Biggest iPhone disappointment

[bruckwine]

This is not a corporate phone, it has never been marketed as one either, in fact you cant even get it on corporate plans. It doesnt work with Exchange, it isnt a smartphone, it isnt a corporate phone...

So what do you consider marketing? Is it a poster saying "the iPhone is a smartphone" or otoh "the iPhone is not a smartphone"? Can you tell from teh Apple marketing ads with PC and Mac guy that Apple is saying t ppl Windows sucks and they should buy macs instead? Or are you denying it all simply because you like Apple? The marketing of the iPhone has nothing to do with what it actually IS, but it ahs everything to do with what Steve Jobs % co want it to be to their target audience. Jobs compared the iPhone to phones with QWERTY keyboards, had his company do a spec sheet comparing it to N95 and others in the smartphone category (no Razrs or SE walkmans) and they went out of their way to advertise business-friendly features like PUSH IMAP, and that it did support Exchange with a server setting (check your info).

 

[MacUser]

I take exception to the "ignorant masses" comment.

Can I get an "Amen!"? That sums it up exactly.

I am fed up with the powerful, overly complex, high maintenance smart phone and I am all for one that does a few things very well and gives me beauty and simplicity. I might find myself buying an MacBook next... who knows.

This is a very smart man...or woman. I started out on PC's with DOS and I've seen the light. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

 

[oalvarez]

the beautiful 680....what everyone wanted, right? and what did this thing cost full retail? and it came with an "off button." pretty funny, right? two can play the same game and provided to show how silly this game can be.

from Palm

What’s in it for you? Everything.
Phone, email, messaging, Web, photos,
and music—all of it easy to use
Say hello to the Palm? TreoTM 680 smart device. It’s your phone along with email,
messaging, and Web access1. Not to mention your contacts, calendar, photos,
and songs. Sounds like a lot. And it is. But everything’s so easy to learn that you’ll
actually use it. Even better, the Treo 680 smart device is just the right size, with a
large touchscreen and an easy-type keyboard. Which means you have the freedom
to take it anywhere and still be connected to friends, work, and family2. Of course,
there’s also something called an “off” button, for when you don’t want to be
connected at all.

 

[CountBuggula]

no, that's where you go wrong. the price of the iPhone is a barrier for you (whether you can afford it or not, i don't care). and that's fine! but i think apple has proven that with over 500,000 in sales that some consumers are less price sensitive than you.

i can buy a $1k automobile that will take me from point A to point B" because i can afford to and not because money is "no object" but perhaps that's too difficult a concept for you to understand.

I understand what you're getting at, and have been through the car analogy already in this thread (or a similar one somewhere around here). I don't have a problem with spending more money for a reliable car, or even one with some extra bells and whisles. But I would never buy a premium luxury car. That doesn't make them horrible cars, and that doesn't mean other people won't buy them and enjoy them. But if I can get a much less expensive car that's still dependable, has built-in GPS, bluetooth, and MP3 player, I will. Especially when that luxury car omits those extra features, yet the people who buy it rave about how nice it is to have air conditioning.

 

[MacUser]

I understand what you're getting at, and have been through the car analogy already in this thread (or a similar one somewhere around here). I don't have a problem with spending more money for a reliable car, or even one with some extra bells and whisles. But I would never buy a premium luxury car. That doesn't make them horrible cars, and that doesn't mean other people won't buy them and enjoy them. But if I can get a much less expensive car that's still dependable, has built-in GPS, bluetooth, and MP3 player, I will. Especially when that luxury car omits those extra features, yet the people who buy it rave about how nice it is to have air conditioning.

Do you have an iPod? A media player? I'm curious what you would pay for each of them.

 

[CountBuggula]

Can I get an "Amen!"? That sums it up exactly.



