Eolian
Mar 29, 01:01 PM
Access to Your Account and Content
You acknowledge and agree that Apple may access, use, preserve and/or disclose your account information and Content if legally required to do so or if we have a good faith belief that such access, use, disclosure, or preservation is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process or request; (b) enforce these TOS, including investigation of any potential violation thereof; (c) detect, prevent or otherwise address security, fraud or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property or safety of Apple, its users or the public as required or pemitted by law.
That reads quite a bit different from Amazon's "... or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service ..."
You acknowledge and agree that Apple may access, use, preserve and/or disclose your account information and Content if legally required to do so or if we have a good faith belief that such access, use, disclosure, or preservation is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process or request; (b) enforce these TOS, including investigation of any potential violation thereof; (c) detect, prevent or otherwise address security, fraud or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property or safety of Apple, its users or the public as required or pemitted by law.
That reads quite a bit different from Amazon's "... or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service ..."
ten-oak-druid
Apr 5, 04:10 PM
There is no i in iOS.
xlii
Apr 26, 02:38 PM
Apple needs to hit a home run with iPhone 5. Time is money.
SC68Cal
Jul 21, 02:37 PM
Noooo....must...resist urges to buy...new MBP's
Just have to keep reminding myself I cant afford these things right now..
Oh, you can afford it.... it's just that you'll be eating ramen for quite a while.
Just have to keep reminding myself I cant afford these things right now..
Oh, you can afford it.... it's just that you'll be eating ramen for quite a while.
CalBoy
May 5, 02:27 PM
Sorry it took so long to respond to this; I assure you it took only a second to Google (this is just the first result I found):
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
munkery
Nov 2, 09:29 PM
Java on any platform is able to download payloads for Windows. Most likely Windows malware that the AV software found. Java can usually be turned off fairly easily in client side apps, as in Safari, if you don't use it. Beyond turning Java off, user knowledge can keep you safe from trojans. For example, don't provide password and authenticate for installers that you have not explicitly double clicked; then the payload is not able to install itself in your system. Java applets should not require password authentication so that is a good sign of a malicious payload. You can clean it out manually via finder or on demand scan using ClamXav.
-aggie-
May 4, 08:37 PM
Can you give the non-storybook reason for why he died and what actually happened?
bedifferent
May 7, 12:05 PM
The best option is to cover both ends.
Free
Syncing
Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks
Small iDisk
Find my iDevice
Web Gallery
Web Page
Paid
iTunes Cloud (Lala music streaming)
More Sync options
Larger iDisk Pro (Dropbox like speed)
Larger Web space and Gallery
Online Backup
iWork.com Pro (Collaboration and editing)
I'm ready to go Google Free. I just need to know Mobileme is worth investing in more.
Exactly my thoughts, aside from the free web page/site. Over the years I've grown to appreciate the MobileMe/.Mac service as it offers a lot for $99/year, much more than most realize or utilize. Offering a "lite/free" version would attract more iPhone/iPad owners and would entice more to purchase the full version.
Free
Syncing
Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks
Small iDisk
Find my iDevice
Web Gallery
Web Page
Paid
iTunes Cloud (Lala music streaming)
More Sync options
Larger iDisk Pro (Dropbox like speed)
Larger Web space and Gallery
Online Backup
iWork.com Pro (Collaboration and editing)
I'm ready to go Google Free. I just need to know Mobileme is worth investing in more.
Exactly my thoughts, aside from the free web page/site. Over the years I've grown to appreciate the MobileMe/.Mac service as it offers a lot for $99/year, much more than most realize or utilize. Offering a "lite/free" version would attract more iPhone/iPad owners and would entice more to purchase the full version.
zacman
Apr 18, 03:24 PM
What is your source for this information?
Apple keynote and NDP survey.
Apple keynote and NDP survey.
andythursby
Apr 18, 04:41 PM
Oh come on, we aren't really going to resort to the "there's only one way to design a mobile device" argument, are we? You're telling me the only way to design the Galaxy Tab was to make it look identical to the iPhone 3GS?
My iPhone 4 doesn't look anything like my wife's iPhone 3GS, so apparently there are at least two ways to design a mobile phone.
None of the other Android phones or tablets I've seen look like iPhones either. Only Samsung's.
+1 for great common sense that some people are lacking on here so far...
My iPhone 4 doesn't look anything like my wife's iPhone 3GS, so apparently there are at least two ways to design a mobile phone.
None of the other Android phones or tablets I've seen look like iPhones either. Only Samsung's.
+1 for great common sense that some people are lacking on here so far...
