steve_hill4
Jul 27, 02:07 PM
How about a new Mac at WWDC?
Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz � FSB1066 � 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD�RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999
Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz � FSB1066 � 4 MB cache � (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+
While I like your thinking, your mock-up is wrong. If Apple are going to release a mid-Tower it has to appeal to both gamers and those looking for a headless iMac. They would really have to bring out about three main models, one which was basically an upgradable iMac spec for a couple to few hundred bucks less than the real deal and two higher spec conroes, (short of Mac Pro though). From what I can see, yours looks too small to easily customise, which would appeal to gamers.
Single optical, single HD (2nd slot free), assume better specs will mainly lie with graphics and ram.
Lower Model:
CConroe E6300 - 1.86 GHz � FSB1066 � 2 MB cache - ($185)
1GB RAM
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD�RW/CD-RW)
One open PCI-Express expansion slot
One open Optical drive slot [maybe] (i.e. for 2nd DVD drive)
Graphics Card with 128MB SDRAM
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, USB/FW800
Remote [(?] I think this box will still be small enough to fit into home entertainment setups.]
Keyboard, Mighty Mouse...................................................... $999
Some Options:
Conroe E6600 - 2.40 GHz � FSB1066 � 4 MB cache � (+$100)
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse +$60
Add DVD/CD ROM drive (in 2nd slot) + $50
250GB SATA hard drive +$75
+1GB RAM (2GB total) +$100
+3GB RAM (4GB total) +$300
Slightly Better Graphics Card with 256MB SDRAM + $50
Much Better Graphics Card +$200+
While I like your thinking, your mock-up is wrong. If Apple are going to release a mid-Tower it has to appeal to both gamers and those looking for a headless iMac. They would really have to bring out about three main models, one which was basically an upgradable iMac spec for a couple to few hundred bucks less than the real deal and two higher spec conroes, (short of Mac Pro though). From what I can see, yours looks too small to easily customise, which would appeal to gamers.
Single optical, single HD (2nd slot free), assume better specs will mainly lie with graphics and ram.
ghostlyorb
Mar 26, 07:48 AM
I can't wait to get my hands on Lion! It looks pretty cool!
jettredmont
Apr 10, 05:47 PM
A bit of selective hearing on the part of MacRumors with the quotes they chose to use. At first the video sounds great, dude is hyping what he saw from Apple. But later he gets called out from another speculating Apple is making a very significant change and distancing Final Cut from the real 'pro' users, dumbing it down, etc, and the guy who has seen it gets real quiet.. He is asked if he will update his editing studio's workflow to the new Final Cut, and he basically danced around the question, pleaded the 5th, and made it pretty clear that he is holding back some reservations about how the industry will adapt to the changes.
I'm assuming you've never dealt with Apple, or probably any NDA situation. In "leaking" this information, I'm sure he thought very carefully about what he was going to say and how, in order to stay within his NDA and on the "good side" of Apple. He rehearsed that (I'm sure the quotes weren't summoned on the spot), and presented what he'd rehearsed. This approach makes sure you get the most cool information out there without stepping over bounds. However, it leaves nothing for Q&A, as you see here. No, he won't say he'll commit to a new FCP workflow because he's not sure if he should acknowledge any kind of new workflow. He can't talk about if the interface has been "dumbed down" because discussing that intelligently ("dumbing down" is not exactly a precisely defined term) would require going into details on the interface he was likely expressly forbidden from discussing.
Personally I'm very interested to see what they do, I'm sure it will have huge improvements on real time rendering and performance, sounds like the whole thing is being rewritten. But it does worry me that the program could become more for mass audience and no longer the pro application it has been for the past decade.
No sense in debating before it's revealed, but I'd welcome a few "mass audience" nods so long as they enhance existing workflows. The last couple releases have had several features which catered to the "mass audience" more than to the "FCP Expert" audience, and I think they've made a much stronger product. IMHO, what is needed here is really a deep-down codebase cleanout, but any interface improvements would be nice.