This is a very smart man...or woman. I started out on PC's with DOS and I've seen the light. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

Good for you. Please, stop with the blanket statements that are:
1) impossible to prove

and

2) completely false

I also started out on PCs with DOS. I've been through every version of Windows since 3.1. I've used several flavors of Linux and have 2 Linux machines at home now. I've tried Macs throughout that whole time. Back in the black and white days, through the PowerPC days, and now in the OSX days. I gave it an honest shot (over and over, as several of my friends are Mac users), and decided it wasn't for me. I'm not the only one, either. I know plenty of others in the same boat. I even have some friends who were Mac users before they knew how easy and inexpensive it is to build your own PC, and they made the switch. So quit spouting the Mac propaganda that Apple spreads in its marketing campaigns, because it just makes you sound like a parrot.

 

[CountBuggula]

Do you have an iPod? A media player? I'm curious what you would pay for each of them.

I used to use a 40GB MP3 player that I purchased for less than $200 a few years ago when iPods of that size were selling for $400. It has an integrated Compact Flash and SD card reader, and worked wonderfully for transferring and backing up pictures from my digital camera, or songs to and from my Treo. I don't use it anymore as a music player much because it's been replaced by my Treo (I just stream my entire music library from home over the internet when I want to hear a tune) but still keep it as a handy portable external hard drive.

I payed a fraction of the price of an iPod for it and got a device that had twice the capability. A bunch of my coworkers have iPods and when they saw it they all said "woah! I had no idea something like that existed! I wish my iPod could do that..."

 

[oalvarez]

But I would never buy a premium luxury car. That doesn't make them horrible cars, and that doesn't mean other people won't buy them and enjoy them. But if I can get a much less expensive car that's still dependable, has built-in GPS, bluetooth, and MP3 player, I will. Especially when that luxury car omits those extra features, yet the people who buy it rave about how nice it is to have air conditioning.

great, then don't buy the premium luxury car....how many times are we going to do this? if you want to buy the less expensive car that comes with the same feature set then do so. but wouldn't you think it would be silly for others to poke fun at your less expensive car even if it did much of the same as its counterpart?

no one is forcing you to buy an iPhone. so what is the point you're trying to convey? if you don't like one or want one in its current state, great, but i don't think many care.

 

[braj]

I'm personally not here to poke fun at anyone and would rather not argue. I just want an intelligent conversation about what the iPhone *could* be. Just because you like it as-is currently doesn't mean you have to defend it's faults, and just because you won't buy it because of the faults doesn't mean you can't admire what works and look forward to it's evolution (or how it may force others to evolve).

 

[braj]

Unrelated to premium luxury phones , I think the type of people who buy Gucci crap for $1000 when you can get the same damn functional thing for $5 are vain MORONS. Plain and simple. They may have enough intelligence to earn their money but none to spend it wisely.

I don't think the iPhone is as drastic of a value mis-judgment as that by a long shot. And hopefully Apple rectifies many of the shortcoming in software updates (as opposed to Palm's 'just buy a 'new' device' way of doing business).

 

[CountBuggula]

great, then don't buy the premium luxury car....how many times are we going to do this? if you want to buy the less expensive car that comes with the same feature set then do so. but wouldn't you think it would be silly for others to poke fun at your less expensive car even if it did much of the same as its counterpart?

no one is forcing you to buy an iPhone. so what is the point you're trying to convey? if you don't like one or want one in its current state, great, but i don't think many care.

It would certainly be silly for them to poke fun of that car. Yet that's exactly what was going on here. Some iPhone users making fun of those of us who would rather use another phone. I was merely defending my position and relating reasons why I wouldn't get an iPhone. And like Braj stated, the idea is to discuss which of those reasons could be changed or implemented to make a better phone, whether it's a new version of the iPhone, a new Treo, or something completely different.

 

[AnteL0pe]

Well, that really isn't true...Jobs compared it to the smartphones/corporate phones in use today (Treo, BB, Nokia).

Ummmmmm so? It still isnt a smartphone...

Yeah, we get it. The iphone isn't as great as its strongest promoters claim, nor is it as bad as its strongest critics suggest. It is not every phone to every person. It does some things well and other things poorly. Other phones are undoubtedly better for some people, whereas the iphone is best for other people. It has the potential to be much better through firmware updates, which may or may not arrive, but other improvements will require new hardware spins. It either is or is not a smartphone depending on how you decide to define that term. It was almost certainly overhyped, although in some aspects it was worthy of the hype. In 3 years every other phone company will be out of business, or everyone will have become fed up with their iphones and returned them in disgust.

