or it might be that all the rumors are just bullsh*t and the phone will role out as sweet as us fanboys want it to be. i just look at the fact that it is apple i and really doubt they are going to screw up the all might iphone. only time will tell...

Personally, it's still early in the game. My guess is that Apple is making sure both the iPhone and Leopard are compatibile. It only makes sense.

I bet the new features in the iPhone are driving the changes in Leopard.

It will be ready for the Back to School campaign. =0}

What a bummer.

I was already starting to feel like I was one of the few people left who is still inexplicably excited about the iPhone, and this post perfectly captures my creeping malaise about it.

Oh, I'll still get one, but I'm definitely not feeling the whole "can't wait until June!" thing anymore.

Early in the game? Are you kidding? It's supposed to be out in June...that's just over 2 months away. How 'early' is that?

Love the spin the apple fanboys are already putting on this. And I can't wait to see how many of them will line up trying to get their hands on one.

Nothing funnier than a bunch of uncoordinated dweebs fighting for a piece of overpriced hardware.

Touchscreen phones just wont work. I have a touchscreen HTC Wizard running xbow and I hate when I have to touch the screen to dial a number. The tactile feedback is missing and I just hate it. Phones need buttons.

I agree that Apple is going the Sony way. They expect this device to be popular just because ipods are popular. Wrong assumption Apple, very wrong assumption!

i know Verizon is kicking it's own a$$ for letting the iPhone go. since AT&T already have recived over millions of calls regarding when the iphone will be out i think it will be a hit no matter what.

as Hello Kitty is for Japan, Apple is for the US.

I'm confused. How do OS issues limit supply? The OS is software, so it either works or it doesn't.

Or is it that they can't start manufacturing until the OS bugs are smashed out and so they won't get enough of a jump to meet demand?

The pricing is exactly the same ($500 and $600 models)

Expensive for a gaming system, around the average price of a Smartphone (Motorola Q was 400 dollars at launch and doesnt do half the shit this does)

there are manufacturing delays that are going to make for a very unpleasant launch,

which are unconfirmed rumor as opposed to Sony themselves saying they where having trouble producing them.

and both products are banking on the popularity of their predecessors to become huge sellers.

a whaaa? Your not referring to the Newton are you? Cause the iPhone is certainly not a predecessor to the iPod.

You bet it's still early in the game. We have the demand side of the equation. Now we are waiting on the supply.

Give them until the end of May before counting them out.

I have been through 2 ipods now in the last 2 years they break too easy i hope they fixed that problem.

"because the iPhone is certainly not a predecessor to the iPod."

@Falconfire: English might not be one of your strong points. Predecessor is "that which comes before", Successor is "that which comes afterwards." Perhaps you meant "the iPhone is certainly not a successor to the iPod" or "the iPod is certainly not a predecessor to the iPhone."

Either way, I think you're mistaken. Apple is COUNTING ON people equating their runaway success with the iPod as a runaway success with iPhone. They're building iPod capabilities into the iPhone.

"Doesn't do half the shit that this does" isn't quite true either. Windows Mobile 5 is already a phone and PDA. What exactly does the iPhone offer that Windows Mobile doesn't? What is twice the feature set you're referring to that rest of are missing?

phones don't "need" buttons now anymore than they needed dials when when push-button phones supplanted rotary-dial phones.

people always adapt to the changes in technology.

Motorola Q was $200 the day of launch with a 2 year contract, and sans sinking with iTunes and a touchscreen does everything this device does and more. EVDO on iPhone?

(The Q really isn't that great, I just don't like people making the iPhone sound like it can give you a happy ending when the specs aren't there for a HJ adapter)

Promethh-
Windows Mobile won't sync with my mac like an iPhone will.

There were 20 articles a day about how poorly the PS3 was going to do because of its launch. Despite having almost no good games, its still doing quite well. All this is doing is feeding into the hype. Good product, bad product - Apple will sell a ton of them based on name alone. Its working for Sony.

