It has finally been verified. The Nike+ does NOT work on the iPhone. Yet another reason for me to wait for second gen.
The only sticking points for me were the lack of USB modem capabilities and the Nike+. Both of these issues could be corrected with software, but as of right now, it’s still better (and cheaper) for me to hold out.
Shucks…
The iPhone works seamlessly with the Mercedes Benz stock iPod adapter, as well as with the integrated Bluetooth MHI (Multi-Handset Interface) transceiver. In fact, the iPhone actually works better than the Motorola devices that the system was originally designed for, because if you have both the Bluetooth interface and the integrated iPod connector, you can charge your iPhone while it’s in your car without a cigarette lighter adapter. With the Motorola phones, the Bluetooth MHI adapter replaces the wired MHI cradle and prevents you from charging your phone when you have it installed.
Best of all, both the Bluetooth transceiver and the iPod integration can be retrofitted in any Mercedes Benz made after 2004 by the dealer, so if you’ve got a Mercedes and an iPhone, you’re only about $1000 away from combining the two.
The following features have been verified to work with the 2005 model year and later iPod adapter and Bluetooth interface:
All the features work simultaneously and the iPod will stop playing to make or answer calls. When you connect the iPhone to the iPod adapter, the iPhone will display a dialog asking if you want to enable airplane mode (i.e., shut off wifi, EDGE radio, and bluetooth) to prevent interference. It’s safe to answer “no” or just ignore it if you forget. If you answer yes, the cell phone features will be disabled.
Thank you, Apple, for finally replacing the Newton. You did it with such style!
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I have to say that Apple puts on a good show. The countdown until the moment they opened the store with the seconds counting down on the huge iPhones in the display windows was a beautiful touch to the experience. Listening to the Apple employees whooping and hollering from behind the covered glass made me feel so excited just to see everything there.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t waited in line all night, so I just watched the first 50 walk in. Since I didn’t plan on buying an iPhone, there really wasn’t a point for me to wait in line for twelve hours just to step into the door. Once I saw that they had a table of iPhones available for customers to play with, I knew that I would come back that evening.
After a nice dinner and a movie with friends, we returned to the Apple Store. It was still filled with excitement, but anyone was allowed in. I asked the salesgirl at the counter if they had any left and she said she did. She was ready to ring me up one and suddenly I wanted one. Luckily Mike and Jason were able to talk me down and once I escaped the reality distortion field, I realized that it was for the best.
Playing with the iPhone was fun. I think I’ll go back to the store tomorrow and play with it some more. When I saw that the videos on this website loaded and played on the iPhone like a dream, I nearly cried. My videos always seem to be subpar on a computer, but playing on the iPhone, they looked prettier than I ever imagined.
Please, someone make the iPhone work as a USB modem so that I can justify buying one for myself. It’s really the only thing that’s holding me back now.
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Even though there was no one waiting at the Apple Store last night, there is a huge crowd there now. With over 130 people in line, it looks like they might run out of iPhones for the eager masses (depending on which rumors you believe). Did Steve Jobs send enough iPhones to Salt Lake City, Utah? I guess we’ll find out in a couple of hours.
This is Johnny. He says he has been in line since 3pm yesterday. He must have wandered off when we took our photo of the Apple Store last night because he was nowhere to be seen, but based on his sunburn alone, he has his Geek Cred intact.
It’s incredibly hot here in Salt Lake City. Many of the line sitters are equipped with umbrellas, hats and even canopy tents to protect themselves from the sun. Even then, it looks like the drug stores are going to sell out of Solarcaine in honor of the iPhone World Premiere. Apple employees have brought shaved ice to the line sitters to keep them as cool as possible in the nearly 100 degree weather.
The windows of the Apple Store are covered with black curtains while the transformation takes place. The atmosphere outside of the store is jovial and light. The children playing in the fountain make the area sound more crazy than it actually is.
Most of the people walking past the store are saying, “What are all these people waiting for?” There’s a big line here waiting for the iPhone, but as Mike said, “I’ve seen lines bigger than this for Toby Keith tickets.”
I gave up long ago trying to make my Treo do all the things that Palm told me it could do. Like that playing videos with Kinoma Player thing? Yeah, good luck finding a video encoded correctly to play on Kinoma. What about playing music on it with RealPlayer? Yeah, I guess you can do that, but good luck playing just the songs from one album or by one artist. You can make your Treo make noise, but the user interface is so difficult it makes the software useless.
There is one thing that the Treo does better than the iPhone. You can connect it to your laptop and get online with it. I’ve used both of these software products and they both work extremely well.
The thing is, getting my laptop online is pretty important. When we were covering CES, we stayed at a hotel with no Internet access at all. We used our Treos to get online that entire week. When we stayed in Anaheim, the hotel was supposed to have free high speed wireless access, but it never once worked. We wouldn’t have been able to work at all if it hadn’t been for the Treos. Even worse, when we were at SXSW, there was wireless, but it was so bogged down by all the conference attendees that it was nearly useless. It was actually faster for me to get online with the Treo than to use the wireless at SXSW.
