iPhone Buzz Reaches to Microsoft's Back Yard
454175
As 6:00 p.m. approached Friday, the mob in front of the Apple Inc.'s flagship San Francisco store counted down the seconds as if it was New Year's Eve.
592094
LOS ANGELES  - Apple's marketing machine has done it again. While the biggest names in tech were in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show in January showing off new gadgets and gizmos, Apple gambled it could extract attention in San Francisco for a sneak-peek debut of the iPhone, the combination music player/cellphone and Internet device.
764194
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Hundreds of gadget fans,  or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be the first  buyers of Apple Inc.'s  iPhone, a music and video  playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.
390584
Love it or hate it, the frenzy around Apple's iPhone is forcing consumers to think about what they want from a mobile device.
679644
(InfoWorld) - An executive in Microsoft's entertainment and games division Tuesday hinted that Microsoft may be developing its own Windows Mobile OS-based rival to Apple's iPhone. Speaking at Citi's annual Global Technology Conference in New York on Tuesday, Mindy Mount, corporate vice president and CFO for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, said it's not "unreasonable" to think that Microsoft will integrate photo, music, and touchscreen features into a Windows Mobile product in the future, though she declined to comment on the specifics of when or what that might look like. Microsoft's idea with Windows Mobile has been to move everyday business capabilities, such as accessing e-mail, from the PC to the mobile device. However, most people "tend to have one phone for personal as well as work [use]," Mount said. "Being able to do pictures and music is something that consumers are going to want, so it's a natural thing for us to want in our product roadmap." Microsoft is rumored to be evolving its Zune multimedia player -- its rival to the iPod -- with new features out by the holiday time at the end of the year, though Mount declined to confirm this on Tuesday. But a hybrid product melding Zune, which so far has had lackluster response from consumers, with Windows Mobile features is not completely unrealistic for the future. Microsoft has already worked with hardware partners to develop Windows Mobile handsets with touchscreen capabilities that are similar to the iPhone's. For example, the HTC Touch from High Tech Computer is one of the latest Windows Mobile devices to offer users the ability to use a touchscreen to scroll through e-mail and contacts and browse Web pages. But the HTC Touch smartphone, which is available in the U.K., Europe, and Asia and should makes its North American debut later this year, doesn't have the type of multimedia capabilities that give the iPhone an edge over rival smartphones, at least in the short term. Market research firm iSuppli said Tuesday that in July, its first full month of release, the iPhone outsold popular competitors, such as the Research in Motion Blackberry and Palm Treo devices. Regarding RIM, comments Mount made Tuesday also seemed to shoot downÂ speculation last week that Microsoft is in talks to purchase the Canadian maker of mobile hardware and software. "We don't comment on rumors, but what I would ask people is what that really gets you," she said. Much of RIM's success has been with the device portion of its BlackBerry business, whereas Microsoft has been very successful with using third parties to build its Windows Mobile devices, Mount said. The company sold 11 million Windows Mobile licenses last year and expects to do 20 million in the current fiscal year. "We're pretty happy with that roadmap right now," she said. That roadmap so far does not include Microsoft offering hardware for its Windows Mobile OS, which also means if the company did release an iPhone rival based on Windows Mobile, it's unclear whether it would be through a third party or from the company itself. Still, if the Xbox 360, Zune, and Milan table-top computer with touchscreen features the company previewed earlier this year are any indication, Microsoft seems to be warming up to the idea of offering consumer hardware devices alongside its traditional software, so an iPhone rival from the vendor is within the realm of possibility.
112423
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Hundreds of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be among the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.
16848
Writing for USA Today, Edward Baig finds iPhone âindeed worth lusting after.â Apple, he says, âhas delivered a prodigyâa slender fashion phone, a slick iPod, and an Internet experience unlike any before it on a mobile handset.â âThe most chic cellphone Iâve seen,â iPhone is âa breeze to set up and fun to use, evident from the moment you slide your finger across the screen to unlock it. Itâs a wonderful widescreen iPod and fabulous picture viewer.â And he tells us that âmaking calls was surprisingly simple. You can flick through your list of contacts or favorites â¦ and then tap on a name to make a call or send a text message. The keys of the virtual keypad are large enough so that dialing a number manually â or punching in a code to access voice mail remotely â is easy. I rarely made a mistake.â He awards iPhone 3.5 stars out of 4.
380482
Although the popular new iPhone from Apple is being hailed as a breakthrough device for the many features it offers, the key to its success is its extremely useful -- and way cool -- touchscreen user interface.
508803
With the iPhone on deck, it's finally time to see if Apple's vaunted designers have come up with another winner. But first: A pause to focus on developers.
252254
SEATTLE _ At a much-touted duel of tech-industry icons in Carlsbad, Calif., Wednesday night, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is expected to brandish the iPhone, but Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will also have some new firepower at hand.
744260
There's hype. There's hysteria. And there's history. The hype around Apple Inc.'s upcoming iPhone is abundantly clear. So is the hysteria. But how the iPhone will leave its historical mark after Friday's launch is to be seen.
434808
Less than a year after its introduction, itâs clear âthe iPhone has had a profound impact on the mobile phone business and likely will keep on influencing it for years to come,â Troy Wolverton  reports. âWith its large, full-screen display, its notable lack of a keypad and its simple black-on-silver color scheme, the iPhone instantly became an iconâand a model for the rest of the industry.â
514454
Apple is flexing its marketing muscles with the iPhone hype this week. The buzz engine is revving just as loudly on Friday as it did Monday morning, the day after the first iPhone commercials demonstrated the device&#39;s innovative features to the world.
645202
By Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Jun. 27--The hot new iPhone might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you can't get one in La Crosse.   Apple's mobile phone/ widescreen iPod/Internet device, goes on sale Friday for $500 and $600.
98448
Although the iPhone seemed to overshadow all other Apple news, there was more--including the release of Leopard and more competition for iTunes.
517621
Blog: iPhoneDevCamp rolls into San Francisco this weekend, where geeks galore will dream up new applications for the recently released combination iPod and cell phone.
315852
There's been a lot of media attention directed at the iPhone recently. Some of it has been positive, some negative, but none have come forth to acknowledge the obvious, sinister context of Apple's latest toy. This device is obviously designed to introduce our children to witchcraft and sorcery.