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« The Apple iPhone: 10 Significa... | Main | AACS 0wn3d?: Behold The Blu-ra... »

Monday, January 22, 2007

The Continuation of Apple's iPhone Shortcomings

Jan 22 2007 10:59AM | Permalink |Comments (22) |

Continued from 'The Apple iPhone: 10 Significant Shortcomings'....

Carrier- and application-lock: Apple and Cingular must have missed the late November 2006 memo wherein the Library of Congress approved a copyright exemption (more from Ars Technica and MAKE) that allows DMCA circumvention for "cell phone firmware that ties a phone to a specific wireless network". I have mobile service through T-Mobile, so I'm not an iPhone candidate unless I'm a "bad guy" (in Cingular terminology) who figures out how to unlock the device by myself. And Jobs' explanation for the Apple-gated (thereby potentially excluding Office file viewers, for example, and VoIP) iPhone application allowance, that "Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up," is equally laughable, not to mention technically indefensible. In reality, it's nothing more than an unfriendly-to-consumer but lucrative-to-company extension of the FairPlay DRM lock-to-Apple strategy.
Large size: I think Pocket PC Phones are too bulky, both to stow in my pocket and to hold up to my face. I'm also not a fan of wired or wireless headsets, and I therefore prefer the Smartphone approach. But Maury, and plenty of other folks, find the larger iPhone-like form factor and headset approach palatable. So this is admittedly a personal-taste nit.
No tactile keypad: Time and time again, touchscreen-only user interfaces with 'floating keypads' have been panned by potential customers and have therefore been unsuccessful in the market aside from in narrow market niches. Will this time be different? I'm skeptical.
Low-res camera: An only-2 Mpixel camera? On a $500-$600 phone? C'mon
No expansion slot: The operating system (which may or may not be OS X as Jobs touted during his 'reality distortion field' keynote), gobbles up 500 MBytes' worth of the 4 or 8 GBytes of flash memory built into the phone. Installed applications consume even more, and let's not forget those all-important music tracks and video clips. Run out of memory? Too bad, buy a bigger-capacity phone. There's no memory card expansion capability for you.
Insufficient between-charge operating time: Apple's documentation claims up to 5 hours when talking on the phone, playing back videos or browsing the Internet. I believe 5 hours of talk time, which is in and of itself low compared to competitors products. And I 'may' believe 5 hours of video playback time, given that the unit is flash memory-based and given the track record of the company's firmware upgrade-based improvements here on the first- and second-generation video-capable iPods. But I don't buy it for a second with Internet-based functions, EDGE- and particularly Wi-Fi-based. Anyone else who regularly manages email, fires up a web browser, or does another Net-centric function on a device with a small battery will, I think, agree with my stance here. And, revisiting my earlier embedded-battery point, realize that Apple's operating life prognostications assume a brand new battery.
Unoriginality: Admittedly, this may be my most controversial argument. Go back and look at any of my past Pocket PC and Smartphone writeups. Look at any of the devices now available from carriers. Now realize that many of them are now selling for free-to-sub-$100, subsidized under the exact same contract terms as Apple's $500-600 iPhone. Windows Mobile-based devices, as well as products based on Palm, Symbian and alternative operating systems, have for years been doing what Apple's promising its iPhone will do in....around six months from now. Phone? Check. Audio playback? Check. Video playback? Check. Internet access? Check. Wi-Fi? Check. 3G data? Check-plus. Bluetooth? Check. Camera? Check. GPS? Check-plus. I could go on (but I won't). Some folks are even claiming that Apple blatantly stole from an LG phone design. Granted, Apple may have advanced the state of the art to some degree, in some areas, in an evolutionary manner, by virtue of its large touchscreen and other factors. But is the Apple iPhone revolutionary? That's quite a stretch.

So what do you think, readers? Have I been too harsh on Apple? Or are you similarly unaffected by, and unimpressed with, the hype? Here's what Steve Balmer thinks.

And here's the Slashdot debate. Shoot me your opinions in the comments.

Reader Comments

at 1/22/2007 3:13:04 PM, chad said:
yea. but, I will still buy one!!

at 1/22/2007 3:13:52 PM, ricardo said:
People will carry on finding faults.

