Post by Deadpool on Oct 18, 2009 21:07:37 GMT -5
I've had a change of heart about the iPhone. Apple's mobile juggernaut was once something that I wasn't excited about until I held and used one for the first time. After several extremely useful experiences, I was completely satisfied with it. Then again, when you go from a field that doesn't allow much for practical learning and application of electronics into one that pays you to know about them, it was very evident that I didn't know better.
First, let's go through the overall problems with iPhone. This is the stuff that Apple doesn't want you, the consumer, to know.
AT&T's insurance will not cover it. After asking the question hundreds of times to various sales associates and getting nowhere, I decided to ask once more. Worst they could do was tell me the same thing I'd always heard, "I don't know." This time, I did not get that answer. Apparently, the premiums and deductibles would be too high for any practical insurance application. This was the answer I got. Apparently, no one wants to take that longshot bet. Insurance companies seemed to have formed some semblance of a conscience.
As an iPhone 3G user, there's not much in the way of incentive to make me upgrade. I upgraded to this phone from a Motorola RAZR V3r (Fire Engine Red) with removable memory for this phone because I have text happy people around me. The differences between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are extremely few. The 3GS does have a faster processor, more RAM and more storage space but that's about it. Any of the other apps that come standard on the phone will work on mine and, yes, mine also has the multimedia messaging with the upgrade to iPhone's OS (3.0). Seeing as these are really the only differences, where is the incentive to shell out nearly $300 for an upgrade? Should I start jacking with the source code to further customize the phone, I'll probably brick it, the battery isn't user-replaceable and the only way to charge the battery is to charge it while the damn thing is on. Not exactly smart.
Then, it gets really shady on the business end of the deal. See, Apple and AT&T locked into one of those deals of Mephistopheles proportions. Apple basically names the price and decides when or if it will decrease. There were further financial applications that AT&T had to meet, among them, exorbitant royalty expenses for the "privelege" of carrying the iPhone. Guess who is paying that cost? Need a hint? iPhone Users! That's right, high costs of data plans and no way in hell you're getting cut any breaks whatsoever. Thanks, guys! I can't tell you how much I just looooooove forking over that much money every month when others aren't getting hit that hard because they're using different phones!
Now, let's go with practical application. First, let's just say you like making custom ringtones. Get ready for a fucking headache. You have one of two options and they are as follows:
Option #1: Purchase the song from iTunes (99 cents per song) use Garageband to select one section of the song and then run that through the ringtone maker in iTunes and then...I'm not joking here...buy that ringtone version of the song (almost a staggering $3.00 per tone) and there ya go. Okay, so let's recap. You'll pay 99 cents for a FULL version of the song and then almost $3.00 for less than 30 seconds of it. Still like the status symbol that this thing is? Okay...but also consider that you have to select from iTunes' selection. That's right, if you didn't buy it through iTunes, you're not getting it.
Option #2: See, I'm the kind of guy that got my music legally. What I don't have on CD, some band tossed me a digital download because of the promotional work that I used to do. I don't have shit to prove to any corporation, I don't give a flying fuck what Steve Jobs thinks. If any of them think I do...fuck you. Fucking prove I that my digital copies are illegal. The real problem is that most of the music I like is independent. I like very little mainstream shit anymore. So when I like a band, I show it by making others listen to it as a ringtone when someone calls me and it never fails, I usually get asked, "Hey, what ringtone is that?" So that means I have to find a way to circumvent that numbshit three buck per crap. There are plenty of instructional how-to sites on the subject but if you know what it takes to make the tones, it's a pain in the fucking ass. So, pay three bucks per or just circumvent it with one of the instructional how-to sites. I think it's pretty obvious which one I chose to do.
Which brings me to a whole new series of issues...portability issues. No, it's pretty easy to carry around. I'm talking about music. If iTunes undergoes an update and you have to upgrade, don't sync the phone to your computer or you will lose playlists, songs and...RINGTONES! This means you're going to be stuck with that numbfuck marimba tone for anyone you assigned a ringtone to when you were painstakingly customizing it. Yep, you're going to have to repopulate your library (not exactly a first for iPod users) and then re-add everything but pictures. Everytime there's a new update for the firmware on iPhone...guess what? Same thing. You can't escape it. Not only that but the only way you're going to sync this thing to your laptop AND desktop are if your iTunes accounts are set up in an identical fashion on both computers. If not, be ready for the pain because there's only one direction in which the music goes...TO the device, FROM the computer.
Okay so with a lack of customization ability, a battery that takes a goddamned experienced technician to replace and bone-stock everything on top of a headache, it's pretty obvious that Apple has not bothered listening to actual consumer demand and brazenly naming their price in the process. While I can hardly fault them for fooling me, I can be thankful that it's a mistake I will not repeat.
