Tech Tip 133 - iPhone Mania - Worth the Hype?

Posted by on 08/05 at 03:58 PM
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When the iPhone arrived on the scene just over one month ago, between 500,000 to 700,000 units flew out the door in three days. Not since the unveiling of the original iPod has there been as much anticipation about a gadget as there has with the iPhone.  Never mind the fact that you need deep pockets in order to get your hot little hands on this decade defining device.  At a steep $499 per unit with no immediate discounts on the horizon and the signing of an exclusive 2-year contract with AT&T (you remember, the guys who took over Cingular), you might balk at the responsibility of owning one.  Considering that other capable smart phones exist on the market for much less, is the iPhone really worth the hype? Maybe? Probably. 

    Posted by Rick  on  08/05  at  11:29 AM

  1. These are good and unbiased. I’ve read many of these. Keep it going.

    http://www.AbacusComputer.us

    2. Posted by coachgeorge  on  08/05  at  01:54 PM

  2. As in All Things I, this one is not only not worth it it doesn’t work!  How many of those 500,000 to 700,000 went back to apple a month ago for repair?  Further, how many of the units that went back for repair a month ago are still in the repair shop?

    The mindless droids that Apple has captured deserve their fate.  When they mature and develop a mind and a sense of individuality, Apple will no doubt invent another variant on what is already available and the next generation will suffer.

    Needless to say “I do not like apple”
    “One Persons Opnion” Apple is the “Bill Clinton” of marketing.  Style with out substance.

    3. Posted by Bill  on  08/05  at  05:00 PM

  3. The closest Verizon plan, which does not even include text messaging, is $20/month or $480 over a two year contract, plus you need to buy the phone. A smartphone after a discount typically starts at $200, so the iPhone is actually cheaper. Also, while you can buy insurance for regular phones, you cannot buy them for any smartphone at ATT, and many companies do not sell it as well, including Palm. But Apple sells extended warranties.
    Also, if many had problems, it would obviously be big news, but I haven’t read anything about problems, unlike the xbox that has a 33% failure rate. The Zune has a battery that was not meant to be removed by the consumer. It is the same battery as the iPod. You can buy a kit with tools and instructions, but opening them can break the Zune.
    I just don’t like FUD, as above, so I had to post. I own Microsoft stock [which is worth less than what I paid in 2001], not Apple, and will not buy an iPhone unless it gets features that I need, like those of my Treo. But, the MS fanboys should stopped the FUD. I own Mac and build my own PC’s, so I am in the middle, but FUD is immature and kinda girly too.

    4. Posted by Bobbie McElroy  on  08/05  at  06:42 PM

  4. I love my iPhone! The people I’ve talked to that say they don’t like them, don’t even have one, so I say, how do they know they don’t like them?

    5. Posted by Paul Kiyono  on  08/05  at  07:45 PM

  5. Nice Tech Tips- but a few points
    1. You probably should clarify that iPhone’s version of Safari does not support Flash or Java; the Windows and Mac version of Safari does support Flash and Java.
    2. I don’t understand your point about usage fees for iTunes downloads. As with the iPod, you side load music from your computer. At this point, you cannot directly download music over the air.
    3. The $20 a month for unlimited data doesn’t seem to bad compared to some of the other data plans.
    4. Also I don’t understand your point about the phone- Apple has a good track record with turnaround on repairs. Additionally, they just introduced AppleCare for the iPhone. Extends tech support and the warranty on the phone to two years.
    5. Another point to make, is that the iPhone is essentially a smaller version of a Mac that also has phone capabilities. So unlike other phones, missing features that are not hardware dependent (like a built in GPS, etc) can be added via a software update.
    @coachgeorge, not sure what your problem is- the world is big enough for different phones, computers, etc. We have free choice- you buy what you want and I’ll buy what I want. The world doesn’t need any more prejudice, hostility, and hatred. Just go with the flow.
    And yes, I do have an iPhone.

    6. Posted by Ford Davis  on  08/05  at  08:25 PM

  6. Your review is great ... good points.  Yet you fail to mention the ultimate beauty of Apple’s situation ... and I am sure they are keenly aware of this ... the ‘problems’ are software upgrades and in most cases can be altered after the sale by Apple.  The hardware is not as limited due to the design!

    Having navigated the platform divide for decades now, I’ll take Apple as a hardware/software-centered company any day.  They stand behind what they make with real service ... I’ve had laptops sent returned overnight in about 36 hours ... I don’t know what the failure rate has been (and computer hardware is pretty good in general), but Apple isn’t making cheap stuff.

    Hard for some to believe, but they are becoming a major player ... already have in many ways.

    7. Posted by Ed  on  08/06  at  05:06 AM

  7. At $200 the iPhone is a “must have”
    At $300 it might be better to shop around to see if you can get something similar for a lower price
    At $400 the iPhone is getting priced out of most people’s budget
    at $500 the iPhone is somewhat of a joke
    At $600 the iPhone is reserved for the fanboy MacTards who have to have everything Apple produces
    At anything over $600 it becomes “what? you think I’m stupid?”
    I can get a Cingular 8525 on a two year contract which allows me to make whatever changes to the OS I want...I can even write my own programs and run them on the phone. I can use the phone as a storage drive to hold files. And with my 2GB mini SD card I can listen to my music and even install programs on that card.
    I can use the phone as a wireless modem for when I don’t have a WiFi connection handy. And it has a handy slide out keyboard. Really, I don’t have any problems with the phone and the extreme customizability of the thing I can truely make it mine! Heck...I even installed an iPhone skin to see what all the hype was all about...found it too limiting so I switched back!
    Ed
    web/gadget guru

