NetNewsWire 2.1 also has some issues with the Safari 3 beta (the space bar doesn't work in text fields). They told me that they weren't planning on patching 2.1 and that I should upgrade to NNW3. So don't download that 10.4.11 patch unless you plan on shelling out for NNW3.

@6 - My guess is that the decision to make it non-editable was to maintain consistency across the iPod line. iPods since gen 2 or so have had the ability to read calendars and address books from Macs but not write to them. So I think Apple's just trying to be consistent:

- All iPhones can read/write cals and addresses
- All iPods can read only.

I'm sure the distinction will go away someday, I guess the question is do we have to wait for the iPod "classics" to be discontinued first and replaced with an all-touch lineup.

Also don't forget that your credit card will sometimes double the manufacturers' warranty on any purchase. I'm pretty certain AmEx does this.

Of course the network's faster. Steve made sure to install RDF switches at all the major nodes. And the RDF, as we know, cuts down on interference. :)

"I take this as a good sign that Apple was able to make lots of these phones"

One could read this the opposite way, of course: perhaps Apple IS concerned about supply, and they don't want employees taking any from the first shipments. Hence the decision to wait 4 weeks for the supply chain to stabilize before the employees get theirs.

It's not unlike a strategy well-known to anyone who's worked in a big box store: save the parking spots up front for the customers, and make the employees park in the back.

But we're all just wildly speculatin' now, aren't we? It sure is fun, though!

... adding, I guess there are two Rev. A issues to talk about:

(a) the actual defects in the design that prompt a special repair program

(b) the feature set. Rev B models often have better battery life, better features, less of a price premium, etc.

I think this post is about (a).

I NEVER buy Rev. A Apple products, but I'll be buying a Rev. A iPhone. Why? Because, like you said, this thing's gonna go right to the masses. If it's a bum device, I'll be in good company with the millions of other pissed off iPhone customers, and Apple will have no choice but to make us happy or face a storm of bad press.

So I'm confident.

Interesting piece, David, and well-argued. I think it's true that Apple wants to keep the iPhone as the sexy beast for a while. Apple's goal is to sell as many iPhones as possible, and one way to do that is to grab all the low-hanging fruit (so to speak): current iPod users who want to upgrade.

The only comment I'll make is that as revolutionary as it was at the time, the iPod's UI is getting long in the tooth. It needs a makeover, and I think Apple knows this. Since it's unlikely that they'll develop a different, new UI for the iPod, I think at some point (perhaps sooner than you think), the iPod will get some of the UI features of the iPhone.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I wasn't talking about hardware failure rates in Rev. A products, per se, I was more talking about the feature set. Things like battery life, etc. usually get a major bump in Rev. B.

What I'm still wondering -- and maybe this is covered in your podcast -- is whether Apple can actually handle such a high-profile 1.0 release. We hard-core Apple fans know to "Wait for Rev. B" since Apple's stuff is usually so revolutionary it takes a couple of revs to hammer out the bugs (think OS X, the PowerBook G4, the PowerMac G4). Even the iPod was 3rd- or 4th-generation before it really caught on to the mainstream market (and the iTunes store came online).

But the iPhone will be the most high-profile public launch of a new product in Apple history. Can they pull it off? I hope so, 'cause I really want to buy a Rev. A iPhone.