Steve Ballmer disses on the iPhone

Jason, do you own an iPod? Go get an iPod, hold it in your hands, then listen - you would definitely feel the difference from those millions of other MP3 players. And in the world of gadgets it's normally about those tiny little things making you feel comfortable and if you want, exclusive? Same on the iPhone - I agree that it doesn't do anything new in principle but it just does it better. Same as Google has done search engine business better and YouTube have done video sharing thing better - nothing new has been invented but that's the key in the modern world of business, to do the odd things better then the others.

On the keyboard, Peter, go watch the keynote. Keyboard is there for those applications that need it. And different keys as well. The thing is, Jobs says, each application needs slightly different keyboard therefore Apple wants to paint it on the screen instead of making plastic. Also, they make the keys large enough to avoid stylus and use fingers instead. I find it amazing, actually - I've got TomTom on my PDA using exactly the same principle - it's very comfortable and believe me - you don't need that waste of space in your hand and your pocket - hard coded plastic keyboard is last century.

Don't get so excited over this phone yet... There isn't anything "new" about it except multitap... EVERY phone out there now plays MP3's and does cellphone stuff at the same time. Having the phone limited to Cingular is just STUPID... That is just a fraction of the market for cellphones. The $600 price tag may seem a little harsh when you might also have to look at moving to Cingular and breaking your contract with your current provider.

Also the lack of 3G is HUGE...

The phone itself is HUGE... it might be thin but the footprint is BIG... the "trendy" 16 year old girls that are going to want a new trendy iPod phone are not going to want to lug around this huge thing...

oh and say what you want about WM5 but Microsoft makes the software not the phones... some of the WM5 based phones out there run GREAT... the software does TONS more than any other mobile OS out there... there is an entire development community writing thousands of apps for Windows Mobile... Apple has a long way to go if they ever want to even compare to WM5. Look at the Treo... Palm will soon be making just phones instead of the Palm OS because more people want WM5 than the Palm OS...

Oh and there was lots of HYPE about the Zune before it was released and I saw news stories about it on my local news... just like the new iPhone... that doesn't mean its going to be great. The people on the news don't know what the difference between EDGE and 3G is they just say "iPhone" and think WOW!

The SideKick already does EVERYTHING the iPhone does but it has a full sized keyboard... EVERY HTC phone out there already does everything the iPhone does and does it better and most of them are smaller and have a real keyboard...

Well see if the iPhone lives up to the hype but just because it is an "i" something doesn't mean its going to be great... the multitap will make or break this phone...

The keyboard thing is critical. Perhaps Apple will improve the design (software) before launch? Even when Steve Jobs was showing it off the response looked poor. Bear in mind that in Europe the majority of use for a mobile phone (cellphone) is SMS text.

On the expensive phone: don't forget you have to combine price of Nano 8 Gigs with a phone, to get $500. And it's not a cheap "MP3 player" like on the other phones. It would be real Apple iPod quality embedded there, no shit and cheap stuff.

It's just like about quality of life. The quality of your virtual life is getting several levels higher if you're on Mac platform. I'm sure it's the same about the phone. I would spend those $500 but honestly, I think the key would be their compatibility with PC work tools. The majority of young adults are working in the businesses ran by Microsoft today. It makes a great sense to get compatible, obviously leaving couple of nice Mac-only features, to stimulate switching. And this is clearly the way to penetrate corporate market. That's how Apple wins our minds: they sell us something relatively inexpensive, then after trying it for some period we start wondering how beautiful are Macs and MacOS...

Very good advertising for Apple, in fact. Steve's disbalanced and cheap behavior makes him look real loser. I've never had a chance to see him talking so now I finally understand what's the source of issue at Microsoft. No wonder Microsoft is moving so strange strategically if their Chief is such a short-minded person.

That's M$ they think they can just laugh it off, and by dismissing it others will listen and follow. That worked for them for many years, but it doesn't work as well anymore. They have always taken from Apple, and copied "just good enough" to add some marginal value to their captured/trapped marketshare that locks in those who don't see the pit before falling in.

If he has a problem with it... he should STFU and not buy one.

The guy is a bitter old man who spews toxic venom every-time he opens his moth and makes a comment. You know who I feel sorry for is his poor brain washed children. One other thing his wife to voluntarily get into bed with him thats so wrong, gross and sick on so many levels I cant begin to tell you.

1. I currently use a phone with Windows Mobile 5 on it. It's shocking - Internet Explorer and ActiveSync quite often cause horrendous memory leaks that corrupt the system and force me to reboot in the middle of what I'm doing.

It's also generally slow, clunky and difficult to do basic things on; and I'm forced to use a PC to install and remove software.

I have an exec model, I dread to think what lower-powered phones face.

2. I keep on seeing people claiming the iPhone is useless for business. Apple do court the business market with their products, but given that they are emphasising this device's connection to the iPod family - portable music devices are not business devices - should tell you where they're going.

No? How about that they renamed their entire company to reflect better their company's growing focus on being a consumer electronics brand?

3. The keyboard is an issue? Has he even TRIED using the keyboards on other phones? The QWERTY keyboard on my Windows Mobile device is every bit as clunky as he's claiming the iPhone will be, and the same goes for many other smart phones I've used.

* * * * *

It's great that Microsoft have all these bullish execs who generate media attention by running their mouths off, but at least make sure your products are even remotely as good as your competitors' before getting on your high horse. Else you look like an idiot.

I mean, if we want to talk ill-conceived, expensive, delayed, not in tune with the needs of the end users, clunky... well, Microsoft have Zune, Windows Vista, and a whole slew of other products to illustrate.

""The “cool” of owning this phone, particularly for the early adopters, is worth an easy $497, bringing the phone itself down to $2 even.""

Bruce Tognazzini said that about the iPhone.

Ballmer and Microsoft refuse to understand this about customers (or they don't speak of it publically). It's not something they can buy, as in the case of the bought Zune bloggers, or something the can just will upon a product.