Can we move on now?

Bingo!

So what do you consider marketing? Is it a poster saying "the iPhone is a smartphone"

No.

Can you tell from teh Apple marketing ads with PC and Mac guy that Apple is saying t ppl Windows sucks and they should buy macs instead? Or are you denying it all simply because you like Apple?

Of course their ads say that.... they're ads.....

The marketing of the iPhone has nothing to do with what it actually IS, but it ahs everything to do with what Steve Jobs % co want it to be to their target audience. Jobs compared the iPhone to phones with QWERTY keyboards, had his company do a spec sheet comparing it to N95 and others in the smartphone category (no Razrs or SE walkmans) and they went out of their way to advertise business-friendly features like PUSH IMAP, and that it did support Exchange with a server setting (check your info).

So you're saying that Jobs has succeeded at being a salesman? Ummm... Yup, he can sell stuff... The thing is, this device was never sold as something it wasnt, it does what it does and it does it very well. It is not a device that does everything and it was never intended to be.

 

[silverado]

Why no option for unlimited messaging?

There is an option for unlimited messaging for $20 (not cheap). I'd love to have IM though and I hope it's coming.

 

[braj]

There is an option for unlimited messaging for $20 (not cheap). I'd love to have IM though and I hope it's coming.

Ah, I missed that, thanks for clarifying.

How much do you guys use your SMS? I don't use mine much because I may be causing the person I'm sending to to spend $0.15 without wanting my message. You never know what plan people have. I remember before Cingular realized the value of SMS, they used to give it away for free and my wife and I used it extensively. It really sucks that they charge per message. The phone companies really suck donkey balls. Bastards.

 

[AnteL0pe]

It really sucks that they charge per message. The phone companies really suck donkey balls. Bastards.

All of the US carriers suck balls. i wish just one of them would start thinkin of growing their base rather than "not sucking too much worse than the other guy."

 

[Pearl_Diva]

Unrelated to premium luxury phones , I think the type of people who buy Gucci crap for $1000 when you can get the same damn functional thing for $5 are vain MORONS. Plain and simple. They may have enough intelligence to earn their money but none to spend it wisely.

I don't think the iPhone is as drastic of a value mis-judgment as that by a long shot. And hopefully Apple rectifies many of the shortcoming in software updates (as opposed to Palm's 'just buy a 'new' device' way of doing business).

Um, nothing Gucci sells for $1000 will be $5 in non-designer brands. Try at least $20. And the longevity will be in question. However, some Gucci products don't last long either. Louis Vuitton is even more expensive, but their stuff LASTS and so yes I do buy their products when I feel like splurging!

Just needed to clear that up.

 

[llarson]

Sorry if some one has made fun of or insultated yo for...

It would certainly be silly for them to poke fun of that car. Yet that's exactly what was going on here. Some iPhone users making fun of those of us who would rather use another phone. I was merely defending my position and relating reasons why I wouldn't get an iPhone. And like Braj stated, the idea is to discuss which of those reasons could be changed or implemented to make a better phone, whether it's a new version of the iPhone, a new Treo, or something completely different.

Your phone choice. But it might have been that many people posting here having made a choice not to buy an iPHONE have said things and insinuated that those who buy an iPHONE are iMORONS, TECH-iDIOTS or just sheep driven to by the latest hyped product.

I have stated many times the iPHONE has several faults and short comings. Most phones do. Palm users have many complaints as do WM users but I have yet to see the venom and mockery aimed at people in those forums for their choice of phone use.

Many people here have a lot of constructive things to add to a discussion on what Apple should do to make the iPHONE more useful for their needs. Many people still are pushing the iMORON argument I guess in hope of shaming people to return the phone or somehow convince themselves and others that they have a superior phone, Why that is important I couldn't tell you.

