What would make this awesome is a link to stream your music off your home computer. All your music all the time when within the cell network's range.

Still waiting. I won't buy an Apple cell phone unless it is done right. A cell phone needs these features:

1. No monthly fees.
2. No expiration dates.
3. No credit checks.
4. Per call rate cheaper than payphones.
5. Cost no more than $50.
6. Compatible with all cell networks.
7. No roaming charges.

If that can be done, and designed to attach to the bottom of an existing iPod, I'd buy it in an instant.

Actually Apple can grab share by being a pure competitor. Its the only business where the more you buy the higher the price (I.e. overage charges) . The big carriers can only get away with fixed monthy charges and punitive overages b/c they operate a tacit oligopoly. Smaller players tend to shelter under umbrella of this price model rather than take it on.
Apple should just charge for the phone and charge a per minute rate that goes doen, not up, the more minutes you use. No fixed contacts, no bundling: just pay for what you get. My guess is that like Virgin, they will offer a branded service that piggybacks the Sprint network.

I'm much easier to please. It simply has to be available for CDMA networks and have features/quality equal or better than the Motorola RAZR, which I plan on upgrading to in January.

Not holding my breath for one tho. Wouldn't mind an iPod bump soetime soon though.

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gopher wrote:
Still waiting. I won't buy an Apple cell phone unless it is done right. A cell phone needs these features:

1. No monthly fees.
2. No expiration dates.
3. No credit checks.
4. Per call rate cheaper than payphones.
5. Cost no more than $50.
6. Compatible with all cell networks.
7. No roaming charges.

If that can be done, and designed to attach to the bottom of an existing iPod, I'd buy it in an instant.

And I want a Brand new BMW for $9995....

Get real... I'll take an unlocked GSM phone from Apple for $399... I think just an OEM manufacturer of unlocked phones is the way to go. No need to mess around w/ being an MVNO or a contract w/ a carrier. Bluetooth Sync w/ iTunes. And Apple's famous touch on UI.

Why would I ever need a cellphone if payphones are all over the place, and frequently better service than cellphones. Until the cell industry stops its lunacy more people will get in debt buying services they never really use, and have to buy replacement phones at costs of a year of service or more. Apple has an opportunity to make the cell industry stand up and listen like they did with the music industry.

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Why would I ever need a cellphone if payphones are all over the place

Where do you live, Gopher? I live in northern CA and see payphones less and less. And, of course, payphones are completely useless if, for example, I'm at the store and need to call my wife and see if she wanted red onions or white ones. Or if I'm supposed to be following someone in my car and we get separated. Etc.

I do agree, though, that the cellular industry is screwy. I pay way more for my two cell phones than I should -- it's about twice as much as my residential phone, and I can't get rid of my residential line because the cell reception isn't as good inside the house as it is outside.

Eventually, though, I think we'll see a dramatic shift in the cellular business. Remember when you had to pay by the hour with AOL, Compuserve, etc., and then along came players who gave you 24/7 Internet access for a flat rate? People who used to literally pay hundreds of dollars were now suddenly paying just 20 bucks a month.

Something similar is likely to happen in cellular, especially with wireless Internet access eventually becoming ubiquitous and offering the ability to carry a WiFi device that basically does the same thing. Maybe Apple is the company that will shake things up. Or maybe not. At any rate, I doubt that they'll get into the cellular business with a plan that's the same as everyone else's. They'll do something different.

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gopher wrote:
Why would I ever need a cellphone if payphones are all over the place, and frequently better service than cellphones. Until the cell industry stops its lunacy more people will get in debt buying services they never really use, and have to buy replacement phones at costs of a year of service or more. Apple has an opportunity to make the cell industry stand up and listen like they did with the music industry.

I second Brad's observation pay phones are becoming less and less seen. I have come to really appreciate my cell phone, not only in emergencies, but for my business as well. And no I don't yack on the cell phone in the movie theatre or when it is unsafe to do so. As to costs, you can purchase prepaid cell phones, that is what I do with the iTunes Music Store for a similar reason.

I would like to see a combination cell phone and iPod.

I have to agree that the pay phone is an endangered species. Very rare anymore here in western Oregon. But i don’t have much use for a cell phone, other than an occasional call, and for emergencies.

I inherited a cell phone and bought pre-paid cards for it from AT&T for $10/90 days. Then Cingular took over and thought they’d triple the price. I was willing to pay $40/year for occasional use, but not $120/year. Since federal law requires carriers to handle 911 traffic without charge, you don’t need to a plan with a carrier for emergency use. I carry a cell phone strictly for 911 access, but it costs me $0/year.

Now i would like a wireless portable device that i can receive eMail, and place/receive occasional VoIP calls. I won’t pay outrageous prices for something i only use occasionally, but if Apple does away with monthly contracts and offers a pay-as-you-go service, i’d be interested. I don’t mind buying a “phone” because i know it’ll be cheaper than any contract.

Quote

gopher wrote:
Still waiting. I won't buy an Apple cell phone unless it is done right. A cell phone needs these features:

1. No monthly fees.
2. No expiration dates.
3. No credit checks.
4. Per call rate cheaper than payphones.
5. Cost no more than $50.
6. Compatible with all cell networks.
7. No roaming charges.

If that can be done, and designed to attach to the bottom of an existing iPod, I'd buy it in an instant.

This is technologically next to impossible (specifically, number 6.). Your phone is either CDMA or GSM (dominant technologies in the US). It cannot do both. Therefore, it's either Sprint/Verizon or Cingular/T-Mobile (to simplify; I know there are others out there).

Making an unlocked quad-band GSM phone that will work with any SIMM anywhere in the world will definitely sell. Perhaps not as much in the US, but world would just gobble it up. While in the US, we are at mercy of carriers with their annual (or bi-annual) contracts and subsidised phones, the rest of the world has the pre-paid option that actually makes sense. Buy a SIMM card (practically anywhere: newsstand, street vendors, supermarkets...), stick it in any phone and use it. You don't have to sell your identity to your carrier (and your government) like in the US.

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vasic wrote:
You don't have to sell your identity to your carrier (and your government) like in the US.

That is the primary reason I don't have a CP at the moment. I had convinced myself that it would be a good idea to get a couple of them for my wife and I and figured out a plan that wasn't too obnoxious. In the end, though neither T-Mobile nor I would budge on their having my SSN. I just would not give it to them and they would not go ahead without one.