Lackluster iPhone review... Much like the device.
Friday, 19. June 2009, 16:50:12
So anyone that knows me and knows my technology preferences knows that I am a big fan of two technology companies, Apple and Nokia. Lately I have taken up issues with all this iPhone business. Being that I am a mac admin and everyone knows that I love to use macs and Apple related products there hasn't been a day since the original iPhone release that someone hasn't asked me where my iPhone is. I generally politely reach into my pocket and retrieve my Nokia N85 and say, "It's right here, only this iPhone does more". They usually respond by saying, "but, that's not an iPhone". To which I reply, "you are correct, but this phone still does a whole lot more".
Let's face it, even with the third rendition of the iPhone almost out, Apple is still playing catch up especially in the hardware realm. I would agree that Apple has done a marvelous job marketing the iPhone and I know better than most that if you slap an Apple logo on it you may as well just fire up the money printing press at the mint and drop the money off at Apple. The deal with the iPhone is that Apple has drummed up a pretty insane level of fanaticism. I would agree that I am a fanatic of Nokia and it would be tough to pry the Nokia from my hands even if I were dead but I can safely say that if someone came out with a phone that had:
A. The build quality of a Nokia
B. Software that is as tried and true as Symbian/S60
C. Features that best the feature set of a Nokia
Then I would give said phone the time of day and consider switching to it.
It is nice to see that I will finally be able to send pictures to my iPhone disabled friends, a first for those that have upgraded their handsets or paid the ridiculous amount to upgrade. I am also glad that those that purchase the 3Gs can get lost in the woods and find their way out (as long as their battery doesn't die first) with the incredibly useful compass app.
I get it people. The iPhone is a sexy little piece of hardware, not going to deny that. But really? I mean, before the iPhone came out most of these people couldn't give a crap what phone they had in their hand. Remember the RAZR? Remember how everyone jumped on that one and Motorola road it out until they couldn't even give the things away? The RAZR had a horrible camera, a lack of any extra functionality. But hey, everyone else had a RAZR and it looked good when you had it up to your head. At the time I was rocking a Nokia with a 3 megapixel camera. So fast forward a bit. All those people that had phones that didn't have any functionality beyond a phone that made a decent call all of a sudden care about a quasi smart phone? Is it that or is it that they really like to download an app that lets you pop bubble wrap on the screen of your phone?
A person that sits near me at work was asking another co-worker if he was going to upgrade his iPhone to the 3Gs because she was thinking about doing it. I had to interject and say "hey, if you are going to pay $300 while on contract to upgrade your phone then why not avoid the additional time on your contract and buy a Nokia 5800" I explained how it's been out for a little while, costs a bit over $300, offers up the same functionality as the iPhone and then some, can be used with Ovi for free (as opposed to $99/year for MobileMe), and a whole multitude of other reasons why it would make sense. 10 minutes later she says over the cube wall to me, "but there is no app store" to which I reply, "store.ovi.com, accessible both from the phone and the web". I think that even with all the positive things I laid out that Apple's marketing team did a better job selling their product to this individual even though they can't up with one reason why it would make more sense to buy their product. I tried, I usually do, but people in America are stuck in the "I need to buy what my carrier sells me" mentality.
The interesting thing is that AT&T, as of late, has even seen the light and realized that not everyone wants a subsidized phone. They offer up the ability to walk in and purchase a SIM card and a month to month plan, if you ask. People, listen to me when I tell you this. Cellular carriers are not doing you a favor by selling you a subsidized phone. Instead they are selling you products that they dumb down according to their wants and needs and essentially selling you a broken product. *Cough*iPhone tethering*Cough*
Ok let me sum things up as it seems I have gotten off on a much bigger tangent that I can go into at another time.
The iPhone:
-sexy
-sleek
-marketed very well
-extremely trendy
-behind in terms of technology
-even the 3Gs needs a hardware upgrade
-MobileMe should be free
-Useless free apps are just that, useless
-Compass on an iPhone won't save your life unless you know how to use a compass and the battery doesn't die
Let's face it, even with the third rendition of the iPhone almost out, Apple is still playing catch up especially in the hardware realm. I would agree that Apple has done a marvelous job marketing the iPhone and I know better than most that if you slap an Apple logo on it you may as well just fire up the money printing press at the mint and drop the money off at Apple. The deal with the iPhone is that Apple has drummed up a pretty insane level of fanaticism. I would agree that I am a fanatic of Nokia and it would be tough to pry the Nokia from my hands even if I were dead but I can safely say that if someone came out with a phone that had:
A. The build quality of a Nokia
B. Software that is as tried and true as Symbian/S60
C. Features that best the feature set of a Nokia
Then I would give said phone the time of day and consider switching to it.
It is nice to see that I will finally be able to send pictures to my iPhone disabled friends, a first for those that have upgraded their handsets or paid the ridiculous amount to upgrade. I am also glad that those that purchase the 3Gs can get lost in the woods and find their way out (as long as their battery doesn't die first) with the incredibly useful compass app.
I get it people. The iPhone is a sexy little piece of hardware, not going to deny that. But really? I mean, before the iPhone came out most of these people couldn't give a crap what phone they had in their hand. Remember the RAZR? Remember how everyone jumped on that one and Motorola road it out until they couldn't even give the things away? The RAZR had a horrible camera, a lack of any extra functionality. But hey, everyone else had a RAZR and it looked good when you had it up to your head. At the time I was rocking a Nokia with a 3 megapixel camera. So fast forward a bit. All those people that had phones that didn't have any functionality beyond a phone that made a decent call all of a sudden care about a quasi smart phone? Is it that or is it that they really like to download an app that lets you pop bubble wrap on the screen of your phone?
A person that sits near me at work was asking another co-worker if he was going to upgrade his iPhone to the 3Gs because she was thinking about doing it. I had to interject and say "hey, if you are going to pay $300 while on contract to upgrade your phone then why not avoid the additional time on your contract and buy a Nokia 5800" I explained how it's been out for a little while, costs a bit over $300, offers up the same functionality as the iPhone and then some, can be used with Ovi for free (as opposed to $99/year for MobileMe), and a whole multitude of other reasons why it would make sense. 10 minutes later she says over the cube wall to me, "but there is no app store" to which I reply, "store.ovi.com, accessible both from the phone and the web". I think that even with all the positive things I laid out that Apple's marketing team did a better job selling their product to this individual even though they can't up with one reason why it would make more sense to buy their product. I tried, I usually do, but people in America are stuck in the "I need to buy what my carrier sells me" mentality.
The interesting thing is that AT&T, as of late, has even seen the light and realized that not everyone wants a subsidized phone. They offer up the ability to walk in and purchase a SIM card and a month to month plan, if you ask. People, listen to me when I tell you this. Cellular carriers are not doing you a favor by selling you a subsidized phone. Instead they are selling you products that they dumb down according to their wants and needs and essentially selling you a broken product. *Cough*iPhone tethering*Cough*
Ok let me sum things up as it seems I have gotten off on a much bigger tangent that I can go into at another time.
The iPhone:
-sexy
-sleek
-marketed very well
-extremely trendy
-behind in terms of technology
-even the 3Gs needs a hardware upgrade
-MobileMe should be free
-Useless free apps are just that, useless
-Compass on an iPhone won't save your life unless you know how to use a compass and the battery doesn't die
WIDGETIZE