No iPhone For Me - Comments Page 1

My goodness. For someone who isn't going to buy an iPhone, you sure spend a lot of time telling everybody why. And your reasons are based on what your friends say or what you've heard or read? I've got an iPhone and it does everything I've ever wanted in a phone. This after I've had a crackberry and two other tiny keyboard units that were like carrying a brick in your pocket. Why don't you try testing a device before you write an article trashing it? If there's a cheaper smart phone that does everything the iPhone does, please tell me where to get one!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Maybe I was too subtle... for me it boils down to the Version 1.0 Rule. We all know that in six to nine months, Apple will bring out a newer, faster, better iPhone. They will probably cost less and all the bugs that the early adopters have found will be fixed.

I have an iPhone, and I can tell you that Bob is right about the S-L-O-W web browsing. It's awful that Apple would choose ATT's Edge network when Cingular, Sprint and Verizon have MUCH faster cellular data services. They don't even offer you a choice, that's what bothers me.

I have a Bose headset that I love, and was very disappointed that it doesn't work with my iPhone. Hopefully I can buy an adapter or something. If not, I may ditch the iPhone.

Stupid me... I assumed that the iPhone would take videos. It's my fault, of course. But after spending six hundred bucks on something that was touted as the killer "all-in-one" device, I now have to carry two clunky bricks in my pocket. My Treo takes pretty good videos, it can browse the web, do email, and play music. I'm having buyer's remorse, I guess...

It's good to hear about the iPhone from someone with a clear head. I am a BIG Apple fan (since 1985) and have on a couple of occasions ended up ditching a PC and coming back to Mac. Your article just cemented my resolve not to buy an Iphone. I know that this time I would end up ditching something "Apple" and that would be just terrible.

Sorry to rain on your iPhone hating party, but I LOVE my iPhone. You really can't understand how cool it is until you've used one yourself. And ummm, chicks do dig it. :-)

Is this just reaction to all of the good press. Out of your 10 points I can agree with Sound quality - not the best (but still very good), AT&T may be slow - but still OK. It is an amazing product and it does stand up well to the hype. The touch screen works extremely well. Your policy of not buying anything at 1.0 is understandable,but probably very limiting in your scope. Not really serving to your readers. aversion 1.0 attempt if anything.

Is it true that you left out reason #11 which is you can't change the battery in the thing & you have to send it in for which they sock you $80

EDITOR'S NOTE: I just saw the PC Magazine report which said that's true. Expect your battery to last 18 months, then you must send it to California and pay $79 to replace it. The safety all of your personal data is also called into question.

@tswenson, "If there's a cheaper smart phone that does everything the iPhone does, please tell me where to get one!"

Uh, many of the Treos? Cheaper with same "locked in" plans of 2 years -- faster data networks, video, HUGE number of varied applications, easily replaceable battery, etc... Don't get me wrong, I'm no fanboy of Treos. Their flaws are many but in the race for a Holy Grail of the perfect convergence device, I don't see how the iPhone can be declared better overall(vs in a few performance characteristics).

But I am more like Bob these days, in terms of my opinion on Gen 1 anything. Glad you're happy with your purchase bu, yeah, my Treo is better.

I agree with Bob. Spending that kind of money for a device that still has issues is not a great idea unless you have money to burn. Sure the interface is cool. But already there are others with what look to be better and cheaper alternatives. So do your homework before you jump on an advertising bandwagon. A decent phone but is it worth that much? How many $ a call?

Well, I suppose someone could be a combination, car, boat, and airplane.....but then, why would you want to....one thing fails and then you got nuthin.... just a gimmick apple just got a lot of money from you...for a toy. enjoy

You wrote "lacks stereo Bluetooth support" but the iPhone does have Bluetooth and it works great in my car. While the cellular network is slow the iPhone effortlessly finds WiFi networks and you connecd to those in place of the cellular network.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I said it lacks STEREO Bluetooth. And WiFi is still a dream in most parts of the US.

JT says the Treo is cheaper. You have to account for the service charge over the two year period in the total price and this is where the iPhone stomps the Treo. Do the research and you will see that you will save hundreds of dollars with an iPhone. Also, I would love to see you try and find all the bars in Santa Barbara Ca on a Treo, on an iPhone, its a few touches. As for Benjaedieamins complaint on the battery, I spent $60 a year for my last LG phone on batteries to keep the thing running longer than a day. $80 every 18 months is not bad for me.

Speaking to the whole 11 reasons thing, nobody, and I mean nobody has any grounds to tell everyone not to get something they have not even tested. "My freind told me" will not cut it. I have an iPhone, I love my iPhone, I have complaints and they are real. The mail app sucks, Safari crashes too much, the battery never shows fully charged...all problems I have experienced and all problems I know Apple will fix with the first software update. Everyone waiting for the version 2 device will have to wait years. The software will get updated, but the device will stay a while.

