@NickyColman
25th November 2007, 10:02 AM
Well, after just over a month of owning the most talked about device of this year, the Apple iPhone, i have decided to get rid! Why?!? I might hear you ask. Well ive compiled my reasons into the following points;
* My particular handset was an unlocked US handset, so this created a number of issues. Firstly, as the majority are aware, it can some times be difficult to update the firmware without risking killing the iPhone itself. Therefore I was always going to be stuck with a Day1 iPhone, with all the bugs and original features.
Secondly, because I have gone back to using a pay & go sim with O2, a hack is required just to have the "luxury" of using GPRS for email and Safari. Now, for me, hacking a phone in order to use any data features is quite barbaric. Never mind for bloody GPRS speeds.
Safari's stability leaves alot to be desired. It crashes at least once a day. Checking iPhone specific forums suggests this is not only a problem from Day1 iPhones but the entire fleet itself. Anypage that contains a few high quality pictures or graphics and you've no chance. Also, touching the screen whilst a page is loading causes it to crash. No error message. Nothing. Just shuts down.
Linking from the Safari issue, is the iPod issue where, if you are browsing Safari whilst listening to the iPod, the phone has a tendency to simply crash the iPod, then a minute later, it will crash Safari. No reason. No explanation. No fix. Again this is well documented in iPhone specific forums.
As for the practicality side of the iPhone, I loath it. The touch screen is marvelous. A revolution. But its not perfect. The phone is great for texting on if you have two hands free and are stood completely still with nothing distracting you. For me, the iPhone on the go is a nightmare. I literally have to stand still in order to send a text successfully without 100s of typos. The phone is sexy and sleek but not at all practical. A quick text can take 1-2minutes longer, which can make all the difference in some situations.
Menus are intuitive, but long winded. I yearned for Nokias Active Desktop.
Not being able to use the songs on the iPhone as ringtones and texts tones was one hell of a kick in the balls for me. Why should i spend my ££ on songs that i cant use how i choose. You can on a SonyEricsson or a Nokia, so why has this basic ability been removed? I also found the text message noise to be very tiresome and not at all loud enough.
MMS for me was seriously lacking. Texting someone to check their emails for a funny picture I had sent them took the spontaneity out of sending the picture direct to my friends phone, wherever they were, whoever they were with. Only tech savvy friends have email on their phones at present.
Bluetooth!! Almost forgot about this one! Apple have included a handicapped version of Bluetooth that can connect to a headset. BUT NOTHING ELSE. You cant, for example, just send your mate in the pub a daft picture you've taken or a video clip. No hacks available. No solutions.
Leading on from sharing pictures is video capture. To put simply, there is non. Why? No reason. You just cant capture that moment in full moving video. Solutions? No.
Also, due to the way my handset was unlocked, the YouTube application doesnt work. (Obviously not Apples fault, more a result of the prototype unlocking apps, but it still impacted on my experience)
The weight, size and durability of the iPhone are great. My handset doesnt have a single mark on it. I would definitely consider an iPhone again once they release iPhone 2. But they would need to conquer the following issues before i part with my money.
Unfortunately for Apple, i think many people will suffer the same niggles as i did and will run away from the iPhone. But then again, there will be 1000s who flock to it for its looks and its impressive touch screen. Im now very glad I didnt opt for the legit 18 month at £35 option and in future will be sticking very much to good old buttons. Its quite strange that im actually about to buy a Nokia 6300. A very basic phone. £59.99 from O2. And it has more features than the iPhone. Scary.
* My particular handset was an unlocked US handset, so this created a number of issues. Firstly, as the majority are aware, it can some times be difficult to update the firmware without risking killing the iPhone itself. Therefore I was always going to be stuck with a Day1 iPhone, with all the bugs and original features.
Secondly, because I have gone back to using a pay & go sim with O2, a hack is required just to have the "luxury" of using GPRS for email and Safari. Now, for me, hacking a phone in order to use any data features is quite barbaric. Never mind for bloody GPRS speeds.
Safari's stability leaves alot to be desired. It crashes at least once a day. Checking iPhone specific forums suggests this is not only a problem from Day1 iPhones but the entire fleet itself. Anypage that contains a few high quality pictures or graphics and you've no chance. Also, touching the screen whilst a page is loading causes it to crash. No error message. Nothing. Just shuts down.
Linking from the Safari issue, is the iPod issue where, if you are browsing Safari whilst listening to the iPod, the phone has a tendency to simply crash the iPod, then a minute later, it will crash Safari. No reason. No explanation. No fix. Again this is well documented in iPhone specific forums.
As for the practicality side of the iPhone, I loath it. The touch screen is marvelous. A revolution. But its not perfect. The phone is great for texting on if you have two hands free and are stood completely still with nothing distracting you. For me, the iPhone on the go is a nightmare. I literally have to stand still in order to send a text successfully without 100s of typos. The phone is sexy and sleek but not at all practical. A quick text can take 1-2minutes longer, which can make all the difference in some situations.
Menus are intuitive, but long winded. I yearned for Nokias Active Desktop.
Not being able to use the songs on the iPhone as ringtones and texts tones was one hell of a kick in the balls for me. Why should i spend my ££ on songs that i cant use how i choose. You can on a SonyEricsson or a Nokia, so why has this basic ability been removed? I also found the text message noise to be very tiresome and not at all loud enough.
MMS for me was seriously lacking. Texting someone to check their emails for a funny picture I had sent them took the spontaneity out of sending the picture direct to my friends phone, wherever they were, whoever they were with. Only tech savvy friends have email on their phones at present.
Bluetooth!! Almost forgot about this one! Apple have included a handicapped version of Bluetooth that can connect to a headset. BUT NOTHING ELSE. You cant, for example, just send your mate in the pub a daft picture you've taken or a video clip. No hacks available. No solutions.
Leading on from sharing pictures is video capture. To put simply, there is non. Why? No reason. You just cant capture that moment in full moving video. Solutions? No.
Also, due to the way my handset was unlocked, the YouTube application doesnt work. (Obviously not Apples fault, more a result of the prototype unlocking apps, but it still impacted on my experience)
The weight, size and durability of the iPhone are great. My handset doesnt have a single mark on it. I would definitely consider an iPhone again once they release iPhone 2. But they would need to conquer the following issues before i part with my money.
Unfortunately for Apple, i think many people will suffer the same niggles as i did and will run away from the iPhone. But then again, there will be 1000s who flock to it for its looks and its impressive touch screen. Im now very glad I didnt opt for the legit 18 month at £35 option and in future will be sticking very much to good old buttons. Its quite strange that im actually about to buy a Nokia 6300. A very basic phone. £59.99 from O2. And it has more features than the iPhone. Scary.