

Mossberg: New iPhone Keeps Apple Top of Class  - inmygarage
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704853404575322951290405346.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEADNewsCollection

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spicyj
Engadget agrees:

 _We're not going to beat around the bush -- in our approximation, the iPhone
4 is the best smartphone on the market right now. The combination of gorgeous
new hardware, that amazing display, upgraded cameras, and major improvements
to the operating system make this an extremely formidable package._

<http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/22/iphone-4-review/>

~~~
dejb
> the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone on the market right now

If they are only releasing one phone per year it certainly needs to be. I'm
guessing it still will be by the time people can actually buy them but for how
much longer after that?

~~~
ZeroGravitas
They're still selling the iPhone 3GS too. It would be interesting to see a
comparative review with the equivalent mid-range Android (and/or nokia,
blackberry, bada etc.) phones now that it's been updated to iOS 4.

I think the 3G was a worthy contender when it was in this position last year.
I'm not so sure how it would turn out now.

------
siglesias
Anybody notice that this is the first time in recent memory that Apple has
given the phone to bloggers outside of Baig, Pogue and Mossberg, prerelease?
Looks like they sent one to Engadget and Boing Boing.

There is a gadget blog, however, that's (not-so) curiously absent from the
list...

~~~
ekanes
It wouldn't surprise me if they included Engadget to pointedly NOT include
Gizmodo.

~~~
catch23
... or send gizmodo an iPhone 4 box with the iphone missing inside.

~~~
tumult
With a pre-paid return shipping label.

------
kylec
I ordered a Droid Incredible at the beginning of June and it still hasn't
shipped. I think I'll just get the iPhone 4 instead and return the Incredible
when it does finally show up (I apparently can't cancel the shipment, I have
to return it).

~~~
wynand
(I don't mean this comment to criticize you in particular kylec)

I can understand that some on HN have an Apple preference but Apple almost
gets free advertising by the way some talk over here.

Why vote up a comment because someone says they're going Apple?

------
fjabre
In short: Awesome new iPhone Apple.

AT&T, you still suck.

~~~
abstractbill
AT&T's suckage continues to amaze me.

I carry both an iPhone 3gs and a Blackberry around most of the time (I'm
currently justin.tv's iPhone developer). I find the iPhone pretty much useless
around San Francisco because of AT&T's abysmal network coverage - I tend to
just not bother and use the Blackberry instead, even though it has a worse web
browsing experience (at least it always _works_! I haven't found a place yet
that doesn't have good Sprint coverage).

~~~
flatline
The iPhone is the only reason I've stuck with AT&T. Reception is bad at my
home (in MD), I have few conversations that don't drop at least once during
any given 10-15 minute call. Worse though, I take classes part time, and the
phone shows full signal on campus but calls typically go straight to voicemail
and the 3g connection is completely non-functional. Attempting to call out
just gives me a network error 95% of the time.

~~~
vl
I friend if mine lives under the hill and he solved this problem by installing
phone signal booster. He mounted device to the ceiling of the living room and
patched antenna to the roof. Since then he has quite good signal in his house.
Ironically, neighbors' phones piggyback on it too.

------
marze
Offering an stunning device like this for $199 and $55 per month will likely
result in an extended period of short supplies. Most people are accustomed to
paying this for much lesser phones.

Apple is fighting with both hands tied behind their back by limiting
availability to one carrier in the US, though.

~~~
jimbokun
"Apple is fighting with both hands tied behind their back by limiting
availability to one carrier in the US, though."

And winning.

~~~
billmcneale
They're winning in terms of quality of the phones that they release, but they
are already losing at the numbers. Nokia is #1, Android is #2 and while the
iPhone is currently #3, it's likely that it will have to fight with RIM and
Microsoft to maintain this spot.

And in a few years, Android's market share will probably dwarf Apple's,
considering the current trend.

Apple just can't fight against dozens of manufacturers and carriers around the
world.

~~~
rimantas
Wrong numbers. Apple is interested in money, not market share. Compare
financial results of Nokia and Apple and tell me you still think Nokia is
doing well being #1.

~~~
billmcneale
It doesn't matter what Apple is interested in, I was just quoting existing
numbers. Apple is #3 and likely to become #4 in the next couple of years.
Whether they enjoy that position or not is irrelevant to this discussion.

We're discussing market share, not revenues.

Besides, I'm pretty sure Apple would love to lead both in market share and in
revenues.

