Whats your reason NOT to get an iPhone???

[stainlessliquid]

- Massive monthly bill

- Theres no way in HELL I would EVER pay for data with edge, I might as well flush my money down the toilet.

- No AIM, are they freaking joking? I know it will be added later (who knows how long it will take), but what the hell... That should be standard on every single phone sold in the modern world (and is, with the exception of the iphone of course).

When you compare the iphone's features to other phones it seems like iphone is only half a phone. It may have a great music and browser ability but its phone functions are extremely lacking. Its simply not worth the huge monthly fee, especially since youll never actually use the internet without wifi.

If they dropped the phone part this would have been an amazing wifi ipod that would sell beyond their wildest dreams. If they dropped the ipod part this would have been an amazingly bad phone.

 

[pdpfilms]

1. I live in " The Boonies " (Montana/Vermont = no AT&T)
2. I'm OK with letting others Beta test.

 

[AaronE]

I don't use a phone that much.

If it shows figerprints as bad as the iPod does I would find my self cleaning it more than actually using it.

If they release an iPod similar to it I would definately buy it.

 

[rcyoung]

I think it is neat...I think it is cool...price is not really an issue...I could play with it for hours in the family room....but I do not "need" one.

I use my cell phone as a phone...period. I use SMS perhaps 1 time every 2 months if my youngest daughter sends me a quick note. Only got an iPod last week ( an old 3 gen 15mb but it was free as my oldest daughter just got the latest 80Gb model in black). In the last several years, I have only downloaded a total of 4 hrs of music off iTunes (along with 30 min of Firesign Theater).

Now before anyone calls me an old fogie....I admit to being in the 50+ bracket....but I also do Oracle IT consulting, have a PhD, and have about 7 Macs, 5 OpenVMS ( Vax, Alpha, and I64), 2 Solaris, 1 HPUX, 1 IBM AIX, WiFi, Ethernet, satellite network link, and 4 Widows machines scattered around the house ( yes the back bedroom is computer central with 3-30A lines and its own heat pump). In short, we are far from being techophobic.

If I am traveling or on the run, I carry a 12in Powerbook G4 laptop w/ virtual PC. When the iPhone gets removable storage & batteries, a filing system, supports Windows and Mac VPNs (Avaya and Cisco), ssh and terminal emulator ( Vt220 compatibility preferably) clients, and the ability to print to a HP laserjet, then I may get serious about looking at one. Oh...and how about the ability to support a second external video screen @ 800x600 (min) as well.

In short, I could "use" one if it were basically a handheld "laptop".

And I wish they would stop "hyping" those horrible 2MP cameras they place in ALL the phones these days. They are absolutely useless! The only decent 2MP camera is a D1H used extensively by newspaper journalists. My hobby/passion is photography, and until they reach a min of 6MP with Zeiss/Nikon/Canon equivalent lenses ( 18-200mm/2.8) & noise factors of <10@ 200ISO, they are simply taking up valuable real estate in the case.

 

[wintergreen]

breakthrough internet device

Do I gather correctly from the comments hereabout that this "breakthrough internet device" won't allow me to run an ssh client or terminal ?

 

[rcyoung]

Do I gather correctly from the comments hereabout that this "breakthrough internet device" won't allow me to run an ssh client or terminal ?

Not at the moment from all I have read. Its not incapable, but Apple has not "opened up"" access to the innards to allow for it. The only way one "might" get something like that "now" is to write a ssh/terminal client that actually runs under Safari. Not impossible. I saw a www/java based VT100 emulator once (it was very buggy) on-line a few years afo.

 

[thomasfxlt]

Apple has hit a solid triple. I hope my pessimism about Apple's inclination to keep the iPhone locked up tight is unfounded. Could you copy/paste the announcement from Safari into iChat to let me know when this update comes out? Thanks.

FWIW, my treo doesn't lock up constantly and has a great push email client that lets me download and edit attachments (including Office docs). I also have a free AIM client, ssh and irc clients, Handmark Scrabble, and google maps. And, yes, a relatively crappy web browser I hardly ever use - no need with the good email and google maps clients. No 3G, but the iPhone doesn't have it either - but at least in a pinch I can bluetooth tether my macbook to my treo to get online where wifi's unavailable.

Bottom line: I like having a smartphone and I wish the iPhone was one - but without 3rd party apps, it's not one - period. Handwaving about web apps is just smoke. And locking the phone ensures that someone like me who travels and has to use local SIMs won't be able to use the iPhone - we call this "marketecture." Forget that noise.

My Treo locks up constantly, even after replacement and numerous system hard restarts. There is no honest way to compare the iPhone with a Treo. I would never browse on my Treo except in an absolute emergency, which is rare.

The iPhone team has lots to do to get the 9th inning, but this is indeed a home run.

 

[nplima]

I really find it unlikely that I could feel that US$500 for any phone would be a good value.
I have my phone for phoning, my computer for computing, my PDA for PDAing altogether they cost more than US$500 but they're used in different places and on different times. I'm not ready for the smartphone age yet

 

[Agathon]

Most of these complaints are childish, or will be things that are likely to be fixed (like Bluetooth stereo heaphone connectivity according to Macworld).

Most of the others involve unacceptable tradeoffs.

For example, some of them will lower the battery life, which is unacceptable.

