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Thoughts on the iPhone
July 04, 2007 11:55 AM Filed in: Random
Thoughts
Posted By Katie
Let's just get this out of the way right now, I don't have an iPhone. But I really want one. In fact, just yesterday I was actually in my car on the way to the AT&T store to make my purchase, but then I heard a little voice in my head (it sounded a lot like my Mother's voice actually) telling me that this was not a practical decision, and I turned the car around without having even managing to get out of the neighborhood.
Let me back up a few steps now...
When the iPhone was first announced at MacWorld I had very mixed emotions. It sounded too good to be true and if it worked the way Apple claimed it was both a phone, iPod and PDA that was lightyears ahead of anything currently on the market. But then there was the price, the storage capacity and the fact that it only worked with the AT&T network. Ouch. At that point I had pretty much accepted that I wouldn't be getting an iPhone for quite some time. I just resigned a 2 year agreement with Verizon the previous July and was very happy with the service and coverage Verizon offered. I also would be facing a $175 early termination fee which would propel the cost of an iPhone for me near $800 after taxes. As some of the regular listeners to this Podcast are aware, I went back to school a few years ago and for the past three years have been living solely off my savings on a very tight budget.
For weeks, maybe even months I was satisfied with my decision not to buy an iPhone. I was fully confident in my decision to wait for the 2nd Generation iPhone because surely the next revision would have more features I was looking for, specifically 3G support, true GPS and a larger hard drive. Then bit by bit more details about the iPhone were released. About two weeks ago, iPhone mania was in full blow and I must admit I found myself caught up in the midst of all of it. Apple's 25-minute introduction to the iPhone video practically sent me over the edge and in the week before the iPhone was launched we kept getting pounded with more and more information about what a truly revolutionary device this was.
iDay, June 29, 2007 came and I watched with anticipation all of the iPhone coverage I could find. I've been an Apple fan since 1984 and remained a loyal Apple evangelist even during "the dark time" when everyone else said that Apple was dead. To see the media coverage that was being devoted to the iPhone was truly a joy. At one point I was flipping through channels and beamed with pride when I saw that CNN, FOX, Headline News and MSNBC were all covering the iPhone at the same time. Apple was on every cable news channel. My iPhone Fever was now in full blow, no matter what I did, I couldn't get away from the iPhone coverage. I asked myself, how could I not get an iPhone? After all, I was a true Apple believer, surely my love and loyalty to Apple was stronger than most of the people out there actually buying the iPhone.
About a week after the iPhone release I just couldn't take it anymore and I made a deal with myself that if I could sell my current iPod, PDA, and cell phones for enough money to make up the $599 purchase price I would go ahead and buy an iPhone and just eat the $175 early termination fee. After all, my birthday was coming up and I knew I was due a few checks in the mail from the grandparents. Then I got close. between my eBay auctions and an offer to buy my iPod from a member of my local MUG I would have been able to come up with about $550. I called up the local AT&T store to find they were sold out, but a store in a more rural area about 40 miles outside of town had stock. I called them and they had one lone 8GB phone in stock. In less than 5 minutes I was in the car ready to go.
Then my brain started to work again. I have a big Visa bill for some car repairs coming due soon...my insurance premium for my house and car were up for renewal in a few weeks...I was moving to a new city for a job at the end of the month and would need to pay relocation expenses...my condo was on the market and until it sold I would be paying both a mortgage on that and rent at my new place... and then there was that voice of my mother echoing in my head telling me that this really wasn't a practical decision. As for the iPhone itself, it is still a 1st generation product, the battery wasn't replaceable, there was no insurance, it doesn't have 3G, there's no GPS, it's only got 8GB of storage, it only works on AT&T... Damn. I turned the car around and came back home. My iPhone Fever broke.
Don't get me wrong, I still really, really, really want an iPhone. If someone handed me an iPhone tomorrow I'd gladly take it and give it a loving home. (Seriously, anyone wanna give me one?) But at the point, it's just not practical for me to go out and spend $800 for the current iPhone. It's very possible I'll change my mind in a few months when I have a steady paycheck coming in from my new job and after my condo has sold and things have stabilized a bit. But for now I think I'll hold off and wait and see what the rumor mill is saying about the next generation iPhone.
