Apple iPhone | April 16, 2004

For a long time people have been talking about the possibility of Apple bringing out a PDA. However this is something Apple have always strongly denied. While an Apple PDA would be good, I think a smart phone would be amazing.

With Apples legendary design aesthetic, you know an iPhone would look great. Running a cut down version of OS X you'd have the power of UNIX and the looks of Aqua in a form factor to die for. Using a mini iPod's flash drive you could have a device that works as a phone, camera, mp3 player and cut down PDA all in one. How great would that be? Surfing the web using Safari on your mobile. Being able to telnet using your phone. If Apple ever did decide to go down that route (they own the iPhone domain name btw), I'd be at the front of the que.

Posted at April 16, 2004 9:26 PM

Comments

Stew said on April 16, 2004 11:04 PM

And I’d be beating you with a stick hoping to get to the front of the queue! :P

Jack said on April 16, 2004 11:38 PM

Sounds like a great idea! Apple could take all the things that phones do and have it all tightly integrated with their existing suite of products. Photos, videos, address book, etc.

Of course, that would mean lots of initial hesitation from people who don’t own an Apple computer… hmmm.

Brooke said on April 17, 2004 2:23 AM

I can’t describe the giddiness I had upon setting my eyes on that image up there, only to learn it isn’t even available… Crushed.

dez said on April 17, 2004 6:07 AM

mmm…iPhone…

Given’s Apple’s market share and the saturation of the Mobile market, I doubt Apple will ever go there (remember Newton!!!)…but I how I wish they would…

Thanks for keeping the dream alive Andy.

Veerle Pieters said on April 17, 2004 12:14 PM

Andy, how funny that a lot of people think alike. On April 8th I did a technology top 3 on my blog and guess what was on number 3 of my personal wish list? Yes a Phone/PDA hybrid thing ;-) If Apple would go this way, save me a place in front of the queue :-)

@Dez, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility, just look at the iPod. If Apple decided doing something similar, that is also open to Windows users, this could very well be a success.

Patrick Taylor said on April 20, 2004 2:38 PM

Being able to telnet using your phone.

Better make it SSH, not telnet. Gotta leave the big gaping security holes to Microsoft. :^)

MaThIbUs said on April 20, 2004 7:05 PM

I’m not that excited about the possibility of Apple bringing out a phone. All I need is Sony Ericsson.

If you’re such an Apple fan, check the T630 design. Pretty huh? :)

Jim said on April 20, 2004 7:50 PM

I disagree about the market share assumptions. Cell phone companies (at least in the US) make phones for segmented poulations. They license there phones to one service and then that phone is offered in a menu of multiple phones for each provider so there is no one cell phone with a commanding marketshare. There isn’t even one phone manufacture that really leads the industry. Apple wouldn’t just sell theircell phone to Apple owners, but like the iPod it would probably be offered to Mac users first to build buzz. Then they would offer the phone to others and make it sychronize nearly as good as the Mac version. Use the iPod model, it worked!

Jim said on April 20, 2004 8:38 PM

Oh and by the way, Apple does not own the domain iPhone according to the WHOIS database.

andrew said on April 20, 2004 9:51 PM

“Running a cut down version of OS X you’d have the power of UNIX…”

Hey, yeah! Why don’t they just “cut it down”? That should be easy! I mean it couldn’t be as hard as adding stuff like they usually have to do, right?

Andy Budd said on April 21, 2004 10:06 AM

I know Andrew. I mean, who has ever heard of somebody installing a version of UNIX on a portable device or creating a cut down GUI for a mobile operating system. Crazy!

Mike said on April 21, 2004 10:42 AM

Andy,

I’m sorry, its too late; we’re going to have to dock 5 geek points for this post, and that’s not even counting the suggestion that porting Safari to a mobile device is feasible.

Andy Budd said on April 21, 2004 11:22 AM

I feel such a fraud :-(

Andy Budd said on April 21, 2004 3:24 PM

Hi Jim,

sorry, should have been more specific. Apple own iPhone.org.

Erik J. Barzeski said on April 23, 2004 6:48 AM

The mini iPod doesn’t use flash-based drives. It’s a small hard disk.

Andy Budd said on April 23, 2004 10:20 AM

God, my geek cred really is plummeting on this thread, isn’t it!

Of course, the iPod mini’s use microdrives. Doh!

dave-o said on October 4, 2005 6:19 PM

think of it this way. iPhone will support CDMA, Ev-DO, have Bluetooth, run on pocket OSX, use the familiar iPod dock connector and extended headphone jacks, have 4 buttons and a click wheel, and with the push of a button on the side, a second click wheel with number buttons on it will slide out from the bottom, with the microphone on it. Think a combination of iPod and LG pm-325, but with ev-do.