The much touted iPhone has, in its most recent incarnation, become somewhat divisive among dedicated cell phone users. Loyal Apple-ites maintain the iPhone is the finest, most thoughtfully engineered cell phone ever, while critics point to an odd lack of certain features.
Following is my list of the new iPhone’s most obvious deficiencies. Let me know what you think.
1. No removable battery
One company VP told me that after a couple conference calls his iPhone’s battery is dead and he can’t use it again until he charges it. He exclaimed that while he enjoys many of the phones features the lack of a removable battery makes it challenging as a tool in the business world.
2. No MMS
Many were surprised when the 3G iPhone came out and still was unable to open a picture or video message. iPhone users have commented on the inconvenience caused when they receive a text message from a friend that contains a picture that they cannot open.
3. No Removable Memory
Expandable memory has become a staple among most cell phones. In fact, it’s even considered part of an entry-level feature set. Yet the iPhone gives you a limited amount of memory and that’s that.
4. No 3G
Actually that’s not exactly fair. But the fact is there are many angry iPhone owners claiming they cannot receive or maintain a strong 3G signal, and at least one lawsuit over the matter. If you claim fast speeds, deliver.
5. Weak Camera
Other phones in the same category contain a flash, higher megapixel resolution and generally a richer, deeper selection of camera functionality. For such a flagship device to contain a weak camera is strange and unfortunate.
The iPhone has a number of other deficiencies that become more apparent once you begin using it regularly. No speed dial, no Java, no dial up tethering, no way to select specific text which results in leaning on the delete button, and you cannot cut/copy/paste.
What do you think?
Comments (5)
6. Can’t use external keyboard.
In spite of the iPhone having Bluetooth, and in spite of the fact that Apple makes a very nice bluetooth wireless keyboard, you can’t use the Apple keyboard with the Apple iPhone. Why? Maybe Jobso doesn’t like keyboards.
7. In Canada, you must submit to a 3-year jail sentence to get one.
I bought an unlocked Nokia N82 that suffers from none of the above 7 weaknesses.
I agree for the most part, except for the memory piece. It’s true that most entry level phones come with some sort of flash memory card slot. However, how many phones do you see that can store 8Gb of 16Gb right out of the box. I’m not saying that a slot wouldn’t be convenient for certain tasks, but I don’t see it as a crucial need in this case.
The rest of the reasons, I’m 100% with you.
I’m one of the many people who bought an iPhone, left to be surprised at all the simple things that were left out!!
i had a Sony Ericsson K790 before; so i have quite a hefty list of things the Sony can do, which the iPhone cannot…
Nifty extras the Sony has, that the iPhone DOES NOT:
- Photoediting
- Video maker/editor
- In-Call and regular Voice Recording
- Voice-Calling
- Bluetooth Remote Control: Desktop/Mediaplayer/Presenter
- FM radio
- Customizable shortcuts
- Infrared
(once again i said these are extras which i wouldnt even imagine Apple providing)
IMPORTANT things the iPhone DOES NOT have:
- Bluetooth file transfer (the bluetooth is pretty much useless to me now)
- there is no MMS; you cannot send or receive picture/video messages (and no, i don’t want to use email as an alternative… not everyone owns one of these)
- Saving files, viewing certain file formats in web-browsing, not possible.
- You can’t even customize your main screen to post notes; change around icons,
- You can’t plug it into different computers (home and laptop) for syncing; so you’re pretty much stuck with choosing one computer to sync from & forced to delete everything if you’d ever want to switch. (apple thinks we’re all thieves)
another thing i find really annoying is these people who think they’re on a team to defend the iPhone, and give replys like “you don’t need it” or alternatives like “wait for an app to come out”… Get real.. if you do a search, you’ll see Apple has deliberately blocked developers from touching anything to do with the bluetooth module.
MAJOR WARNING to people who love to customize their phones, and need simple features like bluetooth to actually work, or want mms as an option… Do Not Buy This Phone
i cannot believe i didn’t research these things before buying it, and i honestly assumed this thing would have features like bluetooth figured out already… (they’re calling it a ‘Smartphone’ afterall) i was swayed by the nice screen, quality build, and good touch response… and now i find out its missing all the things i had gotten used to with the Sony K790…
The only way this thing can be called a “SmartPhone” is in the sense that Apple has full control and can easily manipulate you by providing VERY limited solutions to your problems – ones that involve profit for them. Smart of them indeed…
great comments ess ar. thanks.
What about the inability to … view flash web content (and there is no solution in sight), assign your purchased music as someone’s ringtone, use the iPhone as a portable harddrive like you can with iPods, record video (a razor can record video), manage content manually in iTunes, use the iPhone’s as a modem (apple will not approve an app for that), do any semi advanced feature that you think the iPhone should be capable of.
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