I seem to remember a commenter somewhere on the web mentioning to me (as though it were scripture) that Apple would dominate the cellphone market. Here's a reality check that won't bounce; Apple will only dominate the market if it does three things:
1. Become their own cellphone provider.
2. Offer better service than all others with rates that are competitive and comparable rather than assume people will just pay.
3. Listen to consumer demand and act on it accordingly.
Then and only then, everyone. Frankly, I'm not holding my breath on that. When I have to purchase a bulky $50 case simply because no insurer of cellphones will touch them...I think it's pretty obvious what's going on. Not only that, but if you have to know the harsh truth about this product...it took AT&T a minimum of 17 months to recuperate any kind of profit off of this device...17 months! I'd hoped AT&T would have been smart enough to see the error in this sort Enron-proportioned investment.
Verizon customers, listen up. If you're waiting and chomping at the bit for Verizon's version of the iPhone, just turn away from it now. It's going to be a CDMA version of the phone rather than a GSM and will NOT be worth your money. If you thought Verizon's rates are murder on your pocketbook now...just wait for the first six months post iPhone release. The wailing about how high the bills will be due to the insane royalties that Verizon will have to pay will not surprise me in the least.
If you want to know the difference between a CDMA version of any phone and a GSM, just read Wallace Wang's book Steal This Computer Book 4.0 to get a real education on the world of cellphones.
I still have about a little over a year left on my contract with AT&T over this thing and, quite frankly, I'm not about to go for the iPhone 3GS. It's not worth it in the least. I think what I'm going to do instead is continue to search for a phone that is not only comparable but far more suitable (and I think I've already found one) and, sadly, that might have cost AT&T a customer as well. Honestly, I think this is about as good as AT&T gets and it's just not that great in my opinion.
I know many of you may be thinking that this means I'm all-out boycotting Apple's iPods as well. No. I haven't found any MP3 players that have served me as well as the iPods have. I still think I should have gone with my first instinct and purchased an iPod Touch a long time ago and simply upgraded to a Palm Treo or something of that sort. Realistically, I think it would have been the better choice. Reloading an iPod might be a pain in the ass but at least I don't have to worry about some painstaking process of resetting all my settings on it. I mostly use it to play media and that's about it. Call me old school but that's about all I really do with it.
As for smartphones, trust me when I say this...there are far better out there. They all have their cons but do you really want a cellphone company aiming for penetration when it comes to the phone of your choice? I didn't think so.
Sorry, Apple, but you had to know that the illusion would wear off eventually.
First, let's go through the overall problems with iPhone. This is the stuff that Apple doesn't want you, the consumer, to know.
AT&T's insurance will not cover it. After asking the question hundreds of times to various sales associates and getting nowhere, I decided to ask once more. Worst they could do was tell me the same thing I'd always heard, "I don't know." This time, I did not get that answer. Apparently, the premiums and deductibles would be too high for any practical insurance application. This was the answer I got. Apparently, no one wants to take that longshot bet. Insurance companies seemed to have formed some semblance of a conscience.
As an iPhone 3G user, there's not much in the way of incentive to make me upgrade. I upgraded to this phone from a Motorola RAZR V3r (Fire Engine Red) with removable memory for this phone because I have text happy people around me. The differences between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are extremely few. The 3GS does have a faster processor, more RAM and more storage space but that's about it. Any of the other apps that come standard on the phone will work on mine and, yes, mine also has the multimedia messaging with the upgrade to iPhone's OS (3.0). Seeing as these are really the only differences, where is the incentive to shell out nearly $300 for an upgrade? Should I start jacking with the source code to further customize the phone, I'll probably brick it, the battery isn't user-replaceable and the only way to charge the battery is to charge it while the damn thing is on. Not exactly smart.
Then, it gets really shady on the business end of the deal. See, Apple and AT&T locked into one of those deals of Mephistopheles proportions. Apple basically names the price and decides when or if it will decrease. There were further financial applications that AT&T had to meet, among them, exorbitant royalty expenses for the "privelege" of carrying the iPhone. Guess who is paying that cost? Need a hint? iPhone Users! That's right, high costs of data plans and no way in hell you're getting cut any breaks whatsoever. Thanks, guys! I can't tell you how much I just looooooove forking over that much money every month when others aren't getting hit that hard because they're using different phones!
Now, let's go with practical application. First, let's just say you like making custom ringtones. Get ready for a fucking headache. You have one of two options and they are as follows:
Option #1: Purchase the song from iTunes (99 cents per song) use Garageband to select one section of the song and then run that through the ringtone maker in iTunes and then...I'm not joking here...buy that ringtone version of the song (almost a staggering $3.00 per tone) and there ya go. Okay, so let's recap. You'll pay 99 cents for a FULL version of the song and then almost $3.00 for less than 30 seconds of it. Still like the status symbol that this thing is? Okay...but also consider that you have to select from iTunes' selection. That's right, if you didn't buy it through iTunes, you're not getting it.