I can't wait to see the first post about someone accidently dropping their $600 purchase...

Glass goes crash..oops

Apple is brand new to the phone industry, it is not suprising that they are having a lil' delay with the iPhone!

Knowing them, a product like this wont be released until its erm.. perfect? :p

Lets just hope they are trying to improve it so we can all go "OOOOH!" when it finally release it..

Seeing as consulting companies routinely ship their consultants to on-site locations, to help on any problem no matter how critical, shipping 50 EECS majors to Taipei is no big deal.

Actually, I wish Apple would send the whole department there, then I could realize my dream of seeing an Apple branded atmospheric dust mask.

Apple jumping into mobile phones is just like Microsoft jumping into portable MP3 players. Market share? What market share? I can't wait for the replies from the Apple spin doctors....

I don't buy it the OS and Hardware would be hammered down in house at Cupertino and then sent to the manufacturer . . .

@e10: considering we have yet to see an iPhone in any other setting besides Steve Job's hand, I'm not convinced we'll see 100% sync with Windows Vista or XP. How many iTunes updates did it take for Vista support? :)

See:
http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_windowsmobile.php
for third-party sync support between Windows Mobile and Mac.

@SBGUY27
I don't think Verizon is upset that they don't have the iPhone. They had a chance to have it, and they passed. Don't you think VZW executives would know people would be calling about the iPhone, and all of the hype surrounding it? But they didn't want to be part of Apple's revenue sharing plan and give up their 1st born child, which is what Apple wanted for the exclusive use of their phone. VZW has arguably the strongest network in the US, and since I use my phone for making phone calls, I'd like cell service that will work almost anywhere in the US. And people can argue that VZW phones can't be used internationally, but if you don't travel overseas, who cares? And others will argue that VZW doesn't have good cell phone coverage, but when Consumer Reports has VZW ranked tops in almost every major city, how can you go wrong with unbiased testing. Maybe a lot of people will flock to Cingular for the iPhone, but after 2 months of consistent dropped calls or lack of cell coverage, there will be plenty of complaining.

How will the iPhone sell units? The same way it does everything else. The Apple distortion field, aka, make something pretty, make it do same things as all the others (basically), and market it as the best thing as sliced bread.

"Our expectations are good. Our testing has been good," said AT&T Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson. "The iPhone is on target to launch in June.

This was reported yesterday by a real news agency!!

Should we believe the "whispers on the street" and "a source from the manufacturer"?

People that don't have anything to say make things up.

These stories and the comments are so asinine! Giz, stick to gadgets, Appleinsider does a better job with getting the rumors right.

SBGUY27:

haha - right on the money!
Whether you intentionally equated Apple fanboys with Hello Kitty fanboys or not, it is just so funny.

Fanboys never look at things objectively and therefore nothing more than little kids spewing out 2nd-hand drivel handed down to them by the PR people.

For shame - it is the Information Age and people still resort to uneducated claims and beliefs.

IN SHORT: WHO CARES??? the proof will be in the pudding, stop defending Apple for god's sake!

Aww, there's a wait to spend outrageous amounts of money on a cell phone. What a nontragedy!
iPhone is the tech equivalent of a Louis Vuitton handbag - overpriced conspicuous consumption.
It's not all that, unless "that" means buying into Apple body and soul.
What is so revolutionary about it? Do tell.

Damn thing woried fine at hte presentation, too. Blehk. Well, there you have it... iBotched.

sumina!

@kmanfactor

Let's not forget the 2 year contract. =0} So if they are unhappy, they customer pays either way.

Promethh:
"What exactly does the iPhone offer that Windows Mobile doesn't?"

Ease of use, hopefully.

On a related note, the amount of energy put in to this product by innocent bystanders who have no clue as to how the final product will perform is testament to the marketing success of the iPhone.

