iPhone

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Oh yeah, the iPhone. It sounded nice on introduction, didn’t it? Slick full screen OS X-based Apple GUI with unique multi-touch screen interface, iPod video, internet communications, bluetooth, wifi, camera — what’s not to love?

That wasn’t a rhetorical question. Here’s what’s not to love:

  1. No tactile feedback. I can text with T9 off and my eyes closed on my Nokia 6600, because I can feel the keys and the borders between them. Can you type on that touchscreen keyboard without looking?
  2. Insufficient memory? iPod video functionality, but with iPod nano-like storage? How big is your average iPod movie, and how many of those will fit in 4GB or 8GB? There’s no expansion slot, so no toting about extra content on SD cards.
  3. Battery life? “Up to” 5 hours of talk time? “Up to” 16 hours of audio playback? How about if I listen to music and make calls in the same day? Plus, unlike other phones, the battery is not swappable. Combined with the tiny memory, I foresee this phone spending a whole lot of time in its dock.
  4. Cingular lock-in. Why would I want to trade down to one of the worst mobile GSM providers in the country for two years, just for an iPhone?
  5. No third-party applications. What? Is this an OS X phone, or a DynaTac? If this is going to serve as my mobile phone, music player, and handheld organizer, I expect it to be able to handle the five killer apps I need from such a device: Bejeweled, SFCave, Dope Wars, Space Trader, and iRogue. If I can’t install those on my iPhone, then no thank you.

In conclusion, I am not going to get an iPhone — at least, not the first Cingular-locked, no-third-party app iteration. For now, I’m very happy with my N6600, and my next phone will probably be a Treo 680.

More iPhone linkage:

APC Magazine: 10 things to hate

Dive into Mark: Sharecroppers.

Adactio: iPhone, uPhone, we all scream for iPhone

Slashdot thread on the no-3rd-party apps issue, also see this comment on “smart phones” and “dumb phones.”

Pogue’s iPhone FAQ

Cameron Moll: Why iPhone won’t revolutionize the mobile web landscape

Global Nerdy: Apple’s lock-in: deal with it

Jeremy Toeman: iPhone appeal drops daily

iPhone Scoffing on Buzzfeed

PVP = LOL

Comments

  1. Mark / Sparticus says:
    2007-01-27 at 05:34

    Wooooah… what are you doing? NEVER EVER EVER go away from Nokia! You’ll live to regret it.

    (I didn’t mention the iPhone, get me)

  2. rowie says:
    2007-01-28 at 03:58

    Not sure how big 3G is there in the US, but a big problem here in the Philippines is that the iPhone doesn’t have 3G. I was really shocked to hear that. Sigh. I, unlike you, however, am still tempted by the form of the phone and the browser (its lack of 3G notwithstanding). Sigh! At the very least, I hope it raises the standards for browsing capabilities on phones everywhere.

  3. amee says:
    2007-01-30 at 02:50

    hey pau.

    nice observations.

    i like mac but i’m a bit hesitant about the iphone as well. there’s a long way to go from hype to real life performance.

    yup, the memory is a bit problematic. i have a 2 gig nano and with just the songs and podcasts i’ve filled it up in no time how much more if i need the phone functionalities .

    and even if im still with cingular, you’re right, the provider sucks. i’m just staying because i’m on a family plan and for what i get it’s cheaper compared to if i switch somewhere else on a personal plan.