~~~
jimbokun
I'm pretty sure Apple would pick profits over both.

~~~
billmcneale
Haha, touché. I was talking about profits, of course. Nokia's revenues dwarf
Apple's but they not making anywhere near as much money as Apple is.

Back to the original point, it's funny how any observation that Apple is now
#3 and about to become #4 in market share is automatically met with "Bah,
Apple doesn't care about that, they only care about money".

Try it, it never misses.

------
moultano
It's amazing that they didn't mention android once in the article. Seems like
an important thing to leave out of a review of a product in a competitive
space.

~~~
protomyth
Actually, I'm quite happy when a reviewer actually concentrates on what they
are reviewing and goes in-depth. Product comparisons are nice, but I would
rather they use the space to really tell me about the product. I can make my
own comparisons relevant to myself if given enough information by a reviewer.

------
jkahn
I was really looking forward to iPhone 4, but now after upgrading my 3GS to
iOS 4.0 I'm not sure why I would upgrade. It's really that good.

Which is great from a longevity point of view, but not from a gadget-lust
point of view. I still have over a month to decide anyway, as they don't come
out in Australia until late July. Unless they're delayed, like the iPad was.

First world problems...

------
samratjp
Classic Mossberg review - thumbs up of course! I really wonder why Apple wants
to hide specs for another 40 some days. I really hope there's a ATT
alternative states-side. And 3g is old news, when do we get to use Clear 4g or
something along those lines?

~~~
evgen
A 4G option will probably appear when 4G networks and chipsets do not drain
battery power faster than a mortgage broker hoovering blow off a prostitutes
ass.

------
ary
And yet for making phone calls there still isn't "an app for that."

What intrigues me is that there have been zero rumors (from any of the sites I
frequent) about Apple investing in or starting its own wireless carrier. Since
they're not well known for giving up control over user experience it only
makes sense that _something_ along these lines has to have at least been
considered.

The telecom space is so ripe for competition in the US. It's a shame that the
amount of capital required is so monumental. Can you imagine a wireless
carrier that had good coverage, customer service, and billing practices?

~~~
risotto
Background VOIP clients shouldn't be ignored for improving the call situation.

There's no way Apple will ever become a carrier though. And such a shame
they're hostile towards Google, Google Voice is our best hope for a new
carrier yet...

~~~
ary
Agreed on the Google Voice point. Apple as a carrier might be far-fetched, but
a solution to the problem of customer neglect/hostility by the carriers seems
like something they'd be interested in fixing. Investing in one of the current
carriers to gain a bit of leverage seems like a great way to alienate the rest
(but so does investing in a new one now that I think about it).

In the end it's a lot of wishful thinking on my part, but the opportunity to
mop the floor with the current competition still lingers.

------
yellowbkpk
Anyone know where I'll be able to get a iPhone 4 without contract in the US?

~~~
grinich

        Can I buy an iPhone without an AT&T contract?
    
        No. iPhone requires a two-year AT&T wireless service contract.
    

via
[http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iph...](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone#faqs)

~~~
MaysonL
Actually, yes: "For those who are not eligible for an early upgrade or who
wish to buy iPhone as a gift, the prices are $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699
(32GB)." from lower on the same page.

------
Tichy
So how does Colloquy do it? (Staying connected)

------
ergo98
He actually says "I'd say that Apple has built a beautiful smartphone that
works well, adds impressive new features and is still, overall, the best
device in its class". The tone just seems different from the submission.

Got a chuckle at this (he's talking about the "retina" display) - "I don't
know how it compares with the human retina, but I do know that, just as Apple
claims, text on the screen shows no jagged lines, even when expanded to giant
size"

Yuk yuk. I picture someone zooming into a fractal, desperately trying to get
to the end. Mossberg is hardly the first person who has exploded a vector
graphic (in this case fonts) looking for the pixels, as if it demonstrates
something about the display.