Until someone with a finished product in his hand offers an opinion, the ceaseless comment sniping is just some perverted pleasure haters and lovers indulge in.

Until summer, grab some popcorn and laugh away at the bickering.

TonyRockyHorror-

In general terms I agree, that people adapt to changes in technology, but I think they adapt to changes which are net improvements in UI (Rotary->Button is easier to use) a lot better than changes which are net deterioration (button->no button). I've been using a windows mobile touchscreen for a year and I HATE dialing numbers on it; the absence of tactile feedback is worse than you'd think. It turns out that being able to dial while only HALF looking at the keypad is really important.

How hard would it be to add some kind of tactile aspect to a touchscreen (transparent piezoelectrics for true tactile feedback, or even just 12 slightly raised nubs on the touchscreen to allow for some finger orientation)? I'd be surprised if Apple hadn't at least had a go at engineering something along these lines.

its an uber gadget, neat, pretty, its easy to use. Want to know why this will be one of the biggest sellers evar? People are idiots. They know Apple's history for neat looking things, now here is a neat looking phone that guess what demographic will use with extreme ease .... idiots.

I btw am an idiot. Already got my money put aside for my new apple flavored crack phone.

I'm perfectly happy with m Nokia 6275i, I use it for phone calls and text messaging and that's about it, I find that if I need to do something, taking 15 seconds to pull my laptop out of my messenger bag isn't the end of the world. the iPhone is a nice phone, but no nicer than a slew of other phones out there that have comparable features for less. I somehow just can't justify spending so much money for something I'll only use to phone people on. If I really wanted a smart phone I'd get a Treo, then at least I know I'd be getting something from someone who already has a solid foundation in smartphones, not someone who has a solid foundation in hyping up over priced crap.

In other off-topic although phone-related news, I just got the new Panasonic Wifi Skype phone and I want everyone who has been looking for such a phone to know that it is truly awesome. The best out there. Super easy to configure, very good looking, excellent sound quality, etc. The only drawback is the price ($300 tax included) because it includes a carrying case with a base station, which is totally unnecessary when you have your own (e.g. Airport), except when you are travelling. I just hope that they will sell the handsets alone for under $100 soon. Anyway, for those of us who do a lot of international calls, the price should not be an issue.

As for the iPhone, well, I love Apple and my gift card is waiting but I am starting to yawn. Too many silly rumors...

Will it blend?

Echoing what JackBrown said @TonyRockyHorror

Replacing rotary dials with buttons made things easier, with more possibilities.

Phones now already have touchscreens. REMOVING buttons to leave ONLY touch screens is not an advancement in technology.

@color_guru:

"Only time will tell"

That's my line. I can't believe you stole it. Lately people have been stealing my lines. It's my catchphrase you know. So please be original and come up with your own. Thanks.

Using only a touchscreen interface allows it to be as flexible and interactive as a computer screen. While I have not tried an all-touchscreen device and I can't say if I'd love it, it does allow for much more task-specific interface design. It's premature to suggest that using only a touchscreen is a step backward if you look at HOW Apple is using the touchscreen.

My Q has a keyboard, two soft buttons, a scroll wheel and a side button, but if an application would work best with three big buttons in the center of the screen, or a wheel, or a series of sliders, I'm outta luck. This is largely why most Windows Mobile apps look like crap, in my opinion. Keyboards work fine for certain uses, and terribly for others. The utility of this approach will become much more apparent once people are actually using the iPhone.

You could argue that a stylus is a better and proven way to interact with a touchscreen device, but that doesn't provide tactile feedback either. As for dialing without looking, if you've ever seen the tiny niblet keys on the Q, that's just not really possible for most people. Don't underestimate the degree to which proper UI design could make up for a lack of tactile feedback (for the record, the UI design of pretty much every phone I've seen is terrible, with Windows Mobile solidly near the bottom).

@ quickboy

sorry, like apple and the iphone, i have a patent on that phrase.