    8. Posted by Ed  on  08/06  at  05:18 AM

  8. People who own the iPhone will ALWAYS say that they “love” them...to say anything else would be to admit that as a decision maker, you, the purchaser of the iPhone are a failure. And because most of the “droids” (a term used elsewhere in this thread) who fall, lockstep into SJ’s singular vision are already mental midgets who have delicate egos prone to shattering, have no real mind of their own and therefore are incapable of admiting that they could fail when they are following the commands of SJ. Because to admit that they are a failure, is to admit that their leader, SJ is a failure, and this is an unthinkable offense to the religion of Mac.
    So yeah...no purchaser of the iPhone will readily admit to the iPhone being just an expensive addition to SJ’s stock portfolio. But deep down inside, when these people perform the one thing that could break them out of the reverie of the basking glow of SJ...and do some soul searching, they can only admit to themselves that yet again, they have failed and therefore their entire existance is a failure.
    I forsee the future of iPhone users committing mass suicide on the basis of following a false god and coming to the realization, en-mass that their lives were pointless and the cult of Mac no more than another scam to take money from the feeble minded. (mind you, the majority of this writing is sarcasm and is to not be taken seriously...somewhat....just stirring up the antmound folks!)
    Ed
    web/gadget guru

    9. Posted by Michael Lohmeyer  on  08/06  at  05:21 PM

  9. Apple generally makes great products, and their quality is high.  I’m sure the iPhone is likely to be no different, but if the product doesn’t fit your needs, it doesn’t fit your needs.  It’s that simple.

    The iPhone is a good step for the future of Smartphones, but lacks several critical features.  If people who rip on the iPhone are always people who don’t own one, there’s probably a reason for that.  I don’t have to own one to see that it doesn’t fit my needs.  The iPhone looks cooler, but the Treo does what I need.

    For every iPhone owner I’ve talked to, I always get the “well, most of those deficiencies are just a software upgrade away.” When Apple releases that software upgrade, maybe I’ll reconsider, but I’m not holding my breath.  I don’t spend hundreds of dollars on a product based on what I think it might be, I buy based on what it is. 

    The biggy is no real after market software support.  That, and I’m not switching to AT&T;.  I understand their need for an exclusivity agreement to get some of the new features to work (like the very cool and slick iPhone voice mail), but it’s not enough to make me switch carriers.  My Sprint plan is cheaper for voice and data and is the faster EVDO data plan vs. AT&T;’s 2.5G data.  If the iPhone hardware isn’t 3G compatible, no software upgrade is going to fix this issue.

    What about iPhone Safari - the web the way it is supposed to be.  Nope.  No Java support (and no Flash support).  The Treo doesn’t have this either, but the point is, I can view web pages just fine on my Treo except for lacking Java.  The iPhone doesn’t give me anything new here except a better looking interface, but no Java and it’s at the slower data speeds.  Speed is what matters first when browsing the Internet.  If it takes me 2 minutes to check a web site, I’m more likely not to try.  So, the iPhone still isn’t the web the way it’s supposed to be.  No hand held device offers this.

    But, my Treo gives me the web as a modem for my laptop.  Also something the iPhone can’t do.  Well, with the right software upgrade....  I’m not holding my breath.

    Point is, the iPhone is hands down the coolest thing to happen to the smart phone market since the smart phone was invented.  I’m very excited about it.  Makes you wonder why Palm and Blackberry are sitting on their hands going no where when Apple is making them look like fools.  But, I’m not excited about this iPhone.  I’m excited about what is to come from Apple (or Apple’s competitors if they can get their act together) in the future.  Apple has once again dared the industry to dream of what could be.  Why the iPhone is lacking in so many ways, I don’t know.  I’ll give Apple the benefit of the doubt that they can only do so much at a time.  All I know is for now there’s no way I could choose to buy an iPhone simply because at any price, it just doesn’t do what I need.

    10. Posted by tech_dave  on  08/08  at  12:52 AM

  10. oh oh

    What I can’t figure out is where is the inaccuracy of information coming from? “Cingular” purchased AT&T;wireless ( Cingular-which was a combination of Bellsouth and SBC communiations). Then SBC purchased AT&T;, or what was left of it, and changed it’s name to AT&T;. Then after that AT&T;purchased bellsouth, as well as the remaining 40% of “cingular”. “Cingular” gets renamed AT&T;wireless.

    Now the big question I have is exactly what did the former AT&T;wireless or AT&T;buy?

    *shakes head wondering if anyone will get it right*

    I know it sounds like I am defending them, certainly I am not. It would just be nice if people would realize the information.

    11. Posted by turbo mike  on  08/13  at  08:36 AM

  11. Michael L. - great points!!

    I have been using my Treo 600p for about a month now and you have read my mind!

    -mb

    12. Posted by Ethan  on  09/25  at  10:58 PM

  12. Good to read the news and comments !

    13. Posted by john  on  02/08  at  05:38 PM

  13. Thanks for sharing your valid points. It is an argument that can’t be won, always going around in circles.

    iphone downloads

    14. Posted by Smartphone Freeware  on  02/16  at  05:51 PM

  14. amazing how iPhone changed the world of mobile. But Microsoft still have a strong position with their smartphones. Compare for example amount of free apps available for iPhone from apple.com and free apps for WM Smartphones from http://www.smartphone-freeware.org, or even apps for Google’s new Android at http://www.android-freeware.org

    You will see that iPhone loses here. And the policy of Apple to not let developer to write native apps is also extremely destructive.

    15. Posted by voip articles  on  02/21  at  09:36 AM

  15. The iPhone interface enables the user to move the content itself up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger, much as one would freely slide or flick a playing card across a table with a finger.

    16. Posted by john  on  04/21  at  08:26 PM

  16. Wow, you just have read my mind!
    Thanks for sharing!

    17. Page 1 of 1 pages

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