What Apple Doesn't Want You To Know About iPhone
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.
posted by Lord Genocyde at 8:02 PM
5 Comments:
You really should try the 3G S. I also had the 3G and felt the same way. You are going to pay the same 300+ for any worthwhile smartphone on the market (although you won't have to deal with ATT which is a plus). There is a huge difference in my opinion. You may just think it has only more RAM and a better processor but in my experience the last two weeks that double the RAM and better processor (not to mention better camera, video camera and editing, voice command, auto focus, and compass) make the phone a huge jump above the 3G S. It sounds like your a little upset with the iPhone but try somewhere else and you will more than likely be back. It happens wherever you go.
My problem is mostly with the business aspect which has plagued this particular industry and the arrogant assumption that I'll just fall in line.
Bottom line, there are better touch screen phones that allow me the full range of use, customization that doesn't have to involve iTunes and expandable memory so I won't have to wait for a higher capacity model.
Maybe service will be sacrificed with the price but to assume that I'm just going to lay down and accept that I must either fall in line with the level of limits and shovel money to them...not likely. Even if I spend more than $300 for a different smartphone, I won't be shelling out that much for one that has very little in the way of difference. At least between iPhone and iPhone 3G, there was a world of difference.
Yeah and I wish that the industry wouldn't treat us like headless mice. And you are right as long as we mindlessly pay the prices they demand by the millions they will never change anything. I just wanted to let you know my experience with the 3G S because I felt a lot of the same way. I was mad that apple just releases a little every 12 months to get us to buy it all again. As far as I can see tho the pastor on the other side isn't all that greener.
I was a pretty vehement defender of the iPhone for well over a year now but this little bit by little bit B.S. is just that...B.S.
Many of Apple's former employees (according to the Guardian's Tech section and Wired Magazine) went to work for companies like Palm and HTC and they didn't just use the same old shit with those respective phones...they helped to streamline the phones and make them more efficient.
Case in point, the Palm Pre and the HTC myTouch 3G by T-Mobile with Google Android OS.
Google Android OS is fully customizable and so is the phone itself.
The Palm Pre has taken Apple's user interface and revolutionized it. I won't use it because it's a CDMA phone and I prefer to take my SIM card and put it into a prepaid phone (unactivated as a backup) should something happen to it.
Those are two of many examples I could give. I don't prefer Windows Mobile phones due to vulnerability issues that Windows has suffered in the past.
When it became good for me in the financial sense to know about what's going on in the business, I learned that I'd been easily cowed into upgrading to the iPhone simply because it was cheaper than upgrading to another phone as I'd originally intended.
The iPhone 3G has it's great points but the problems that exist for the 3G also exist for the 3GS and I'd be better off just getting an iTouch for my trouble.
For what I get with AT&T, I can also get with Sprint and T-Mobile for far less.
My point is that the time for us to speak up is long overdue. As of right now, phones like the MyTouch 3G aren't better than the iPhone, this much is true BUT, with it's open-source OS, I don't have to wait for the next update...I can create it.
Cellphone companies are beginning to look at the market and what it's doing and people are getting completely fed up with the exclusivity deals. What happens when that runs out for iPhone? Who the hell knows?
I still have a year or so so my opinion on the matter may change again if Apple gets it's act together but the truth is, the 3GS is an undeveloped version of the next gen. Kinda happens when you tell developers to "put up or shut up." Just read up on the ongoing war between Google and Apple and that will tell you everything you need to know.
I'm halfway tempted to pay the early termination fee but something is telling me that it would be far more profitable on my part to have a little more patience and wait.
I've never really had a problem with AT&T's service but I just don't appreciate it when they're getting a raw deal, not being intelligent enough to realize it and then expecting me to pick up the slack.
Maybe you're better off with AT&T and I can see you're happy with the new iPhone but it's not worth that much money for me to upgrade to the 3GS when something only slightly different is going to follow within a year. I'd rather go with something that I have a little more control over. Maybe AT&T will have a series of Android phones by then, who knows but, for the time being, I know that this thing's going to be sold on eBay as soon as the contract is up and I'll put the proceeds toward an iTouch.
By the way, since you're an iPod user, hit up otterbox.com and grab a Defender series case for it...you'll need it unless you feel like buying another phone outright should something happen to your phone.
Yeah i have been reading about Android and they look awesome. I wish apple would open it's OS up like that. Google is going to be major contendor in the smartphone market. I enjoyed reading your article by the way and in a lot of ways I totally agree. I was just trying to help cause I felt the same way and although I feel ATT and apple have me by the nuts I am pretty happy with the 3G S. (albough it is major bullshit that you can't get insurance, we pay 10 dollars more a month for Internet than the rest of the ATT world, and we still have to fork out 20 more for unlimited text messages). I am glad there are people like you that willl voice their displeasure cause until we say or do something nothing is going to change and I admire you in that way.
To help ya out I unlocked my iPhone 3G and sold it and got enough to buy my 3G S so I would suggest that and you can make 400-500 bills off of it when you do get a new phone and let me know how it works.
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