"Anyone know where to find what 3rd party applications would work with the iPhone?"
This is a very interesting question. It's a mobile version of the MacOSX, which uses PDF as a native file format, so expect a PDF reader/thin version of Acrobat for sure. Possibly photo-editing apps from Adobe, but it uses Core Graphics, so anyone can write to that AP.
The next World Wide Developer Conference Apple holds will probably have a lot of content for developers for this phone, even though it's after the release of the product (August). Might be interesting to find out how to develop for it now - one could jump ahead of the market and have apps ready by release, there's going to be a big, new market waiting! Like Jobs said, if they get 1% of the phone market, that's 10,000,000 phones - and a LOT of potential customers for software.
Here's some things I expect, eventually:
iChat/Aim clients
VIOP clients using the wifi (both lines on one phone...cool...)
Voice recognition
Some way to connect this to a MacBook or MacbookPro and let the laptop use it's internet connection. No more paying for wifi in airports.
Some form of Ink, the handwriting technology, for finger gesture capture
Thin versions of Office, not from Microsoft tho. Google apps for it? Bet on it, and they have an Office suite already.
Anything Palm has, developers can make for this. Productivity (Quicken for iPhone? Sold!), communications, reference, games, the GPS in it opens up lots of possibilities...
The only thing it can't do that I can even think of right now is function as the Uber Remote Control of all Time using IR to talk to iPods, Macs, and the new Apple TV... but who knows?
I use a PsP to watch movies on planes. This will replace it. In fact, I don't see any reason to take my laptop on a lot of trips, if I have this.
I'm hesitant about Cingular too, my Verizon contract is up in April, and I love Verizon, but hate the phones they have right now. I hope and pray they allow it to be used with Verizon! But this thing fits so many of my needs (truly private e-mail at work that never hits the corporate server, websites that are'nt filtered by the corporate firewall, internet everywhere, GPS and driving instructions from Google in the car...) I could see bumping down to the lowest Verizon service plan, and still getting one of these through Cingular, and just have my away message say to call the iPhone. :)
They're going to sell a lot of these. I'm sold already, the GPS feature in the Keynote sold me. The potential of this device is huge, what we know so far just scratches the surface! I was disinterested in the iPhone rumors up until today, but this went so far beyond my expectations...Apple did it again.
What GPS feature? All I saw was jobs selecting preset locations and showing them off in Google maps and the satellite overlay of same.
Since it's running Safari, I would assume it would have at least a basic PDF reader when it ships; within Safari, if not a stand-alone app.
Here's some things I expect, eventually:
iChat/Aim clients
No question. There are already freeware and shareware clients galore for OSX and Palm.
VIOP clients using the wifi (both lines on one phone...cool...)
That would rock. Might be a hard sell with Cingular, though, It's gonna depend on the pricing structure of the contract -- if VOIP is a way to use unmetered data instead of metered cell phone minutes, Cingular may put up a fight. OTOH, if VOIP works only via WiFi -- not over Cingular's network -- they might be okay with that.
Voice recognition [...] Some form of Ink, the handwriting technology, for finger gesture capture
I'd expect both of those early on, since they're already mature technologies that Apple owns. In fact, I believe that Apple developed Ink (improved from the Newton hw recognition) with the iPhone or another PDA in mind -- it doesn't strike me as a particularly useful thing to have on a desktop or laptop.
Some way to connect this to a MacBook or MacbookPro and let the laptop use it's internet connection. No more paying for wifi in airports.
Agreed. That's already widely available via Bluetooth on a lot of smartphones and even normal phones, and I can't imagine Apple bringing out a top-of-the-line device that can't do what lesser (and far cheaper) devices can. And for me, it's not even an issue of not paying for WiFi, but the ability to use it when WiFi isn't available -- in the park, at a highway rest stop, at my grandmother's house.
Anything Palm has, developers can make for this. Productivity (Quicken for iPhone? Sold!), communications, reference, games, the GPS in it opens up lots of possibilities...
Yup. 8GB will hold a lot of street-level maps, and the screen's a decent size for satellite nav. If there's any kind of adapter that would hook the iPoone to an iPod dock connector (or if it uses one natively), a lot of vehicles are already ready for it.
I use a PsP to watch movies on planes. This will replace it. In fact, I don't see any reason to take my laptop on a lot of trips, if I have this.
I don't see it as a laptop replacement, especially with only 8GB of memory -- I take a buttload of 8MP pictures on vacations, and upgraded my iBook to a 160GB drive. The interface looks great, but I doubt it will challenge a real keyboard for serious work. But even nerd that I am, I don't use the laptop much on vacation; an Phone with a bluetooth keyboard would probably do the trick for a lot of folks.
I'm hesitant about Cingular too, my Verizon contract is up in April, and I love Verizon, but hate the phones they have right now.
I don't know that much about Cingular, and I don't know what kind of contract terms they'll have for the iPhone, so I'll have to wait and see on that. I think one reason Apple went with them is that they're all GSM -- so Apple doesn't have to mess with different international versions in the early going, when they'll probably be selling as many as they can make. I've stuck with Print for years, despite some quirks, because I use my phone for data more than voice, and Sprint had the best data plan; we'll see what Cingular offers for the iPhone. Metered data would be a serious buzz-kill.
They're going to sell a lot of these. I'm sold already, the GPS feature in the Keynote sold me. The potential of this device is huge, what we know so far just scratches the surface! I was disinterested in the iPhone rumors up until today, but this went so far beyond my expectations...Apple did it again.
I just got a new Treo (a replacement from Sprint, so I didn't spend any real money on it), and with that big a price tag, I think I can find the patience to wait for the 1.1 release. Especially since I can't get one until June anyway. I was impressed that the actual device far exceeded what was on the rumor sites -- those folks have active enough imaginations that it's difficult to exceed expectations.