Many iPHONE users are what people call FanBoys/FanGirls.I myself like the term Mac-Evangelist! I bought it because it was an Apple product and because I feel it is a step in the direction I would like my cell phone to go. Easy to use and beautiful GUI with email, calendar and web browsing. All of which need tweaking to be better.

Luxury item-maybe...

Do other less expensive phones have some of the same features email, calendar, web browser-yes...

Do they do them in the same simple revolutionary manner iPHONE does-no...

I look forward to useful critiques on the iPHONE and less in your face you iMORON postings.

Mac-Evangelist for life and proud of it!!

 

[MacUser]

Good for you. Please, stop with the blanket statements that are:
1) impossible to prove

and

2) completely false

I also started out on PCs with DOS. I've been through every version of Windows since 3.1. I've used several flavors of Linux and have 2 Linux machines at home now. I've tried Macs throughout that whole time. Back in the black and white days, through the PowerPC days, and now in the OSX days. I gave it an honest shot (over and over, as several of my friends are Mac users), and decided it wasn't for me. I'm not the only one, either. I know plenty of others in the same boat. I even have some friends who were Mac users before they knew how easy and inexpensive it is to build your own PC, and they made the switch. So quit spouting the Mac propaganda that Apple spreads in its marketing campaigns, because it just makes you sound like a parrot.

Okay, let me qualify that no one I know has gone from a Mac back to a PC. I guess we have different friends.

Sure, I have a custom built PC also. Sure, it was cheaper. Sure, I've had to have 3 techs look at it when there were various system errors. I don't have the leisure time to get an A+ certificate to keep a PC running dependably. Thus, I pay more and get a computer that works and works well.

I'll be sure to qualify my statements with my personal experience from now on. Thanks for the insight.

 

[MacUser]

I

I used to use a 40GB MP3 player that I purchased for less than $200 a few years ago when iPods of that size were selling for $400. It has an integrated Compact Flash and SD card reader, and worked wonderfully for transferring and backing up pictures from my digital camera, or songs to and from my Treo. I don't use it anymore as a music player much because it's been replaced by my Treo (I just stream my entire music library from home over the internet when I want to hear a tune) but still keep it as a handy portable external hard drive.

I payed a fraction of the price of an iPod for it and got a device that had twice the capability. A bunch of my coworkers have iPods and when they saw it they all said "woah! I had no idea something like that existed! I wish my iPod could do that..."

It's great that you can stream your music to your Treo. I, personally, am sick of having to treat a phone as if I were a beta-tester. I WASTED so much time and money on third party apps trying to get my Treo 650 working properly. I guess I am willing to pay more for a phone to do a few things very well as opposed to a cheaper phone that has issues. Sure, the iPhone has things it can improve on and most likely will. As a consumer, that is my choice and I've made it. So, let's just drop the "iMoron" crap and converse like civilized adults.

 

[llarson]

Marketing is just that

So what do you consider marketing? Is it a poster saying "the iPhone is a smartphone" or otoh "the iPhone is not a smartphone"? Can you tell from teh Apple marketing ads with PC and Mac guy that Apple is saying t ppl Windows sucks and they should buy macs instead? Or are you denying it all simply because you like Apple? The marketing of the iPhone has nothing to do with what it actually IS, but it ahs everything to do with what Steve Jobs % co want it to be to their target audience. Jobs compared the iPhone to phones with QWERTY keyboards, had his company do a spec sheet comparing it to N95 and others in the smartphone category (no Razrs or SE walkmans) and they went out of their way to advertise business-friendly features like PUSH IMAP, and that it did support Exchange with a server setting (check your info).

Micro$oft does very little marketing because the have a 80%+ of the market and use strong arm tactics to control it. Why advertise your product when you can slam it down peoples and manufactures throats!

The last statement is a little slanted but we have all heard of th law suites and I wonder what would happen if Dell wanted to start selling Linux boxes on par with Windows? My guess is Mr. gates and a few friends would pay a visit to their stores and apply a little pressure <sound effect of a knee cap being smashed>.

I love the Mac/PC guy commercials step into the light Bruckwine and come to love Apple. Or Mr. Jobs and Al Gore will come to your house and PAY YOU a little visit!