I'm assuming you've never dealt with Apple, or probably any NDA situation. In "leaking" this information, I'm sure he thought very carefully about what he was going to say and how, in order to stay within his NDA and on the "good side" of Apple. He rehearsed that (I'm sure the quotes weren't summoned on the spot), and presented what he'd rehearsed. This approach makes sure you get the most cool information out there without stepping over bounds. However, it leaves nothing for Q&A, as you see here. No, he won't say he'll commit to a new FCP workflow because he's not sure if he should acknowledge any kind of new workflow. He can't talk about if the interface has been "dumbed down" because discussing that intelligently ("dumbing down" is not exactly a precisely defined term) would require going into details on the interface he was likely expressly forbidden from discussing.
Personally I'm very interested to see what they do, I'm sure it will have huge improvements on real time rendering and performance, sounds like the whole thing is being rewritten. But it does worry me that the program could become more for mass audience and no longer the pro application it has been for the past decade.
No sense in debating before it's revealed, but I'd welcome a few "mass audience" nods so long as they enhance existing workflows. The last couple releases have had several features which catered to the "mass audience" more than to the "FCP Expert" audience, and I think they've made a much stronger product. IMHO, what is needed here is really a deep-down codebase cleanout, but any interface improvements would be nice.
jaxstate
Jul 27, 10:37 AM
Wowzers, that expensive.
"$999 for the 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800"
"$999 for the 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800"
bep207
Aug 15, 01:03 PM
has adobe dropped any hints as to when CS3 will be available
Super Dave
Aug 5, 09:16 PM
Thanks for the links, Dave! I found them both very informative, especially the one on Quartz 2 Extreme.
Do you have any feel for when we will see a roll-out of the pro apps? I recall quite a bit of rumor-mongering just before the Intel announcement. Since then it has been rather silent. I thought the sudden drop in Quake might be a precursor to something fairly soon??
I have no inside information. I just read rumour and news sites� a lot! Although I use the pro Apps for a course I take, I'm not familiar enough with them to know their typical release schedule. For instance, iLife is once a year, whereas Adobe CS products are about every 18 months - 2 years. With Apple's Pro Apps I just don't know. Anyone?
David :cool:
Do you have any feel for when we will see a roll-out of the pro apps? I recall quite a bit of rumor-mongering just before the Intel announcement. Since then it has been rather silent. I thought the sudden drop in Quake might be a precursor to something fairly soon??
I have no inside information. I just read rumour and news sites� a lot! Although I use the pro Apps for a course I take, I'm not familiar enough with them to know their typical release schedule. For instance, iLife is once a year, whereas Adobe CS products are about every 18 months - 2 years. With Apple's Pro Apps I just don't know. Anyone?
David :cool:
Actarus
Apr 12, 01:49 AM
Im waiting til June, if iphone 5 is delayed then i will jump to a nice android smartphone. Many people forget that cellular market has changed a lot and now competition is harder than before, there are nice alternatives, very nice ones.
SevenInchScrew
Sep 1, 09:50 AM
So i'm wondering, if the standard cars are indeed copy/pasted from GT4, then what about the new standard cars they will be adding (like updated models from the past 5 years)? Obviously the ps3 can handle higher poly models, so surely they wouldn't build new models then scale them down to match gt4... That would be idiotic.
As I understand it, all of the Standard� cars are using the models from GT4 and GT PSP. The models used in those 2 games are basically the same. GT PSP had well over 800 cars itself, and came out just last year, so it has quite a few newer models. So, subtract a few from the lists of those 2 games for the cars that have been updated to Premium� status, and you could still have well over 800 Standard� cars, as they say it will have. To me, that seems like the most likely solution that they've done.
As I understand it, all of the Standard� cars are using the models from GT4 and GT PSP. The models used in those 2 games are basically the same. GT PSP had well over 800 cars itself, and came out just last year, so it has quite a few newer models. So, subtract a few from the lists of those 2 games for the cars that have been updated to Premium� status, and you could still have well over 800 Standard� cars, as they say it will have. To me, that seems like the most likely solution that they've done.
