I’m firmly convinced that Apple does not fully comprehend the GSM standard, and more specifically, the concept of SIM cards. I have an iPhone, and I wanted to use my AT&T SIM card in it. Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, I’m only borrowing the iPhone for a bit, and I don’t want to give up my current MEdiaWorks package just to test this thing out.

I’ve used GSM phones exclusively for a long time now. I prefer GSM for the convenience of SIM cards. I can pick a phone, and as long as it’s unlocked, or locked to AT&T, I can pop my SIM card in there and go. No worries, no issues. Well, except for the iPhone.

You see, for whatever reason, Apple decided to lock the iPhone down so that you had to use an iPhone SIM card in there, even if you already had an existing AT&T account. That means when I put my AT&T SIM card in the iPhone, it said invalid SIM. I had to go through TONS of online walkthroughs and dialling secret numbers and such to ‘jailbreak’ my iPhone, and then install an application and unlock the iPhone.

I’m not worried about me. I’m seasoned with the idea of unlocking and the like, and suffered through. However, let’s take a look at the normobs getting an iPhone. Since GSM was introduced, along with SIM cards, it’s been an uphill battle to educate consumers about SIM cards, and that they can insert the card in any handset from their carrier and it would work. There’s been quite a bit of legislation and court cases recently regarding the locking/unlocking of handsets, and Nokia’s got a huge campaign going that attempts to educate consumers on unlocked handsets.

Enter Apple’s iPhone, which now says, yes, you can put a SIM card in here, but it must be the SIM card specifically FOR the iPhone, regardless of everything everyone else has been teaching you. Even an AT&T SIM card won’t work in here, you need the iPhone SIM card.

I’ve happily unlocked my iPhone, and can now use it like GSM was intended - open. But what has been done to consumers, and do you really think that Apple understands GSM fully?

I’ve recently gotten my mitts on a 4GB iPhone for testing and because I’m a geek. I’ve been playing with it for a few days, but the first thing I’ve come to realize is that it’s far from the ultimate music phone.

The problem is not in getting music ON the phone (which is where most other handsets fail miserably). It’s disgustingly simple to get music ONTO the iPhone, and the organization is similar to the iPod, which is well accepted to be dead-easy to use.

The problem lies in attempting to ENJOY that music. You can’t easily do so. There’s three main ways to enjoy music - wired, wireless, and through loudspeakers. The iPhone sucks at all three. It has a 3.5mm jack, so Jobs would say it’s not proprietary. However, that jack was recessed into the handset, so you must use Apple’s specially designed headphones, or purchase a special adapter, which means it might as well be proprietary, for all intents and purposes.

Now let’s look at wireless. The iPhone HAS Bluetooth, but you can’t do much with it. The necessary profiles are missing, namely A2DP. This is something that Apple has routinely NOT put in their iPod line, and it really bothers me. It’s secure, there’s no reason not to include it. Thus, the iPhone cannot be used with any stereo Bluetooth headphones.

Last, the speakers built-in suck. They’re inconveniently located at the bottom of the device, and they’re dual-mono, meaning you get the same sound out of both speakers. They don’t get very loud, and they’re simply sub-par for what seems to be marketed as a ‘music device’. Again, you can’t use external speakers, other than using a proprietary dock.

Coming from the Nokia N95, I’m used to having a bear of a time trying to get music ONTO the device (save for having to suffer through Windows Media Player), but having zero issues enjoying the music in whatever form suits me. WIth the Nokia, I can even pair a regular single-ear Bluetooth headset and listen to music, which is great for podcasts and the like. I have a 3.5mm lead in my truck that I added myself, to use with my iPod, and more recently, my N81 8GB or N95. This lead won’t work on the iPhone, which is frustrating.

It begs the question, though. What is more important to get mass usage? Being able to easily *get* music onto your music phone, or having the ability to enjoy that music in several different ways?

This is fantastic. Wired has listed out their Top 10 Gadgets of the Year, and making the list as the only mobile phone isn’t the Nokia N95 (which I would have voted for, fanboy that I am), nor is it the Apple iPhone. It’s the JAILBROKEN Apple iPhone. Yes, that’s right. According to Wired magazine, the iPhone, as Jobso intended, is nothing to write home about. In fact, direct quote, “Out of the box, Apple’s iPhone is horrifically crippled.” Horrifically. Great word.

