Apple is a virtual no-show in the sub-$800 PC market and for good reason. There’s little margin, no brand loyalty and too much of an investment of resources for very little (if any) return.

I see the iPhone as the latest salvo from Apple in the battle to replace the cheap PC with digital devices.

Since the iPhone handles many of the functions people want from a PC (e-mail, Web surfing, music, movies, maps, etc.) as well as function as a phone, is the iPhone a serious replacement for an inxepensive laptop or a 2nd home PC?

Re: iPhone As PC Replacement

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]Apple is a virtual no-show in the sub-$800 PC market and for good reason. There’s little margin, no brand loyalty and too much of an investment of resources for very little (if any) return.

I see the iPhone as the latest salvo from Apple in the battle to replace the cheap PC with digital devices.

Since the iPhone handles many of the functions people want from a PC (e-mail, Web surfing, music, movies, maps, etc.) as well as function as a phone, is the iPhone a serious replacement for an inxepensive laptop or a 2nd home PC?

If you can manage the development and maintenance of The MacObserver from an iPhone, yes, it can replace your PC - Perl and PHP coding is not a strain on the iPhone’s CPU.

I don’t see the iPhone as a replacement for the PC, but rather an extension of your PC. And iPhone naysayers keep ignoring the unique competitive advantage Apple has: it controls the whole user experience. It controls the PC hardware, software (OSX) and some key elements of our digital life: our music collection (iPod), with mixed success our television (aTV) and now our communications (iPhone).

We will be working on our PCs for quite some time, but will have the iPod and iPhone with us for the rest of our day.

Re: iPhone As PC Replacement

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]Apple is a virtual no-show in the sub-$800 PC market and for good reason. There’s little margin, no brand loyalty and too much of an investment of resources for very little (if any) return.

I see the iPhone as the latest salvo from Apple in the battle to replace the cheap PC with digital devices.

Since the iPhone handles many of the functions people want from a PC (e-mail, Web surfing, music, movies, maps, etc.) as well as function as a phone, is the iPhone a serious replacement for an inxepensive laptop or a 2nd home PC?

iPhone appears to kill the need for PC/Mac for most consumers.  The vision appears to be each person one iPhone/iPod, each home one AppleTV and a Mac.

Re: iPhone As PC Replacement

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]Apple is a virtual no-show in the sub-$800 PC market and for good reason. There’s little margin, no brand loyalty and too much of an investment of resources for very little (if any) return.

I see the iPhone as the latest salvo from Apple in the battle to replace the cheap PC with digital devices.

Since the iPhone handles many of the functions people want from a PC (e-mail, Web surfing, music, movies, maps, etc.) as well as function as a phone, is the iPhone a serious replacement for an inxepensive laptop or a 2nd home PC?

One interesting comment from my Mom, who lives in a NYC high rise. Her point was, if her building provided Wi-Fi for all residents, and she could get the iPhone to print to a Wi-Fi enabled printer, she feels she would not need a PC, or the monthly cable modem bill. She feels the savings would pay for the iPhone in the first year!

I think she was focused on the cable modem bill, once she found out the iPhone could help her get on the internet and she could do SMS. Frankly, I did not think that way before she mentioned it!

I wonder if other retired people may think that way too?

Re: iPhone As PC Replacement

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]Since the iPhone handles many of the functions people want from a PC (e-mail, Web surfing, music, movies, maps, etc.) as well as function as a phone, is the iPhone a serious replacement for an inxepensive laptop or a 2nd home PC?

Yes, but, as I have mentioned in another discussion, it lacks sufficient I/O to comfortably replace the computer for many uses. A nice as the iPhone is, you won’t want to spend hours writing lengthy messages with your thumbs or working with your pictures on the small display.