~~~
Gorgias
I don't think he was talking about zooming in a vector graphic. I believe he
is saying that the physical pixels on the screen are so physically tiny that
he can not see the individual pixels.

~~~
ergo98
He said "expanded to giant size" referring to text. If he meant "taking a
digital image and expanding", well you barely have to expand it at all before
you can see the pixels. He was clearly talking about actually enlarging text.

~~~
Gorgias
You're right, I was wrong. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

------
Soljin
Umm I have to disagree. The lack of a notification bar / system, widgets
really detract. I think the over glossed UI is getting stale. I think the new
design is worse than the old. It looks like something LG was making a few
years ago. People calling it "gorgeous" are fan boys sorely in denial. It's a
brick. A shiny brick but still a brick. It feel cold and sharp in your hands
just like MBPs (not a compliment).

The screen is not huge revolution it's slightly more res than has been going
into pretty much every smart phone for a year. Telling the difference between
those resolutions at that scale is nearly impossible.

I just don't see anything to be impressed by blockier design, OS upgrades that
still doesn't catch Android in core functionality, and not to mention ATT.

~~~
booticon
I noticed you were downvoted with the quickness, and I think I know one of the
reasons why:

    
    
      "People calling it 'gorgeous' are fan boys sorely in denial."
    

A difference in opinion does not a fanboy make. You bring up a good point with
the poor notification system, but just about everything else after that is
bullshit. (I thought for a moment how to rephrase that in a nicer way, but I
couldn't.)

~~~
dejb
I can't help but think that a similarly phrased argument supporting Apple and
denigrating a competitor would not be down voted so rapidly. I mean
'everything else after that is bullshit' seems a little opinionated as well.

> I thought for a moment how to rephrase that in a nicer way, but I couldn't.

Apart from the 'fan boys sorely in denial' I can't see what's so bad about
putting your own view forward on the aesthetics of the physical device.
Especially if you have actually had the opportunity to see and feel it as the
author implies (I don't know if that is true or not). Apple fans are notorious
for assuming their aesthetic sensibilities are synonymous with 'good taste' or
'good design' so I don't see what is so bad about a non-fan doing the same. To
me the pictures of the device make it look a little 'odd' or 'cold'.

I'm not saying the post is hugely insightful or anything but there does seem
to be a bit of a double standard going on.

~~~
leviathant
There is definitely a bias favoring Apple on Hacker News, but that doesn't
mean that posting anything that does not praise Apple will get you voted down.

You just have to make sure that when you do decide to make a post that points
out flaws in Apple this or that, your post should be well thought out - and
avoid being inflammatory.

Yes, these should be guidelines for any post here on HN, but you probably have
less leeway when you're challenging someone's relatively established mindset.
Protip: Throwing around the phrase "fan boy" does no one any good, and
certainly won't help your karma.

~~~
dejb
> Throwing around the phrase "fan boy" does no one any good, and certainly
> won't help your karma.

True but in many ways the 'definite bias favoring Apple on Hacker News' does
actually validate the concept of a cluster of people that could usefully be
described by a distinct term. If 'fanboys' is considered an offensive slur (as
it appears to be) then I'm personally happy to use the term 'Apple fans' but
they are essentially referring to the phenomena/grouping.

Personally I'm less interested in karma than contributing to the insight-
fullness and accuracy of the discussion. I'll gladly wear my -20 comments as a
badge of pride as long as they do this.

~~~
shajith
> If 'fanboys' is considered an offensive slur (as it appears to be) then I'm
> personally happy to use the term 'Apple fans' but they are essentially
> referring to the phenomena/grouping.

Please do. 'fanboys' certainly is not a distinct term that is useful to
describe a cluster of people, as you say, at least not any more.

Aside: Harry McCracken recently wrote a (rather long) essay on the origin and
evolution of the word 'fanboy': <http://technologizer.com/2010/05/17/fanboy/>

~~~
dejb
Interesting article (or at least the first part of it). Just to clarify I did
not believe that believe that the word 'fanboy' by itself specifically
referred to Apple 'evangelists'. The meaning as defined by the article does
however describe fairly succinctly a certain attitude that is consistent with
the attitude of some Apple 'supporters' and 'fans'.

The word is certainly older than I'd expected but the meaning seems to have
remained pretty constant.

