Apple, Cingular, Motorola teasing iPhone fans again
We've heard this everywhere, but could iPhone debut be for real? Mums the word over and Moto, and Cingular is zipped, but Apple announced on Monday that it would host a news conference on September 7.
I've got a beef with these all in-one phones. Several beefs, actually.
First, gimmie input! I want a keyboard at least Sidekick II or Blackberry quality. Motorola's iTap and Nokia's T9 input, even with predictive text, may be ideal for cats, but we primates know how to use our opposable thumbs.
Next, gimme a no nonsense bluetooth stack and conduit on my PC that I can give permission to link without intervention, triggering bidirectional sync with Outlook Express, Apple Mail, Outlook 2003, Entourage, and the Mozilla email and calendaring suite. When I'm back at my desk, voicemails should show up in my Inbox. Sure, we already have this. Let me know when it works.
But finally, and most relevantly for the iPhone, headphones need to get rid of the wires. I hate wires. Nothing should have wires. Wires are exceptionally crude, and we're well beyond the era of flying kites in lighting storms to trap a bit of electricity in a leyden jar. We've done it for hearing aids; we've done it for bluetooth headsets; now it's time to do it for stereo earbuds. A batterypack/charger/bluetooth device should hold the earpieces and relay signal from registered bluetooth phones or PCs to the L+R earbuds.
But there's hope -- One & Co partnered with Plantronics to make the Versa wireless earbud concept shown here.
What's new is old... in the 1970's I could listen to stereo without unsightly wires, using the entirely self-contained "Bone Fone" FM radio. Unfortunately, it looks like you ripped off Gumby's leg to wrap around your neck. With this thing on, nobody could see the Izod alligator on your polo.
Closing the loop, the Japanese recently introduced a bone conduction headset, while the Brits want to put one in your tooth.