Consultant
Apr 19, 04:02 PM
Well if I'm wrong about the information, then I don't think anyone will argue about the fact that the Palm OS has been around since 1996, and the Apple iPhone uses a similar interface..
All I'm saying is that If there were devices using a similar interface before the iPhone came out I don't see how its fair to sue anyone for it..
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9153/palmtranicononpalmos.jpg
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/3721/palmiiicwcradle.jpg
FAIL. Ever heard the Apple Newton?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_(platform)
All I'm saying is that If there were devices using a similar interface before the iPhone came out I don't see how its fair to sue anyone for it..
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9153/palmtranicononpalmos.jpg
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/3721/palmiiicwcradle.jpg
FAIL. Ever heard the Apple Newton?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_(platform)
Burnsey
Apr 27, 11:00 AM
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2711155/posts?q=1&;page=101
There you have it. The birthers aren't satisfied. I knew it.
If this birth certificate said that Obama wasn't born in the US they would be singing a different tune. Heck they would be singing a different tune given the tiniest most unlikely evidence that he wasn't born in the US.
There you have it. The birthers aren't satisfied. I knew it.
If this birth certificate said that Obama wasn't born in the US they would be singing a different tune. Heck they would be singing a different tune given the tiniest most unlikely evidence that he wasn't born in the US.
myemosoul
Jun 22, 02:49 PM
I'm afraid i have more bad news to throw into the fire.
I live in New Jersey and I called my local Radio Shack (where i was the only person to get a PIN on pre-order day) and the manager told me his district is only getting 4 iPhones and there's 19 stores in the district so my chances of getting one on Thursday are very, very slim.
I have decided to camp out at the Apple store starting 10pm tomorrow night and i'm sure i will have a much better chance of getting one that way.
I will use my $184 gift card i got from trading in my 3GS to buy a vcr/dvd recorder and i will make it a point to never shop at a Radio Shack again, which from what i read the other day won't be long because they're rumored to be out of business by 2011.
I live in New Jersey and I called my local Radio Shack (where i was the only person to get a PIN on pre-order day) and the manager told me his district is only getting 4 iPhones and there's 19 stores in the district so my chances of getting one on Thursday are very, very slim.
I have decided to camp out at the Apple store starting 10pm tomorrow night and i'm sure i will have a much better chance of getting one that way.
I will use my $184 gift card i got from trading in my 3GS to buy a vcr/dvd recorder and i will make it a point to never shop at a Radio Shack again, which from what i read the other day won't be long because they're rumored to be out of business by 2011.
~Shard~
Aug 11, 10:25 AM
I really hope Apple comes out with a phone that's an awesome phone, music player, and smart phone... Is that asking too much?
Yes, I agree, it would have to be an iPod as well for all intents and purposes. And please Apple, make it a good quality phone - don't make it like those RAZRs which look cool but are crappy otherwise. I don't think I have read more negative reviews on a cell phone than I have for the RAZR.
Yes, I agree, it would have to be an iPod as well for all intents and purposes. And please Apple, make it a good quality phone - don't make it like those RAZRs which look cool but are crappy otherwise. I don't think I have read more negative reviews on a cell phone than I have for the RAZR.
mdriftmeyer
Aug 26, 12:39 PM
Because Apple customers care about Apple and they want the best and reasonable services from it. Unfortunately, this is not the current case.
I am sure most people agree that Apple's current way of handling the battery replacements leaves lots of rooms for improvements, particularly in non-US areas.
We also shouldn't feel good just because Dell also does not handle it too well. After all, Dell has more batteries to replace and has a shorter period of time for preparations. Supposingly, Dell provides bargain PCs, while Apple tends to charge a premium for their products. Can't Apple customers deserve better services? Shouldn't Apple be better? Should we all lower our expectations from Apple and ask for a cheaper price instead?
You might want to determine whether the way Apple treats its non-US customers is due in part to Apple's negligence or hurdles for doing business in these non-US nations.
I am sure most people agree that Apple's current way of handling the battery replacements leaves lots of rooms for improvements, particularly in non-US areas.
