Seven iPhone Disappoinments That Don't Disappoint

Forbes recently wrote an article called "Seven iPhone Disappoinments" listing seven issues described as "some minor, others major - that make the iPhone a mere gadget".

However, the said disappoinments are a shot in the dark to simply find something to complain about.

In this article, we tell you exactly why each of Forbes' disappoinments (with the exception of one) is a completely ludicrous claim.

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FORBES: The Cost

"Those crafty phone companies! Yes, at $199, the new iPhone is cheaper up-front than the original, which first went on sale starting at $499 last year. It is not, however, less expensive to own. Do the math and you find out the iPhone will cost $160 more over two years than the original iPhone because AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) put together a pricier data plan for the phone to help it subsidize the up-front cost of the handset. The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to play," but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers." "

REPLY:

Let's be real here. Yes - the iPhone 3G does end up being more expensive over the course of 2 years than the original iPhone - but realize what you are getting for the price!

Apple could just have easily made the phone $600 while AT&T still put together the pricier (extra $10/month) data plan. It is simply ludicrous to complain about the price of the iPhone 3G - this is the bargain of a lifetime!

The price of the iPhone 3G (device + monthly payments combined) is within the same range (and most of the time cheaper) as all other smartphones in the market. Simply look at the new Samsung Instinct - the device sells for $130 but the plan is $100/month.

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FORBES: No Flash

"The iPhone is a surprisingly capable Web browser. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the Web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile Web surfing from a chore into a pleasure. The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's (nasdaq: ADBE - news - people ) Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits. While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath."

REPLY:

No native flash. Perhaps Adobe will be selling Flash in the App Store?

Or beter yet...iTransmogrify

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FORBES: No Replaceable Batteries

"Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop. By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers. And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel."

REPLY:

The essence of the iPhone is its "one piece" design where nothing comes apart.

Number one, it has good battery life. Number 2, there are car chargers.

And number three, the Mophie Juice Pack

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FORBES: Video Recording

"Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ). Despite its built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple isn't building the ability to take video into its new phone, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" include."

REPLY:

Apple went into the market to design a smart handheld device, not a camera.

There have been cellphones with mega cameras around for years, and none of them succeeded.

There is a certain balance that Apple went for with the iPhone - one where
superfluous hardware was avoided, and instead replaced with top of the line
software.

If video recording is what you really need, then go here.

          

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FORBES: No Cut-And-Paste

"The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And, yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface."

REPLY:

There's nothing I can say here. Why is there no cut-and-paste?

I can't accept the fact that Apple simply forgot about it - there's gotta be a reason it's not there.

Steve Jobs, I know you're reading this, so feel free to send us an email with the answer.

         

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FORBES: No Multimedia Messaging Service

"This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. Forbes.com's David Ewalt sees the lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service as one of the most maddening. Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice."

REPLY:

H-E-L-L-O people there is email! Full fledged email - who needs MMS? MMS was a simple method to cut the corner before cell phones could actually handle email.

Update: There is a hacked way of sending and receiving MMS via iPhone.

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FORBES: No Voice Dialing

"No blogger we've seen has complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone died in fiery auto wrecks first, seeing as the iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally--the one feature makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road."

REPLY:

I'll tell you why nobody has complained about No Voice Dialing - because nobody cares. Voice dialing is a tacky feature which people generally set up, use for a week, and never use it again.

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In conclusion, it's important to realize the balance that Apple was clearly striving for with the iPhone. Voice dialing, MMS, and some of the other features listed here are associated with the analog cell phones we've been dealing with for the past decade.

The idea of the iPhone was to break away from the norm - and that it did. It also became a revolutionary handheld device that literally redefined the market.   

Comments

[Sfinx]

The no cut and paste thing is SO confusing!!! Why?

[DSmooth]

Written like a true fan-boy. I'm just impressed you stopped hugging your autographed picture of Steve Jobs long enough to write this.

[clak]

I completely agree with everything you said.

What really pains me about people who complain about the iPhone is that they expect the iPhone to be something Steve Jobs never promised. Remember when he said these words at the 2007 MacWorld Keynote?

"Today, we're introducing THREE revolutionary products... the first is a wide screen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough internet communication device."

In other words, an iPod with multi-touch, a phone with visual voice-mail, visual call swap, visual call merge and scrolling contact lists for dialing, and Safari Mobile, a full internet browser optimized by pinches and double taps on a wide screen.

On these 3 things, Steve Jobs delivered. But imagine, if you will, if Apple had focused instead on bringing a video camera to the iPhone instead of a revolutionary iPod, or MMS instead of multi-touch or Copy & Paste instead of Safari. What then? Oh, right, the iPhone would have been EXACTLY like every other phone on the market and no doubt the Apple Haters would have complained about it being EXACTLY like every other phone. You guys can't have it both ways. Either it's a revolutionary phone that's unlike any phone before it or it's... well... NOT. You can't be revolutionary with a product by making it EXACTLY like the products that came before it.

Now don't get me wrong, I also think the iPhone should have Copy & Paste, but is this really as important as having a full internet browser? Do you know of a phone which had a better internet browser before the iPhone? Do you know of another phone that had a better music player or user interface?

And what's this dumb obsession with MMS? I am so happy you've said what I've been telling people for months. MMS is INFERIOR to e-mail, which is why Apple decided not to support it, in the same way they decided not to support a WAP browser, which is also INFERIOR to a FULL internet browser like Safari Mobile. If Apple wants to stay ahead of the pack, and stay innovative, they can't be EXACTLY like everyone else.

[Tommy]

I'm sorry you are wrong on the Instinct, it comes with a BETTER plan than AT&Ts for $69.99 a month.

Also I'm sorry, the fact it's mid 2008 and it can't do simple video recording? Or the fact it doesn't have a flash?

[Ernesto]

Maybe you already know this, a hacked way to make good video recording in your iPhone: iphonevideorecorder.com/download.html
And maybe it will be available at apple store in July.

[Dakota]

Ha good one DSmooth. Well ok not everyone wants to have to email each others phones to send pictures! MMS is sooooooo much easier. The iPhone has terrible battery life actually. Everyone i know who has the iPhone hates it for that reason. Also, "a smart handheld device" should have video recording simply for that reason. It can come in handy. The only reason Apple did not put copy and paste on the 3G iPhone is because they want to put it on the NEXT iPhone to get more money. And yes the iPhone "broke the norm" because its an expensive brick that lacks even some VERY basic features!

[mark]

I think it is safe to assume that a lot of people that end up buying and iPhone "Hack" it so that they can accomplish the little inconveniences that apple did not program on the iPhone. Video recording, voice dialing (useless) and flash are some of the "FEW" things that becomes possible when you "HACK" the iPhone. Current iPhone users that have this on the phone don't need and apple app store because they have already found a way to download games, music, movies and much more. I would like to see a phone that actually accomplishes more than the iPhone