No, no. The iPhone is basically useless, unless Jailbroken. What’s that say to me and everyone else? Um, Mr. Jobs? Your precious phone could have been SO much more had you given this SDK out a few months (~6-9) ago. I also love that finally someone big is coming out and publicly acknowledging that the vanilla iPhone isn’t all that and a bag of chips.

I’ve just gotten my 4GB iPhone from a pal to play with, and haven’t really touched it yet, but I’m excited to give it a good going over.

Yesterday I went to the gym.  To the sauna, though.  Not to do any excruciating exercise (that starts again tomorrow).   While I’m here in San Francisco, I’ve made an arrangement of the gym at the Fairmont Hotel.  Very nice, good service, all is good.  I picked up a complimentary copy of the FT as I walked through reception and proceeded down to Club One via the shower and into the sauna.

I am well disposed to the sauna experience — I like the dry heat — plus I do enjoy reading something, anything, whilst I’m in there.

There were two problems with my experience yesterday though.   The first was some absolutely donkey reporting from the Financial Times relating to o2 and the iPhone — the kind of reporting that makes my mouth drop open in shock.  The second problem was the guy who joined me in the sauna.  I don’t have an issue with naked men per se.  However this chap came into the sauna, laid his towel down on the top bench, laid face down upon the towel and … slowly… ever so slowly, proceeded to hump the bench.  Thoroughly off-putting.  An exception, though.  I want to be clear that this isn’t something I witness there regularly.

THANKFULLY I was able to use the FT to avoid the action scenery.

And that’s when I read this piece of joyous nonsense:

Link:  FT.com / Mergermarket - iPhone users raise network hopes

Matthew Key, who becomes chief executive of O2 Europe next month, told the Financial Times that 60 per cent of the company’s iPhone customers in the UK were sending or receiving more than 25 megabytes of data a month, the equivalent of 7,500 e-mails without attachments or 25 YouTube videos.By comparison, less than 2 per cent of O2’s other UK customers on monthly payment contracts use more than 25MB a month.

My problem with the above text?  Well, I nearly yelled ‘OBVIOUSLY’.  (I didn’t want to put off the humper opposite or call unnecessary attention to myself, hence ‘nearly‘).

OBVIOUSLY less than 2% of o2’s other UK customers use more than 25mb a month of data. OBVIOUSLY!  Because they’re WHACKED for FOUR QUID a MEG.

OBVIOUSLY.

So either it’s the reporter who didn’t quite get this.  Or it’s Mr Matthew Key, newly crowned Chief Exec of o2 Europe, who thinks our heads button up the back.  And clearly they do if you’re an FT staffer.

Come on!  The only reason o2 iPhone customers are ABLE to enjoy using the web is because it’s unlimited.  Their other customers — the CHUMPS who’re sat there paying stupid amounts per meg for their data — are trained not to use the internet via their handset because of bill shock.

In fact I don’t quite know if unlimited data is available to non-iPhone customers on o2 as yet.  I think it might be, if you really, really complain to customer services.

Link:  NussbaumOnDesign: Apple’s iPhone Will Fail In India. And Maybe Britain too. - BusinessWeek

Well I’m not too sure I agree with this viewpoint.  The iPhone isn’t like your common-or-garden pay-as-you-go Samsung, hardwired with a particular interface.  The iPhone can be updated in a jiffy — and what’s more, the infrastructure is in place thanks to cradles and iTunes to easily do this.

The Indian designers [Nussbaum met] said the iPhone didn’t do group texting and didn’t forward texts. But Indians, with their extended families and social networks, need to do both all the time.

This is a glaring, glaring omission on the iPhone.  Very annoying.  But I’m sure the iPhone’s designers have got the message loud and clear and we’ll see the functions added magically with an upgrade soon.

(Although that might not be much use to those who have unlocked their iPhones and can’t easily upgrade…)

I’m sure Avaya aren’t the only ones thinking about this. Enabling the iPhone for use within companies’ own IP telecommunications networks s very employee-friendly. No doubt enterprise IT managers may well have issues about enabling such a fancy, snazzy device (unless they each get one).

Link: webitpr | European employees can add Apple iPhone to their holiday wish-lists with a clear business purpose

In time for the start of the festive season, Avaya will find a place on holiday wish-lists by transforming the Apple iPhone into a fully-fledged business tool. Avaya’s one-X™ Mobile client software, expected to be available in Europe in the first quarter of 2008, will enable the iPhone to be integrated into most enterprise IP telecommunications networks. This will allow employees to add Apple’s iconic device to their Christmas present wish-lists without fear of the IT department dismissing it as ‘incompatible’ with the business’ IT systems and networks.