We also shouldn't feel good just because Dell also does not handle it too well. After all, Dell has more batteries to replace and has a shorter period of time for preparations. Supposingly, Dell provides bargain PCs, while Apple tends to charge a premium for their products. Can't Apple customers deserve better services? Shouldn't Apple be better? Should we all lower our expectations from Apple and ask for a cheaper price instead?
You might want to determine whether the way Apple treats its non-US customers is due in part to Apple's negligence or hurdles for doing business in these non-US nations.
firewood
Mar 26, 06:47 PM
I'm glad rosetta is going away. Maybe the dev will finally update the app.
The dev is dead, too old to program anymore, or has long ago moved on to other companies and hobbies, etc. Maybe the source code depends on the PowerPlant framework, or is on a floppy disk that the dog chewed up. But thousands of Mac users still like using the old application a lot better than any of the new cr*plets.
Maybe you'll volunteer to rewrite a new app as good or better, in every regard, for free?
The dev is dead, too old to program anymore, or has long ago moved on to other companies and hobbies, etc. Maybe the source code depends on the PowerPlant framework, or is on a floppy disk that the dog chewed up. But thousands of Mac users still like using the old application a lot better than any of the new cr*plets.
Maybe you'll volunteer to rewrite a new app as good or better, in every regard, for free?
cfedu
Apr 11, 06:59 PM
Maybe they need to wait in order to get 28/32nm A5 chips. No point in having an iPhone 5 with a 3 hour battery life
LegendKillerUK
Apr 11, 01:01 PM
I don't understand - you can't "add" 3GS, because 3GS is not a data network. 2G and 3G is� the S in the iPhone 3Gs simply stood for "speed", because it was faster than the iPhone 3G.
"the 3GS also adds support for 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA allowing faster downlink speeds"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_3GS
Technically he's right.
"the 3GS also adds support for 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA allowing faster downlink speeds"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_3GS
Technically he's right.
FlameofAnor
Apr 7, 11:58 PM
Explains why Apple is opening up Toys R' Us as another outlet.
Seems like both Target and Radio Shack should be getting more stock soon. ;)
Seems like both Target and Radio Shack should be getting more stock soon. ;)
SuperCachetes
Mar 5, 07:30 PM
The same model applies to the 'church'.
They are on the wane, and need new conscripts.
Gays are less likely to give them that.
That's (sadly) believable. See, now you're talking. I knew you didn't always pop round just to throw a cheeky non sequitur into the works. ;)
They are on the wane, and need new conscripts.
Gays are less likely to give them that.
That's (sadly) believable. See, now you're talking. I knew you didn't always pop round just to throw a cheeky non sequitur into the works. ;)
kdarling
Apr 6, 02:32 PM
As was pointed out by a previous poster, iOS was developed for tablet use.
That's a common misreading of what Jobs said.
iOS was developed for the phone first, although its idea of using a touch UI was not.
As Jobs explained, there was a simple UI demo done on a touch device originally designed to be a keyboard input prototype. That demo gave him the idea to go all touch on the iPhone. That's what he meant by "the tablet came first".
Since we know that during summer/fall the first iPhone UI concepts were done using iPods with wheels, his touch "eureka" moment probably came in late with the UI demo almost certainly done under OSX.
According to all known histories, the actual creation of iOS didn't begin until 2006. Prior to that, some at Apple were still proposing using Linux for the phone OS.
That's a common misreading of what Jobs said.
iOS was developed for the phone first, although its idea of using a touch UI was not.
As Jobs explained, there was a simple UI demo done on a touch device originally designed to be a keyboard input prototype. That demo gave him the idea to go all touch on the iPhone. That's what he meant by "the tablet came first".
Since we know that during summer/fall the first iPhone UI concepts were done using iPods with wheels, his touch "eureka" moment probably came in late with the UI demo almost certainly done under OSX.
According to all known histories, the actual creation of iOS didn't begin until 2006. Prior to that, some at Apple were still proposing using Linux for the phone OS.
840quadra
Apr 25, 03:10 PM
statistics show that distribution of firearms mainly lead to more homocides and also suicides using firearms.
if guns are outlawed, their distribution is greatly limited, making it a lot harder for outlaws to obtain them.
the more you spread guns, the greater is the risk of them being used in illegal activities.