Whining about the phone being locked is also dumb. The iPhone requires heavy integration between the device and carrier (e.g. visual voicemail).

Whining about EDGE is also daft. Blame US cell carriers for your being 3-5 years behind Europe and Asia.

Honestly, cry more.

 

[outlandos]

I really find it unlikely that I could feel that US$500 for any phone would be a good value.
I have my phone for phoning, my computer for computing, my PDA for PDAing altogether they cost more than US$500 but they're used in different places and on different times. I'm not ready for the smartphone age yet

So true, $500-600 for a phone with a 2 year agreement is just silly.

 

[whooleytoo]

Whining about EDGE is also daft. Blame US cell carriers for your being 3-5 years behind Europe and Asia.

This thread is called "What's your reason NOT to get an iPhone???", and lots of people are answering it's the EDGE network. That's not a personal insult to you, or Apple. It's just answering the question.

 

[noquarter]

Cingular/AT&T
No 3G
Can't be used as a modem
Too expensive

 

[rockthecasbah]

-Too expensive
-Would use the internet functionality so little that monthly cost incurred would feel like wasted money
-already have a cingular contract I'd have to break for $175 before i could use it anyway
-Doesn't have big enough storage to replace my iPod so i'd rather spend half the cost and get a 6G iPod with likely similar features like touchscreen, etc.

 

[123]

Whining about the phone being locked is also dumb. The iPhone requires heavy integration between the device and carrier (e.g. visual voicemail).

It is not "e.g visual voicemail", it is "i.e. visual voicemail". Who gives a sht.

 

[3nm]

Most of the others involve unacceptable tradeoffs.

what is unacceptable to you? to me, it's unacceptable to rely on an internet connection to download maps for directions, instead of having GPS and being able to install a real navigation app that provides voice-guided turn-by-turn directions on a $600 phone.

For example, some of them will lower the battery life, which is unacceptable.

perhaps apple should spend a bit more time on power management then. if other companies can incorporate 3G and GPS into their phones, why can't apple do the same? mind you most phones will allow you to switch 3G and GPS off to conserve power.

Whining about the phone being locked is also dumb. The iPhone requires heavy integration between the device and carrier (e.g. visual voicemail).

really? would you like to buy a discounted mac that will only allow you to use AOL, otherwise it'd be a brick? i didn't think so, and the iphone isn't subsidized. the concept of visual VM is nothing new. symbian s60 users have long been able to buy an app called voice inbox that allows them to check individual VM. the only "new" thing that apple introduced is that instead of storing VMs on the phone, the iphone requires a "heavy integration" with the service provider in order to use visual VM.

Whining about EDGE is also daft. Blame US cell carriers for your being 3-5 years behind Europe and Asia.

agreed, service providers are responsible for the 3G network. however, apple could have incorporated 3G into a $600 phone that locks customer into a 2 yr contract.

 

[notsofatjames]

not available in the uk. if it were i'd snap it up.

thats my excuse

 

[outlandos]

thats my excuse

Mine too!

 

[feelthefire]

really? would you like to buy a discounted mac that will only allow you to use AOL, otherwise it'd be a brick? i didn't think so, and the iphone isn't subsidized. the concept of visual VM is nothing new. symbian s60 users have long been able to buy an app called voice inbox that allows them to check individual VM. the only "new" thing that apple introduced is that instead of storing VMs on the phone, the iphone requires a "heavy integration" with the service provider in order to use visual VM.

It's a myth that visual voicemail requires heavy carrier integration. it is available for the blackberry 8800 and pearl through a program called simulsays that is FREE. And completely independent of carrier. It also loads voicemails to the phone and for a fee will transcribe them as text. You check your voicemail without using airtime. The idea of visual voicemail can only be called a novelty by apple because they're trusting that most of the prospective buyers of this device have never used a smartphone and thus do not know things like this exist.

Heavy carrier integration my arse. It's just another way to get you to spend money.

 

[rs76]

Edge in this area is even slower then other places. I can't see paying $500 over two years for something I'll rarely use.

Give us a phone plan without the "data pack" and I'll bite.

 

[outlandos]

bump

 

[iLeoMarc]

It is not "e.g visual voicemail", it is "i.e. visual voicemail". Who gives a sht.

No, Agathon is correct.
e.g. = exempli gratia = for example;
while i.e. = id est = that is.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Does Cingular give insurance for smartphones like all the other carriers do?


......


They don't! Well... I guess that is enough for me. No way I am going to throw down $600 for a hyped up exploding time bomb that can't be replaced. Should have went with a better carrier.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I don't need it.

 

[Zwhaler]

Wirelessly posted (LGE-VX9900/1.0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

heres mine: its 600 bucks for the one i want before i even think about getting a contract! And over my dead body am I switching from verizon in the area where I am.

 

[wongulous]

1. Too high profit margin on the iPhone
2. Too high entry cost on the iPhone
3. No subsidization for 2-year-contract commitment (even if only a 'soft' commitment and a subsidized equipment upgrade is still possible before contract end)
4. Niggling issues yet to be resolved (missing features, bugs, etc--who knows if they'll ever be 100% fixed the way we might like)

Then there's AT&T... but I'm still going to TRY AT&T before I speak about them, even though their cost per month and per minute is about 125% of that compared to my previous plans... but I'll be trying AT&T with a phone that is much cheaper and that will give me a 30-day buyer's remorse period!