I can't believe so many people are so pissed that the phone will not record video...such a small thing...and to totally dismiss the device for it? Its a phone, a PDA, and an iPod, Steve never said camcorder. For me it is the best phone, best PDA, and best iPod ever made. Everywhere I go, people want to know and when I tell them and they see it with thier own eyes, they want one too.

Well for those of you that have to have the cutting edge of tech i congratulate you on your purchase of the iphone but to tell the truth i dont see anything this thing can do that can't be done with verizonse gps enabled v3 razor it gives directions listens to and serves up music watches video takes pics takes video chats and texts emails surfs the web at a much greater speed oh yea and is less than half the price and size i just dont get it the cutting edge the only thing I see the iphone cutting is my spending money

Anybody who spends big bucks on something without even minimum research should expect to be disappointed regularly in life. I love my iPhone, and it's more elegant that I thought it would be. I am greatly disappointed that it is hard for me to get an AT&T signal in my home right here in one of the country's biggest cities (a quirk of tower placement), but you know what? ...knowing so in advance wouldn't have been a deal breaker for me. I've got a great iPod plus a phone that's extra cool—all in one package.

As for the slowness of Edge, I can walk to the coffee shop two blocks away and literally pick up about a dozen WiFi networks along the way. For the times I might really need to go on for something important and specific, well, I'm amazed that it's as doable as it is. I guess it helps that I didn't expect it to be my desktop computer.

As a world traveler, I love the ease of putting my slideshows with music on the iPhone, where they present spectacularly. As for what the phone lacks, well, I READ first, so there was nothing to be disappointed about. And Bob... I can tell you haven't spent much time with this gadget, if any; otherwise a tad more balance would have shown through the negativity. This phone isn't everything, and doesn't pretend to be. But I think it's a lot more that one would gather from your comments.

iphone - buyphone - bye-byephone. Let the techies work out the kinks. Get a Nextel Blackberry and enjoy your phone.

Interesting that most of the iPhone lovers argue "but it's so cool it makes up for the shortcomings." Think about the battery issue for a sec. It's not just about replacing the battery, but have you ever purchased a spare battery for a phone or other device? If you can't change the battery, you can't have a backup, either.

Apparently if you are a blind cellphone user, Apple doesn't care about your interest in the iPhone. Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/200701/apple_blind_to_iphone_accessib.shtml and all the fanboi reactions to this issue at http://www.tuaw.com/2007/01/10/does-the-iphone-shaft-the-blind/

I thought the Treos were the answer also. After trying three successive upgrades, each claiming to fix the previous model's problems, I gave up. Froze up constantly and corrupted everything. I got tired of re-loading them every few days. My business partner had the same experience I did. I'm glad to know you didn't have the same problems we did.

Another reason , AT&T is not licensed into all of the states in the US. No AT&T = no iPhone service.

Oh boy, I'll make this my last entry in this thread -- really I am not a fanboy -- but... @Jeff's contention that there is some mysterious "service charge" difference that clearly slants in the iPhone's favor? Sorry, this just strikes me as plain misinformation. But perhaps I've misunderstood? If you're talking just about your monthly cellular service fee...

What's AT&T's *cheapest* plan again? Wanna know what I pay, *total* per month? Seems like way too much personal info but here goes...

----

unlimited data & SMS (grandfathered plan from days of Treo 300 -- hey I said I don't do GEN 1 *anymore*)

500 anytime talk minutes

unlimited talk after 7p and weekends

unlimited mobile to mobile

full warranty & replacement insurance

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Avg $62/mo WITH *taxes*.... Even ignoring my grandfathered data charges, AT&T's el cheapo plan will still be more expensive than my current carrier. And I really don't like them so I won't even mention their name. I dislike all carriers because they all seem to treat you like an idiot ATM machine, and are all too willing to bilk you if you're asleep at the wheel. But I digress...

So I agree in part, *do your research*. BTW, through "insider employee referrals"(check sero in google -- now you know the name of the beast), you can beat the price of my plan. Also, notice that I do pay for full waranty and insurance coverage! My standard advice to all pda/phone owners. These things are too expensive and still delicate not to cover.

As for your challenge task of finding "all the bars in Santa Barbara, CA" -- well, there are at least a half dozen ways to do that that I know of but I'll suggest the one iPhone users will probably use these days too. Google's latest Gmap app. Thought DirectoryAssistant(DA) on the Treo might actually be more efficent if you don't need the map. Either way, just a few touches as you say.

@tswensen,

Yep, I've certainly seen plenty of your experiences. I think I've been spared that kind of pain because of the ridiculous amount of research(www.treocentral.com) I did before touching and making any changes on the two Treos I've owned. Time that most people(probably wisely) would find not worth the exercise! Sincerely hope your experience with the iPhone is better.

Forgive me Bob and list. I'm really not interested in raining on iPhone users' parade. But it is my opinion that Steve Job's reality distortion field is in full effect as Apple markets the iPhone. No doubt they are doing some good things -- hopefully the good in all these devices gets us to something better sooner. I'll shut up now. Peace.