..oh wait... this forum is about apple and computers, right? :rolleyes:
Noted,
But this is totally off topic, and this falls into the relm of Politics, Religion, Social Issues (http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47) .
When you have a high enough post count, I am sure a few of us would love to discuss the inaccuracies of the facts you think you understand on this subject. ;) .
if guns are outlawed, their distribution is greatly limited, making it a lot harder for outlaws to obtain them.
the more you spread guns, the greater is the risk of them being used in illegal activities.
..oh wait... this forum is about apple and computers, right? :rolleyes:
Noted,
But this is totally off topic, and this falls into the relm of Politics, Religion, Social Issues (http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47) .
When you have a high enough post count, I am sure a few of us would love to discuss the inaccuracies of the facts you think you understand on this subject. ;) .
ergle2
Sep 21, 03:17 PM
I had the pleasure of meeting Jef Raskin at his home in Pacifica a year before he passed away. He loved to play musical instruments and performed a short recital on his piano. Later that evening, after showing his Apple I in a wooden box, he encouraged me to read his book The Humane Interface and let him know what I thought about it. Sadly, I wasn't able to do that in time. But the conversation we had made it clear that he was not a fan of Steve Jobs. They both had strong opinions on various aspects of UI design. Even though I rather like OS X, Raskin politely argued against the inefficiencies of that design.
It was some time ago and I don't remember all the details from that night, but Raskin, I think, was more scientific in his approach. He preferred to study user response rates, time-to-decision, amount of eye movement, amount of pointer movement, number of mouse clicks, and various other factors that might contribute to 'dead' or wasted time.
It doesn't surprise me he was no fan of Jobs, especially given the history of the original Mac. From people I know who've worked with Jobs, he's not always easy to get along with.
From what I've read, the Mac was fundamentally quite different from Raskin's original vision after Jobs took over the project, though some of his ideas were obviously incorporated into it. (I believe Raskin wanted to go with the cheaper but obviously slower 6809).
His book's been one I've meant to track down for some time now. You know how it is, so many things to do/see...
The Archy interface modelled on his concepts is quite interesting, too.
I was sorry when we lost Jef, I feel he was one of those people striving to make the world a better place.
What did you think of The Humane Design?
It was some time ago and I don't remember all the details from that night, but Raskin, I think, was more scientific in his approach. He preferred to study user response rates, time-to-decision, amount of eye movement, amount of pointer movement, number of mouse clicks, and various other factors that might contribute to 'dead' or wasted time.
It doesn't surprise me he was no fan of Jobs, especially given the history of the original Mac. From people I know who've worked with Jobs, he's not always easy to get along with.
From what I've read, the Mac was fundamentally quite different from Raskin's original vision after Jobs took over the project, though some of his ideas were obviously incorporated into it. (I believe Raskin wanted to go with the cheaper but obviously slower 6809).
His book's been one I've meant to track down for some time now. You know how it is, so many things to do/see...
The Archy interface modelled on his concepts is quite interesting, too.
I was sorry when we lost Jef, I feel he was one of those people striving to make the world a better place.
What did you think of The Humane Design?
QuarterSwede
Aug 12, 07:48 AM
It may have been leaked on purpose. In light of the recent investigation into financial irregularities, this may have been to steady the floor.
Also regarding mobile-phone saturation in Europe, i'd have to say it's almost 100%. I don't think Americans realise how cheap and easy it is to get a phone in Europe. It has gotten to the stage where they are almost a disposable item. For 50 euro you can get a nokia camera-phone, with 40 euro call credit. Of course this will be an entry level phone, but decent nonetheless.
Every kid here in Ireland seems to have one. Only last week i helped a homeless man enter credit into his phone, I couldn't believe it, i was shocked when he asked me. Turns out its not so uncommon, charities give them old phones and help keep them charged. It represents some security for them, emergency calls are always free.
