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Jedi Penguin
July 24th, 2008, 04:16 PM
The 5 real reasons to avoid iPhone 3G:

* iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on everyone's phones.
* iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
* iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
* iPhone won't play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
* iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don't spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software -- like the FreeRunner.

"This is the phone that has changed phones forever," Mr. Jobs said.

We agree. A snake oil salesman not satisfied with his business of pushing proprietary software and Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology into your home, Jobs has set his sights on getting DRM and proprietary software into your pocket as well.
fsf.org (http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/5-reasons-to-avoid-iphone-3g)


I thought this picture was hilarious:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/855/iphone3gsmallwa4.jpg

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 04:26 PM
#1 reason to buy the iphone:

The fsf said not to.

Thankfully, their little rant will change nothing and the world WILL continue to spin.

LittleLORDevil
July 24th, 2008, 04:32 PM
* iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
Last I heard iTunes downloads went DRM free.


* iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
Sorry to break it to you but almost EVERY cell phone has a GPS in them ;)

Ub1476
July 24th, 2008, 04:34 PM
It's HUGE.

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 04:35 PM
Last I heard iTunes downloads went DRM free.


Sorry to break it to you but almost EVERY cell phone has a GPS in them ;)

Oh aye, but that won't put the fsf off their little rants and raves to make themselves sound important.

fluteflute
July 24th, 2008, 04:43 PM
Last I heard iTunes downloads went DRM free.
Not true, a small minority are with iTunes Plus but the vast majority are not.

Although to be fair the only "real reason" from that list IMO is #1.

Foster Grant
July 24th, 2008, 04:44 PM
Their blogger comes up with a bunch of pseudo-hippie-dippie reasons and failed to point out the main reason not to use the iPhone: In the United States, it's only officially offered via AT&T Mobile, which is the same craptastic company we used to call Cingular.

I don't know any Cingular/AT&T customers who actually like that company. My experience in their stores has been somewhat off-putting due to being creeped out (note to salesdroid: You are not my buddy, so don't just walk up and start a casual conversation about how my weekend was. Yuck).

A friend's girlfriend refuses to do business with them because the salesdroids kept showing her pink phones (she hates pink, but the salesdroids apparently believed that "all girls like pink").

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 04:46 PM
Thankfully the iphone is on the UK's best network (o2).

LittleLORDevil
July 24th, 2008, 04:54 PM
Their blogger comes up with a bunch of pseudo-hippie-dippie reasons and failed to point out the main reason not to use the iPhone: In the United States, it's only officially offered via AT&T Mobile, which is the same craptastic company we used to call Cingular.

I don't know any Cingular/AT&T customers who actually like that company. My experience in their stores has been somewhat off-putting due to being creeped out (note to salesdroid: You are not my buddy, so don't just walk up and start a casual conversation about how my weekend was. Yuck).

A friend's girlfriend refuses to do business with them because the salesdroids kept showing her pink phones (she hates pink, but the salesdroids apparently believed that "all girls like pink").

I have been with AT&T since before they were called Cingular, I don't have a single complaint with them.

arsenic23
July 24th, 2008, 04:55 PM
Personally I think that the number 1 reason to not buy an iPhone is the same reason I don't buy other apple products, price/(performance--features) is terrible.

Other then the touch screen, I don't see any benefit the iPhone has over a Blackberry Curve, and I don't really think the touch screen is anything but 'neat', not really a deal making feature. So why would I pay a couple hundred bucks, plus a slightly more expensive plan, when I can get a refurbished Curve for 40 dollars ??

That said, my new Curve isn't perfect, far from it, but I'm spending that kinda cash on a mobile phone.

That said, if you offered me an iPhone for $40, I might consider buying it, but I'd have to look into how well it works with linux first.

zachtib
July 24th, 2008, 04:58 PM
I'm still torn on the iPhone... as much BS as there is about it from Apple, it's still a neat gadget, and I love gadgets :P

Joeb454
July 24th, 2008, 05:00 PM
That said, if you offered me an iPhone for $40, I might consider buying it, but I'd have to look into how well it works with linux first.

Not fantastically well I hear...

TBOL3
July 24th, 2008, 05:00 PM
I really wish the FSF would say that DRM is digital rights management, because not only is the correct name, but it also describes what it does, it protects rights, the artists rights. That was what I loved about the GPLv2, and hate about the GPLv3 (the latter I haven't gone through thurowly yet). GPLv2 protected both the user's, and the producer's rights. GPLv3 only protects the user's.