Speaking of which, I've started a list of the features I'd most like to see come to the iPhone. Many of these features could be fixed by software, but some would require new hardware. So if anyone at Apple is reading, take notes...
Who knows, I still may buy an iPhone before any of the above updates end up being implemented. Despite its faults it's still one of the most advanced and defiantly the coolest mobile phone on the market. Every time I hear people talk about the iPhone it just makes me want one all the more, and in a few weeks I'll be living less than 2 miles from an Apple Store and may find it hard to resist whipping out my Visa. Though if everyone could stop talking about it now, and if Apple could get back to making Macs and working on Leopard that would really help...
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the IPhone as well, whether you have one and love it or have no intentions of getting one and why. Please feel free to leave a comment below for all to see, or email us at themaccore@gmail.com
Let's just get this out of the way right now, I don't have an iPhone. But I really want one. In fact, just yesterday I was actually in my car on the way to the AT&T store to make my purchase, but then I heard a little voice in my head (it sounded a lot like my Mother's voice actually) telling me that this was not a practical decision, and I turned the car around without having even managing to get out of the neighborhood.
Let me back up a few steps now...
When the iPhone was first announced at MacWorld I had very mixed emotions. It sounded too good to be true and if it worked the way Apple claimed it was both a phone, iPod and PDA that was lightyears ahead of anything currently on the market. But then there was the price, the storage capacity and the fact that it only worked with the AT&T network. Ouch. At that point I had pretty much accepted that I wouldn't be getting an iPhone for quite some time. I just resigned a 2 year agreement with Verizon the previous July and was very happy with the service and coverage Verizon offered. I also would be facing a $175 early termination fee which would propel the cost of an iPhone for me near $800 after taxes. As some of the regular listeners to this Podcast are aware, I went back to school a few years ago and for the past three years have been living solely off my savings on a very tight budget.
For weeks, maybe even months I was satisfied with my decision not to buy an iPhone. I was fully confident in my decision to wait for the 2nd Generation iPhone because surely the next revision would have more features I was looking for, specifically 3G support, true GPS and a larger hard drive. Then bit by bit more details about the iPhone were released. About two weeks ago, iPhone mania was in full blow and I must admit I found myself caught up in the midst of all of it. Apple's 25-minute introduction to the iPhone video practically sent me over the edge and in the week before the iPhone was launched we kept getting pounded with more and more information about what a truly revolutionary device this was.
iDay, June 29, 2007 came and I watched with anticipation all of the iPhone coverage I could find. I've been an Apple fan since 1984 and remained a loyal Apple evangelist even during "the dark time" when everyone else said that Apple was dead. To see the media coverage that was being devoted to the iPhone was truly a joy. At one point I was flipping through channels and beamed with pride when I saw that CNN, FOX, Headline News and MSNBC were all covering the iPhone at the same time. Apple was on every cable news channel. My iPhone Fever was now in full blow, no matter what I did, I couldn't get away from the iPhone coverage. I asked myself, how could I not get an iPhone? After all, I was a true Apple believer, surely my love and loyalty to Apple was stronger than most of the people out there actually buying the iPhone.
About a week after the iPhone release I just couldn't take it anymore and I made a deal with myself that if I could sell my current iPod, PDA, and cell phones for enough money to make up the $599 purchase price I would go ahead and buy an iPhone and just eat the $175 early termination fee. After all, my birthday was coming up and I knew I was due a few checks in the mail from the grandparents. Then I got close. between my eBay auctions and an offer to buy my iPod from a member of my local MUG I would have been able to come up with about $550. I called up the local AT&T store to find they were sold out, but a store in a more rural area about 40 miles outside of town had stock. I called them and they had one lone 8GB phone in stock. In less than 5 minutes I was in the car ready to go.
