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For those of you following along at home, you may remember that I was the lucky recipient of an iPhone courtesy of our CEO, Benjamin Sayers (hence why it is the worst phone I never bought). Honestly, I was shocked to get one and was extremely grateful to be one of the first to have it. It was love at first sight. Sleek, stylish and sophisticated (just like it’s new owner), I was the focal point of crowds and every party I attended. Everyone want to touch, feel and play with my iPhone.
Boy was it cool.
Then I used it for a week. Then another month went by and I started to realize that the iPhone has to be the worse cellphone I have ever used. I tried to fight it. I mean the iPhone was “cool”, but so are mopeds and you don’t see me driving one around. Fortunately for me, I didn’t shell out $599 for it, but that is not the case for most of the folks who are currently using the most over-rated cellphone ever. I am not being harsh. I have legitimate gripes. Take a look at the 11 reasons why the iPhone is the worse cell phone ever.
- No useful applications. If I want to add anything useful to this phone, I have to hack it. I am not a hacker and I’m not really interested in bricking the phone should a new firmware come out that actually contain something useful.
- You can’t send or receive MMS messages. That’s revolutionary. Nice thinking Steve!
- iCalendar sucks. I use Outlook. Outlook and iCalendar don’t play nice. It is always fun to be on the go without a calendar that works right.
- The battery life is awful. If I want to have a long conversation, I need to use my office or home phone. Otherwise…
- It gets hotter than hell. Well, I don’t really know how hot hell is, but I am going to use my imagination. Talk on the iPhone for more than 10 minutes and you can cook breakfast on it.
- Touch screen is cool, but only for the first day. The touch screen is great for web browsing, but I use my phone to make calls and send text messages and for these purposes, “keyboard” performance is sub-par.
- No camera zoom or flash. What is this 2001? The iPhone has the worst camera I have ever used and forget about using it to take pictures if you don’t have photo shoot quality lighting.
- Why do they say it has a speaker phone? My BlackBerry was louder than the iPhone’s speaker phone when I wasn’t using the speaker-phone.
- It took over two months to add bulk SMS functionality. Trying text messaging “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” 200 times. See how happy you are.
- My screen stopped responding. After only eight weeks, half of the screen stopped responding. I touch, nothing happens. Try using a touch screen phone when the touch screen does not work.
- Worst. Support. Ever. Please get me in touch with someone who speaks English as a first language and don’t charge me $30 USD for a loaner phone. I didn’t break it, it stopped working.
Are you a disappointed iPhone user too? Let’s hear how much you loath your $599 paper weight. Leave a comment below!
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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
While some of your complaints are valid, aren’t you being a bit of a drama queen here?
First, the price hasn’t been $599 since September 2007. It’s $399. And any early adopter who asked would get $100 back, though admittedly I think it was in Apple store credit:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/
Second, while you’re right that apps do not yet exist, Apple announced an SDK would be available in Feb. 2008, which should end the need for hacking/bricking of iPhones.
Can’t argue with Outlook support (but then, if you’re so MS-centric, why are you using Apple products? It’s like bitching that your BMW doesn’t have OnStar.). It would be nice, but it’s really not a requirement. Now if you had this issue with an MS Windows Mobile device…
I don’t own an iPhone, but your comments abt battery life/heat aren’t unique.
As for “keyboard performance”, it’s called a touch-screen for a reason. And if the screen stops functioning, how exactly is that any different than the keys on a Blackberry keyboard not working? If the input mechanism on a device doesn’t work, you’re screwed. Period. You make it sound like it’s something unique on an iPhone.
No flash on camera? Umm, you just finished writing “I use my phone to make calls and send text messages”, and now you’re complaining about a lack of flash on what is essentially a cell phone? My work-issued Moto RAZR doesn’t have a flash either. So what? If I want to take proper pictures, I use a digital camera. Right tool for the job.
Speakerphone sucks? Again, if that’s the case, valid argument.
The lack of bulk SMS does suck. But they did add it eventually. How many other phones you have owned have the ability to have new functionality added without having to buy a new one? Some yes, many no. I see you bitching a good bit, but where’s the objectivity?
Your screen stopped working? Basically sh*t broke. Gee, that never happens to anyone. No, seriously, that does suck, but nothing’s perfect. The question I would have is how MANY of these have broken in short usage? If a lot, then you have a good argument for unreliability.