ZackaryVS
Apr 24, 01:52 PM
Now this, this is awesome. :apple:
Arcus
Apr 25, 10:37 AM
+1 the people crying about this are just plain ignorant and have NO idea how much stuff records their location.
So if you have some device or service that you use in your life and you didnt tale the time to understand every nuance about it do we get to call you ignorant as well?
So if you have some device or service that you use in your life and you didnt tale the time to understand every nuance about it do we get to call you ignorant as well?
kretzy
Sep 11, 08:04 AM
I told Rob about the event yesterday...
"Great, all we need is another iPod." :rolleyes:
Poor Rob. :D
If it is something impressive I may just have to get it - seeing as I've never had an iPod (shocking, I know).
"Great, all we need is another iPod." :rolleyes:
Poor Rob. :D
If it is something impressive I may just have to get it - seeing as I've never had an iPod (shocking, I know).
BRLawyer
Sep 11, 01:20 PM
What we are gonna see tomorrow:
- iTMS Movie Store;
- new Nanos 6 and 8Gb in anodized metal;
- slightly updated iPod with 80Gb;
- Airport Express Video.
And NOTHING ELSE...don't dare dream about updated MBs or MBPs...these have NOTHING to do with a special event on movies and multimedia...sorry to burst your bubble...SJ told me that already... :rolleyes:
- iTMS Movie Store;
- new Nanos 6 and 8Gb in anodized metal;
- slightly updated iPod with 80Gb;
- Airport Express Video.
And NOTHING ELSE...don't dare dream about updated MBs or MBPs...these have NOTHING to do with a special event on movies and multimedia...sorry to burst your bubble...SJ told me that already... :rolleyes:
tekmoe
Sep 15, 06:43 PM
just remember everyone...
all the rumor sits speculated the 23" imac (really 24") would be revealed at the "Showtime" event. apple fooled them all and released it a week early!
let's hope the same thing happens for our mbp's. here's to next tuesday! :D
all the rumor sits speculated the 23" imac (really 24") would be revealed at the "Showtime" event. apple fooled them all and released it a week early!
let's hope the same thing happens for our mbp's. here's to next tuesday! :D
moderately
Apr 7, 09:51 AM
Ehh, purposeful or not (as a sabotage)...not good news for iPad competition:( Which isnt good news for us iPad users...Apple needs constant pressure to release revolutionary products.
I do wonder if this is true. They may need the pressure to upgrade specs but the revolutionary products seem to come because that is their passion.
I do wonder if this is true. They may need the pressure to upgrade specs but the revolutionary products seem to come because that is their passion.
maelstromr
Apr 5, 03:26 PM
I'm fine leaving my phone un-jal broken. But I think Toyota and other companies should cater to the jail broken community too. Its understandable that Apple would ask. But hopefully it doesn't go beyond asking.
Something tells me "jail broken community" grossly overstates the size of this segment of the population.
Mega corporation A asks Mega corporation T to stop messing with a key product outside the terms of use and Mega corporation T is more interested in having good ongoing relations with a potential major technology partner than it is in five anti-conformist iconoclasts. File this in not really news.
Something tells me "jail broken community" grossly overstates the size of this segment of the population.
Mega corporation A asks Mega corporation T to stop messing with a key product outside the terms of use and Mega corporation T is more interested in having good ongoing relations with a potential major technology partner than it is in five anti-conformist iconoclasts. File this in not really news.
octoberdeath
Sep 11, 01:00 AM
i hope they crank out some flippin amazing stuff that just screams buy me! i need a new phone here shortly for i hate sprint and will be switching to another provider and would love a bad a cell phone from apple. and i'd also like to be able to stream HD video to my telli in the living room wirelessly and other cool stuff too. bring on the media event!
paolo-
Apr 9, 09:17 PM
@ Mac'nCheese and Tilpots
I think tilpots has shown that he understands the proper priority of operation but is simply stating the fact the this notation can lead to interpretation or at least doubt as to what is meant. I clearly see the answer as 288 and would consider 2 a wrong answer. But if you take it for it's face value, it has to be 288, write it down with � and X, instead, you'll end up with 288, and that's what should be meant. But I still think this is a ****** notation and a second set of parentheses would make it clear.
Wow I should be studying way more complex stuff than this right now...
I think tilpots has shown that he understands the proper priority of operation but is simply stating the fact the this notation can lead to interpretation or at least doubt as to what is meant. I clearly see the answer as 288 and would consider 2 a wrong answer. But if you take it for it's face value, it has to be 288, write it down with � and X, instead, you'll end up with 288, and that's what should be meant. But I still think this is a ****** notation and a second set of parentheses would make it clear.
