iPhone Honesty
I need all the cool kids in the room that own this gadget to be honest with me and tell me some of the negatives of this thing. I know for many of you (specifically some folks on the Haiti trip with me) the iPhone ranks up their with your faith, family, and country – and not in any specific order. But for a moment step back and throw some of the negatives at me.
I am wracking my brain here, and the only thing I can come up with is that fingerprints on the screen drive me crazy.
dude, i can’t wait until my contract expires so I CAN GO BACK TO MY BLACKBERRY AND VERIZON!!!!! not functional. fun. and i take the fun OUT of functional. i have a feeling you are a functional type of guy. who cares if i can fake drop an egg or play a flute? my frigging email comes in slow and every time i type “petes” it turns it into peres.
I do not own an iPhone, so technically, I probably shouldn’t comment, but I’m gonna anyway.
I agree with what Anne says. I’m a Blackberry user (on my third one now) and I hope I don’t have to ever use anything else! I currently have the Blackberry Storm. Yes, there are some valid criticisms of it, as there are with any device, but this phone is awesome and only getting better. This phone is CDMA and GSM capable (MANY AT&T users have it unlocked on with them). and can be used in over 200 countries.
The best thing is the network. AT&T, currently the only one that offers the iPhone, is absolutely awful. Their coverage is wonderful where it’s wonderful and non-existent everywhere else. Their customer service is just non-existent.
The iPhone does not have a consumer-replaceable battery. Big negative as all batteries eventually wear out; usually before the device they’re powering. It also doesn’t have removable memory. My Storm currently has 1GB on-board and came with an 8GB micro SD card. I’ve got two more as well. It will take up to a 16GB with the current firmware. I currently store my music on one card and movies on another. The BB uses a micro USB to charge and sync whereas the iPhone uses their proprietary stuff again.
Firmware updates? Done by the consumer (OTA) with Blackberries; not so with Apple. Apple just wants you to buy another device.
I hate the proprietary lockdown of Apple in general. If I buy a song or movie, I should be able to play it on whatever I want, not just i______. I can do all that with my BB. I can also play stuff that’s not from the iTunes store; protected or otherwise.
Bottom line: you are a professional business man. Get a tool, not a toy. Blackberry phones are made for the professional first.
Oh yeah, just for extras: iPhone can’t take video or send MMS. BB Storm, can. Facebook and Twitter are easy as pie (don’t know how they work on the iPhone, but I suspect OK). Video playback (ie movies) is absolutely stunning! I got rid of my mp3 player as the Storm is much better.
I have the iPhone (first generation) and my wife has the 3G iPhone. She affectionately calls mine the “ghetto iphone.”
Ummmm…I pretty much wouldn’t buy another phone. The GPS makes driving to different places a breeze…it pinpoints you, maps it out and goes. I’ve used it a ton to times.
The apps you can download are awesome. Yes…there are pointless things like dropping a fake egg. (My favorite worthless app is the motion detector fart machine. Don’t even get me started on how great THAT is!) But the good apps are many: an Italian phrase book for when I went to Rome in January. Currency converters. Flashlight. Chase mobile banking. WordPress. Voice activated Google app that googles the word you say into the phone. ReQall task managment (where I can talk into it and add things to my wife’s TO DO list since they’re linked). The NY Times. A complete Bible. A sound machine with alarm clock. Pandora and AOL Radio apps that turn it into a radio. And the Facebook for iPhone app is awesome. The apps alone do it for me.
My email doesn’t come in slowly. I’m sure that depends on where you are…but I have it linked to both home and work and easily get and view emails from both. I send tons of email from my phone. Picture emails are slower if you’re in the car…but since it picks up wireless internet it is speedier anywhere that is.
My iPhone is linked to my Microsoft exchange server with push capability. I can add to my calendar from the phone or in Outlook and they sync. My contacts are synched…it’s a breeze. You can set how often you want it to push. My email gets synched about every two minutes I think…something like that.
Updating the software is as simple as turning on iTunes. Not hard at all.
Coverage for me has been fine. It worked better in Ethiopia than the Ethiopian cellphone I had. Powered up upon landing in Addis and started making calls. I used it in Italy with no problems…sent texts and made calls all over Rome. The 9 hour drive from Dallas to Tennessee has coverage the entire way. I’ve never had a problem.
Downside: fingerprints on the screen. Traffic lights turn green without me noticing because I’m doing something online. I drop it a lot (get one of those rubber covers).