Apple will have the last laugh when it starts biting away the other mobile giants
market share.

at 1/22/2007 3:20:54 PM, np said:
I''m an Apple Mac user.. however Apple is smoking something if they think they will make this device a success. Unless they plan to become a MVNO (virtual network operator) they will be left to Cingular''s (AT&T again) customer service. Which is both horrendous and clueless. To top that off it will be launched on a network with "more bars" but cruddy call completion. "more bars" a better cell phone network does not make...

at 1/22/2007 3:45:07 PM, happy said:
Is there an echo in here? This (p)review sounds very similar to many voices from 2001 about the original iPod. Failure predicted for the 5GB ipod and many of the same complaints, size, capacity, price, etc. Most who do not utilize Apple in the daily grind, don''t (or can''t) understand the pleasure of working with nicely designed stuff inside and out. Windows users should not try to understand any of this, it''s too simple.

at 1/22/2007 3:49:19 PM, Brian Dipert said:
Dear happy, I have many more Macs than Windows-powered computers in my household, FYI. And I believe I made it pretty clear in the introduction to the first part of this writeup that my comments were specifically on this first-generation iPhone product. I even included a link to Slashdot's coverage of the first-generation iPod to reiterate the point.

at 1/22/2007 4:35:52 PM, happy said:
Thank you Brian, I'm just a bit puzzled as to the 'sour taste' comment? Maybe Apple should skip releasing a '1st generation' and move right to the '2nd' or '3rd' and then of course everyone would be 'happy' with Apples products?

at 1/22/2007 4:49:52 PM, Brian Dipert said:
Dear happy, it's a bit different world that Apple faces now than it did when the iPod rolled out. The portable audio market back then was quite immature. The digital cellular market, in contrast, is quite mature, and Apple has numerous data points it can use in guiding what it should and shouldn't do. If you go back and look at my list, some of my objections were feature-related, such as the embedded battery and lack of anything faster than EDGE. Many of them, however, are business-related and, while positioned as enabling ease-of-use, are just more Apple 'locks'. The Cingular-only lock in spite of Library of Congress DMCA exemption (and for a World GSM-frequency capable phone???), the Apple-only application decision, etc....Microsoft and other companies get lots of grief, legal and otherwise, for trying to 'embrace and extend' and such strategies; Apple's treated by its fans as being somehow different, but it's not. It's a publicly traded company, like all the others, focused on quarterly revenue and profit, and with a particularly shrewd CEO

at 1/22/2007 5:25:35 PM, happy said:
Hello Brian, It is not that I disagree with everything you have said, the inaccessible battery point is an example, but the tenor of the article being so negative. Anyway, What is MS if not 'locked down'? Maybe there should be no different 'brands' of any kind or companies, yes, perhaps there should be just one cell phone company - no wait- one whole company for everything on earth to run everything! then do you think everyone will be 'happy'?

at 1/22/2007 5:37:00 PM, Frank said:
All valid points and good to keep in mind, but C''MON MAN - even you spent quite some time writing about the iPhone instead of writing about the CES toys (only?). If the iPhone was not an revolutionary thing, how come that the CES did not make a fraction of the headlines?

at 1/22/2007 5:42:44 PM, Brian Dipert said:
Frank, you apparently didn't see any of my extensive CES coverage filed two weeks back....www.edn.com/article/CA6407585

at 1/22/2007 5:43:20 PM, xtd said:
Brain put down the crack pipe and face the fact that this phone is not for you. There are many choices for you.

Many of us have WiFi at home and work and free hotspots all around . In my city the buses and train have free wireless. Edge will only be needed in a pinch.

Heck, I could even buy a battery that plugs right into the dock if I need.

Gosh, Apple make a ton of profit off the parts. Using this logic they should not do any R&D, assembly, marketing, shipping. Take this a step further and Apple should just ship a box of parts in a plain white box for parts cost and $10.00 for shipping.

There is no need to go on as you are just throwing out FUD. As I stated before this phone is not for you.

at 1/22/2007 7:07:08 PM, Rob said:
My thoughts, The iPhone looks "Hot" I want one. I want to look at that great looking screen and easy to use interface. That said I don't want to pay $500 or $600 but who does? I may buy one or I might wait for 2nd or 3rd gen to see if the price comes down. Now most of what you and others are complaining about are just features. Features can be added. What most of the reviews I've read miss in terms of "getting it" is the ease of use. This plus the shear beauty of the iPhone is what makes it appealing to me. Yes I want more features such as 3G and opening MS office attachments but I can see these as coming later. Jobs already said 3G is on the way. So this first iPhone is for those who must have version 2 will pack more features and version 3 will be going for a larger market. Lets see how it plays out before pushing to much silly doom, gloom or praise. Its still hasn't even been released.

at 1/24/2007 1:45:13 PM, fingerpointer said:
Seem likes all these peoples are techno-idiots. What Apple able to achieve is seamless integration of a GSM phone + a PDA + a PMP + a conduit where are media contents will be distributed wirelessly. Just look a the blackberry''s user frantically type on its tiny keyboard (QWERTY) just make me feel sad. Oi!!!