I suspect the first quarter 2008 timing for availability is to allow for the iPhone SDK to be officially launched and for the one-X client software to be QA’d for the iPhone.

It’ll be pretty neat having your corporate line diverted to your iPhone… I’m also looking forward to seeing Skype, Jajah and a whole raft of similar VOIP services operational on the iPhone early next year too.

Apple iPhone sales are second only to Blackberry in the context of smartphones in North America. So reports Canalys as detailed at Computerworld.

Blackberry don’t have anything to worry about in the short term, I don’t think…

Link: Canalys figures in, iPhone clear winner in North America | Computerworld Blogs

Last month’s Net Applications iPhone browser market share numbers were no fluke. A second study, commissioned to Canalys by Symbian, shows that iPhone sales are second only to Blackberry in North America

Problems, problems, problems in the MacLeod Senior household.

I bought my mum an iPhone. An unlocked one from America.

Apple have made it a right bitch if you’ve got the wrong version of iTunes and the wrong version of the firmware and the wrong version of the….. [ insert other nonsense here ].

It really is a total bind unlocking these things.

Anyway. Got it unlocked. I presented it to mum, swiftly placing her old Motorola V3x away in a drawer as I did.

I had pre-synched her Apple laptop with the Motorola, so the 11 phone numbers she uses (me, my brothers, my dad, a few other relatives) were stored nicely in Apple’s Address Book waiting to be synched. Her iTunes music that she’d been buying now and again via her laptop was all ready too.

“I got you one of these, Mum,” I explained, thrusting the iPhone toward her.

Her eyes lit up. It’s rare to find any other cellular device that would engender a similar amount of excitement and ready acceptance. She was absolutely delighted with it. I gave her a 20 second overview (”this button is home, this button switches the screen off, just tap anything else, right?”) and had to fly off to a meeting.

Within minutes — MINUTES — I kid ye not — she was whacking me text messages. She had a go at T9 with the Motorola and before, with her old Nokia, but she just didn’t get it. With the iPhone she was connected. She loved it. So did I. I liked the fact she was able to send me emails. Forward me pictures. Send me text messages and easily call my brothers.

I was astonished to find she’d been listening to her music on it. Without prompting. Without me saying ‘Look mum! Look! You can do music on it…’. She’d found the function and got it without any assistance.

Pure geniuses, Apple. Pure geniuses.

Read that and weep, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG… To create a device that is so usable, so right, so acceptable first-time, … it’s nothing short of a MONUMENTAL achievement. One that I hope the other protagonists in the mobile hardware field step up to emulate shortly.

The problem?

Someone, we’re not sure who, stuck mum’s iPhone in the cradle. And they hit the ’sure, upgrade me’ button, as one is wont to do with any Apple stuff. (This, despite me turning off the automatic firmware update function in iTunes). Woosh. The iPhone was wiped and back to factory default.

Arse.

Unmitigated arse.

Mum’s had to go back to her antiquated Motorola.

And do you know what? I’ve given in.

“Right,” I exclaimed to my brother over my Sprint handset yesterday, “Get her an o2 iPhone, swap her to o2?”

Mum is a Vodafone customer you see. Although, swapping her to an o2 number isn’t an issue. Not at all, actually. She only uses her phone to call the family and we can all easily change our address books.

And there you have it. I give in. Whatever, Mr Jobs. Whatever… I know you had to make it annoying because of your carrier relationships. I know. But……. gahhh.

Incidentally, I read with mild interest that the 2-iPhone-per-person limit has been increased to 5… good news or bad news for Apple?

Mum’s new iPhone should be live and operational by tomorrow morning…

I’ve been using Press Display to keep up to date with what’s going on around the world for quite a while. The service let’s you actually look at your newspaper and click about it easily. It’s rather addictive. I used to like checking out the frontpage images of the UK newspapers each morning via the likes of Sky News or BBC. But now, Press Display is the way ahead!

I only just realised that they’ve got an iPhone version of their service which looks just brilliant. I haven’t managed to try it as I’ve been having connectivity issues but I’m about to do so.