Worst support? I’m afraid I can’t fault you this either. I had heard that Apple went overseas for some phone support, then yanked it after seeing what it did to the quality of service (notably in the human communication area). But I guess it’s hard to escape this entirely. Same has happened to me with Dell, IBM, and countless others. Welcome to globalization.
Suggestion on support, though. You live in Buffalo, NY, right? Why not go to the Apple Store in the Galeria mall there and deal with someone face-to-face? If you’re not happy, tell them you’re not satisfied and ask for a manager. While Apple is no more perfect than any other company, I have noticed that they do have a corporate policy and business model predicated on offering better customer service than most. They can afford it with their profit margins, but it’s like BMW vs. Ford. They’re in a niche market, not going to volume at small profit margins. If Apple’s customers don’t think they’re getting better than the volume seller (i.e., Wintel PCs or Motorola/Nokia/etc.), Apple is screwed.
As for having to pay $30 for a loaner, that’s nuts and I agree. I could see holding onto your CC info so you don’t go walking off with it, but otherwise providing loaners to anyone with an iPhone UNDER WARRANTY for free. If you’re out of warranty, then I could see charging something.
Anyway, bummer it’s not living up to your expectations.
@ Frank:
1. It was bought a day or two before the “price drop”…and we are still waiting on the rebate, thanks Apple.
2. So I am supposed to wait for some third party to create an application that I have to pay for in order to get what I would consider standard functionality? Please.
3. Apple is touting the phone in all of the business magazine and if you read a lot the interviews, they are heavily targeting the “business user.” You’d think with that target demographic in mind they would play well with Microsoft.
4. I am working on a video on me frying an egg on it. Seriously, I have been averaging 3 new phones (different models) per year since 2000, that is 21 phones. All high-end, as I was formerly in the wireless industry. Hottest phone ever.
5. We have six people here with them. I have four or five close friends using it. In addition to me, three others have had the same problem. Small demographic, but 40% defect rate? That is unacceptable.
6. I use it to make phone and send/receive SMS, but as a revolutionary device, shouldn’t it change my usage habits by offering other outstanding functions? The camera should have zoom and flash, especially in the price range.
7. Bulk SMS should be a standard feature. It has been around on cell phones for years. Again this is supposed to be a revolutionary device.
8. This my blog. This is not a review of the phone. I do not have to be objective.
9. See point 5.
10. The iPhone is a different beast. The Apple care team at the Galleria points people to the 1-800 number, since they are supposedly lacking the diagnostics or ability to do anything…something about AT&T. I stopped listening somewhere after, “Sorry, but…”
It does suck since I was expecting to be wowed and amazed by this revolutionary cellular phone. It sucks even harder for my CEO who shelled out the cash.
@Garrett
In response to your most recent post:
1. That does suck. The program expired at the end of November, so even if you put in for the rebate on the last day, that’s well over 6 weeks.
2. My comment was in reference to #1 in your original post, in which you wrote “No useful applications.” My bad. I figured you meant no ability for 3rd party apps to be added, as that would be a logical and (currently) valid argument. As for built-in apps, you don’t consider the Google Maps implementation, email, etc. to be “useful”? What are you expecting? Satellite death ray support? It has what most high end phones have, sans apparently the MMS support, which can be substituted with the built-in email if you need to send attachments/etc. Sure, MMS would be nice, but popularity-wise, I suspect SMS and email outrank it. (Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes…”That’s the great thing about standards…there are so many to choose from.”)
3. Good point. But if you got it just before the price drop, then you had plenty of time to read reviews on the thing (which started the day it came out) in which such matters were brought up. You’re right, Apple is touting something in a way they shouldn’t, but it doesn’t say much for you or your boss’ buying skills. It’s easy to blame the vendor, but if you didn’t do due diligence in the purchase… Caveat emptor, remember?
4. THAT could be very convincing. Get it up on YouTube (haven’t looked if others have beaten you to it), and explain your background with detailed list of phones you’ve owned (don’t be oen of the “this sucks” without backing with details), and you can drive your point home.
5. Again, this is a good point. That isn’t unacceptable, it’s an unbelievable failure rate.
6. I’m sorry, but you’re harping on a flash on what is in essence a communication device is a bit silly. I’ve never owned a phone with a flash on it, and honestly, it’s a terribly weak point. As for it being “a revolutionary device”, you don’t think things like multi-touch, the whole iPod audio/video support with autorotating screen due to orientation, visual voicemail, among others, count? Please list for me all the phones you have owned prior to the iPhone which had these features. I’m curious.