Option #2: See, I'm the kind of guy that got my music legally. What I don't have on CD, some band tossed me a digital download because of the promotional work that I used to do. I don't have shit to prove to any corporation, I don't give a flying fuck what Steve Jobs thinks. If any of them think I do...fuck you. Fucking prove I that my digital copies are illegal. The real problem is that most of the music I like is independent. I like very little mainstream shit anymore. So when I like a band, I show it by making others listen to it as a ringtone when someone calls me and it never fails, I usually get asked, "Hey, what ringtone is that?" So that means I have to find a way to circumvent that numbshit three buck per crap. There are plenty of instructional how-to sites on the subject but if you know what it takes to make the tones, it's a pain in the fucking ass. So, pay three bucks per or just circumvent it with one of the instructional how-to sites. I think it's pretty obvious which one I chose to do.
Which brings me to a whole new series of issues...portability issues. No, it's pretty easy to carry around. I'm talking about music. If iTunes undergoes an update and you have to upgrade, don't sync the phone to your computer or you will lose playlists, songs and...RINGTONES! This means you're going to be stuck with that numbfuck marimba tone for anyone you assigned a ringtone to when you were painstakingly customizing it. Yep, you're going to have to repopulate your library (not exactly a first for iPod users) and then re-add everything but pictures. Everytime there's a new update for the firmware on iPhone...guess what? Same thing. You can't escape it. Not only that but the only way you're going to sync this thing to your laptop AND desktop are if your iTunes accounts are set up in an identical fashion on both computers. If not, be ready for the pain because there's only one direction in which the music goes...TO the device, FROM the computer.
Okay so with a lack of customization ability, a battery that takes a goddamned experienced technician to replace and bone-stock everything on top of a headache, it's pretty obvious that Apple has not bothered listening to actual consumer demand and brazenly naming their price in the process. While I can hardly fault them for fooling me, I can be thankful that it's a mistake I will not repeat.
I seem to remember a commenter somewhere on the web mentioning to me (as though it were scripture) that Apple would dominate the cellphone market. Here's a reality check that won't bounce; Apple will only dominate the market if it does three things:
1. Become their own cellphone provider.
2. Offer better service than all others with rates that are competitive and comparable rather than assume people will just pay.
3. Listen to consumer demand and act on it accordingly.
Then and only then, everyone. Frankly, I'm not holding my breath on that. When I have to purchase a bulky $50 case simply because no insurer of cellphones will touch them...I think it's pretty obvious what's going on. Not only that, but if you have to know the harsh truth about this product...it took AT&T a minimum of 17 months to recuperate any kind of profit off of this device...17 months! I'd hoped AT&T would have been smart enough to see the error in this sort Enron-proportioned investment.
Verizon customers, listen up. If you're waiting and chomping at the bit for Verizon's version of the iPhone, just turn away from it now. It's going to be a CDMA version of the phone rather than a GSM and will NOT be worth your money. If you thought Verizon's rates are murder on your pocketbook now...just wait for the first six months post iPhone release. The wailing about how high the bills will be due to the insane royalties that Verizon will have to pay will not surprise me in the least.
If you want to know the difference between a CDMA version of any phone and a GSM, just read Wallace Wang's book Steal This Computer Book 4.0 to get a real education on the world of cellphones.
I still have about a little over a year left on my contract with AT&T over this thing and, quite frankly, I'm not about to go for the iPhone 3GS. It's not worth it in the least. I think what I'm going to do instead is continue to search for a phone that is not only comparable but far more suitable (and I think I've already found one) and, sadly, that might have cost AT&T a customer as well. Honestly, I think this is about as good as AT&T gets and it's just not that great in my opinion.
I know many of you may be thinking that this means I'm all-out boycotting Apple's iPods as well. No. I haven't found any MP3 players that have served me as well as the iPods have. I still think I should have gone with my first instinct and purchased an iPod Touch a long time ago and simply upgraded to a Palm Treo or something of that sort. Realistically, I think it would have been the better choice. Reloading an iPod might be a pain in the ass but at least I don't have to worry about some painstaking process of resetting all my settings on it. I mostly use it to play media and that's about it. Call me old school but that's about all I really do with it.
As for smartphones, trust me when I say this...there are far better out there. They all have their cons but do you really want a cellphone company aiming for penetration when it comes to the phone of your choice? I didn't think so.
Sorry, Apple, but you had to know that the illusion would wear off eventually.