Link: PressDisplay meets iPhone - News junkies rejoice! « The PressDisplay Blog

Great news for iPhone owners who like to keep up with the news while on the move.

PressDisplay.com (the largest online newspaper kiosk in the world) now runs on iPhone, which means you can now view all your fave newspapers right in the palm of your hand. Even newspapers from other countries.

Here’s a Youtube of it in action:

Now you see it, now you don’t…

Link: Free Preview - WSJ.com

Deutsche Telekom AG’s mobile unit may exclusively market the iPhone in Germany, the Hamburg District court said Tuesday.

I had a note in from the chaps at iPhoneunlocked.eu to let me know they’ve got a special Christmas deal on the table.

£340 will get you a UK iPhone unlocked to work on any o2 sim card (although not totally unlocked yet). The price includes next day delivery.

Brand New UK spec Apple iPhone 8GB (running 1.1.2 firmware)
Activated and supplied with a fresh o2 pay as you go SimCard (you can add your own o2 sim card)
Credit already added to Sim Card of £10
The iPhone will be fully operational at firmware 1.02,
Next day, signed for delivery
We will also included a licenses to complete the fully unlock when released (valved at £35 uk pounds)
Price will be £340 (IN STOCK DESPATCHED FROM THE UK BY NEXT DAY DELIVERY)

More details here.

Link: Micromat - Syphone

Syphone is a freeware Macintosh utility for use with Apple’s iPhone. The program installs on your Macintosh and does not alter the iPhone in any way. This application lets you view, save, and back up your SMS messages.
With Syphone you can now archive and view SMS conversations, including those that have been deleted from the iPhone.

I came across Syphone yesterday — it’s an application by software developer Micromat that will be immediately of interest to anyone who’s been giving their iPhone a good amount of use recently. Text messaging on the iPhone is either a wonderful or shocking experience (depending on your viewpoint). If you’d like to archive your messages after you reach the iPhone’s preset limit for conversation lengths, then Syphone is for you. I’m going to download a copy later on this weekend and give it a go.

AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson was quoted by Bloomberg yesterday at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California as saying that the 3G iPhone will be available sometime in 2008. Stephenson was asked about when the 3G version of the popular handset would be available and responded, “You’ll have it next year.”

AT&T’s 3G network operates on the 850/1900MHz WCDMA bands, which are different from the 2100MHz used by the rest of the world. When asked about the lack of 3G in the current iPhone, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, maintained that reduced battery life was the main concern. The question remains, will a 3G iPhone be tri-band 3G, or will Apple create 2 different versions, one for the US, and one for the rest of the world?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend today regarding the recent announcement of France Telecom’s Orange and their pricing of the iPhone. According to sources, you’ll be able to purchase the iPhone unlocked for 749 EUR (649 for the phone, another 100 for the on-the-spot unlocking). Of course, you’ll still be hooked into a contract with Orange, but at least your iPhone will be unlocked, right?

Am I the only one who thinks that US iPhone owners should be IRATE? Here in the States, we’ve had the iPhone through 3 firmware updates, all of which relocked our iPhones, along with a warning from Jobs that Apple would continue to work against the unlockers. Officially, unlocking your iPhone in the US means a voided warranty, because apparently doing so could seriously damage your handset.

However, in France, it’s not only easy, it’s officially offered and endorsed. Rumor has it that they’ll be using iTunes to perform the unlock, as well! So somewhere between the US and France, Apple’s iPhone became safe to unlock? Does anyone else think that US owners should be marching themselves down to every Apple and AT&T store to demand their iPhone be unlocked on the spot, since it’s obviously able to be done?

Frankly I’m surprised there’s not more todo about the whole thing.

The fact my imported iPhone is stuck limping along on a T-Mobile connection is seared into my consciousness when I’m stood next to a few folk pressing, squeezing and flicking through their UK iPhones using o2’s Edge. My experience of Edge is reasonably good so far on the devices I’ve tried. Faster GPRS, basically — however it’s definitely second generation. There ain’t no third generation about it… not yet, anyway. A fact lost on the chaps at the Carphone Warehouse integrated into the Selfridges store. So reports Andrew Grill on his blog.

