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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Many, myself included, have poo-pooed Apple for the lack of some features in the new soon to be release iPhone. Some simple, some complex. The major out cry comes from developers and the lack of an API for third-party applications. Others cry foul with no custom ringtones (we cried, too.) Moans can be heard due to the lack of the ability to record video. No true support for Blackberry’s or Exchange Direct Push is another complaint (got us there, again.) But in all this grumbling, I think we’ve forgotten whom Apple is. It is a company that strives to make the user experience the absolute best it can be. Ease of use is always the number one goal at Apple. So is stability. Apple Inc. isn’t into gimmicks. It leaves that to the pros like Microsoft.
No, Apple has spent many years on this to make sure that the iPhone would be the best phone ever…from its start. Look at the ROKR. Apple couldn’t control every aspect of that phone and it failed. Apple definitely learned much from that experience and put that knowledge into its own phone. This phone hasn’t taken four years to build because Apple was bad at this game; it’s taken four years because it’s without a doubt Steve Jobs sent the iPhone team back to the drawing board more than once. Some of those “fake” pictures of iPhones may have in fact have been true prototypes only left to be thought as fakes.
Multi-touch is a technology that is in its infancy and was not around when the iPhone project started. What ever the iPhone was about to release with was most likely scrapped for the multi-touch feature and then pushed back until it was perfectly integrated. This feature alone most likely added another year in development.
No, the iPhone’s lack of features are most likely due to quality issues. I’m sure video recording was in early versions of the iPhone but could not stay in the final release due to stability issues. Talk to many Windows Mobile users and they’ll tell you how video freezes their phones all the time. Exchange Push. Probably removed due to bugs. Custom ringtones? A gift to AT&T so it can later charge customers for this “privilege” and that aspect still needs some more work.
Yes, while I’ve complained about the many lackings in the iPhone, I think the real rationale for features being absent are for the mere reason of hearing, “The iPhone lives up to the hype.” Not many products can ever make that claim and truth is, Friday I think many satisfied iPhone customers will affirm this claim all the way into the weekend and following weeks.
June 28th, 2007 at 11:40
While I agree, there’s a point where chucking features hurts the usability. You have to draw the line somewhere.
I was reading David Pogue’s Q&A on the iPhone and I was amazed. For example, supposedly, one of the reasons Apple went with EDGE instead of HSDPA is because the EDGE chipset uses less power so you’d have a longer battery life.
Okay, let’s see. 40Kbps and 7 hours of Internet access versus, say, 1.8Mbps and 5 hours of Internet access (some of the other phones gives you about five hours). So it’s 4.5x faster and eats 30% more battery. Hmm…I could live with that. Especially if they gave me a changeable battery.
But because Steve doesn’t want an ugly external battery to besmirch his beautiful iPhone, you get stuck with subpar Internet access.
I’m not sure I’d agree with that kind of trade-off.
June 28th, 2007 at 18:14
it was about time you said something positive about the iphone…i was beginning to wonder…
fletch
June 28th, 2007 at 21:43
For every missing feature there’s a dumbass brand whore apologist, like you.
June 28th, 2007 at 21:52
Considering the availability of hotspots (and the phones ability to sniff out the most potent signal) – the internet should be fine – that leaves you to the 2.5 network of ATT’s when you are in a pinch.
As to missing features – well my Q has a lot of features, but the SW is so idiotic, that I end up not using even 1/2 of them.
June 28th, 2007 at 21:58
Sebhelyesfarku. Can you come up with a more intelligent response? This was feeble the first time you used it in another iPhone related post and now, well, now it’s plain imbecilic.