7. No argument here. But the “Again this is supposed to be a revolutionary device.” is wasted rhetoric. This has nothing to do with being revolutionary. It was lacking basic functionality.
8. And you haven’t been. Good for you.
9. Useless filler, as it relates to nothing.
10. Geez, that is bad. It’s their product. They should support it. That’s why many Apple users would buy it…so as NOT to have to deal with AT&T but rather the company they were used to getting good Mac support from (though as with all companies, YMMV).
It’s a shame it was such a disappointment. I can imagine how that’d feel considering the hype. And you have some seriously good points which should give people pause. Unfortunately, some of your points seem trivial and come across as whining, detracting from your overall argument. But then, you’re right. This is a blog. So whine away.
Hi Steve… I completely agree with you!
This piece of s*it called iPhone, is the *worst* cellular EVER.
I had a lot of cell phones in my life: Nokia, motorola, siemens, sony-ericsson, LG and so on.. But this phone does really sucks, and specially for the points 4-*5*-7-8-9!
And you forgot some points:
- You can’t use bluetooth for sharing pictures with your friends.
- If you call someone, and he is busy, you get “call error” message, instead of a more simple “busy”.
- After *3* patch and upgrades, still no character counter for SMS (In Italy we pay each 160 chars)
- No custom ringtones nor custom sms tones.
- If battery drops to 10% the iPhone turns off *forever*.
- No Video calls…
- You can’t upload your images via windows explorer (not IE): you MUST use iTunes or SSH.
- iPod is s*it like others, you can’t sync your libary over 2 pc’s (like home’s and work’s one). Not a real DMR but… thats the way..
Well… My suggestion? Don’t buy it. And.. wow I paid mine 399$ and now i can’t sell it for 300$ or so… because now it cost 199$ NEW! Niceeee thanks Apple!
Ahh, there are always people who complain about new highly anticipated products. I can never understand it, maybe its to get attention. Its pretty funny, because you people come across as pissed off egotistical idiots.
Daniele, first off half you’re points are invalid. Secondly, the other half complain about lack of features no one needs. You have one valid point, the bluetooth issue.
1. The one thing I agree with, iPhone could use bluetooth.
2. Why does it matter what the phone says? If you understand that when you have a call error message that line is busy, who cares what it says.
3. The iPhone isn’t made for Italy. Therefore it wont have features friendly with Italian phone providers.
4. You can create custom ringtones and SMS tones through iTunes with the click of a button.
5. What the hell are you talking about. The iPhone doesnt die at 10%, it usually has a good 15-20 minutes left.
6. First of all, who the hell uses video calling on a cell phone? Video calling is a pretty scarce feature on cell phones, and is only present on phones with two cameras. This is the equivalent of me complaining my iphone doesnt remote control my TV.
7. iPhone uses Safari, not windows explorer.
8. This is the most blatantly stupid thing you’ve said. iPods pioneered MP3 players. Not to mention the fact they work easy enough, you add you’re music to it, navigate through an easy to use menu, and click play. What else can you expect from an MP3 player? Not to mention they are extremely reliable.
The reason you cant sink with multiple libraries is simply so they make more money. If you could just go to a friends house and put all their music on you’re iPod rather than paying for it yourself, they lose money.
“Well… My suggestion? Don’t buy it. And.. wow I paid mine 399$ and now i can’t sell it for 300$ or so… because now it cost 199$ NEW! Niceeee thanks Apple!”
you can still sell the phone for full price. That $199 new is subsidized, meaning you gotta sign a contract, and if you dont want a contract on the phone you gotta pay $175 to cancel it after one month, and then you just paid $375 for it after one month. Compare that to your original $399 price of the phone. And before you start whining that you want $599 for it, the price of the phone went down, as mentioned there WAS a rebate available, and that just sucks for you, it happens, has nothing to do with the iphone or apple.
the iphone is a fucing 1990 phone don’t even have camra.
in video camra
Not a chance, drama queen hardly. If you want my opinion I won’t pretty it up. By far the iphone is the WORST phone I have ever had the displeasure of using. I thought that the Sony Eric P 900 was behind the eight ball when it debuted years ago. Today that 5 year old phone kicks the crap out of this gimmick. If you are a housewife or a teenager this is the phone for you. Yeah great to look at photo’s and listen to music. But use this as a tool for business, HARDLY. Basic features that have been availble in all cell phonesf or the last 10 years do not seem to be of interest to Apple. No find feature, ineffiecient custom label feature in contacts, bluetooth that cannot beam v cards (if you download a app OK) or calander or contacts. Word completion is a complete joke. SIM card contacts that do not import, No copy & paste (isn’t that how apple got started), no autosave on calander or contacts, camera…don’t get me started. I have had such a bad taste in my month over this piece of junk that now I am seriously reconsidering a Mac purchase. Try it again Steve, if you want a job done call on a phone other than the idiotphone.
