Other The iPhone 4 / iOS Thread

I think it's too iconic to change from iTunes.

Also - they changed iPhone OS to iOS, but no-one really spoke about iPhone OS - they just said "I've got an iPhone", and the iPhone 4 is still that - an iPhone.

 

Even if the screen is 3.5", the resolution is greater than on my Eee PC, which should make it bearable for reading + comic books. 800x480 is the bare minimum for comics IMO, this new screen should pull it off (though my vision will suffer..)

 

Well im on the simplicity 20 tariff with 600 mins, 1200 txts and unlimited data right now on rolling contract month to month. As long as I dont change it It will continue it seems - only way people lose out is when they upgrade from what o2 have said? (anyone able to correct me if im wrong)

So it looks like i may need to get the iphone 4g on pay and go and just keep enjoying my cheap tariff that way? would that work?

 

I don't think they'll change it now. I think if they were going to change it to take the multiple media types that are currently sold through it into account, they'd have done it by now.

 

iHazAMonopolyLulz

 

Too much. And what monopoly are you talking about exactly?

Desktop computer hardware - no.
Operating Systems - no.
Software - no.
Music Players - no.
Mobile Phones - no.
Notebook Computers - no.
Tablet computers - technically, no... but maybe.

What you're getting monopoly confused with is "market leader" and "innovator". The iPod brand of products are about the closest thing Apple have to a monopoly, and there are plenty of market analysts who could explain to you better than I can why it's not really a monopoly. The Cell Phone market is still lead by Nokia. Apple may hold a majority of the smartphone market but again, it can't be called a monopoly just yet.

I know you were probably only kidding, but you know... Just sayin.

 

I don't think so in the long run. If you read the web page with the tariffs on them, it mentions that unlimited data is a promotional item and it will cease in October for everyone. I read into that that if you upgrade, you lose your unlimited data now, and if you don't, you lose it in October.

http://shop.o2.co.uk/new-iphone/tariffs.html

 

They're attempting to monopolize the market enough that the FTC's getting involved in America, and they don't usually investigate monopolies unless they think they've got enough to potentially press charges.

 

Their only monopoly is mobile advertising within iOS products. Their new iAd service will replace Google's monopoly with their own.

 

No, that's not true.

There were different competitors in the mobile advertising market.

Google,
Admob,
Quattro,
AdWhirl (more of an optimization service, but it still gave a choice),
and simple HTML ads from other sources.

Google bought Admob, Apple bought Quattro, and now we're down to two big ones, but there are others as well.

Apple is trying to unethically restrict other advertisers into using their products, which is why the FTC is investigating them.

Also, Apple has blocked developing on products other than Macs, which would also be frowned upon in an antitrust case, according to the news articles I was reading.

 

The real question for me about o2 killing unlimited data tariffs is ... Have any of us already used up more than whatever they will be offering us in the future?

I can't say I've ever checked, but I've certainly collected 50+ emails in one day, downloaded an app or 3, been on Facebook while in the queue at KFC, surfed forums, posted on forums, etc. But I wish I knew if I had ever gone over a possible future data limit. I can't check my real usage to be able to answer the question. But if the answer is yes then I'm stuffed.

 

I haven't.

I got my phone on 3G launch day (getting on for 2 years ago), and here's the stats:



So, averaging it out, I'd never hit the 500Mb per month limit. And even if you do, it's not a hard limit. You just get reduced performance (would you notice on O2? ) until the next month comes round.

 

So in 2 years you've sent 247mb and received 1.4gb?

Would you say you were a light, medium or heavy user?

 

Dunno - I download apps over 3G whilst I'm out, I've looked at youtube stuff and surfed the web, and I've got push email from my mobile me account getting delivered all the time.

I couldn't really sit down and quantify it all TBH, as I've never given it a second thought due to the unlimited data plan that I'm on.

 

Advertisers can advertise on the iPhone freely just like they can advertise on my PC: through the web. Any other way is frankly annoying. Through iAd Apple does indeed restrict advertisers in advertising through apps and takes a slice of the pie, but do I care? As long as it does not intrude on my phone I don't give a monkey's. If it does, I don't use the app.

Apple has indeed blocked developing apps for iOS on any other development tools than their own Xcode, but that is not exactly monopolising: people can simply decide not to create apps for the iPhone at all, but for Android, Windows Mobile or any of the other proprietary smartphones.

This is nothing new. If you want to write applications for Windows, you have to use a Windows platform also.

 

To add to the cellular stats uploaded before, this is for my phone (3GS):



I got the phone some time in December so its probably been 6 to 7 months of usage, which means my downloaded data is around 400-500MB per month, which is probably in the lowest category of the new iPhone plans. I download a few apps, watch TVCatchup and surf on 3G, but I don't do much else.

 

Hate to say it, but actually that's not the case. On normal websites, when you click on an ad, the ad agency records it and returns the numbers to you, as well as using them to work out how much they're paying you. This is usually in the form of impressions and clicks.

Now, Apple won't let you record that amount any more, in fact advertising with an agency other than iAd on iPhone is akin to sticking a poster up on the wall outside your business in terms of analytics.

It's not even restricted to ads. If you write an app, you can't even check whether people are using it any more.

The iPhone is the biggest selling, anyway and it's also the most profitable. Giving people the choice to not develop for it is not necessarily a sound argument.

Yes, but if you write for Windows, you don't have to use C# and Visual Studio, you can write or use your own language if you want. It's a bad comparison however, since the iPhone is a far more restrictive system than Windows in the first place.

 

So does anyone have any rough guestimations/rumours about how much this is going to cost on pay monthly?

My T-Mobile contract ends 22nd august so i'm eyeing up a new phone i'll be happy to live with for 2 years, but i'm not gonna pay more than £200 for a handset when I can get a HTC Desire (a phone thats currently being praised as the best smartphone around atm) for free on a £30 a month (with 1GB a month internet usage) contract....

 

I see your point but I feel a bit "meh" about it. Let the free market decide. If advertisers don't like Apple's restrictions they will simply advertise somewhere else. And posters and billboards are still a strategy much in use today.

I think it is. If you want to have a piece of the action, you'll have to play by the rules of the game. If you don't like the rules you simply don't play. It is not as if you have to.

Yup, but in the end you'll have to run it on a Windows platform to test it.

True, iOS is more restrictive. There are some valid reasons behind being a closed system but of course that does not stop Apple from exploiting it. Free market principle again: if people don't like it there are some really good alternatives about such as Android. If enough people turn, it will become the biggest selling and most profitable. If the iPhone prevails then obviously enough people are willing to put up with the grief.

 

That's because there's no better way of doing it, short of having Orwellian cameras in the top of every billboard. If it was viable to check whether

a) someone looked at the billboard
b) then registered interest
c) bought the product

you could be darned sure that they'd be doing it.

Yes, but Apple is being uncompetitive by releasing it's own apps with more access. At the moment, Apple apps can do everything the iPhone can, whilst third party apps can't. This is not to do with anything technical, just that Apple is giving itself an advantage that the other people can't match.

Same with any platform. The fact is, if I write a program in Java, written in Eclipse I can run it on a windows system.

If I write a program in C, compiled in GCC in Cygwin, again I can still run and sell it on Windows.

It's the same with anything, Microsoft, Google, Apple with Mac OS, they allow you to develop with whatever tools you want. Not so with the iPhone.

In any case, Windows is a bad example because you can actually develop on Windows. You can't develop on an iPhone.