Wow I should be studying way more complex stuff than this right now...
alhedges
Mar 26, 11:09 PM
I think that Apple will introduce IOS 5 in June/July, when it introduces the iPhone 5 (assuming that's what they call it). If there is some aspect of ios 5 that they can't get ready until Fall, they may have an ios 5.3 update in the Fall. But holding off on ios 5 until the fall will simply make the iP5 less appealing...and introducing ios 5 when you don't have a product to sell is simply a waste.
And I don't buy the iPad 3 in the fall rumor, either.
And I don't buy the iPad 3 in the fall rumor, either.
jholzner
Aug 4, 12:13 AM
Steve does not have to announce any new products to say they are going to shift to Core 2 across the board ASAP. :)
That's very true but my response wasn't to that statement but to this one:
"MBP Merom anyone? Appleinsider has always been reliable...so this may happen. This WWDC is gonna be great!"
I assumed that WWDC is going to be great because of MPB Merom which I don't think will be announced. :p
I could be wrong.
That's very true but my response wasn't to that statement but to this one:
"MBP Merom anyone? Appleinsider has always been reliable...so this may happen. This WWDC is gonna be great!"
I assumed that WWDC is going to be great because of MPB Merom which I don't think will be announced. :p
I could be wrong.
z3r0
Apr 21, 08:29 PM
Reducing the Mac Pro's size is a huge step backwards! It will reduce space for storage, ram, heat fans, cpu, heat sinks, PCI-X/gpu slots, and optical drives!
The only thing that will increase is HEAT! That will lead to reliability problems as more stress will be put on internal components with the increase in HEAT!
Not to mention if you do plan on using a Mac Pro as a server, redundant power supplies are a must! That means more space is needed!
What about raid cards and gpu's? Will they need to be redesigned to fit in the Mac Pro? Please don't tell me Apple will put in an integrated Intel GPU that would epitome of stupid! The Mac Pro is a workhorse! A beast! If anything go bigger!
Apple should just apologize and release a new Xserve! :D
That or make a deal with Oracle to get Lion Server on Sun Fire servers. Another option is to open source/port their server software to FreeBSD!
The only thing that will increase is HEAT! That will lead to reliability problems as more stress will be put on internal components with the increase in HEAT!
Not to mention if you do plan on using a Mac Pro as a server, redundant power supplies are a must! That means more space is needed!
What about raid cards and gpu's? Will they need to be redesigned to fit in the Mac Pro? Please don't tell me Apple will put in an integrated Intel GPU that would epitome of stupid! The Mac Pro is a workhorse! A beast! If anything go bigger!
Apple should just apologize and release a new Xserve! :D
That or make a deal with Oracle to get Lion Server on Sun Fire servers. Another option is to open source/port their server software to FreeBSD!
mambodancer
Mar 27, 09:39 AM
I get Gruber's line of reason here, but in the long term it doesn't make sense to me. If we get an additional iPad this September with a Retina Display, what happens to the 2012 iPad? Will it simply receive a bump in resolution, but lack Retina?
All (newer) iOS devices other than the iPad have some form of Retina Display. All iOS devices have an A4 chip (which will become A5 this year). iOS 4.2 unified the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch lines. Clearly Retina is the one missing feature that's coming to iPad. All iPads.
To me, it makes more sense that Apple would wait until they can build these in bulk, and sell them at the same price point, than to introduce a new top tier $800-$900 iPad (assuming that's what it is) with a Retina Display. Will it have 3 tiers of memory as well and two flavors of 3G? With those options we'll easily see it surpassing the price of a Macbook or Macbook Air. Not quite sure a device that expensive will spur Holiday sales. If we lived in that reality, people would be receiving Macbook Airs like they were stocking stuffers. But Apple's Q1 numbers show us devices that expensive don't move in the numbers that iPods, (subsidised) iPhones, and iPads do.
The only way this makes sense is if this "additional" September 2011 iPad, has other super features that warrant it's "special" release. An iPad Pro for example, with more memory, even more power, and Thunderbolt. Or if Apple decides to move the iPad introductions to Q1 and do away iPod special events. If iPods are intro'd at this new event, it would be in passing.
New yearly lineup :
iOS event - late March / mid April
iPhone event - June
iPad event - September
iPod / AppleTV (quiet release) - September
In this "Guess" Gruber is flat out wrong and just speculating. I think other journalist agree that there will most likely NOT be another iPad release in 2011.
A real journalist, of which there seems so few these days, would have to ask: "Who manufactures these displays." "Are they able to manufacture enough to meet current demand and future orders for this product?" "Can existing production lines be converted easily to manufacture new products without impacting existing lines?" "Are there any manufacturers ramping for an unannounced product, especially if Apple is its customer?" "Who would be the display manufacturers suppliers of parts that might also indicate a shift in production to a new product?" "How Might the global economy and events in Japan impact supply?" "How long does it take to build the product and in sufficient number meeting QC and then ship it an assembly plant?" "Where is the assembly plant for the product and is there unusual activity at the plant?" "Has anyone actually TALKED to someone who works at these facilities?"