I have one now for a few days. My biggest beef is that I have to re-key all my contacts - I used to have a Motorola V3 (years ago?) which sync`d beautifully.
The iphone is a backward step of frustrating proportions.
WHY does it not show on windows explorer as an external device so I can use windows explorer to do EVERYTHING!
I hate its lack of `talkability` with windows.
If you are not using an Iphone you are totally missing out, how can you say this device is the worst ever? I’ve had blackberry’s, windows mobile, treo’s and the Iphone is by far the best phone I’ve ever used.
Jason
Apple technical support is awesome. All their call centers are located in the United States, the agents seem to all speak English as their 1st language, they always go way beyond their scope of support…in general the technical assistance is very nice.
The $30 loaner phone is optional. Just like anything thing else in consumer life, you can do something the cheap way (a mail in repair) or you can pay a little extra for extra convenience ; such as a loaner phone while your phone is being repaired. Less then 1% of iPhones fail within the first 90 days. If the iphone fails, it generally happens in the first 90 days. Chances are, if the iPhone fails it is your fault.
It is YOUR responsibility to do research BEFORE you purchase a product
the iphone works fine with outlook 2003 and 2007 as well as outlook express.
my BMW does not have 4WD which for the price should be a feature standard. (sounds as stupid as your argument)
and lastly
we have NEVER had over seas support for iphone us and canada only
all reps are either in canada or the us and as we only have ENGLISH AND FRENCH support ALL agents speak whese languages as their FIRST language.
moron!
@ Matt:
Obviously you are a moron as well.
First, I am glad that you took it upon yourself to speak on Apple’s behalf. I am sure your boss and good ‘ole Steve really appreciate you calling your customers moron’s. How typically elitist of an Apple employee.
Second, if you actually read my post, you will notice that I didn’t buy the iPhone. It was given to me. If it was my money, I would have never bought it. Nokia and RIM make far superior products for my needs.
Third, at the time this was posted, support for Outlook was horrid. It wasn’t until the software was upgraded that it got any better. That happen, what, eight or so month’s after release?
Fourth, I don’t care where they are located. I still couldn’t understand a damn thing the guy was saying. He was Indian and spoke English poorly.
Maybe you guys should do a better job hiring, smart guy…
Absolutely agree. The worst mobile phone nowadays.
@Frank
Why do you go around and try to start arguments with people who are posting comments on their own blog? It’s really, really funny to me that you took the time to post 2 thought-out responses all the while pretty much agreeing with the OP’s POV. And you’ve never even tried an iPhone so why on god’s green earth are you even commenting on it? I swear some people with try and look like an expert even on subjects they have no experience or familiarity with. This is so typical with techy people. You’re like the guy who stands over another guy working and tells him that he is doing it incorrectly meanwhile offering no help simply criticizing the job the other is doing. A have a news flash for you Frank - get a life.
I think all your arguements are fair but the iphone is just AMAZING. It is an mp3/ mp4 a phone, a games console and a PDA. Okay, not the best for buiessnes but teenages love them. I’ve had my iphone for months now and its great!
Regards
Max
This guy is obviously an idiot..worst phone ever? Seriously ? You’re pretty much implying that phones like the razor or pantech phones are better since the iPhone is the worst phone ever right? I don’t love the iphone but I wouldn’t say it’s the worst phone ever..far from it. Get over yourself.
@ Kevin g
You still use AOL. Who is the idiot?
@ Everyone.
Put simply, many consumers expected Mac’s domination in the laptop and personal audio industries to follow through into the wireless communication industry. Myself included.
It didn’t.
Apple simply created an iPod which can make calls and download applications solely for entertainment purposes. Yes, it was a crowd pleaser, Yes, it was stylish, hip and new. But, No, it certainly didn’t bring any competition for the likes of BlackBerry, Palm and HTC. These are smartphones, not iPhones.
Seperate the two and we can all live in harmony.
If you are in business, are on the go and need an answer rather then a song and dance followed by a quick game, go the smartphone.
