Seven problems with the new iPhone
Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:36AM EDT
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The new iPhone hasn't even landed in stores yet, but already pundits are grumbling about the revised iPhone, based on demos and published specs, about what the new model has failed to fix since the first-gen device.
Yes, we get 3G and GPS, a way to connect to Exchange, and the new app store, but what about everything else? Forbes' Brian Caulfield outlines seven (actually eight) iPhone disappointments, and most of these observations are spot on. Some highlights (get his full list here).
The cost - I've written about the value proposition of iPhone 3G already, and sure enough it'll cost you an extra $160 or so over the next two years vs. the original iPhone. Worth it? It's debatable, but I can't blame people for not being happy about the service price hike.
The camera - Forbes notes that there's still no flash and no video recording on the device. I'll add the camera resolution: We're going to see 8 megapixel cell phone cameras in the U.S. this year, and the iPhone is still stuck with a puny 2MP model? Many early rumors also had expected the iPhone 3G to include a forward-facing camera for videoconferencing use. Naturally that didn't happen either.
The battery - Not replaceable. Again. On the other hand, this shouldn't be a surprise considering that Apple is now actually making laptops without replaceable batteries, too.
No MMS - Again, the lack thereof. It just makes no sense. Apple is basically right that you don't need MMS to send pictures on a device that has a full email client, but the problem comes when users of other phones send you a photo via MMS: You simply can't view it on the iPhone. It's a ludicrous limitation on what should be the most advanced phone on the planet.
I'll add a few of my own complaints to Caulfield's list:
No live TV - That YouTube feature was fun last year, but now it's grown tiresome and old. Live TV is coming to all manner of handsets now as part of the standard data plan, but one gets the impression that Apple keeps it off the iPhone just so it can sell you TV episodes at $1.99 a pop instead.
No 32GB option - 8GB feels pathetically small in 2008. 16GB is really barely passable now. 32GB USB thumbdrives have been on the market since 2006, as cheaply as $140. I'm sure Apple will launch a 32GB model in the near future (another $100, please!), probably around Christmas, in the hopes that you'll buy a third phone.
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67 Posted by cowgurltuff27 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse
i had a choclate with the touch screen thing and that phone was so stupid. i will never get another phone that had a touch screen
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68 Posted by asrlj on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse
Go get the Samsung Instinct now! I just got mine and it is unbelievable! It feels better in your hand than the Iphone. GPS amazing! Video capabilities, Memory Card a must! REPLACEBLE BATTERY!! = Unlimited use! Wake up Apple... Did a real life comaprizon with my co-workers Iphone, yep just like in the commercial Iphone got "SMOKED"! LastlY, I switched my family plan to the Everything plan and actually saved money and got more features! Who would have thunk that? Go Sprint!!! :) :) :)
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69 Posted by buypossellpos on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse
This article has some good points, but some ridiculous noise. It's the front page of Yahoo for a reason, it's newsworthy where 99% of other phones are not. The camera issue is crazy, without an optical zoom lens its pointless to go above 3MP. The issue with MMS is that there are no working global (or even US) standards, but email is standardized, better to have something that always works. The battery argument, I don't know about, never had to change my current battery. The reviewer is just complaining, but no device does what the iPhone does at this price and even half of the other things mentioned. I've got the current one, with a couple movies and a couple thousand songs and a couple hundred pictures on it and it seems great. I will stick with the plan and get a new iPhone.
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70 Posted by jhovudu1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse
More things wrong with the iPhone: 1) It can't read your mind 2) It won't make you breakfast 3) It doesn't do laundry 4) It's not the cure to cancer 5) It's not free QUIT YOUR WHINING! Before the iPhone came along, we were in the stone-ages of smart phones. If you don't like it, go out and buy whatever POS Samsung or LG is making. Of course there will be newer models with better features coming down the road. That's how the technology industry works. To pan the iPhone for features it doesn't have or for features that might come down the road is ridiculous.
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71 Posted by casiemssen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:19PM EDT Report Abuse
uhh i had an iphone. yeah i hated it. they brake way to easily and the entire middle part doesnt work. i could even call my mom? i mean who wants that? nobody... i had to save all my contacts into favorites because i couldn't scroll to get to the people i wanted to talk to? and we payed $700.00 fir that ----- ? i was very dissapointed.
