Today’s update encompasses a ton of product and pricing information, as Apple has refreshed the entire iPod line (which the iPhone is a part of), and has drastically reduced the price on the first iPhone model for the holidays.
The fine folks at Apple have taken a page from the Wii saga over the holidays and have produced an iPhone Retail Availability checker.
Curiously, no in-store events are scheduled for Friday or Saturday at my local store, if that’s any indication of initial stock levels.
David Pogue from the New York Times just posted a question and answer list about the iPhone’s features.
Highlights from the article:
Does the iPhone synchronize with my computer’s calendar and address book? Yes. It can sync with Address Book or Microsoft Entourage on the Macintosh, Outlook, Outlook Express on Windows, or Yahoo’s address book on the Web. If you add appointments or phone numbers to the iPhone, they are added to your computer the next time you sync.
Does the iPhone work with Bluetooth computers, printers, stereo headsets or keyboards? No. At the moment, it communicates only with hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets (including Apple’s very tiny one, coming in July) and a car’s dashboard system.
Does the iPhone alert you when it detects a wireless Internet hot spot? Yes. In fact, if it’s a hot spot you’ve used before, the iPhone hops onto it seamlessly and quietly.
If you have a question of your own that’s still unanswered, let us know. We’ll be answering questions as we post to our day one journal tomorrow. Expect an unboxing, a browser acid test and possibly some pictures from our place in line.
Apple has just posted a demo for activating the iPhone via iTunes.
Unlike the traditional method of standing in line and signing a ream of paperwork to get your phone set up, it looks like you’ll buy the phone in-store, take the box home, and activate it at your leisure.
To which I say: bravo! (having spent entirely too much time rotting in AT&T/Cingular stores)
Update: Apple has also added rate plan information for existing AT&T customers, even those on a family talk plan. Unlimited data works out to about a $20 premium.
Apple & AT&T announced their combo data/voice plans for the iPhone this morning, and they seem to be rather reasonable:
All plans include 200 SMS messages per month, and unlimited mobile to mobile minutes.
Apple has posted a rather long iPhone guided movie up on their website today, which answers a few more niggling questions.
Apple announced this morning that a special YouTube application will be available on the iPhone at launch.
This seems to indicate that the reports of no Flash support on the platform are to be trusted.
YouTube has indicated that they’ve been converting their library to H.264 format — the iTV and iPhone might be two reasons why.
Apple announced today that shipping iPhones will have significantly improved battery life than the original estimates, and “optical quality” screen coating that will be much more scratch resistant than the prototypes.
New specs are: 8 hours of talk time (up from 4.5) and 24 hours of audio playback (up from 12).
A talk time chart and competitive analysis vs other smart phones are also available.
That’s pretty high battery life for such a full featured cellular/mobile handset. We’ll be doing some investigating on real-world usage after launch.
The iPhone goes on sale at 6pm local time on June 29 at Apple Stores and AT&T Corporate stores (not franchise / affiliate stores carrying the AT&T or Cingular logo).
Official word from AT&T is that the iPhone will initially only be available in stores, however after the initial rush, it will be available from AT&T’s websites and franchisees.