An interesting thought would be to start calling the FSF something by it's actual name. Would RMS do the same thing he does with open source software?

karellen
July 24th, 2008, 05:09 PM
Personally I think that the number 1 reason to not buy an iPhone is the same reason I don't buy other apple products, price/(performance--features) is terrible.

Other then the touch screen, I don't see any benefit the iPhone has over a Blackberry Curve, and I don't really think the touch screen is anything but 'neat', not really a deal making feature. So why would I pay a couple hundred bucks, plus a slightly more expensive plan, when I can get a refurbished Curve for 40 dollars ??

That said, my new Curve isn't perfect, far from it, but I'm spending that kinda cash on a mobile phone.

That said, if you offered me an iPhone for $40, I might consider buying it, but I'd have to look into how well it works with linux first.


+1 for this :)

solitaire
July 24th, 2008, 05:20 PM
First rule of Fightclub iPhone SDK

Do not talk about the Free SDK

Second rule

DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE SDK!

Basically their is not EULA for the SDK just a legal DNA saying you can't post any info about the SDK or anything you create with the SDK on to any forum or talk about it with anyone!

http://weblog.infoworld.com/yager/archives/2008/07/apples_iphone_c.html

VitaLiNux
July 24th, 2008, 05:28 PM
* iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don't spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software -- like the FreeRunner.

It's not yet ready for fully mainstream use. It's mainly focused for Devs and Geeks as a toy (http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo_FreeRunner) (as of the time of writing this post!)

How usable it is?

As the hacker's dream toy: it is fully functional. As a GSM: some people are using it also to receive and place phone calls. As a GPS: critical bugs are still being ironed out. As an alarm clock, media player, internet browser, game console, email reader and contacts manager: software is not stable yet.

Canis familiaris
July 24th, 2008, 05:29 PM
Best reason to buy iPhone:
You could jailbreak it and get soooo much drooling.

DeadSuperHero
July 24th, 2008, 05:31 PM
I personally would really like one...

Just not with AT&T.

If you're going with a pricey service, why not throw in a quality one as well, such as Verizon? At least they'd have customer support, and tout it as their number #1 phone. Ever see an AT&T commercial for the iPhone, other than the Apple-made ones? No? Hmmm...

mrgnash
July 24th, 2008, 05:39 PM
All those reasons are good enough for me. I despise Apple and their jail-cell products. I'll be waiting for phones with Google's Android to come out.

Foster Grant
July 24th, 2008, 05:41 PM
I really wish the FSF would say that DRM is digital rights management, because not only is the correct name, but it also describes what it does, it protects rights, the artists rights. That was what I loved about the GPLv2, and hate about the GPLv3 (the latter I haven't gone through thurowly yet). GPLv2 protected both the user's, and the producer's rights. GPLv3 only protects the user's.

An interesting thought would be to start calling the FSF something by it's actual name. Would RMS do the same thing he does with open source software?

But they should give it all away for free and just flip burgers on the side or something! [/sarcasm]

RMS lives in a fantasy land funded by his own personal non-profit foundation. I don't think he's ever had to have a real job requiring him to have responsibilities to the world at large. Perhaps he thinks we have the same economy as the Federation in Star Trek where money is no object.

Orlsend
July 24th, 2008, 05:44 PM
Theres no Java for Iphone yet... I cant believe they manage to get way with that price... Unlocked Palm Treo's Have been around for ages and they are been able to the same stuff and more for a way cheaper price..

*Ah and The Iphone only have that virtual keyboard (Something goes wrong with you screen, like if the stylus is nto been sensed anymore... And there you go you are screwed...Palms have both.... real and fake keyboards)

denvernugget15
July 24th, 2008, 06:05 PM
Another reason not to buy Apple: Steve Jobs is awful!

I'm in the General Contracting biz and some of the subs I know did work on Steve Jobs monstrous house. At the end of the job, Jobs paid them half what they were owed and dared them to sue them.

It put a bunch of them out of business.

Don't buy Apple.