Because the iPhone currently can’t be used as a USB modem, it is useless for me. Sure, the video and audio features are cool. Sure, the user interface makes me drool with envy. But all that can’t hold a candle to letting me work when I’m out in the boonies. Staying connected means more than just accessing the Internet from my phone. I need a phone that can get my laptop online as well.
I put the iPhone clownfish wallpaper on my Treo, but it doesn’t make my phone play videos or music any better than it did before. Fortunately, what it does do, it does well.
We took a trip to the Apple Store in SLC, Utah today and there were no iPhone sitters camping out. Unlike the New York stores, that already have people waiting for their iPhones, the Apple Store in Utah is free from campers.
That doesn’t mean the store was empty. As always, it was full of people learning how to use their new Macs or others trying to decide if it’s worth the jump. There are three boys junior-high age that are ALWAYS in the store, playing with PhotoBooth or choosing hip hop songs to play on the iPods. They almost feel like part of the store because they are always there when I visit.
After much thought, I spent my iPhone money on a MacBook. I’m sticking with my Treo for now. Sadly, it’s better than the iPhone because I can get my laptop online with it. Because Mike and I travel to so many places with sketchy Internet connectivity, I can’t sacrifice my handy USB modem. In fact, I’m almost tempted to just upgrade to the Treo 750p because it can get me online using EVDO, which is much faster than Sprint’s normal network and screaming fast compared to AT&T’s EDGE network.
No one can tell me whether the iPhone works with my Nike+, so I suspect that it doesn’t and it isn’t even a concern for Apple. I love my Nike+ so much that I would have to keep the Nano, so if I have to have a phone and a Nano, I might as well stick with the Treo.
Everyone is so excited about the iPhone. Hell, I’m excited about the iPhone, but in the end, it just doesn’t do the two most important things I need it to do. I’m going to have to pass on the first generation and hope that the second generation has what I need.
This photo is significant. It’s not significant because it’s a snapshot of a guy on CalTrain with an iPhone taken 16 days before the phone is available. It’s significant because it was taken with a Treo 755p. This moment in time is the last one for Palm. It is the brief calm before the storm where Palm has a slew of products on the market and are dominating.
In a mere 14 days, that will start to change. The suggested 3 million iPhones that are supposed to hit the market on June 29th won’t be a significant number compared to the Treos already out there, but that is the day when things will change for Palm. Sadly, this photo represents the last moment in time when Palm had the upper hand.
With only 8GB and no 3G capabilities, I’m trying to convince myself that it’s worth it to buy an iPhone. These ads go a long way, but I am still wary.
This is the newest iPhone ad, called “Watered Down.” I can get the “watered down” version of the Internet on my Treo, but it’s slow and a bloody pain in the rear. However, with the iPhone running on the EDGE network will it be any faster?
I can put music, videos and photos on my Treo. It’s amazingly difficult and the video conversion makes me want to kill kittens, but it is possible. However, with only 8GB of memory, how much music, video and photos will I be able to fit on the iPhone?
My Treo can’t do this. No way, no how. They’ve disabled any cell phone tower tracking and it has no GPS capabilities. Of course, could you really fit the entire movie of Pirates of the Caribbean on an iPhone? Is there room for anything else?
Update 06-10-07: I was totally wrong on this one. My Treo CAN do this exactly the same way the iPhone does this. I downloaded Google Maps for my Treo 650 and it works just like the commercial.
Honestly, I’m supposed to be able to get my email on my Treo, but I have never used it except for outgoing messages. I find it interesting that it doesn’t show me how my text messaging is going to work. I can crank out a good 20-30 wpm on that “plasticy keyboard” on my Treo. Will I be able to do that with the iPhone?
There are so many questions. Will it work with my Nike+? Will I be able to get my computer online with it? I have been saving for an iPhone since its announcement in January. Now, I’m wondering if it’s worth my hard earned money I’ve stashed away. I LOVE the interface. I have a tremendous faith in Apple, but I can’t help remembering my first generation iPod sitting in the closet with a Firewire port. Will the first generation iPhone be like that or will it be insanely great? Am I willing to bet my twenties and tens hidden in my mattress on insanely great? Am I willing to bet two years of my cell phone life on AT&T? I have 21 days to decide.
Finally, a DATE that we can see the iPhone. Apple just released three commercials for the iPhone that don’t tell us anything new about it except WHEN we can get one. All the speculation is over.
You have to watch through the whole ad to find out what you really want to know, “When can I get one?” The answer is June 29th. You have 25 days to countdown.
Via: Apple has released three new iPhone ads in advance of… (kottke.org)
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