Commentary on the iPhone and iPod Touch
I just saw a review of the iPod touch by Walt Mossberg and it got me to thinking a bit more why I am not quite ready to buy an iPhone or iPod Touch…
Walt Mossberg Article on iPod Touch:
“The Touch is missing some Internet-oriented features from the iPhone that would work well over Wi-Fi. It lacks the iPhone’s email, mapping, stock tracking and weather programs.
Apple says the Touch was meant mainly to present typical iPod features, not to replicate the iPhone, and it included the Web browser only so users could get onto Wi-Fi to use the mobile music store in certain places that required a log-in screen.
But it seems ridiculous to me to sell a powerful device with Wi-Fi and a huge screen, and to leave out things like an email program, even though you can use Web-based email programs. I assume Apple was concerned that the less costly Touch might compete too much with the iPhone if it had these features. In fact, if somebody can jam a voice-over-Internet capability into the iPod Touch, it might be more of a threat to the iPhone, which is tethered to a single cellphone carrier, AT&T.”
Basically, I hope someday Apple opens the iPhone/iPod Touch and allows it to become a general purpose computing device. I would be first in line to buy one.
My main frustration with cell phones and the carriers today is that they lock you into a specific set of services and applications which they want you to use. I understand why this is the case ($$), but I don’t like it. I don’t like it because these services/ applications are expensive and usually incomplete for my needs. But now Apple is doing the same thing…locking us into a single carrier for five years and locking us into a small number of applications they provide. And from the news today, it seems that Apple is now going to go after the hackers who have figured out how to unlock the iPhone and/or install 3rd party apps.
I just find it interesting to see how this great new piece of hardware and amazing UI is being crippled in specific ways which do not benefit the customer. I hope this changes over time.
So what do I do right now since I can’t do what I want on a cell phone?
Well, I do have a cell phone and it is in fact my only phone (no more land line). I never use it for anything else but voice calls…no SMS, no Pictures, no Video, no Music player, no Games, nothing. Because these things are all very expensive, incompatible with other systems I use, and in most cases the UI is horrific.
BUT I do use one feature besides voice calls! I connect my MacBookPro laptop to the phone via bluetooth to get on the web (phone as modem on Sprint for $40 extra a month). Once I connect, I have everything I need on my MBP and a reasonably high speed connection to the Internet through the cell phone.
In the end, I wish the iPhone was open. Then I could carry this small device around most of the time instead of my big MBP laptop and I would have access to a similar set of applications and services that my Mac laptop has (within reason given the small screen and lack of a real keyboard). Or I guess I can just wait around for Apple to develop everything I need and put it on the iPhone ;-)
Here is my quick list of what I think is missing today from the iPhone at least for my needs:
- Still waiting for an IM client (AIM) like iChat on Mac OS X
- Still waiting for a VOIP client (Skype)
- Still waiting for ability to connect iphone’s Calendar to Google Calendar like I can do on Mac OS X iCal
- Still waiting to be able to input a Calendar event in the iPhone !?!
- Still waiting for a “To Do” or Tasks application
- Still waiting to be able to use the iPhone as a cell modem (bluetooth DUN) like I can do on Mac OS X
- Still waiting for VPN connectivity (PPTP) like I can do on Mac OS X
I know that application development takes time and Apple is likely working on these things. But if the iPhone was open, these apps would all be available by now just like they are on Mac OS X.
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Those are all good reasons, but I can sum up why I’m not ready to buy an iPhone in one acronym:
AT&T.
They’re horrible. Absolutely horrible. We shouldn’t be surprised; what do you expect when you have a merger of the two worst-rated cell providers (AT&T and Cingular), which are themselves descendants of the worst-quality cell service (TDMA)?
Sadly, it looks like I’ll have to wait five years to see a Verizon iPhone - at least an Apple one.
My son waited until the $200 price drop and then got an iPhone. He applied one of the hacks that’s out there and is now using it on his T-Mobile account. So far so good. The interface sure is impressive. My HTC 8525 has far more features (partially because it’s fully open to 3rd party developers), but its interface isn’t nearly as nice as that of the iPhone.
Well I hope your son’s phone keeps on working. But I would be wary of any “updates” from Apple. Be sure to NOT be one of the people who install the update on the (b)leading edge. :-)
I was with Verizon for like 10 years and then switched to Cingular about 3 years ago as I was tired of cruddy Motorla phones and their lame UI. I wanted a Nokia and I got one.
I stayed with Cingular for about 2.5 years with my awesome Nokia 6230 phone. It was my favorite phone. Small, simple to use, and configurable to how I wanted it. No, it was not a smart phone, but it was just a good reliable phone. And I could use DUN through it which Verizon banned anyway they could.
But GSM phones are annoying. The RF bleeds over into speakers and gets amplified. Lots of people can’t use their iphone to listen to music as the GSM stuff bleeds into the audio.
Plus GSM call set-up times are amazingly long compared to CDMA. Its just annoying.
I did like the fact that I could use the phone in other countries which I traveled to once in a while. But it was not cheap! So I rarely used it.
Then last Spring even with the iPhone a few months away, I became fed up with Cingular. I was being dropped a lot with high pitched noise coming through my handset. Something was wrong. My wife had the same issue on her 6230. So even with the iPhone coming to Cingular in a few months, I ditched Cingular and went to Sprint.
Sprint offered 7pm night calling.
Sprint offered Bluetooth DUN for an extra $40
Sprint had cheap phones and a good discount from my former employer.
Sprint lets you roam on Verizon for voice and the slower 1xRTT data.
I have been very happy with Sprint. I really have no complaints other than they disconnect your bluetooth DUN connection after 60 seconds if you are not sending/receiving data. But I solved this with a little web page refresh script (or a ping script). And coupled with Verizon’s footprint (and free roaming) they have a very compelling offer.
Good to hear from you, Jay! Love, Carl
Funny. I guess my timing was right on. A lot of articles now on the locked iPhone/iPod Touch…
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/software-guru-rips-apple-for-cashing-in-on-closed-systems-302276.php
You know one thing that might get me to buy an iPod touch right now even if they did not open it up?
If I could somehow use it at home to listen to my music collection through an Airport Xpress. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little touch screen “remote control” like device that you could see all your music on (Cover Flow) and touch which song you wanted to hear? I guess the Touch would need a more complete version of iTunes on it, at least one that would allow you to stream music from the device to Airports on your network. But I think it would also be nice to be able to stream songs that are also located on a shared itunes library (not just the songs on the Touch as it still has limited capacity).
Anyway, Apple should be working on this type of feature even if all the other “crazy” ones I want are down the road.
Welllllll, I bought an iPod Touch. I should say, I bought one of those new Nano’s for Rylan for her birthday last weekend because she started to want to be able to watch video on her walk into work. But the screen was just too small.
So onto the Touch. Very nice machine. Wish it had some side buttons for volume and track up/down. But otherwise, very nice machine. And the Wifi is nice to have. Just wish Jobs did not lock it down and threaten everyone with voided warranties if you try and install anything on it. Bummer.
Bad apple. You should be ashamed. Profits ahead of what your customers want? And how does allowing third party applications hurt you?
I fear its the same mistake Jobs made in the OS wars. I hope its not.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/iphone/iphone-re+reviewed-verdict-dont-buy-302075.php