Mr. Picklesworth
July 24th, 2008, 06:20 PM
General belief that the FSF is not important, does not know what they talk about, is annoying, is unrealistic...Value your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. "Don't bother us with politics," respond those who don't want to learn.
-Richard M. Stallman

As for Apple, I have realized another reason why I prefer free software! Apple does everything they can to look immortal - to seem perfect. The free software community, on the other hand, accepts being human; the products are not only open with, but proud of the fact that they were built by people who make mistakes, who need help and who have souls. Free software is a world with opinions, beliefs and cultures. At risk of sounding snobby, Apple land is a world of safe rounded corners and sterile surfaces where the closest thing to culture is the bi-weekly event of Apple web store closures followed by "OMG a new colour ipod!"

There's something else in free software (Creative Commons? Open Source? I don't like limiting this to software). It is a lot more than just the product.

TBOL3
July 24th, 2008, 06:29 PM
A. I agree, Steve Jobs is horrible, I would even say that he is worse the Steve Balmier.

B. RMS actually did have a real job. He worked at MIT for a while, until he realized 'what he needed to do with his life.'

C. That quote from RMS (if it really is, I'm too lazy to actually do 5 min. of research), is stupid. We care about politics, or at least I do, but theres a difference between practicability, and what we want. I want us to live in a money less society, but I realize that if we were to do so, then human kind would crumble, do to lazy-ness.

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 06:40 PM
Another reason not to buy Apple: Steve Jobs is awful!

I'm in the General Contracting biz and some of the subs I know did work on Steve Jobs monstrous house. At the end of the job, Jobs paid them half what they were owed and dared them to sue them.

It put a bunch of them out of business.

Don't buy Apple.

Maybe they didn't do the job right?

Canis familiaris
July 24th, 2008, 06:41 PM
Maybe they didn't do the job right?

You mean to say they didn't do Job's Jobs right? (Pun Intended)

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 06:42 PM
But they should give it all away for free and just flip burgers on the side or something! [/sarcasm]

RMS lives in a fantasy land funded by his own personal non-profit foundation. I don't think he's ever had to have a real job requiring him to have responsibilities to the world at large. Perhaps he thinks we have the same economy as the Federation in Star Trek where money is no object.

Good point. It's amazing the amount of people who listen to a jobless guy, who isn't even looking for a job, who lives off donations from other people.

Perhaps if he went out and got himself employed he might be able to give us ideas of what to spend our money on, instead of telling us what evil deed we are committing by buying these products.

Canis familiaris
July 24th, 2008, 06:46 PM
Good point. It's amazing the amount of people who listen to a jobless guy, who isn't even looking for a job, who lives off donations from other people.

Perhaps if he went out and got himself employed he might be able to give us ideas of what to spend our money on, instead of telling us what evil deed we are committing by buying these products.

Get your facts right before you speak. I dont like RMS much either but I do not tolerate anybody insulting him either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman

bp1509
July 24th, 2008, 06:55 PM
Sorry to break it to you but almost EVERY cell phone has a GPS in them ;)
Yes but not every phone is locked into AT&T which spies on Americans for the NSA.

LittleLORDevil
July 24th, 2008, 06:57 PM
Yes but not every phone is locked into AT&T which spies on Americans for the NSA. Tell me a case where someone was prosecuted with evidence from AT&T. Please.

Mr. Picklesworth
July 24th, 2008, 07:07 PM
Sorry in advance about the useless ramble.


but I realize that if we were to do so, then human kind would crumble, do to lazy-ness.
I disagree with that. I think the presence of money is causing laziness on a higher level - just not on a personal one. Consider that, with some focused development effort, mining operations could be carried out largely by robots. This could probably have happened 10 years ago, but it definitely can happen now.

The benefit for society is huge! Finally we can send unquestioning machines off to do the dirty work so society no longer needs to concern itself with the issues of having enough Deltas, Gammas and Epsilons to complement the higher-level individuals. (Scary thought, but that is a very real issue just like the slant of population growth. The way things are going, we are doomed to this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808)).

But here is the problem: Installing robots to replace humans, at any point anywhere, loses jobs. The workers would not want this to happen, the money people would not want this to happen. Okay, start a new Microsoftish company that eats everything else out. Problem: The other guys have lobyists, and they have them first. Oh, and it's morally wrong; people would have a lot of reason to be angry about this.