Andrew’s given me permission to replicate his experience thus (replete with photo live from the scene):

- - -

I was in the Selfridges Carphone Warehouse store on the weekend in Oxford street, and I happened to walk past the in-store iPhone stand (shown on the left). As I was playing with one of the iPhones on display, I overheard the sales pitch from one of the young sales people to a couple of young girls. What caught my attention was when he was showing the internet browser and said “…superfast internet…with 3.5G technology”. Hang on a second, we all know the current iPhone is limited to EDGE speeds (2.75G - 236Kbs maximum data rates). The other troubling part of the pitch was when he said it was locked to the O2 network. the girls asked “can’t we unlock it?”, to which the sales assistant offered “I’m not supposed to tell you this but you can”.

The girls walked off, but I asked him if he had said “3.5G technology” instead of EDGE and he shrugged his shoulders and just said “they’re girls…you know..” and then kept repeating the phrase “EDGE technology” as I walked off.

One wonders if this is the standard pitch when people ask about the data speeds when the iPhone is on a cellular network. Granted, when connected to a WiFi network the iPhone will provide superfast speeds but those not in the telco industry may not know the device is not a 3G device.

- - -

Gahhh. I suppose it’s OK telling white lies to ‘girls’ who wouldn’t care anyway?

Or is it? Does the Carphone Warehouse chap actually understand (or care) about the difference between 2/3G devices? I wonder.

Thanks very much Andrew. You can read more of Andrew’s blog here.

Link: undefined

72% of UK consumers say they have no intention of ever purchasing the iPhone, with the vast majority of Britons saying the device looks good, but is far too expensive, according to a survey by market research firm GfK NOP.

I’ve been wavering on the iPhone in the UK. Really wavering. I wonder if I’ve over estimated the appeal of the device versus the UK public’s pinpoint knowledge of phone price plan norms.

£270 for the device followed by £35 a month — that gives you 200 minutes and 200 texts — is a patently useless basic price plan. Yes you get unlimited data, but for your chap on the street, it’s the minutes and texts together with the cost of the handset that actually influences the purchase.

Apple may have changed the mobile phone subscription model, without anyone yet realising… So reckons Jon Mulholland — and it’s a perspective I asked him to expand on when we were discussing it by email. He’s been kind enough to put down his thoughts thus:

- - -

Here’s an interesting question, how do you think O2 will manage iPhone customer upgrades as future versions of Apple’s wonder-device are released?

Speculation is rife that a 2nd generation iPhone, presumably with 3G HSDPA amongst its enhancements, is on the way for next Spring. Apple will almost certainly have released a newer iPhone model before this time next year. What will happen to customers in the UK (and Germany and France for that matter), who at that point would have had their devices for less than 6 months? Will launch of the new device be delayed in these countries for the sake of this first wave of iPhone customers?

I’m betting that O2 will let customers – no make that encourage customers to - upgrade to the new device well before the end of their existing contracts. Think about it for a minute, what reason would 02 have for wanting to prevent any customer who’s just bought the first generation iPhone from upgrading to a newer model?

Usually networks prevent handset upgrades during contract term because the cost of the device is subsidised in line rental over the lifetime of that contract. This is not the case with the iPhone, as all of the handset cost has been paid upfront by the customer at point of sale. If a customer wants to upgrade from the current iPhone to a newer version less than 18 months later, where is the downside for O2? In fact, why not happily upgrade customers to a newer iPhone (taking another small percentage of the hardware sale in the process) and use that opportunity to reset and extend their existing 18 month contract?

In doing so Apple and O2 create a new contract renewal / upgrade path model, one that guarantees a ‘recurring lock in’ of iPhone customers and revenue. O2 keep extending contracts and Apple sell yet more iPhones. Smart eh?

From the outset Apple have been open about wanting to change the mobile phone purchasing experience; device registrations are done at home and sales advisors are pretty much removed from tariff selection. I’m willing to bet that changing the device upgrade path is also part of that strategy – I just don’t think that the other networks have realised this yet.

- - -

A brief overview of Jon:

Jon Mulholland is a People & Technology Change Consultant working in the UK mobile industry. His personal thoughts, ideas and ramblings can be found on his blog (www.jonathanmulholland.com) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/jonmull).

Jon, thanks very much indeed for taking the time to write this.

What do you think? Do you think the subscription model has changed?

Link: undefined

Apple is to launch a 3G version of the iPhone in May 2008, according to Spanish technology firm SevenClick, although the technology giant is unable to deliver existing handsets to Spain in time for Christmas.

I didn’t think a 3G version would be that far away… for the sake of the people buying the 2G device right now (and being tied into 18 month contracts) I wonder if they’ll delay, delay, delay the launch in the UK for a while?

