New iPhone ads. It's all about the apps isn't it?

I guess I should also say that any such hardware (barcode-only and/or RFID readers: inventory management; card-swipe only: restaurants, etc.) would have plenty of other pretty obvious applications in a lot of markets and it only makes sense to open up iPhones and iPod touches to be able to take advantage of these. (More on the blog in my profile.)

Apple spends a ridiculous amount of time and money grooming *everything* about their store. And you know it's got to BURN his Steveness (and anyone else involved in making Apple stores so successful) to have those clunky looking Symbol barcode/credit card -capable PDAs being carried around on the floor.

If for no other reason than to improve the 'look and feel', I predict that within six months of OS 3.0 shipping, Apple floor sales reps will be carrying around some kind of barcode/card swipe peripheral+case that docks with an iPod Touch or iPhone.

Whatever third party company manufactures that hardware will make a mint, along with the folks who make a companion POS system that has an iPhone client that accepts barcode and card reader / swipe info.

I'm sorry, Mel, but every time I see an article from you on TUAW, I sorta roll my eyes. Not sure if you're just really green or what, but your assessment of most topics just doesn't seem to reach beyond the superficial appearance of the situation. Doesn't hold up under even cursory scrutiny. It really does take a pretty solid intellect to figure out what's going on with Apple when Apple isn't sharing. I get that.

But, in this article in particular, you actually pin the words on Steve Jobs: he "insisted" that web apps would be enough for iPhone users. Go ahead and show me a source on that. I'd imagine you're confusing it with Bill Gates' assertion that "640 kilobytes ought to be enough for anybody." Man, I know this is only a blog, but I would hope you'd care about the credibility of the blog, and the integrity of the content therein.

It's not just a phone, it's a computer platform. It's an enormous undertaking to build a MARKETPLACE as well as a ready-for-prime-time SDK, and it's absolutely clear to me that they've been working on this for years. The fact that they highly encouraged web application development for the iPhone was an indication of many things, among them: 1) they wanted to increase Safari market share, 2) they wanted users and developers to tackle one thing at a time to familiarize themselves and get each one right, and 3) they needed to "mature" the platform before they could "mature" the SDK for public consumption, and 4) all of that needed to happen before a marketplace could be built up around it.

I don't mean to single you out, Mel, but I just get the feeling you don't have a clue how these things get done. "The phone appeared, so where's the SDK?" Well, it doesn't work that way. The stuff doesn't just appear.

The reason Apple started using WinMobile for Specialist-carried Point Of Sale devices is mainly because that's what the vendor of their desktop POS systems uses in their mobile units. If Symbol used embedded Linux, Symbian (no relation), or Palm, and the system worked well enough, Apple would probably be using that instead. POS devices are a fairly specialized market with relatively small unit volume (compared to the market for, say, iPods). Equipping an iPod Touch with the card-swiping and barcode-scanning hardware needed wouldn't be a trivial cost, and it's not a market that Apple wants to get into, so they have little reason to design and build a device of their own. Instead they buy Symbol Hypercom devices off the shelf, custom-write software for them, and put up with their flakiness.

Anyone thinking the iPhone's built-in camera ca be rigged for either barcode or card reading is barking up the wrong tree. A camera like the iPhone's is useless at the short distances needed for reading barcodes. And even if you could read and OCR the front of a credit card with it, the banks require either an electromagnetic swipe or an old-fashioned paper imprint (i.e. proving that an actual card was there in the store) for the kinds of transactions Apple is conducting.

I'm just a consumer, but, I had a feeling with Steve first introduced the iphone that it was revolutionary. Revolutionary in the sense that someone had finally figured out a way to bring powerful computing into your hand. The iphone isn't really about the ability to make a phone call; it's more the ability to communicate and share data quickly and efficiently, and to have handheld computing.

Opening SDK has spawned an entire new wave of entrepreneurial creativity and commerce. The app store is really just the next wave of exploiting hand-held computing. And with a low app cost, it makes it affordable for nearly everyone.

Find out related iphone applications and articles in http://www.appsd.com

To me the most ironic thing about the app-centric ads is that they've managed to steer attention away from the central, but most poorly executed, function of the device: the phone. It's still called an iPhone after all.

I have devised the perfect slogan for iPhone OS 3.0 that would be a game changer and wipe Blackberry off the map:
"Now with telephone technology"

Until then I will carry around my iPhone for cool apps and my free Verizon LG flip for phone calls.

And before you all gang up on me and blame AT&T (and they do, indeed, suck balls), the bottom line is that the speakerphone still stinks, the vibration is too soft, the rings are too quiet and the battery life on 3G is still ridiculous. No matter how you slice it, it adds up to a fantastic digital device wrapped around a piss-poor telephone.

The ads show the JetSet Expenses icon! :)

I doubt Steve ever changes his mind. He just talks down anything until they are ready to release it. It's not that Steve thought webapps were good enough, it's just that webapps were good enough at the time. Apple had been working overtime to get the iPhone and Leopard out, shifting engineers back and forth. They needed to catch their breath before working out the SDK and all the other details.

As for webapps, what is Palm using?

Isn't it likely that Apple uses some Windows-powered computers in the company for some tasks? What difference would it make if it does? Would it be that big a blow to the company image? That's like saying Apple shouldn't allow Microsoft Office on their machines or something to that effect.