Innovation is stifled in an extraordinary way. The system of money does not permit change on that scale; the only way for it to happen is if some cataclysmic event sends society into a hurricane, leaving space for something to replace it. That, or everyone sees the way and accepts it. Both are quite difficult.

I don't know how, but there needs to be a better way to balance resources, needs and privileges.

I'll end that thought with my favourite Star Trek quote:
"This is a soulless society. It has no spirit, no spark. All is indeed peace and tranquility. Peace of the factory, tranquility of the machine. All parts working in unison."
-Spock

Icehuck
July 24th, 2008, 07:26 PM
Get your facts right before you speak. I dont like RMS much either but I do not tolerate anybody insulting him either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman

Obviously you haven't seen this picture then. After looking at it, are you really not expecting me and a bunch of people to insult him? I'm not even going to go into the can of worms of how this insults religion.

gletob
July 24th, 2008, 07:27 PM
I gimped it

ssam
July 24th, 2008, 07:58 PM
Last I heard iTunes downloads went DRM free.

only for some of the music.

There are other reasons not to like itunes. according to this some artists are only getting 4.5 cent of royalties per 70cent song. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=14495

chucky chuckaluck
July 24th, 2008, 08:11 PM
I thought this picture was hilarious:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/855/iphone3gsmallwa4.jpg

that is funny. i think i know her sister.

number one reason to avoid the iphone g-whatever - i hate phones!

TBOL3
July 24th, 2008, 08:47 PM
Sorry in advance about the useless ramble.


I disagree with that. I think the presence of money is causing laziness on a higher level - just not on a personal one. Consider that, with some focused development effort, mining operations could be carried out largely by robots. This could probably have happened 10 years ago, but it definitely can happen now.

The benefit for society is huge! Finally we can send unquestioning machines off to do the dirty work so society no longer needs to concern itself with the issues of having enough Deltas, Gammas and Epsilons to complement the higher-level individuals. (Scary thought, but that is a very real issue just like the slant of population growth. The way things are going, we are doomed to this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808)).

But here is the problem: Installing robots to replace humans, at any point anywhere, loses jobs. The workers would not want this to happen, the money people would not want this to happen. Okay, start a new Microsoftish company that eats everything else out. Problem: The other guys have lobyists, and they have them first. Oh, and it's morally wrong; people would have a lot of reason to be angry about this.

Innovation is stifled in an extraordinary way. The system of money does not permit change on that scale; the only way for it to happen is if some cataclysmic event sends society into a hurricane, leaving space for something to replace it. That, or everyone sees the way and accepts it. Both are quite difficult.

I don't know how, but there needs to be a better way to balance resources, needs and privileges.

I'll end that thought with my favourite Star Trek quote:
"This is a soulless society. It has no spirit, no spark. All is indeed peace and tranquility. Peace of the factory, tranquility of the machine. All parts working in unison."
-Spock

I'm sorry, but I can't understand what you're saying, could you please restate that. I get that you think money causes laziness, and you think it's not personal, and that you were using robots somehow, but I lost you after that.

Also, I think styles of government where everyone works together causes laziness is because it assumes that people are willing to work, where they're not. Even styles of government where everyone competes assumes that people are willing to work, but it benefits the individual/company, which causes harder working.

On the flip side of the coin, I think linux is better because it does not pay it's workers. Workers that are paid are going to put in time from 9 to 5, and be done with it. If the software is missing something, so what, that's what they were hired to make, and they'll make it. Where as FLOSS is made a lot by either personal/company interest, or for people who are just looking to have a good time. This leads to better software, because they will see a problem, and fix it, instead of just hiding it.

So, what I'm saying here is, in my view of the world, a socialistic type of government is better, if you can get people to work. And I also believe that artificial stimulation is bad, and will ultimately lead to failier. The only way it will last is if people naturally want to work.


Oh, and back on the iPhone, I don't want it. I hate it. I'd rather spend that money on a better device.

rune0077
July 24th, 2008, 09:02 PM
Good point. It's amazing the amount of people who listen to a jobless guy, who isn't even looking for a job, who lives off donations from other people.

Perhaps if he went out and got himself employed he might be able to give us ideas of what to spend our money on, instead of telling us what evil deed we are committing by buying these products.

Why shouldn't we listen to a jobless guy? That's a pretty lame argument? If it was really true what you said, and the man has managed to avoid any kind of hard work and still make a living, he would have to be tremendously smart and clever, and hence worth listening to.