Seriously, that’s about it. I can easily check/send email, update Outlook calendar, find directions, see entire websites, have dozens of cool apps (both serious and fake), take great photos, and it’s just so stinking easy to use. (I picked up a friends BB and couldn’t even figure out how to access anything)
I love my iPhone.
I’ve got to agree with Beth. We had AT&T once upon a time and the coverage and service sucked.
I have the BB Storm and its a toy. It is functional, but I prefer the BB Curve and cannot wait to go back to it. With a touch screen phone, you have to also invest in screen protectors, which get bubbles and the bubbles drive me crazy. If you don’t use screen protectors, your screen gets scratched and not functional. PLUS you have SIX KIDS! You cannot tell me that they aren’t going to want to try that cool new toy, drop it, and ruin it. Not you mention Amy might get sick of your new toy and flush it down the commode!
I don’t have the i-phone, but cannot stand Averi’s i-pod. I prefer Gavin and Briana’s $30 MP3 players that will hold any software. I don’t want the i-phone, I don’t want a touch screen anything ever again!
Go with the blackberry. Function over fun. I have loaded Google maps (free) on my BB Storm and Matt has loaded it on his BB Curve and I can find him anytime of the day or night…. and vice versa if I choose to take a joy ride and get lost. PLUS I can map my driving directions without paying for the extra service or using a TOM TOM.
You are a MAN with MAN fingers…. touch screen typing gets tricky. It’s how I ended up with the Storm. Matt couldn’t type on the darn thing!
DOWNSIDE: the touch screen makes it very easy to accidently dial someone by brushing the screen with your finger. That’s irritating. Be sure to lock your screen.
I think it’s interesting that two people who don’t even have an iPhone are telling you how bad they are…I’m a six foot tall man and I have large hands…and I can type on my iPhone just fine.
By in the large the product is spectacular. I have had a blackberry world edition, palm treo etc and enjoy the functionality of the iphone immensely. The blackberry navigation was lacking, and on what planet should I have to reset my time on my own, which you did on the Blackberry world edition. I get emails quickly, they are formatted correctly and I have full access to the web which no blackberry or treo at this point can claim. The fun stuff such as the apps keep me informed and provide functionality services that make my day easier.
On to the negatives some of which are believed to be addressed in the 3.0 software coming out this summer.
1. No copy and paste – although I have only needed it a couple of times
2. Can’t search email or phone for keywords etc
3. No voice dial
The battery life is something people complain about, however I would trade the shorter life with the functionality and other benefits I get from the phone. As to the complaint about touch screen typing, please. Spend a few days on the phone and you will type just as fast. I have had more then one observer comment on how fast I type on the iPhone.
You know my job and my life and I am a functional and efficient guy. It seems more efficient to me to not have to have my laptop open at every meeting and on site when I can research on the web and take notes on my phone in place of my laptop. I have been all over the country and had great service.
There you go…join the movement.
Downsides: It occasionally crashes/freezes up. The phone itself is a bit slippery and droppable (even though I haven’t dropped mine). My wife has had a huge headache syncing Entourage with it. Other than these things, it is pretty much a perfect phone/pocket computer.
I haven’t had problems with AT&T’s coverage and you know what my tour schedule looked like last fall. When I didn’t have coverage, the other dudes in the van didn’t have coverage either (but I must say I don’t think any of us had Verizon– I think they had T-Mobile and Sprint).
However, if you are in the market for one, I would wait until June. They are very likely to release a new version then.
I know I don’t have the iPhone (as stated above), but I try very hard to make informed decisions when making a purchase such as this. As for the touch screen issues, I can’t speak to the scratchability of the iPhone. The Storm however, does NOT need a screen protector of any kind. The screen is GLASS. Unless you’re carrying diamonds in your pocket, you can’t scratch it at all. As for locking it, a free app called “Storm Lock” takes care of that while on calls. This is a feature that RIM somehow (stupidly) overlooked. Easily remedied however.
BTW, right now, Verizon has a buy one get one FREE on ALL of their Blackberry phones. This offer is good for new lines and those eligible for an upgrade. Pricing plans between AT&T and VZW are very close. If you’re considering a Blackberry of any kind, check out Verizon. BOGO is a great deal anyway you look at it. I also was very impressed that Verizon gave me a second Storm for free two weeks ago. I bought my Storm in November and they honored the get one free deal all the way back to then.