Link: undefined

Carphone Warehouse claims to have sold 11,000 iPhones over the first weekend of the Apple device’s launch on Nov 9. This is slightly above its earlier estimates of 10,000, and represents one fifth of the retailer’s initial iPhone stock. O2, meanwhile, says that 8,000 customers registered an iPhone with the network on Nov 9, of which a quarter did so within one hour of the launch. The announcement contradicts earlier reports, which suggested that initial sales failed to meet expectations, in part due to less visible hype and crowded stores than at the US launch, on Jun 29

Well this one has gone around the web like wildfire. I’ve had four people email on the subject this evening already.

Link: EXCLUSIVE: Apple Secretly Tracking iPhone IMEI and Usage (with proof)

As I sit here applying a new layer of Reynolds tin foil to my international hat of conspiracy, its been proven that Apple tracks iPhone usage and tracks IEMI numbers of all their iPhones worldwide. Hidden in the code of the “Stocks” and “Weather” widgets is a string that sends the IMEI of your phone to a specialized URL that Apple collects.

How much of a ‘biggie’ is this?

Well. That entirely depends on your perspective. On one hand, it’s just a handset ID number and used, for example, as a unique identifier and for nothing else. On the other hand, your usage data is being added to the Apple collective…

I engaged 15 year old SMS Text News reader, Issah, to talk to young people around his area in London about the Apple iPhone.

Whilst it’s not representative of the UK as a whole, it’s a fascinating look into the minds of some of the next generation of mobile phone users. Issah asked each young person for a one-liner on the iPhone, jotted it down with their name and age — and here we are:

– It’s a great phone overall, but I think the video capabilities do not live up to the rest of the phone.
Mohammed Abdillahi, 14

– It’s rubbish it doesn’t live up to the hype. Definitely not worth my money, a dent in Apple’s reputation.
Wahidur Rahman, 15

– The phone looks nice and stylish, the features are revolutionary. A phone I would like to be seen with.
Dillan Campbell, 15

– I think it sounds like a great phone but it’s just too pricey for young people. Lower the price about a £100 and I’d buy it.
Nhung Vu, 13

– I would love to have it it sounds very convenient as it has loads of features squashed into one thing. And a big 8 GB memory to keep all my music.
Naomi Hedman, 14

– I don’t know what all the hype is about, I don’t know anything about it.
Josephine Wellham, 11

– I think the iPhone is to sensitive, making phone calls are a nightmare. Also, when the stylus is lost the phone is useless.
Aisha Moosa, 15

– I think the internet on it is amazing the first phone with proper net browsing!
Lloyd Anarfi, 10

– I think the phone is a breakthrough in technology but the fact it locks you into an O2 contract lets down the phone’s potential.
Claire Opel, 16

– I think it looks good and has been marketed well but I don’t like the price tag. The O2 contract is also very unattractive.
Sean O’Shea, 17

– I’ve heard of it, it sounds good but I don’t really know much about it.
Joana Yelibora, 19

– I think that the touch screen feature is cool but it’s just too expensive for me.
Joe Brant, 15

– I think it’s rubbish and too expensive. It’s just a phone.
Deborah Ndombe Mpengo, 16

– It’s like a flashier and more expensive version of the N95. It’s just a show off phone not a good long-term phone.
Joseph Maina, 15

– It’s a great phone and I think it will be for years to come. Number one on my Christmas list.
Osman Abdul-Moomin, 11

– It looks great I would like to have it. Futuristic.
Jamal Farah, 14

– It’s definitely one of the best phones out, but the camera ruins it.
Amin Chowdhury, 15

– It is not as good as everyone hyped it up to be. There are better, cheaper phones.
Fifelomo Oshun, 15

– Great if you have the money to get it but if not you might as well just buy a cheaper phone and an mp3 player.
Luca Mariano, 14

– I’ve heard the hype about it but I don’t see any real reason to buy this phone over a phone such as Nokia N95.
Jasmine Duong, 18

- - -

Issah, excellent work, thanks!

SMS Text News reader and self described ‘Apple Fanboy’, Tom H, called me the other day to report his experience in Winchester on Friday evening last week.

He popped down with his brother to have a nose about. He has a semi strict policy of only buying the third generation of any Apple device and is, I think, sorely tempted by the iPhone.