Oh, on topic: I have an iPhone, though not the new 3G one. It was no trouble jailbreaking it, and I have lots of free software on it, and nothing has prevented me from installing it. Apple don't mind either, they told me how to do it - they just warned me it would void the guarantee and that I shouldn't come crying to them if something broke, other than that, they were fine with it.

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 09:29 PM
Why shouldn't we listen to a jobless guy? That's a pretty lame argument? If it was really true what you said, and the man has managed to avoid any kind of hard work and still make a living, he would have to be tremendously smart and clever, and hence worth listening to.

Oh, on topic: I have an iPhone, though not the new 3G one. It was no trouble jailbreaking it, and I have lots of free software on it, and nothing has prevented me from installing it. Apple don't mind either, they told me how to do it - they just warned me it would void the guarantee and that I shouldn't come crying to them if something broke, other than that, they were fine with it.

Sure.

All you have to do is setup a site, ramble on about how someone is going to ruin the world and ask for donations to support your cause.

gletob
July 24th, 2008, 09:32 PM
that is funny. i think i know her sister.

number one reason to avoid the iphone g-whatever - i hate phones!

you didn't like mine too :(:(

rune0077
July 24th, 2008, 09:44 PM
Sure.

All you have to do is setup a site, ramble on about how someone is going to ruin the world and ask for donations to support your cause.

Okay, I'll add that to my "list of good ways to avoid hard work". So far though, nothing on the list has really worked out for very long.

I also have a "list of good ways to avoid responsibility" and a "list of good ways to avoid ambitions". No hard work, no responsibility, no ambition - anyone who could pull that off, would be my personal hero.

cezdeville
July 24th, 2008, 09:49 PM
so there goes the question:
- if no iPhone, then what? what alternatives do we have?
i'm not trying to defend iPhone, i'm just wondering if there is some gadget of similiar functionality out there? best would be linux-friendly.

same as someone earlier, i'm gadget addicted nerd and looking for good smartphone with good music playback as priority. maybe you could suggest something?

cheers,
cezy

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 09:52 PM
so there goes the question:
- if no iPhone, then what? what alternatives do we have?
i'm not trying to defend iPhone, i'm just wondering if there is some gadget of similiar functionality out there? best would be linux-friendly.

same as someone earlier, i'm gadget addicted nerd and looking for good smartphone with good music playback as priority. maybe you could suggest something?

cheers,
cezy


There are alternatives.

They're just rubbish is all. :)

arsenic23
July 24th, 2008, 09:53 PM
so there goes the question:
- if no iPhone, then what? what alternatives do we have?
i'm not trying to defend iPhone, i'm just wondering if there is some gadget of similiar functionality out there? best would be linux-friendly.

same as someone earlier, i'm gadget addicted nerd and looking for good smartphone with good music playback as priority. maybe you could suggest something?

cheers,
cezy

Blackberry and Palm have phones that are pretty much side-grades to the iPhone, and there are many touchscreen style phones coming out in the not to distant future from pretty much every mobile company.

wrtpeeps
July 24th, 2008, 09:56 PM
I would consider blackberry and palm to be for business use rather than someones personal mobile.

bp1509
July 24th, 2008, 11:12 PM
Tell me a case where someone was prosecuted with evidence from AT&T. Please.

That's not the point. It's in violation of our 4th Amendment and it's illegal and creates massive potential for abuse. Sorry, I value my privacy very much and most others should as well, IMHO.

PurposeOfReason
July 24th, 2008, 11:16 PM
I personally would really like one...

Just not with AT&T.

If you're going with a pricey service, why not throw in a quality one as well, such as Verizon? At least they'd have customer support, and tout it as their number #1 phone. Ever see an AT&T commercial for the iPhone, other than the Apple-made ones? No? Hmmm...
Now if only Verizon and Google would play nice so I can get myself a Google Android running on a HTC Dream phone by Christmas. :D

It'd probably help if Google wasn't being a jerk about how it's treating its devs at the moment too.

TBOL3
July 24th, 2008, 11:17 PM
Well, I don't mind having a seperate device to make calls (aka a 'free' phone). And then having a portable computer to play with. That is why I said there are better devices. I am not aware of a better device that has a phone and a computer in one.

arsenic23
July 25th, 2008, 01:00 AM
I would consider blackberry and palm to be for business use rather than someones personal mobile.

