Before anything else, this is probably just a sourgraping post. Since I can’t get the iPhone anytime soon, I’m trying to rationalize and make myself feel better by pointing out the factors that could make the said mobile device impractical for the time being.
But before I get into that, more eye-candy for everyone:
There’s no need to discuss the pros of the iPhone as they pretty much speak for themselves. However, there are some cons to consider – ones which people like us, who are too hyped on the product for the time being, may have missed (or are in denial)
Again, before I list these down, they are to be taken with the grain of salt for the very fact that Apple still has till June to iron out whatever issues the phone may have – whether by design or not.
Price
The first impression would be that the price-point may seem decent at 500 and 600 USD respectively – but take note that that comes with a 2-year Cingular contract. That’s the same as getting any high end phone here in the Philippines at dirt cheap prices simply because of the plans they bundle it with.
If a phone already with a 2-year plan can cost 500-600 USD, then just imagine getting an unlocked one without the plan.
SIM Locked
Living in the Philippines, having a locked phone may seem trivial, as we are very resourceful with all things GSM. You only have to literally spend about a dollar to have phones unlocked in this country.
However, we are talking about a very closed/proprietary mobile OS here. It’s no secret that looking for warez/cracked desktop apps for Macs aren’t as easy as in the PC world. The same analogy can be applied when it comes to the brand spankin’ new “Mobile OS X” (for lack of an official name – more on this later). Chances are, unlocking the iPhone may be as difficult as making OSX run on a regular PC, which can and has been done, but not commonly.
But there is a glimmer of hope for the fact that Apple’s mobile OS is not as complex as their desktop grade OS – so it may be much simpler to “crack” (but still not simple enough I’m guessing). Still, how soon can we possibly expect “crackers” to be able to afford, let alone have access to these things, break the code, AND distribute the cracking software to the public.
Software Locked
There has been news that the phone won’t allow 3rd party software to be installed. So while what comes out of the box is pretty darn impressive, it kinda goes backwards as far as “scalability” is concerned.
However, it is to be pointed out that should the iPhone be released as such, it would still be the first iteration – a v1.0 phone. There’s no telling whether Apple would allow it eventually (or if we’re lucky enough, come release time).
If it were decided and confirmed however, that the OS would be bolted-down permanently, then I would seriously start rethinking my stance on buying this device. While being an internet device (and given the whole “Web X.0” culture) may mean that I’d probably still have access to 3rd party applications (in a way, through the web), I don’t want to have to rely on the fact that I have to be online to access those applications.
Battery Concerns
This is more of not having info whether or not there will be two batteries. To me, this is just as important as the whole software bolt-down issue. If this thing is only working on one battery, then that’s an absolute deal-breaker UNLESS they can guarantee the hours. Meaning when they say 5 hours talk time AND 16 hours of music – I want to be able to listen for 16 hours, then still have juice left to be able to talk for 5 hours should I need to. Having two batteries solves this problem, one for the phone, one for the music device.
And of course it would be very important to be able to buy and install the batteries separately. I don’t think I want to trust probably the most important communication tool in any person’s life to a single battery that can conk-out – and be forced to surrender the whole unit just to have the battery replaced.
Not 3G
I really don’t know what the big deal about this is. To me, this is simply because there is a technology and not really because it’s a needed technology – know what I mean?
In the Philippines, we may have 3G phones, and maybe even our providers offer 3G services. But usually the price for a plan that has support for such a service is impractical for any normal user who just needs a phone to SMS and call. So for me, honestly, it doesn’t matter if it was 3G or not.
But regardless of personal preference, it still has to be mentioned simply because the technology is there – and any mobile manufacturer not making it standard runs the risk of looking like they’re going backwards in terms of innovation. Whether or not a person needs or wants to use a certain technology, it’s always nice to know that the device he buys supports it.
But personally, I don’t really care if the phone has 3G capabilities. What I do want is for WiFi to come to a point where it’s so common – that it there would be a signal absolutely everywhere. If that were the case, then I don’t think anyone would need 3G anymore.
Size
Coming from an XDAII, this really shouldn’t be bothering me. I guess have Kevin Rose to blame for this: he claimed that the phone would be “Small as s#!t.” And if that’s what he calls small – he must have baseball gloves for hands.
Seriously though, you have a PocketPC device such as the Atom, the size of which is sublime – it’s kinda hard not to expect Apple to beat it, especially with what they accomplished with the Nano.
Of course, maybe Apple didn’t have a choice: after all we don’t have fingers as thin as styluses/stylii – so making a really small finger-touch-sensitive phone would’ve been physically impossible to use.
Speaking of touch sensitivity, here’s a video of Multi-Touch technology by Jefferson Han – which I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be the very same technology Apple is using. As far as I know, this type of application of the technology was first unleashed in February 2006 via Mr. Han’s presentation on TED. 1 Technology, Entertainment, Design Could it be that Apple has done a Xerox once again? 2 Bought, or God forbid, stole a technology and claimed as their own – just like they did with the mouse.
If the video is removed, try doing a search on “Jeff Han” and check out his TED presentation.
So that’s as far as I’ll go for the meantime for sour-graping. When I read what I just wrote, it really makes me feel better that I may just consider getting a PocketPC device in the meantime instead of waiting who knows how long before Apple releases another version of the iPhone – one which hopefully addresses all the concerns stated here.