He was quite underwhelmed to find that the Carphone Warehouse in Winchester was replete with 18 staffers whilst three customers (excluding including Tom and his brother) had a play about with devices.

Winchester is no small town. It’s a city serving Hampshire.

That must have been a wee bit annoying for the Carphone Warehouse team.

The extra 2 staff and security guard on duty for the evening at the o2 store in Euston Station were necessary. But then that store is ultra small and is easily mobbed by just 5 people.

I suspect it’ll probably a slow burn, then. No stampedes to the Carphone Warehouse in Hartlepool, then.

Whilst the nutters camped out all night at the Apple Store in Regent Street on Friday, the fact many stores (at least anecdotally) were comparatively empt isn’t bad news at all. I called my 29 year old friend and total normob (”normal mobile user”), Joanne, on Friday to ask her perspective.

She’d heard it was being launched. Everyone had. Even her dad knew about it. She’s a Vodafone customer and reasonably content (although like most Voda customers, she’s totally NAILED on her price plan — she’s committed to 70 quid a month yet still spends 120+ pounds because of their extremely expensive 12.5p texts and 35p cross-network calls).

Would she buy an iPhone?

Maybe, she reckoned. She’d need to see it first. She’ll have a look in a Carphone Warehouse when she can, she said.

But she might get one, she continued. Heh.

As she talked, she began to sell herself on the device as I listened. Fascinating.

She wouldn’t think twice about swapping to o2. 2x Fascinating.

So I wonder how many people are quietly popping into Carphone Warehouses, taking a look at the iPhone and silently plotting?

Who knows? Well, I’ll email Carphone Warehouse and ask.

Meantime, what’s your anecdotal experience of the launch?

DATELINE EUSTON STATION

EIGHTEEN HUNDRED OH-TWO HOURS

I happened to be in the area at 6.02pm on Friday and decided to check out the tiny o2 concession store at Euston Station. Euston is one of London’s great train stations serving the north of the country. From Euston you can, for example, take a train direct to Liverpool or Edinburgh.

I often walk by the o2 shop squeezed into the side of the concourse so I thought I’d stand around and see what happened when the iPhone launched, particularly because I spied a small queue of people waiting who were all being peered at by passengers. I unnerved this group a little more by pointing my N95 at them for the five minutes before the launch. Here, then, is the footage I captured, superbly edited(ish) with an ABBA winner-takes-it-all backing track:

I almost tripped up and bought an iPhone from o2 on Friday night. I was very nearly carried away with the slight London-based hysteria gripping the geeks.

However, I’ve already got one…….. and don’t need another.

Who got one?

Two of the United Kingdom’s mobile operators have spoken to me in the last week on the subject of the Apple iPhone launch in the United Kingdom.

One of them estimates 500,000 iPhone sales within 6 months. The other estimates (and this is a potential shocker) that, worst case, they will lose 500,000 customers to o2.

Since January, I’ve been waiting to see how the United Kingdom audience react to the device. We’re far, far, FAR more advanced mobile consumers than our North American brothers who, let’s face it, are generally dead impressed by a phone that can do little more than send a text message.

I remember remarking, half heartedly, that Apple should have launched in the UK first. Why? Well, I couldn’t really back that up really. It was pure opinion. But what I do know is that your average mobile consumer here in the UK *WANTS* an iPhone. Your average American wants to avoid being screwed by their mobile operator and, if at all possible, get a decent handset. I’m generalising massively, but run with me.

The appetite in the US, I felt, was heavily fueled by Apple geeks. And I mean geeks. Serious geeks. There’s a lot of them in America, obviously, because Apple’s very popular in America. If Apple introduced a watch, they’d sell a million of them in the first week to their loyal, loyal fans, whether the watch was any good or not. Stick an Apple badge on it and they (me too) are typically suckers.

Swap to the United Kingdom and all of a sudden, you’re in a massively different marketplace. Huge amounts of the population are sporting up to date devices. Mobile fashion is EXTREMELY important. Even my mother was sufficiently annoyed with her bog standard Nokia last year to demand a ‘flippy-openy-one-that-is-silverish’ (the RAZR).

Most girls won’t be seen dead with a shit handset. In fact, it’s that bad I’ve seen many-a-girl check her text messages on her handset whilst it’s in her handbag — just so she doesn’t have to bring it out and be seen with it.