What features make the difference here? Because I do the same thing with my Blackberry that I'd do with an iPhone.

poofyhairguy
July 25th, 2008, 01:19 AM
I have a first gen iPhone (was a gift) and I love it. On no other phone can you get such a slick interface. Plus it is the only phone that browsing the web on it didn't make me want to quit after a minute or two. I can view all of my favorite pages how they are meant to be seen.

That said I think the iPhone 3G is a weak upgrade. I will wait until the iPhone can do stereo bluetooth and has a higher megapixel camera before I replace mine. Also I must say that future iPhones need more space. 8 or 16 GB is a pathetic amount of space for a geek. I don't even bother pretending to use it as an iPod (got a 40gb one for that). I have one movie and one TV show I encoded on there to show it off and the most recent album I am listening too. A 32gb or bigger one would start to replace my other digital toys.

But I must say- I would hate to go back to a regular phone. Any spare second where life makes me wait (bank, doctor's office, airport) I pull out my iPhone and read my favorite pieces of the internet. I can't beat the convenience.

mrgnash
July 25th, 2008, 03:53 AM
Obviously you haven't seen this picture then. After looking at it, are you really not expecting me and a bunch of people to insult him? I'm not even going to go into the can of worms of how this insults religion.

How on earth can you '[insult] religion'? Does religion have feelings that can be slighted? What a ridiculous notion.

And people can make fun of RMS all they want, and I do agree that he takes things a little far sometimes, but there's no denying the fact that he has been one of the driving forces behind GNU -- a project of which we, as Ubuntu users, are all beneficiaries of.

LittleLORDevil
July 25th, 2008, 04:49 AM
I have a first gen iPhone (was a gift) and I love it. On no other phone can you get such a slick interface. Plus it is the only phone that browsing the web on it didn't make me want to quit after a minute or two. I can view all of my favorite pages how they are meant to be seen.

That said I think the iPhone 3G is a weak upgrade. I will wait until the iPhone can do stereo bluetooth and has a higher megapixel camera before I replace mine. Also I must say that future iPhones need more space. 8 or 16 GB is a pathetic amount of space for a geek. I don't even bother pretending to use it as an iPod (got a 40gb one for that). I have one movie and one TV show I encoded on there to show it off and the most recent album I am listening too. A 32gb or bigger one would start to replace my other digital toys.

But I must say- I would hate to go back to a regular phone. Any spare second where life makes me wait (bank, doctor's office, airport) I pull out my iPhone and read my favorite pieces of the internet. I can't beat the convenience.
Exactly how I feel except I have the new one.

tuebinger
July 25th, 2008, 05:05 PM
When I first got the iPhone last summer I thought it was an unbelievable piece of technology. What a difference a year makes.

With all it's technological wizardry, when I see other people using phones with a real keyboard I find myself getting keyboard envy. The touchscreen keyboard makes me want to chuck it in the garbage at times.

And with an iPhone, if you want to call someone, you must press a button at least 5 times just to get to your favorites list, And all this with two hands and your undivided attention! This inability to use the phone without your complete focus is its biggest drawback for me.

With the iPhone there's no MMS, no java, no cut and paste, can't customize ringtones from your own mp3s without paying Apple for the privilege... and without downloading third-party apps you can't voice-dial, record video, or use instant messaging.

Yes, the iPhone is a slick piece of technology... but after you get past the bells and whistles it's really a very basic phone.

chucky chuckaluck
July 25th, 2008, 05:21 PM
you didn't like mine too :(:(

it's kind of small. does it say "AT&T"?

rune0077
July 25th, 2008, 05:21 PM
And with an iPhone, if you want to call someone, you must press a button at least 5 times just to get to your favorites list, And all this with two hands and your undivided attention! This inability to use the phone without your complete focus is its biggest drawback for me.


I just tried getting to my favourite list: I had to push two (2) buttons to get there. If it takes you five, you're doing something very wrong :)



With the iPhone there's no MMS, no java, no cut and paste, can't customize ringtones from your own mp3s without paying Apple for the privilege... and without downloading third-party apps you can't voice-dial, record video, or use instant messaging.