I think the iPhone could replace a computer if the following conditions are met:
[list]
[*] Allow iPhone to be paired with Bluetooth mouse + keyboard.
[*] Add HDMI output to the dock so your HDTV can act as a monitor, sort of like an enhanced WebTV.
[*] Bundle lite versions iChat, iPhoto and Pages.
[*] [Maybe] add a USB port to the dock for an external hard disk.
[/list:u]
With HDTVs becoming more and more common these days (which have resolution equal to or better than the average desktop monitor) and availability of affordable Bluetooth input devices, this could make the iPhone a viable PC replacement. People could connect their digital cameras, save their libraries to an external drive, and comfortably write longer emails or letters. This would allow the iPhone to easily replace a regular desktop PC without adding much (if anything) to its internals. The solution to me simply lies in adding a couple apps and allowing its dock to connect additional devices.

And don’t forget GAMES!!!!

If you can’t play WoW, what good is it??

I’m going to steal one of sleepygeek patented arguments here.

The iPhone will allow people to say, “Why bother upgrading my PC or getting Vista, let me spend $600 on an iPhone that will still work with my old PC and iTunes just fine and give me more “Wow!” to boot.”

And then they get an Apple TV that also eliminates the need to upgrade their old PC, and then Apple comes out with that Mactablet with MultiTouch or Mace’s MacBook nano, and they just never get around to upgrading their iTunes server box, uhh, I mean desktop PC. Heck they won’t even bother upgrading the hard drive, then just attach a large drive to their Apple Airport Extreme and share their iTunes library from there.

Sorry, SG, couldn’t resist as this thread was tailor made for that point.

PS Come to think of it, why should I bother upgrading my iMac G5, when I should just save my pennies for all the Apple TV, Airport Extreme, and new MultiTouch toys Apple will launch soon enough! 

[quote author=“Intruder”]And don’t forget GAMES!!!!

If you can’t play WoW, what good is it??

You can play WOW with iPhone Remote (a.k.a. Telekinesis)

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/clips/world-of-warcraft-on-the-iphone-kinda-276399.php

I’m not suggesting the iPhone relace someone’s primary Mac or PC. I am suggesting it’s a replacement for a 2nd PC or even a laptop for more passive computer users.

That is what I am hoping to do…keep my desktop at home and use an iphone for replacing my laptop, which is used mostly for entertainment anyways…

since i do a bit of traveling and go out a lot in Asia, there are lots of hot spots that i can take advantage of and makes life more convenient carrying a small phone…if I can access files from my desktop through the web from my iphone while traveling (i think people were talking about streaming directly from your desktop) that would hands down do it for me. 

I know you can remotely access your computer from other computers with software…

Window VNC on your iPhone

That’s my point.

For people who purchase a laptop mostly for communication while on the road, the iPhone may be a worthwhile replacement product.

That’s my point.

For people who purchase a laptop mostly for communication while on the road, the iPhone may be a worthwhile replacement product.

That’s how I’m doing it now.  My son doing this too.  Consumers who need to lug laptop (so bulky) around are few and far between , exaggerating - may be undergraduates?  sale people?

How many people lug laptops around to do nothing more than surf the Web, check e-mails and watch movies while on the road?

ME!  But not anymore.  AND I won’t have to pay $9.95/day to use the paid airport or hotel wi-fi!  That’ll pay for my iPhone in a year or so. 

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]How many people lug laptops around to do nothing more than surf the Web, check e-mails and watch movies while on the road?

I can seriously say that when I travel, unless its on business and for some reason I need more power than web browisng and email, I will not bother taking my laptop with me any more now that I’ve got an iPhone. What’s the point? Now that I can access my home Mac via the internet from my iPhone thanks to the telekinesis project I’ve no need to carry a laptop with me at all, because I can access any documents I need from the iPhone.
The iPhone skates ahead of the puck. The laptop is rapidly going to be relegated to use only by those who need to open, negotiate, and use complex documents, spreadsheets, presentations or run bespoke enterprise software. For 90% of “the rest of us,” the laptop just got made redundant.