Or, they’ll bring it out and explain, apologetically, that ‘it’s my old one, I flushed my [insert sexy brand name device] down the toilet yesterday’ or ‘I was mugged, my new [insert sexy device] arrives tomorrow.’

Indeed, our operators are that attuned to the UK’s mobile handset fashions that they’ve turned their once drab functional shops into palaces of design — and made sure they’ve outlets on every High Street. So, yes, we’re up for new and fancy, fashionable devices. For a while now, we’ve been used to Nokias, Sony Ericssons, Samsungs, LGs… distinctive handsets arrive on the marketplace and cause a stir. The 3UK Sony Ericsson K770i, for example, is their top selling handset ever since it was launched a few weeks ago. There was massive demand for the 5 megapixel Nokia N95. The distinctive LG Shine flew off the shelves. Samsung’s latest handsets continue to turn heads.

And now the iPhone arrives into a crowded marketplace and will, at least for a good few months, be the number-one device in terms of aspiration and most probably in terms of sales.

Over the weeks I’ve talked to lots of people who’ve been doubting the device appeal to the masses. To each of them, I stopped the conversation, stayed silent and pointed to my iPhone as I pinched and flicked through my photos. And when each person inevitably said ‘But, it…’ I then went silent again and demonstrated the iPod capabilities, in particular, the album flicking function. Then I showed the video. Then I showed the text messaging. Yes the keyboard might be a bit of an arse to get used to. But that’s nothing. NOTHING compared with the fancy iPhone features. Folk are going to love it. The mass market will eat it up.

‘But it’s £269 pounds,’ many said.

‘So what?’ I said. Watch the queues. 269 is nothing. NOTHING. Nothing in the context of an (apparently) quality Apple device that comes with BUCKETLOADS of cachet for the ordinary person on the street. All over the country, Jumpin’ Jacks nightclubs will be teeming with posers dressed in designer Armani jeans with iPhone sticking out the back pocket. TGI Fridays will be rocking to the beat of iPhone ringtones and chirrups. One poser in every group of folk will splash out the dosh for a device and a contract with o2. They know that they will INSTANTLY be the source of envy and attention for a long, long time. Girls will simply adore the way it works. Many a geek will roll eyes. But it looks good. It functions nicely. It’s Apple and it’s got crate-loads of show off potential. It’s a winner and the United Kingdom is going to go 100% iPhone mad. That’s more or less a given.

What’s going to be fascinating to watch is the next trick. What next? After 6 months of iPhone sales, what happens? How will demand for top-of-the-range Sony Ericssons and Samsungs fare?

I was reading in various papers today about comparable iPhone devices. One paper reckoned that HTC’s latest Touch is a good substitute. Or the Sony Ericsson Walkman handests. Or even a top notch 5 megapixel Samsung. Or the LG Viewty. No. None of them are remotely, REMOTELY anywhere near the same or comparable to the iPhone. Not on your nelly. Not as far as the UK public is concerned.

Stick a top notch Samsung into the hands of Tracy from Southend or Linda from York and she’ll still be SEETHING with envy when her friend brings out her iPhone. Such is the potential and power of this Apple handset — in this marketplace — at this particular time.

In 6 months, I wonder.

Will it wear off? Will the half a million iPhone customers in the country begin to get annoyed with the smooth animations that after a while get a bit boring (”Just show me the sodding Phone screen when I click it please, stop wasting a second or two animating”)? Will the iPhone begin to truly convert the masses to data, to web browsing on the move, to Google Maps on your mobile? I wonder, I wonder.

I will be waiting with baited breath. Waiting, watching and observing. It’s going to very, very exciting to witness the changes in the mobile industry.

For now though, I’m going to sit back and watch the news reports from around the country. The nutters are already queuing for their iPhones at the Apple Store in Regent Street. It’s chucking it down with rain and blowing a gale. But you know, these folk want to be first to get in the door and buy their iPhone when they go on sale at 6.02pm tomorrow.

Did you get that, by the way? 6-dot-oh-two-pm. ‘o2′. Heh. Nice. They could have done it at midnight then the devices could have gone on sale at ‘0:02′.

I won’t be focusing on the Apple stores though. They’re going to be popular, period. It’s the Carphone Warehouses I will be watching. Almost 800 stores across the UK will be selling them from tomorrow (along with, obviously, o2’s own stores.).

Expect pictures and commentary from Carphone Warehouses tomorrow here on SMS Text News.