at 1/24/2007 2:09:41 PM, Don't Care said:
Emergence of the iPhone, and its pricing, seems to represent the height of arrogance by Apple

at 1/24/2007 2:46:32 PM, ByHalf2Clever said:
The iPod was, and is, an amazing success. It filled an empty void, as there were no other players with decent capacity and a great interface at a reasonable price. There are lots of phones with similar capabilities at better value. Grabbing the spotlight is great, I do not see huge iPhone sales appearing.

at 1/31/2007 4:21:13 PM, AntiMS said:
It doesn't run Microsoft software - HUGE plus in my checklist. And it is the most stylish handheld device out there. So I'm in. Hype? Yes, but so what?

at 1/31/2007 8:50:18 PM, Patrick said:
For those who unconditionally praise at the user interface and ..., please note that Apple did not always get it right. There were many "bad" and "not so good" products between Apple Computer and iMac, and between iMac and iPod. Please do not over-credit Apple. And, please take an open mind to everything, including those Apple products.

at 2/13/2007 12:05:59 AM, iphone_luvr said:
This is a harsh, silly unwarranted review with child like arguments and ultimately totally unprofessional. Here are my answers to your 10 points.
1. 3G is not yet there. Don''''t need it yet
2. I don''''t care. I don''''t want a removable battery. These were only popular when cell phones were in their infancy, when battery technology wasn''''t all there. Even with my current "smart" phone I don''''t have a replaceable battery.
3. Do you really think everyone is going to get voice + data plans? I want voice only. I can use the 802.11 at home, airport, book stores, apple store, shopping malls, libraries, friends house,etc. Every other cell phone maker has phones extremely high priced! Why can''''t apple do it? Why are you singling out Apple? Even worse than the iPhone price is the massive nickel and dime-ing of the networks and the lousy service they provide. Where''''s the complaints about them?
4. Great features!!! Who the heck wants to hack their $500 phone to get it to work? If I pay that much, it better work.
5. Great Size. Should fit in my pocket comfortably. I have big fingers don''''t want a small phone.
6. Who cares? I like touch screens and I can''''t wait.
7. Most phones owned by people are not even close to 2MP. Great resolution for a phone. Want 10MP? Go get a DSLR!
8. It does have an expansion slot (SD or something). But I don''''t need it.
9. Your just reading way too much into this point.......
10. Great technology integrated into a totally unmatched GUI equals one revolutionary phone (iPhone). Great technology integrated into an over hyped, poorly thought out interface equals one crappy phone with useless features (like the palm treo).

If you don''''t like my review of your review, I think I was just as fair as you were as you reviewed the iPhone.

at 6/23/2007 8:27:40 PM, Jeff said:
iphone_luvr,
Reading your post, there seems to be a clear bias here. You have never used the product, but you still tout about how great it is. In all the areas where Brian posts a shortcoming your argument seems to be "who needs that?". You point out that most phones don't have greater than 2MP, but for $500 I expect it should exceed EVERY phone in this respect. the memory capacity is pretty abismal, and it is clear that Apple seems to be persuing its previous stratgy of selling a mediocre product at and exorbanat price to a very very loyal, but small, customer base. If you really don't need all the featurs that Iphone doesn't have, save yourself the money and get a $100 phone that will do all of the same stuff as an Iphone. Let the fools be parted from their money.

at 7/19/2007 12:33:32 AM, iphone_luvr said:
Jeff: Wake up dude! If anyone has a "clear bias" it''''''''s the author. This is another one of those ridiculous reviews. It''''''''s just plain stupid. LG, Nokia and Palm have higher priced phones and the LG prada doesn''''''''t even have a qwerty keyboard! What about having an iPod combined with your phone. What about the unrivaled touchscreen interface? What about having a full blown browser in your phone. The other phones just can''''''''t compete. What about being able to sync your emails, calendars, photos, movies, contacts and music so easily between your computer and phone. What about the high resolution (160pixels per inch?) screen. It''''''''s bright colorful and when you see it in person, it''''''''s beautiful. Come on dude, the iPhone has amazing technology and deserver a lot more creedit than the author is willing to give. As it stands right now, there''''''''s not a phone out there I want more.

at 7/29/2008 6:19:10 AM, whats_the_hype said:
Can iPhone give me great voice quality in poor network coverage areas? No? then who wants a toy?I need a PHONE on which i can call and send message. rest all features are useless....

at 8/23/2008 5:39:32 AM, M.j said:
i really dont think iphone a good choice neway.so i ll just wait for nxt one to come.

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