You can get a cheap cell phone in the US as well. We call them track phones, go phones, boost (pay to add minutes to the phone). Even drug dealers use them so they can toss the phone when the deal is done and not be tracked. In the long run they are much more expensive then just getting a provider and plan.
Back on topic, Apple's iPhone will have to be pretty sweet and work very well for me to buy one. I love my SE W600i for the UI alone. Its very intuitive and works very well.
I'm thinking it'll look similarly like the Nano (as to kill the RAZR in size) yet have a click wheel that is integrated into the key pad. I saw a mockup last year that was VERY convincing because it was ingenious but haven't seen it since. The clickwheel was indented into the keypad area. I wish I could find that picture.
Also regarding mobile-phone saturation in Europe, i'd have to say it's almost 100%. I don't think Americans realise how cheap and easy it is to get a phone in Europe. It has gotten to the stage where they are almost a disposable item. For 50 euro you can get a nokia camera-phone, with 40 euro call credit. Of course this will be an entry level phone, but decent nonetheless.
Every kid here in Ireland seems to have one. Only last week i helped a homeless man enter credit into his phone, I couldn't believe it, i was shocked when he asked me. Turns out its not so uncommon, charities give them old phones and help keep them charged. It represents some security for them, emergency calls are always free.
You can get a cheap cell phone in the US as well. We call them track phones, go phones, boost (pay to add minutes to the phone). Even drug dealers use them so they can toss the phone when the deal is done and not be tracked. In the long run they are much more expensive then just getting a provider and plan.
Back on topic, Apple's iPhone will have to be pretty sweet and work very well for me to buy one. I love my SE W600i for the UI alone. Its very intuitive and works very well.
I'm thinking it'll look similarly like the Nano (as to kill the RAZR in size) yet have a click wheel that is integrated into the key pad. I saw a mockup last year that was VERY convincing because it was ingenious but haven't seen it since. The clickwheel was indented into the keypad area. I wish I could find that picture.
~Shard~
Jul 15, 12:49 AM
Still, it's ridiculous that Apple's Top-Of-The-Line machines don't come STANDARD with 1 gig of ram. I can guarantee they will when they come out next month.
Oh, I agree - I should hope this is the case. In this day and age, 1 GB should be table stakes, especially when you're dealing with Pro machines - I would bet that most PowerMac owners upgrade to at least 2 GB of RAM standard as it is. Throw on top of that the fact that Leopard is coming out in (presumably) 6 months, give or take, and I'm sure that 1 GB will be required to run that with any degree of smoothness as well.
Here's hoping you're right. I think including 512 MB of RAM standard would be a bit of a slap in the face if Apple is releasing these supposedly "advanced" machines. What kind of advanced PowerMac has only 512 MB of RAM standard? ;) :cool:
Oh, I agree - I should hope this is the case. In this day and age, 1 GB should be table stakes, especially when you're dealing with Pro machines - I would bet that most PowerMac owners upgrade to at least 2 GB of RAM standard as it is. Throw on top of that the fact that Leopard is coming out in (presumably) 6 months, give or take, and I'm sure that 1 GB will be required to run that with any degree of smoothness as well.
Here's hoping you're right. I think including 512 MB of RAM standard would be a bit of a slap in the face if Apple is releasing these supposedly "advanced" machines. What kind of advanced PowerMac has only 512 MB of RAM standard? ;) :cool:
theBB
Aug 11, 07:28 PM
Confused.
Can somebody explain me the differences between the cellphone market between the US and Europe.
Will a 'iPhone' just be marketed to the US or worldwide (as the iPod does)?
Well, let's see, about 20 years ago, a lot of countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere decided on a standard digital cell phone system and called it GSM. About 15 years ago GSM networks became quite widespread across these countries. In the meantime US kept on using analog cell phones. Motorola did not even believe that digital cell phone had much of a future, so it decided to stay away from this market, a decision which almost bankrupted the company.