BTW, if you are considering a Blackberry and don’t want the Storm, I have a Verizon Wireless Blackberry Curve (8330) with LOTS of accessories that I will GIVE you. It’s about 8 months old and in perfect condition. Just say the word.
The actual cost of owning an iPhone after two years is close to $2,000 if you get the low-end model and the low-end plan, more if you . (Here’s a link from Wired; I know the phones are a couple of hundred $ cheaper now: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/06/iphone-total-co.html
If you currently have a $60/month cell phone bill, that’s still an increase of around $1300. You could sponor another Compassion kid for 3.38 years with that money. Seems like a pretty big negative.
I have a Treo now and am on AT&T so I won’t switch because of the plan we have through Compassion. I am actaully looking at the iPhone because the Corporate plan would allow me to save Compassion money on my cell phone bill each month. So, I actually save money on the iPhone compared to what I have now.
iphone os 3.0 will be adding cut/copy/paste, mms, turn by turn and push email/im + like 100 other things…if you have an affinity for apple, it’s the best thing they’ve ever done…(the fart apps are fun too)
btw…i know i didn’t answer the question, but all this iphone hating gets me fired up
Negative, people. I want the downside NOT your commercial for the phone. I want to know what’s wrong with it.
The GPS feature drains the battery very quickly.
can’t copy and paste (yet) but i’ve lived without it for 2 years
can’t forward text messages (yet) but i don’t do that anyway
gps missing voice instructions (really funny to drive and read in DC… so long as you weren’t driving near me)
gps turn-by-turn instructions don’t automatically progress
LOVE everything else, but you don’t care about that.
in addition to it not currently having the features that will be added with the next update…typing takes a couple days to get used to, no video camera, email and texting are in “portrait” mode only (another thing being fixed this summer), you can’t use it as a mass storage device and you can’t run multiple apps at once…
I agree with the accidental dialing problem. Unless you back entirely out of the phone function, that is a risk.
Here’s kind of an unusual list of what I dislike most…
I’m surprised by the number of people who have commented on what I paid for the phone. They don’t seem to consider the fact that it replaces my previous phone. I use it as a laptop, it’s my calendar, and my ipod. I don’t bother to offer an explanation, but I bristle at the condescending tone.
I tire of all the people who enjoy iPhone bashing. Frequently my coworkers like to tell me what their Blackberry can do, that can’t be done on the iPhone (such as copy/paste). Hate to say it, but I don’t care! Why can’t they just buy a Blackberry, and spare me the commentary?
Wow, I just realized that this will be the Windows fans vs. Apple fans debate of the next decade.
Michael, commenting on the cost isn’t bashing, it’s just commenting on the fact that this is a really expensive piece of technology.
Okay, I hear you Brian…I’ll simply to cons only:
1. Slippery and I drop it.
2. I accidently dial people all the time because I’m too ADD To remember to lock my screen.
3. It makes you an object of wrath for all the BB users.
I am fascinated by all the people who say they accidentally dial numbers. My husband has the iPhone, and all he does to lock it is touch the button on the top. Unlocking it is as easy as hitting the button on the face, and then sliding his finger on the screen. No codes to enter, and it is impossible to accidentally unlock the phone.
Cons: he still hasn’t completely gotten used to the keyboard and can’t move as fast as he did with his Treo. That just forces him to do more long emails on his computer, and he spends more time with his family instead of doing lots of email from his phone. That’s not a con.
I appreciate all of the comments as I am actually in the same dilemma. Currently leaning iPhone. Brian one thing you may want to consider doing is waiting until June – they are expecting new models then which may address some of the downsides noted here.
Freezes up occassionally. Accidentally call everyone, all the time.
But, it is SO MUCH TOUGHER than my Blackberry. It has already outlived all three of the blackberries…with four kids I know what I’m talking about!!! I love me my iphone!!! Some days I don’t even have to turn my computer on. I can even post to my blog from it. iphone rocks!!!
[...] I already know that there among the readership who are passionately in love with their iPhone. That’s fine – I’m not here to judge but instead ask for your opinion again. I [...]
iPhone Apps « said this on May 11, 2009 at 7:12 pm |
Did you end up getting an Iphone? I personally only have one negative, and that is that ATT drops a lot of calls. But that is the provider more than the phone. It’s a bit slow sometimes, but I don’t notice anymore…