Several of you have contacted me to point out that Fortune Magazine ran a piece saying AT&T would subsidize the next iPhone. This is a rumor. While Fortune has better sources than I do, nothing changes for me. A rumor is a rumor. So we’re checking with our sources. But I think there are some big holes in this story so, I wouldn’t count on a $200 3G iPhone just yet.
There’s been lots of buzz about the iPhone in the last week. Here are some tidbits…
a. The majority of developers are excited about the SDK and the opportunity to sell their applications via an Apple managed store.
I get lots of e-mail from listeners/readers complaining that I don’t always post iPhone news as fast as some of the other iPhone-related sites. There’s a reason - I try to actually verify each story before I run it. The Internet is full of wannabe iPhone blogs and podcasts that will report every rumor as truth without a shred of research. That often leads to the echo chamber being dead wrong.
Such was the case with the recent rumor that a developer had the SDK and that it was accompanied by a new firmware update 1.1.4.
We did report what the developer said about the ability to work with the SDK, but never reported the 1.1.4 rumor because that was a fact we couldn’t confirm elsewhere.
Reporting what the developer SAID about working with the SDK was one thing. Reporting it as TRUTH is another. We decided to leave the 1.1.4 rumor off the table because we couldn’t find a credible source to back it up.
Turns out the whole thing was a lie.
This is the sixth time that the echo chamber started spreading a false rumor based on one lone - unverified source. Each time, we’ve avoided being caught in the trap here.
Starting with the idiotic Engadget iPhone delayed debacle to this current round of misinformation and lies, we fight hard to insulate our audience from bogus iPhone information.
So remember where the TRUE iPhone news lives - Apple Phone Show.
(I received this picture in an e-mail from an anonymous Apple Phone Show listener who spied Andy, Chris and I recording episode 37 of the Apple Phone Show at the Macworld booth.)
After a pretty jam-packed week, the 2008 Macworld Expo drew to a close yesterday.
Chris Breen’s iPhone Super Sessions were well-attended and both Andy and Chris’ iPhone books drew some interest.
The iPhone news from Apple and the third-party vendors at this year’s show was both good and bad. The good - well of course the 1.1.3 update. This is a significant update, allowing a level of customization previously unavailable on the iPhone. And the new Google Maps triangulation feature was a brilliant move. It works better and faster than any cell phone GPS I have ever seen. It also offers the advantage of working indoors, something no cellphone GPS can do. There’s no satellite acquisition time and no battery drain. The new web clips are also brilliant. Gmail works better than ever on the iPhone and the new multi-recipient SMS is also cool.
But that’s it. No announcement on the 3G or 16-gig models. I had previously reliable sources assuring me that the 16-gig phone would be announced. Oh well, we will probably hear more about that in a special Apple news event soon.
I was also astonished at the lack of new or exciting iPhone accessories. Yes there were cases - lots of them. And frankly, most were utter crap. I literally threw away six of the test cases I received during the show. They were so bad, I couldn’t think of anything else to do with them.
There were some weird contraptions that would let you affix the iPhone to a hat so you could watch it like a TV - problem is you also end up walking into polls.
There was a cute little tripod stand for iPhone made by Jobo - but not yet available.
Otherwise, I just didn’t see anything that wowed me. Maybe I missed something - if so, please leave a comment below to tell me what it is. After days of walking the show floor, I came to the conclusion that the iPhone accessory market needs some time to mature.
Proving that they are perhaps the least relevant technology publication on the planet, the folks at “PCWorld” have named the iPhone as one of the top 15 disappointments of 2007!!! This coming on the heels of “Time Magazine” naming the iPhone Invention & Gadget of the Year and “Consumer Reports” naming it the best smartphone.
I won’t link to the article because I assume it was in fact written as pure link bait. I thought we’d moved past the point where the haters would prove their stupidity by saying such things, but I guess ad dollars are hard to come by, so attacking the most popular cell phone in the universe may be all they have left.
Perhaps someone needs to create a biggest disappointment in technology journalism award and give it to “PCWorld.”
I assume the following will go unanswered - but just in case ANYONE over there at “PCWorld” has a set of stones, you have an open invitation to come be on the Apple Phone Show for a good old fashioned debate on this subject. I won’t hold my breath.
Consumer Reports has just named the iPhone best smartphone. While this no doubt frosts the few remaining haters, it’s further evidence that not just “fanboys” think Apple has done a great job here.
Phrases like “best choice for multimedia use” are the touchstone of Consumer Reports’ praise for the iPhone.
We all know the iPhone isn’t perfect. But endorsements by countless blogs, websites, “Time Magazine,” “Consumer Reports” and others are certainly strong indicators it ain’t all that bad either.
While some sites are mistakenly posting that “iPhone” is the top search term on Google for 2007, actually, it’s the “fastest rising.” Google doesn’t publish its list of top search terms until the end of the year.
Regardless, it’s significant that the iPhone ranks as the fastest riser since the product didn’t even exist in 2006.
