making-stuff-up!
Call it the Newton Phone (Score:4, Insightful)
or the Mac Phone.
It would be interesting if the phone was based on the old Apple Newton device. Apple could claim IP back to the Newton before a lot of these "Smart Phones" got invented.
It only makes sense as Microsoft used Windows CE in their smart phones, that Apple recycles the Newton into a Newton phone. You got that IP there, and it can be modified to run on ARM processors, and it pre-dates the iPhone.
Re:Call it the Newton Phone (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Verizon + Microsoft + Windows Mobile = FAIL (Score:4, Interesting)
does it really cost $95 a month for all that stuff?
I think it actually may, in a way. Last I saw iPhone users were using WAY more data than users of AT&T's other phones. I've heard AT&T has struggled to keep up with this in some locations. Think of the $95 a month as keeping out the vast hordes that would rape and pillage their inadequate infrastructure. So for someone to compete on this aspect I think they would have to have a much more robust network with plenty of bandwidth room.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't know about that track record. So far Microsoft efforts on consumer electronics have been successful when MS is willing to take heavy losses (Xbox: -$7 billion over the lifetime of the Xbox and Xbox 360) or not as successful (Zune: small profit for a year then losses). No I am not counting keyboards and mice which are not q