My brother, who travels a lot, sticks with his obsolete clamshell palmtop ('clamshell')computer because (1) it runs Excel and (2) has a keyboard, albeit a very small one.

So, here's the iPhone, reputedly running OS X.

Will it run M$ Office? And other business apps?

Does it have a port for an external keyboard? The on-screen keyboard I assume is useless for working, as it takes up most of the screen.

Is anyone planning to make a small pocket keyboard for it?

Better yet, is a clamshell version, maybe with a foldout keyboard, a possibility?

/Mr Lynn

what are the winning lottery numbers?

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

They make a mini bluetooth keyboard for the Blackberry. I am sure the accessory market is already on it.

I think an external keyboard would be great. Hope it happens right off the bat. Somebody will probably build a little stand it can plug into.

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mrlynn
My brother, who travels a lot, sticks with his obsolete clamshell palmtop ('clamshell')computer because (1) it runs Excel and (2) has a keyboard, albeit a very small one.

So, here's the iPhone, reputedly running OS X.

Will it run M$ Office? And other business apps?

No, and no.

Quote

Does it have a port for an external keyboard?

No. It doesn't need one.

Quote

The on-screen keyboard I assume is useless for working, as it takes up most of the screen.

No it doesn't. It works fine for typing (either using predictive text or not), but Apple would be the first (after me) to tell you that the iPhone's keyboard -- or any other phone keyboard for that matter -- are not designed for large amounts of typing. If you're trying to write a novel on a phone, you're mentally ill and should have your ears boxed till common sense sets in. It's for QUICK COMMUNICATION, not a laptop replacement.

Your brother has a fundamental misunderstanding of what a smartphone is designed to do, and is attempting to teach a pig to sing.

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Is anyone planning to make a small pocket keyboard for it?

It can't be ruled out, because the iPhone does have Bluetooth capability onboard. But it's a pretty safe bet that the answer is "no."

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Better yet, is a clamshell version, maybe with a foldout keyboard, a possibility?

Wow. That whooshing sound you hear is you missing the ENTIRE POINT of the iPhone. You might want to start by actually looking at one (well, the images of one) on Apple's web site, then actually READING THE COPY.

In short, the answer there is again "no."

The iPhone is NOT for everybody, and it's not TRYING to be. It's for a very specific sector of the market. Your brother is just trying to create what my dad called "a blivet."

(Good taste and rules prevent me from explaining what that is. Look it up (under "military usage": [en.wikipedia.org])

What your brother would really like is a laptop. He would like this because it can run Excel in something larger than a thee-columns-and-five-rows-fill-the-screen view, and he would like it because it can use a keyboard that won't give him carpal tunnel. He's just too lazy to lug one around.

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chas_m




[crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com] <-- Moving to Canada blog

[www.pcworld.com]

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

"...because the iPhone does have Bluetooth capability onboard. But it's a pretty safe bet that the answer is "no."

I would say it is a pretty safe bet that "yes" there will easily be Bluetooth-capable keyboards that will work just fine with the iPhone.

Some people do 'extensive typing' on their phone. LG VX-9900 here...and I do much typing for email and some docs. Is it a laptop replacement? No. That is why I didn't choose a SmartPhone, or the like. I wanted a well-equipped phone but one that was more of an actual phone than a PDA.

For laptop replacements on the go, that is why I chose an OQO and Sony UX180P. I can type all day on those without an issue. Many mobile users would prefer a keyboard for entry.

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The iPhone has BT *and* a 30-pin FW connector, so just as with iPods, just about any device can be designed to work with the iPhone.

I can totally see an Apple dock plugging into a third party keyboard, or some other device.

Otherwise I agree with chas' post.

While there are a lot of users who want QWERTY buttons, we've yet to see how well, with some practice, Apple's touchscreen buttons will work. And I think pigs will fly before we see a fold-out keyboard for an iPhone.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

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chas_m
. . .What your brother would really like is a laptop. He would like this because it can run Excel in something larger than a thee-columns-and-five-rows-fill-the-screen view, and he would like it because it can use a keyboard that won't give him carpal tunnel. He's just too lazy to lug one around.

He's not lazy, just efficient. He has a company-issued laptop, but he thinks it's too big and bulky (a Thinkpad, as I recall). He's been buying and using PDA/handheld computers for a long time now. His favorite is a little horizontal clamshell palmtop that runs Windows CE (better known as 'Wince'), on which is he quite comfortable working. It's about the size of the iPhone but has a QWERTY keyboard (opens horizontally). He is not writing a novel, mostly just entering numbers in Excel (or Lotus 1-2-3) spreadsheets.

If the iPhone won't run business applications, it's a stretch to say it's running OS X. Add a fold-out stand and keyboard, and you'd have a real computer under a pound. But The Steve isn't interested in business people—just wants to market toys to rich kids.

/Mr Lynn

that comment about teaching a pig to sing is as offensive as them Geico caveman ads.
but I hear there is a pig contestant on the next American Idol.

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!#$@@$#!

never do yesterday or today what you can put off til tomorrow or next year.

If the iPhone won't run business applications, it's a stretch to say it's running OS X.

How so? The basis of your conclusion doesn't make any sense.

Who says it *won't* run any applications? Apple is not yet letting third party *write* apps for the iPhone. They may never do so.

No doubt the OS is pared down from what we use, but since it has 4 or 8G RAM, I can see it running X. I can get an X install to under 2G, MicroMat and DiskWarrior do it in less than that.


But The Steve isn't interested in business people—just wants to market toys to rich kids.

I think your presumptions are way off base.

Marketing to the consumer market rather than the business market will make a *much* bigger splash than debuting with a business phone.

And if you were familiar with the RAZER and a few other phones, the model would be familiar. I'm guessing the iPhone will follow a similar pattern, or more like that of the iPod. The phone will later be offered in different models, the price will drop, and the feature set will expand.

Just as the iPod has spawned companies producing accessories, the iPhone will do the same.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
RAMd®d
[. . .Marketing to the consumer market rather than the business market will make a *much* bigger splash than debuting with a business phone. . .

Maybe so. Is the iPhone as big a leap forward in phones as the iPod was to existing MP3 players? If not, it's a crowded marketplace. . . and people like their really tiny flip phones, which the iPhone isn't.

On the other hand, there's room for a really small, ultra-light (under one pound) computer, some kind of combination handheld-foldout design. Seems like the technology is there.

/Mr Lynn

Is the iPhone as big a leap forward in phones as the iPod was to existing MP3 players?

I think so. For me, the difference between the iPhone and the iPod is that I didn't realize that the iPod was a BLF, at the time.

For me, the Big Thing about the iPhone is that it looks to have a far superior user interface. Fast, intuitive, simple, elegant. These are all the same features that made (yes, MADE) me buy an iPod at $399. The iPod lacked color, but the interface was just soooooo easy to use, I was sold.

You're right about the crowded market place. Many have said the iPhone will fail for just that reason- the iPhone is a new kid and already an also-ran, in a sea of established, bigger, older fish.

But I think Stevie can make the iPod's marketing model work for the iPhone, with slight tweaking, if needed.


On the other hand, there's room for a really small, ultra-light (under one pound) computer, some kind of combination handheld-foldout design. Seems like the technology is there.

Room, yes. A paying market? I don't know. I like that tiny PC- the ONQ? Something like that, but it's a PC. The cost to shrink a computer down is inversely proportional to its size. The one or two attempts to mine that market don't seem to have fared well.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.