You don't really have to pay Apple, if you jailbreak the phone. But I agree, those things should have been default.

tuebinger
July 25th, 2008, 05:56 PM
I just tried getting to my favourite list: I had to push two (2) buttons to get there. If it takes you five, you're doing something very wrong :)


Right, it's not 5 with the shortcut. But it's still 4 'movements'. I have to press the button that turns the phone on, then slide the slider to unlock, and then it's two button presses to access the favorites list.

Polygon
July 25th, 2008, 06:01 PM
in case you didn't know, any cell phone made in the last like 4-5 years also has tracking capability built in. Usually, it only turns on if you dial 911, but im pretty sure that the police could collaborate with your cell phone company to remotely turn on your phone's position tracker (i dunno if its a full blown gps) to find you if your like some mass murderer or something

rune0077
July 25th, 2008, 06:04 PM
Right, it's not 5 with the shortcut. But it's still 4 'movements'. I have to press the button that turns the phone on, then slide the slider to unlock, and then it's two button presses to access the favorites list.

Yeah, if you count the unlock clicks as well, but that's the same as any phone where you have the display locked (by any phone, I mean my old Nokia :))

LittleLORDevil
July 25th, 2008, 07:45 PM
Right, it's not 5 with the shortcut. But it's still 4 'movements'. I have to press the button that turns the phone on, then slide the slider to unlock, and then it's two button presses to access the favorites list.Oh no the horror of sliding the slider and doing a minimal amount of movements. Is that really the reason why you don't like the iPhone. Seriously people need to come up with better reasons.

Superkoop
July 25th, 2008, 09:03 PM
number one reason to avoid the iphone g-whatever - i hate phones!

+1 I can't stand using a phone, I hope I never have to buy a cellphone, ever. (it's bad enough people can call me at home)
Although, I would like handheld computer sans phone.

poofyhairguy
July 26th, 2008, 12:28 AM
Yes, the iPhone is a slick piece of technology... but after you get past the bells and whistles it's really a very basic phone.

Agreed. I would never compare my iPhone to a Blackberry or something. The scheduler kinda sucks, and it does not have many productivity tools.

Really for me its a phone with the world's best mobile web browser attached. But that alone is worth the price to me....

FyreBrand
July 26th, 2008, 12:46 AM
I like the UI of the phone, but I hate AT&T as a provider. They are my current mobile provider and they have the absolute worst service evah! Not only was their initial rebate offer a joke, but they are generally rude and unhelpful.

If the phone could be used on any network I would consider it, but till then being a part of AT&T is a deal breaker.

ice60
July 26th, 2008, 02:26 AM
in canada they're going crazy because of the contract it comes with, you have to buy a 3 year contract and pay loads if you use too much bandwidth, there's no unlimited data option. something like that anyway, they really aren't happy about it lol

here's their online petition lol
http://www.petitiononline.com/iPhone99/petition.html

i couldn't give two hoots about the iphone or the FSF. i lost my phone the other day and haven't bothered replacing it. my dad got really angry at me because i didn't answer the phone at home either lol. i like people not being able to get hold of me whenever they want, i suppose i can be pretty anti-social :D but, people with phones can be pretty anti-social too!

tuebinger
July 26th, 2008, 02:30 AM
Oh no the horror of sliding the slider and doing a minimal amount of movements. Is that really the reason why you don't like the iPhone. Seriously people need to come up with better reasons.

If you read my first post you'll see there are a lot of other reasons I dislike the phone.

tuebinger
July 26th, 2008, 02:36 AM
Really for me its a phone with the world's best mobile web browser attached. But that alone is worth the price to me....

I believe the web browser and the iPod are the best features on the phone, although I don't use either much anymore. I'd much rather surf the web on my laptop and listen to music on my iAudio player.

Foster Grant
July 26th, 2008, 03:59 AM
I would consider blackberry and palm to be for business use rather than someones personal mobile.

You can use either for personal use, as well. I have personal (ice hockey fan) reasons for disliking RIM/Blackberry, however.

BgAV
July 26th, 2008, 12:32 PM
Agree, same situation with the saling arrangement between Apple and Orange who incidentaly failed by far their original iPhone+abonment sales 2008 target, up-to-now. BgAV

rune0077
July 26th, 2008, 12:37 PM
I like the UI of the phone, but I hate AT&T as a provider. They are my current mobile provider and they have the absolute worst service evah! Not only was their initial rebate offer a joke, but they are generally rude and unhelpful.