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72 Posted by ftroopy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:04PM EDT Report Abuse
Just unlock the Iphone and you'll have all these or at least some remedied. My Iphone now sends and receive MMS, plays video with sound and a few other things more like chat. Who's needs TV on a phone anyway, who actually watches it? Although the 3 wish I would love on the new Iphone is a front video for conference chat, extra memory slot, extra megapixel camera.
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73 Posted by darock320 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:36PM EDT Report Abuse
Cost shouldn't be listed as a problem. The extra money it will cost over the next 2yr years is greatly out weighed by the price slash of this new iPhone compared to the original $600 one last year. Only seven problems? Considering anyone can come up with no less than a dozen about any other cell phone on the market, that's not bad... Apple haters.
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74 Posted by fontenotbreanne on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse
Look, i know the new one has a few kinks, but we are just human! and it's an iphone, and iphones are fun! and if any body actuallt hated the iphone, they could get an iphone touch! my dad works for dell, so i have no apple stuff, but my cousin has an iphone, and is getting the new one. So if any body cared about all your complaints, they would tell apple to fix it. but nobody cares that much!
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75 Posted by lowfrequenc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:58PM EDT Report Abuse
NO MMS? NO VIDEO? 2MP CAMERA? NO MEMORY CARD? THESE GUYS (APPLE) ARE VERY STRATEGIC WITH THEIR BUSINESS!!! THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BEING THAT THEIR OTHER APPLICATIONS MAKE THEM MORE MONEY! WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT... I'LL BE BUYING THE "TILT" PHONE INSTEAD... IT'S GOT EVERYTHING I EXPECT FOR A 2008 GADGET-GENERATION!
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76 Posted by pbphreak on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:04PM EDT Report Abuse
I, like many others, was really interested in the first iphone. However, just like for some others, the upfront cost, subscription cost, and lack of features kept me away. So when I heard about a new, cheaper iphone, I was REALLY excited. But I am SORELY disappointed. Put simply, why would I pay $200 for the phone, and a INSANELY expensive data package plan, when this phone has less "daily functional" features as my bought off Ebay, $20 E815 Verizon Camera Phone???
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77 Posted by domrubino on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse
----- u
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78 Posted by russellgclark on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:56PM EDT Report Abuse
Gripe #612...you can't hear the darn ringer! I have had the 8GB phone since last September. I hate it, can't hear it ring and no way to make it louder.
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79 Posted by dante_mc2g on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:36PM EDT Report Abuse
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME IF IM WRONG? I was reading and wondering whether or not to buy a ipod touch or a iphone3g instead. I dont use the phone that often and am located constantly near WIFI connection which I know the itouch can pickup My question is does th I iphone have wifi capability and if so is it FREE like the ITOUCH (I ASSUME the wifi is free for the touch) is that the case for the phone or do I have to pay an extra 1,000 dollars a month to get on the net which is what I mainly do.
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80 Posted by jeffreymerrell333 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:32PM EDT Report Abuse
Isn't it great that with all that's out of control about our country, that we as humans still have the power of discernment, ie: choice. Here's an idea for you, which you of course have the same choice with as you do with the Iphone, If you don't like it, you dont have to buy it, there are so many options available... Happy complaining!
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81 Posted by jroddelaney on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:42PM EDT Report Abuse
Honestly, why would you need anything more than an 8 or 16 gb phone in the first place? The only reason you need that much space is for music. You can't take this to the gym, you can't go jogging or workout with it b/c it is just too big. So what's the point of having all that extra space? I have an older 4gb model that is not even filled up.
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82 Posted by russellgclark on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:56PM EDT Report Abuse
And did anyone mention you can't "cut and paste"?
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83 Posted by jordanlhortman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:40PM EDT Report Abuse
Volalum, I read on an article that Slingbox got an early version of the App Store so they can build an app that can let you watch your Slingbox on the iPhone. So it's pretty much a sure thing now.
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84 Posted by momoberries on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse
the guy who wrote this is a jackass and sounding like a rich spoiled ----- .
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85 Posted by jazzcreagar on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse
I think that the critics should just leave it like it is. If people want to find problems with it they can find them out themselves. We aren't preshcoolers, you know!!!!
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66 Posted by kobefan234 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse
there should be adobe flash