Weird. I don't know what it is about the iPhone versus other mobile devices, but something certainly causes it to receive a great deal of press, scrutiny, and criticism. A fabled 300-page uber-bureaucratic phone bill... a thousand-quid application that serves only to show others how wealthy one is... censorship issues with certain publications... micromanagerial bureaucracy every which way... it certainly gives just cause to make one stop and think. I certainly have and it made me think twice about the iPhone as something I would buy.
As I said in a previous entry, I'm in the market for a new mobile phone. I had it down to three candidates: a Droid, a BlackBerry, or an iPhone. Make that two candidates -- strike one iPhone.
Now, of course, only the bad, controversial stuff ever makes it into the national press, but the iPhone seems, to me, as though it does not quite measure up to my standards for a mobile device.
First, I'm very much against micromanagement and sustained control over a product by the company that made it. Once an item makes it into the hands of the consumer, it becomes the responsibility of the end-user, not the company. From what I understand, whenever someone criticises the iPhone for not working the way the person thinks it should, Apple issues an apology and a software update. I don't know about the iPhone 4, but previous models had no choice but to accept Apple's updates. It was either update or brick -- no middle ground.
Plus, AT&T have been known to engage in bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake to protect their own interests. Draconian restrictions written into the fine print on all of their contracts may trick one into signing away one's liver, which their task-force come to extract if you can't make payments on time. The alleged 300-page iPhone usage bill suggests that AT&T haven't changed their ways. Evidently, someone who chooses the default billing options will receive a detailed manifest outlining every billable action performed on the iPhone during the month. If one talks, texts, surfs the web, and does whatever the hell else one can do with the thing a lot, one may end up with a bill the approximate length of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Then, there's the functionality issue. The iPhone 4 is notorious amongst cable TV news anchors and late-night comedians alike for its inability to make calls if you hold it a certain way. Also, unlike most mobile devices, including but not limited to the Microsoft Zune, Nintendo DSi, and BlackBerry Bold, the iPhone has moisture sensors on the unit's exterior. This configuration makes the unit more susceptible to bricking from exposure to any level of aerial water vapour. On most devices, you'll find similar sensors concealed under the battery, protected from all kinds of moisture short of total submersion in water. With the iPhone, one is encouraged to use it only in a dry environment, such as a room with a dehumidifier or the Mojave Desert at high sun, otherwise, the unit will take in any humidity it finds and lock up from unacceptable moisture levels, which, of course, voids the warranty.
Then, there's some question about the App Store, vis-a-vis censorship of content. Apple is like Nintendo, as it was in the pre-ESRB era -- censoring content which they find to be offensive in some way. With Nintendo, at least, there was a predictable hierarchy of reasons why something was censored. In the case of games with blood, gore, sexuality, or references to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, Nintendo would request the developer to remove the content and replace it with something else. Basically, as long as gameplay was not heavily reliant on blood, gore, sex, or drugs, the developer could remove the content and Nintendo would release it as an "acceptable" game (e.g. a street-racing game where the cars would pass by a pub called "BEER" -- the developer could change it to "SHOP" or something for the NES release). Apple's censorship of content is not as predictable. Whilst they claim only to censor material containing pornography, drugs, extreme violence, et cetera, their track record has not proven this to be true. For example: a while back, there was an App in the store having to do with the band, Nine Inch Nails. Version 1.0 was released, uncensored in any way. However, version 1.2, containing naught but a software patch to prevent crashing on overseas iPhones, was delayed by Apple, then rejected outright. Eventually, enough people made a scene, which caused Apple to cave, releasing v.1.2 to the App Store.
That's another reason why I'm scratching iPhone off the list. Verily, it's why I prefer alternatives to Apple products (this Gateway laptop I'm using to compose this entry, for example). Apple tend not to stand up and defend their decisions, being easily defeated by a relative few people. If they were a kid in school, the school counsellor would say that they cave to peer-pressure.
Sort of the antithesis of Electronic Arts (about whom I've complained many times on Of Carbon and Silicon), who are so steadfastly devoted to making money that they don't tend to waste precious man-hours on development of software patches, deciding to patch out the bugs in the next release.
I don't get the same greedy-capitalist vibe from Apple. They're keen on keeping their customers happy. A bit too keen, I'm afraid. They released the iPhone 4 too soon, not giving the units enough time in the manufacturing stage. "Get it made and sold quickly," was the mantra. This led to several units being sold with jaundiced screens, as the laminating glue used to hold the aluminosilicate cover onto the chassis hadn't had a chance to completely dry before assembly was completed.
At this point, I often bring Nintendo into the discussion. Nintendo know what they're doing and they know how they're going to do it. If they estimate monthly sales of a new console to be a half-million, then they'll only make a half-million consoles in the first month. If it turns out that there's an actual demand for 3/4 of a million consoles and the original 500 thousand sell out in a matter of weeks, too bad! Patience.
I suppose, not being based in Japan, Apple doesn't quite grasp the virtues of Zen-like patience. Make it now and make it quickly.
So, one phone down. Two more left.