If you are 16, want to show off to your school friends, want to listen to music and play games whilst at the same time, be able to recieve calls from your mum when you’re having a sleepover at a friends house, go the iPhone.
There are valid arguments in all the posts, but the figures don’t lie… i have maybe 15 friends who use/have iPhones, 10 of which are willing to throw them away instantly, the other 5 won’t because they can’t be bothered transfferring all their contacts one-by-one.
As for me… I’m a BlackBerry Curve user, I just don’t think there is any need in the market for a TOUCHSCREEN cell-phone.. BlackBerry Storm included. A cell phone needs a keypad, needs a speakerphone, needs bluetooth and yes, i’ll admit (even though i was against it at first) needs a camera with zoom, flash and video capture capability, and for those who don’t have a data plan, wireless would be useful too.
Anyway, there’s my 2 cents.
ps. no relation to Garret.
Except for that one time.. at band camp.
3 words, Tall Popey Syndrome.
I would tell you all to go whinge about your hate for iPhone someplace, but I guess this is the place.
I love my iPhone, and no I’m not 16. I have a digital camera with FOCAL zoom so I don’t give a hoot about phone cameras, and in the end, worldwide figures don’t lie. I don’t see new stereos, sound systems and portable speakers with built in docks for Blackberry’s, Samsungs or Nokias.
All that being said, have a whinge and a cry about the iPhone here, ’cause nobody else really cares.
@ Peter Piper and his Peppers!
Of the figures are there, people have to buy the iPhone to then hate it. Noone is disputing its figures.
And as for the docks and stereo gadgets, well, Apple has spent far too long not having anything compatible with it, so now all their RnD budget goes towards add ons and accessories. Doesn’t make the actually product any better, just means that you can briefly take your focus off the faulty product and enjoy the novelty of the accessory.
It’s all part of Apple’s grand scheme, which I’m not a critic of, but just think that it maybe they jumped the gun a little with this particular product. Fingers crossed for the next generation, maybe they can iron-out the clitches by then.
Keep pickin those peppers nonetheless.
I am very young so i thought the iphone was good but i wouldnt know cause i dont have it. All the kids at my school say it is one of the best phones they have ever seen. I never thought so though. I dont think the blackberry storm is very good either it has a few bugs i think it will turn out great one day ttygl (talk to you guys later) bi
I send usually about 20 text messages a day - texting on this is awful I want my Sony back Im going to give this to my daughter as a trophy for her generation
U guys r all drama queen bitches…it’s a phone. It does what it’s suposed to do. it calls people..the fact u have time 4 somthing like this amazes me
Another thing making iPhone SUCK is the fact that their OS does not support web services!! This means that while you can have an app that shows boobs bouncing up and down while you shake the phone, you really cant create anything meaningful.
The iPhone 3G is the best phone on the planet. The best App Store in the world, apps ranging from a compass to music recognition software that works 100% of the time. Battery lasts for weeks on standby, which basically means you turn the screen off and don’t have any music playing. Has the fastest processor of any phone, case closed. Biggest screen, and the keyboard is extremely easy to type on. Within DAYS you can type with 100% accuracy. Solid State Drives that apple puts in their iPhone beats any removable SD card or other memory device by tenfold.
It beats any other phone statistically, and more people have bought an iPhone individually than any other phone to my knowledge. They are simply UNBEATABLE.
I couldnt be bothered to write a whole reply on why ryans post is very incorrect and lacks any technical knowledge, but what annoyed me the most was suggesting that it has the fastest cpu of any phone, which is totally inaccurate, the iphone 3g arm cpu runs as 412mhz which is in fact not even as fast as phones aimed at similar markets a couple of years ago. Yes its possible for the cpu to run faster than this but battery life would be reduced from its, imho, already bad example for a “smart phone”. For a change I 100% agree with Garrett on this lol. The iphone is for people who dont really need a smart phone, for the rest of us that do like to do some useful things on our phones, it looks like anything with windows mobile is the only true option, as many people have suggested, the google system still isnt quite up to being useable as a business facility just yet.
Chris
iPhone is appalling. So many things missing …
1) No bluetooth. Every other phone has blutooth but not the iPhone? Unacceptable.
2) Poor camera - no zoom, flash, editing, and quality is horrid.
3) Call reception is so bad that I am not going to bother write about it.
4) Battery life is not good as well. (it also dies at 10% or so)
5) Can’t copy or paste D=
I can go on forever but it’s just not worth it - final word; DO NOT BUY THIS “PHONE”.
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