All (newer) iOS devices other than the iPad have some form of Retina Display. All iOS devices have an A4 chip (which will become A5 this year). iOS 4.2 unified the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch lines. Clearly Retina is the one missing feature that's coming to iPad. All iPads.
To me, it makes more sense that Apple would wait until they can build these in bulk, and sell them at the same price point, than to introduce a new top tier $800-$900 iPad (assuming that's what it is) with a Retina Display. Will it have 3 tiers of memory as well and two flavors of 3G? With those options we'll easily see it surpassing the price of a Macbook or Macbook Air. Not quite sure a device that expensive will spur Holiday sales. If we lived in that reality, people would be receiving Macbook Airs like they were stocking stuffers. But Apple's Q1 numbers show us devices that expensive don't move in the numbers that iPods, (subsidised) iPhones, and iPads do.
The only way this makes sense is if this "additional" September 2011 iPad, has other super features that warrant it's "special" release. An iPad Pro for example, with more memory, even more power, and Thunderbolt. Or if Apple decides to move the iPad introductions to Q1 and do away iPod special events. If iPods are intro'd at this new event, it would be in passing.
New yearly lineup :
iOS event - late March / mid April
iPhone event - June
iPad event - September
iPod / AppleTV (quiet release) - September
In this "Guess" Gruber is flat out wrong and just speculating. I think other journalist agree that there will most likely NOT be another iPad release in 2011.
A real journalist, of which there seems so few these days, would have to ask: "Who manufactures these displays." "Are they able to manufacture enough to meet current demand and future orders for this product?" "Can existing production lines be converted easily to manufacture new products without impacting existing lines?" "Are there any manufacturers ramping for an unannounced product, especially if Apple is its customer?" "Who would be the display manufacturers suppliers of parts that might also indicate a shift in production to a new product?" "How Might the global economy and events in Japan impact supply?" "How long does it take to build the product and in sufficient number meeting QC and then ship it an assembly plant?" "Where is the assembly plant for the product and is there unusual activity at the plant?" "Has anyone actually TALKED to someone who works at these facilities?"
ChrisA
Nov 22, 01:49 PM
Here is my prediction:
The number one characteristic of the first generation of Apple phones will be that they a "#$+@ expensive".
What does this mean? A concept they teach in business school is how to set a price to maximize profit. It's easy to see that if you price it to low you sell a zillion units but loose money and if priced to high you don't sell any so there is a sweet spot where the number of units sold times the per unit margin is maximized. In theory you can write an equation to model this then do some math to find it's maximum point. (remember: set the derivative to zero then solve for X from Calculus 101?) So much for theory. I doubt they will do that. I think Apple will price these higher then the theoretical "best" price. This way they sell far fewer units then they otherwise would. This let's them grow their service side of the iPhone business at a manageable rate. If Apple's business plan is sane they can't be going for a large share of the cell phone market
OK so in short they use a high price to throttle sales to a rate their service can support. I'm thinking this will be a $500 phone with a $99/month minimum contract. Basically you ain't going to get a free Apple iPhone with your $29.00/month 2 year contract.
Apple is partnering with an air-time provider so they will not get to keep much of the per-month fee, they will have to make money up front with hardware sales unless they can offer some non airtime monthly service like .mac
The number one characteristic of the first generation of Apple phones will be that they a "#$+@ expensive".
What does this mean? A concept they teach in business school is how to set a price to maximize profit. It's easy to see that if you price it to low you sell a zillion units but loose money and if priced to high you don't sell any so there is a sweet spot where the number of units sold times the per unit margin is maximized. In theory you can write an equation to model this then do some math to find it's maximum point. (remember: set the derivative to zero then solve for X from Calculus 101?) So much for theory. I doubt they will do that. I think Apple will price these higher then the theoretical "best" price. This way they sell far fewer units then they otherwise would. This let's them grow their service side of the iPhone business at a manageable rate. If Apple's business plan is sane they can't be going for a large share of the cell phone market
OK so in short they use a high price to throttle sales to a rate their service can support. I'm thinking this will be a $500 phone with a $99/month minimum contract. Basically you ain't going to get a free Apple iPhone with your $29.00/month 2 year contract.
Apple is partnering with an air-time provider so they will not get to keep much of the per-month fee, they will have to make money up front with hardware sales unless they can offer some non airtime monthly service like .mac