Hey, everybody. Phil here from WMExperts, coming at you in Week 2 of the Smartphone Round Robin. Suffice it to say I've used an iPhone once or twice. But I still have a few questions for you, the TiPB faithful. And remember, everty time you answer, you're entered to win, well, an iPhone. So let's get to it:
The iPhone's UI is part of its genius. But after a couple of years, isn't it getting stale?
I'm a jailbreaker. And it's safe to assume a few of you are. But you really *have* to jailbreak anymore?
Obviously a lot of you left other platforms for the iPhone. Do you see anything from your previous smartphone life that you'd like to have now?
Will the problems with the app store (and we all know what they are) ever be fixed?
1. The simple UI is what makes the iPhone so user friendly. That being said, I really would like to see more customization options for advanced users.
2. I have never jailbreaked my phone, however it seems that this is not necessary anymore now that Apple has (allegedly) loosened the app approval process and there are so many regular apps out there. That being said, jailbroken apps provide some cool features that Apple has not or will not implement (see #1 about UI customization).
3. N/A. My last phone was a dumbphone.
4. This is something that concerns me as a user of paid apps. However, I do feel that the stigma against users paying more than $0.99 an app is slowly lifting (but maybe that is just me). I certainly will pay accordingly for a good app. I also would like to see a change in the app approval process.
5. Duke Nukem Forever. I think it is a Unicorn that Apple may turn real after reaping all the ideas from the various internet speculators and commentators!
6. I'm a PC. I thought about Mac until I realized that I'm broke :-)
1: Needs to be at least a little customizable, but simplicity is nice.
2: Jailbreak is necessary, backgrounding and lockinfo are my top reasons, i should be able to pandora and email at the same time, or for the same price i should have just gotten the Sony P.
3: Multi-tasking from WM6. Lockscreen info, that i can choose to display, from bank account amounts to email.
4: While not in fair practice, all companies can be a bit greedy, so who knows.
5: Real
6: PC, but only because of 7 fixing the mess of Vista.
1. I still love the UI. It still works great for me and I don't think it gets old at all.
2. I have been a jailbreaker but have gone back to straight iPhone OS. I don't really think it's necessarry unless you HAVE to have the cosmetic options (background pic, more than 4 icons on a line, background apps) but I didn't like that stuff b/c it slowed down the phone. Exactly what good ole Steve said it would do
3. Nope! Left a Palm Treo 650 for the iPhone. Granted it wasn't Web OS but I'm still not sad about it. I would like to be able to legitimately unlock it to possibly leave AT&T. But that's it
4. Probably not. There will always be something someone's not happy about
5. I think it's real. But it's still gonna cost more than I want to pay for it
6. I'm a Mac
1. I'm a fan of KISS, or Keep It Simple, Stupid. I think the UI is perfect for the iPhone. The only other UI that comes close to the iPhone's in terms on simplicity, IMO, is Blackberry's. I HATED Windows Mobile 6.1, as well as some of the 6.5 beta's I installed. Once again, KISS.
2. I don't jailbreak, and personally, I have no reason to. Before I had my iPhone, I was a BB Bold user, and before that I had a Fuze, albeit for less than 2 months. I would install beta OS'es on the Bold and the Fuze. Sometimes they would work, other times not so much. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I understand others wanting to JB for multitasking and use on other networks, and that's fine. To each his or her own.
3. The only thing that would make me happier on the iPhone would be a physical keyboard, but I've learned to love and master the virtual keyboard, so I think I'm set.
4. Maybe I'm too new to the iPhone scene, but I haven't had any issues w/ the App Store.
5. I believe the iTablet, MacTouch Pro, or whatever it's called does exist, but I don't think it's ready for the public yet.
6. For now I'm a PC, but I will be a Mac once my tax return comes back!
Hope that helps you out Phil! Sorry if I was a bit long-winded in my answers!
1.
Yeah, I would agree it is getting a bit stale. This is one of the reasons I would jailbreak (if I had the 3GS, my 2G is a bit too slow for winterboard) -- so I could use some of the Matte themes and give it a fresh new look. I would hope they update the interface in 4.0 and the new phone in the summer. At the very least I would hope for a more intuitive notification system.
2.
As I said in number 1, my only reason for jailbreaking is themes -- however, it extends a bit into background applications. With the new release of a new app (i forget the name now) that allows you to manage backgrounded apps similarly to WebOS, background applications are a lot more feasible on jailbroken phones.
3.
I left the Blackberry (Curve 8330) platform after under a year to move to iPhone. As much as I miss some things from the Blackberry (ie. the keyboard and the ability to type without looking *accurately), it didn't really keep me satisfied for long. The thing about the iPhone that I really loved was the consistency of UI in each application. On Blackberry, every third party app acted differently and it would be difficult to get oriented to a new app -- this is not the case with the iPhone. Also, one of the biggest reasons I got the iPhone was because I always had my phone and iPod; why not combine the two?
4.
I think that with most anything, the AppStore will iron out its problems in time. Regardless of them, even, you can still get some (A LOT) wonderful software on your iPhone. I think one of the best ideas I heard for the appstore involved a tiered system of approval. If the application passed the tests to check if it works correctly and such but ISNT approved by apple, the developer could be given a URL to distribute it directly without being indexed into the store. Those apps that were approved wholeheartedly would be included in all of the top 10 lists and such. I think this would be one of the best solutions. You can read more about it here.
5.
In time.
6.
Mac user for life. PC for games only, but I have been neglecting my PC for a while now; just dusted it off the other day to finish off Half Life 2: Episode 2. Can't really afford the hobby anymore I'm afraid. As a person in a creative field, Mac is the ultimate route for me -- oh and I just love them. Who wants a laptop made out of plastic that creaks when you move the screen? Not me.
1. The iPhone's UI is part of its genius. But after a couple of years, isn't it getting stale?
Other than having a more informative lock screen I'm still happy with the iPhone's UI. There needs to be a quicker way to switch between Edge/3G/Wifi though.
2. I'm a jailbreaker. And it's safe to assume a few of you are. But you really *have* to jailbreak anymore?
Nothing that a jailbroken iPhone has appeals to me, so I've never had to go down that route. I don't think anyone *has* to but it's nice to be able to.
3. Obviously a lot of you left other platforms for the iPhone. Do you see anything from your previous smartphone life that you'd like to have now?
This is my first Smartphone but I have used all of the others besides the android platform. Getting back to something I mentioned earlier, in the Blackberry video Rene just put up today there was a moment where they needed to switch the Storm to a wireless network. They did so by just tapping the "network" symbol and just hit mobile network. THIS is what I think the iPhone needs.
4. Will the problems with the app store (and we all know what they are) ever be fixed?
The main problems I have with the app store is the whole updating apps bug and more importantly the apps presentation on the store. There are a lot of good apps on the app store that gets lost in the pile because of the many useless ones. There also needs to be some more flexibility in the app approval system.
5. iTablet: Real? Or unicorn?
I'm skeptical about the tablet but I do believe it will come eventually. They just need a good strategy to introduce it to public though.
1) Started out as a great idea, but the user needs to be able to customize it more that it is now.
2) I have been tempted, but I will not jailbreak for now.
3) As in question 1, to be able to customize it a bit more. A user wants to make the phone unique and that is not a feature of the iPhone. They all look the same inside and out. That needs to change. Hoping that the next version is more customizable.
4) I would like to think so. It's Apple, so I am hopeful they will get on the ball, if they want to remain ahead of the up and coming smartphones (like the Droid).
5) Oh, It's real. You wait and see.
6) I'm a PC
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