Then my brain started to work again. I have a big Visa bill for some car repairs coming due soon...my insurance premium for my house and car were up for renewal in a few weeks...I was moving to a new city for a job at the end of the month and would need to pay relocation expenses...my condo was on the market and until it sold I would be paying both a mortgage on that and rent at my new place... and then there was that voice of my mother echoing in my head telling me that this really wasn't a practical decision. As for the iPhone itself, it is still a 1st generation product, the battery wasn't replaceable, there was no insurance, it doesn't have 3G, there's no GPS, it's only got 8GB of storage, it only works on AT&T... Damn. I turned the car around and came back home. My iPhone Fever broke.
Don't get me wrong, I still really, really, really want an iPhone. If someone handed me an iPhone tomorrow I'd gladly take it and give it a loving home. (Seriously, anyone wanna give me one?) But at the point, it's just not practical for me to go out and spend $800 for the current iPhone. It's very possible I'll change my mind in a few months when I have a steady paycheck coming in from my new job and after my condo has sold and things have stabilized a bit. But for now I think I'll hold off and wait and see what the rumor mill is saying about the next generation iPhone.
Speaking of which, I've started a list of the features I'd most like to see come to the iPhone. Many of these features could be fixed by software, but some would require new hardware. So if anyone at Apple is reading, take notes...
- Larger storage capacity - even 8GB isn't enough for me 16GB, probably, 32GB absolutely.
- 3G - everyone is saying the EDGE network is pretty darn slow. This isn't a "deal beaker" for me, but 3G would be really nice
- GPS - I don't get why this wasn't included. Google maps is amazing and could be even more so if it could tell you where you are and how to get where you're going. I tend to get lost very easily and this would come in handy. Especially if it could give me audible turn-by-turn directions while driving. I'd even pay more for this feature.
- User Replaceable Battery - again, not a "deal killer" for me, but a pretty big deal. I've had to replace the battery in my Motorola e815 twice in the first year. (though admittedly, I think there are other issues going on there)
- Limited 3rd Party Apps - I understand the need to keep the phone stable and secure, but why not do what Apple is doing with iPod games, go through a certification process and sell them on iTunes and share the profits with the developer. SpamSieve and 1Passwd are apps that I'd kill to see on the iPhone.
- Voice Dialing - I use this feature all the time, especially when the iPhone doesn't have tactile keys that you can dial blind. (Don't send hate email, you KNOW people are going to use their iPhone in the car, let's just make it safer.)
- Better Exchange Support - I work in a corporate environment and it would be nice to have the iPhone available to more "power" users
- Over The Air Sync - If my secretary at the office updates my calendar would be nice to know if I'm out.
- Some kind of file management system for downloaded or saved files. You can store files in email,but that's a pain.
- Ability to use as a storage device and transfer files back and fourth - just what we already have on the iPods
- Copy and Paste - Uh, duh?
- To Do List - see above.
- iTunes Store Access via WiFi - It would be nice to buy and download songs on the iPhone, Though I'd probably spend more money through "impulse buys" which only works out well for Apple.
- Better email organization and storage - usage of folders, mail sent on the iPhone doesn't sync your email client, IMAP messages aren't marked as read on your home email client, better email address sync, ability to delete multiple emails, spam filtering.
- Better calendar - ability to see a week view, color coding from iCal, etc.
- Spell Check- at least something you can turn on and off for when the "magic algorithms" for the keyboard isn't enough.
- Instant Messaging - Again, not a deal breaker, but would be nice.
- Custom Ringtones - At the very least, let me buy them off iTunes for 99 cents,
Who knows, I still may buy an iPhone before any of the above updates end up being implemented. Despite its faults it's still one of the most advanced and defiantly the coolest mobile phone on the market. Every time I hear people talk about the iPhone it just makes me want one all the more, and in a few weeks I'll be living less than 2 miles from an Apple Store and may find it hard to resist whipping out my Visa. Though if everyone could stop talking about it now, and if Apple could get back to making Macs and working on Leopard that would really help...
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the IPhone as well, whether you have one and love it or have no intentions of getting one and why. Please feel free to leave a comment below for all to see, or email us at themaccore@gmail.com
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