US started rolling out digital service only about 10 years ago. As US government does not like to dictate private companies how to conduct their business, they sold the spectrum and put down some basic ground rules, but for the most part they let the service providers use any network they wished. For one reason or another, these providers decided go with about 4 different standards at first. Quite a few companies went with GSM, AT&T picked a similar, but incompatible TDMA (IS=136?) standard, Nextel went with a proprietary standard they called iDEN and Sprint and Verizon went with CDMA, a radically different standard (IS-95) designed by Qualcomm. At the time, other big companies were very skeptical, so Qualcomm had to not only develop the underlying communication standards, but manufacture cell phones and the electronics for the cell towers. However, once the system proved itself, everybody started moving in that direction. Even the upcoming 3G system for these GSM networks, called UMTS, use a variant of CDMA technology.
CDMA is a more complicated standard compared to GSM, but it allows the providers to cram more users into each cell, it is supposedly cheaper to maintain and more flexible in some respects. However, anybody in that boat has to pay hefty royalties to Qualcomm, dampening its popularity. While creating UMTS, GSM standards bodies did everything they could to avoid using Qualcomm patents to avoid these payments. However, I don't know how successful they got in these efforts.
Even though Europeans here on these forums like to gloat that US did not join the worldwide standard, that we did not play along, that ours is a hodge podge of incompatible systems; without the freedom to try out different standards, CDMA would not have the opportunity to prove its feasibility and performance. In the end, the rest of the world is also reaping the benefits through UMTS/WCDMA.
Of course, not using the same standards as everybody else has its own price. The components of CDMA cell phones cost more and the system itself is more complicated, so CDMA versions of cell phones hit the market six months to a year after their GSM counterparts, if at all. The infrastructure cost of a rare system is higher as well, so AT&T had to rip apart its network to replace it with GSM version about five years after rolling it out. Sprint is probably going to convert Nextel's system in the near future as well.
I hope this answers your question.
Can somebody explain me the differences between the cellphone market between the US and Europe.
Will a 'iPhone' just be marketed to the US or worldwide (as the iPod does)?
Well, let's see, about 20 years ago, a lot of countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere decided on a standard digital cell phone system and called it GSM. About 15 years ago GSM networks became quite widespread across these countries. In the meantime US kept on using analog cell phones. Motorola did not even believe that digital cell phone had much of a future, so it decided to stay away from this market, a decision which almost bankrupted the company.
US started rolling out digital service only about 10 years ago. As US government does not like to dictate private companies how to conduct their business, they sold the spectrum and put down some basic ground rules, but for the most part they let the service providers use any network they wished. For one reason or another, these providers decided go with about 4 different standards at first. Quite a few companies went with GSM, AT&T picked a similar, but incompatible TDMA (IS=136?) standard, Nextel went with a proprietary standard they called iDEN and Sprint and Verizon went with CDMA, a radically different standard (IS-95) designed by Qualcomm. At the time, other big companies were very skeptical, so Qualcomm had to not only develop the underlying communication standards, but manufacture cell phones and the electronics for the cell towers. However, once the system proved itself, everybody started moving in that direction. Even the upcoming 3G system for these GSM networks, called UMTS, use a variant of CDMA technology.
CDMA is a more complicated standard compared to GSM, but it allows the providers to cram more users into each cell, it is supposedly cheaper to maintain and more flexible in some respects. However, anybody in that boat has to pay hefty royalties to Qualcomm, dampening its popularity. While creating UMTS, GSM standards bodies did everything they could to avoid using Qualcomm patents to avoid these payments. However, I don't know how successful they got in these efforts.
Even though Europeans here on these forums like to gloat that US did not join the worldwide standard, that we did not play along, that ours is a hodge podge of incompatible systems; without the freedom to try out different standards, CDMA would not have the opportunity to prove its feasibility and performance. In the end, the rest of the world is also reaping the benefits through UMTS/WCDMA.
Of course, not using the same standards as everybody else has its own price. The components of CDMA cell phones cost more and the system itself is more complicated, so CDMA versions of cell phones hit the market six months to a year after their GSM counterparts, if at all. The infrastructure cost of a rare system is higher as well, so AT&T had to rip apart its network to replace it with GSM version about five years after rolling it out. Sprint is probably going to convert Nextel's system in the near future as well.
I hope this answers your question.