Some more information about the Apple iPhone is keep hitting the web: the ARM CPU is apparently made by Samsung, applications will only be developed by third party companies that have a license agreement with Apple and make sure they follow specific guidelines (and possibly the apps will only be available by iTunes) while other sources say that the iPhone indeed runs a modified version of Darwin with a few OSX components (incorrectly reported by Slashdot today that it's not). Desktop OSX apps won't run on the iPhone of course. David Pogue also has two FAQs on the product (1,2).
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Member since:2006-02-15
It has better text entry capability for SMS and IM, but in every other way it gets trounced by the iPhone.
Well, not in every other way:
1) You can change the battery on a Sidekick 3.
2) You can buy one today.
3) For 1/3 the cost of the iPhone
4) It does EDGE.
5) It does removable media.
6) You can get third party aps for it.
But you're right that it is difficult to do an apples to apples comparison between phones that are available now for 1/3 the price and phones that will be available in six months.
By the way, you can make calls without rotating the screen on a sidekick. You simply use the trackball, scroll and click. It's only slow if you have a big contact list and you have to scroll to someone down the list you haven't called recently.
I would be surprised if Danger or Palm move quickly on an iPhone direct competitor, but over the next six months I fully expect Motorola and Nokia to surpass it.
Don't be surprised when the iPhone hits the market if it's not an also run compared to what's there then.
Member since:
2006-06-12
I have a sidekick 3, and to compare it to the iPhone is a joke. It has better text entry capability for SMS and IM, but in every other way it gets trounced by the iPhone. Media playback is pathetic and basically useless, using it as a phone is much harder because you have to rotate the screen open first to make a call, and then close it (you don't have to, but its significantly harder to make calls without typing in the name). The web is just crap, just crap. Same for email, its not nearly as good. it doesn't use a standard mini jack like the iPhone, Doesn't have the seamless syncing like an iPod or iPhone, The photo app is crap, absolutely crap. Basically, the entire OS is crap. And i didn't think it was so bad until i watched the iPhone demos. Then i realized what i've been missing: quality software married to powerful and elegant hardware. Thank you Apple!!