If the phone could be used on any network I would consider it, but till then being a part of AT&T is a deal breaker.

I don't even understand how that is legal in the US. In Denmark it just got out (I had mine in the US some months back), and Apple made the usual deal with one of our phone-companies to give them the exclusive rights. But the law said "no way". The company in question is now the only one selling the iPhone from the store, but you can buy the phone from them without a subscription (though they charge you same as if you had also bought the subscription) if you don't want them as your provider. They had to.

Canis familiaris
July 26th, 2008, 12:56 PM
I don't even understand how that is legal in the US. In Denmark it just got out (I had mine in the US some months back), and Apple made the usual deal with one of our phone-companies to give them the exclusive rights. But the law said "no way". The company in question is now the only one selling the iPhone from the store, but you can buy the phone from them without a subscription (though they charge you same as if you had also bought the subscription) if you don't want them as your provider. They had to.

Thats a good rule.

TBOL3
July 26th, 2008, 03:18 PM
Well, there is a law about monopolies. And only allowing AT&T is a monopoly, but then again, you could go and by another phone.

wrtpeeps
July 26th, 2008, 03:20 PM
Well, there is a law about monopolies. And only allowing AT&T is a monopoly, but then again, you could go and by another phone.

No it isn't.

bobbob94
July 26th, 2008, 03:22 PM
Its a nice gadget, had a play with one for a while, but its not worth what they're charging for it imho. A large upfront payment for the priviledge of being stuck with an expensive contract, no thanks...

mirak63
July 29th, 2008, 03:52 PM
I bought one.
:confused:
In fact I though I would never buy one, for the obvious reasons in the first post.
However my phone was crap it was a sony ericson that didn't played music, couldn't go on internet, take photos, the battery was dead, and I only used prepaid card and it was time to change all that.
Now There was others available phones here in France, but I don't think I could have done more with other phones than with the iphone limited by the Apple policy.
I couldn't wait to have open moko phones.
I am sure it will not be on the market before 1 year or more.

I don't support Apple policy, I hate it, but honestly it's really a nice brick, and the main problem is not Apple, I think Apple policy is just the secondary problem, the main problem is that the concurrence is WAY BEHIND, and cannot provide something as good.
And we are just frustrated that so good piece of hardware are limited by the software.

I will not say, "well don't complain, if you don't like apple, just don't buy there stuff", I just want to say that for once, we could also complain that other compagnies cannot put out real concurrents, at least not as fast. Apple was first.

And in someway Apple really deserve the rights to take people by the balls, or put cuffs.
They really gets how to do great products, and attract people, marketing alone cannot save a **** product.


So anyway I have that iphone, I think I will not drop my iRiver H320 with rockbox OS, and anyway I didn't planned to. When it comes down to play music, it kills ipod or iphone, because I can play any format on it :guitar:

Yeti can't ski
September 23rd, 2008, 05:41 PM
Apple is a great company and creates high quality and often innovative products. It is a driving force in the market and I am really glad Apple exists. However, I don't think it is worth the money. I am really not the kind of guy who is willing to pay a fanciness surcharge.

Moreover, I don’t like to be entangled. If you buy something from Apple then you are almost always restricted to the (expensive) Appleware universe. You cannot even change batteries by yourself (at least not if you are not minimally proficient with machines – I am personally not – and willing to loose your warranty)! You cannot choose your phone operator!

I don’t believe in any conspiracy or Big Brother theory, but I do want to have my phone (and any other product) under my control as much as possible. In addition to that, I don’t want competition just among different phones, but also within each phone (for software, accessories, complements, etc.).

For the time being, my old and robust Blackberry sorts out my problems and I can definitely wait for an affordable android-based phone or (hopefully in the near future) a fully operational Freerunner running a stable Open Moko.

PS – I have no personal sympathy for RMS, but I sincerely believe – without meaning to offend anyone – that any Ubuntu user who is heavily hostile towards FSF’s principles and history is somewhat in contradiction.

alberttweskers
November 9th, 2011, 08:24 PM
Well said and thanks for telling drawbacks otherwise i would have had purchased iPhone 3G....Now going to buy iPhone 4.......and one more thing if you use your iPhone carefully then i dont think it creates any problem for you

nothingspecial
November 9th, 2011, 08:47 PM
This thread is old and moldy.

Closed.