The first iPhone was a classic Apple product, big fanfare, lots of hype and plenty of bugs. However iPhone the sequel, the big 3G model has appeared to listen to the critics, consumers and especially the developers.
As a developer of web and mobile applications, I was left fully excited by the WWDC2008 address by Steve Jobs and crew. The xCode development environment truly looks like it has considered enabling ideas as opposed to just handing out packaged code libraries to existing geeks. The iPhone truly looks more like an alternative platform instead of just another phone with some cool apps. The other factore I really approve and like about the iPhone and Apple’s approach to this device is that is it is just this device. There isn’t a plethora of iPhone types and models, Apple are building on a single product. This demonstrates a commitment to the device. We like that.
My current phone, the LG KU990 ‘Viewty’, touted as the iPhone killer was launched to less fanfare but huge expectation. I bought this phone because it ran a Adobe Flash UI, being a Flash/Flex/Air developer it made huge sense to use this phone. However, after much tinkering with this phone it was clear that the ‘Viewty’ was rushed to market, the UI had many bugs and wasn’t written with much adherence to any best practice concept or with a concern with the device’s CPU usage etc. There were many calls to LG to request Firmware or Software updates. Updates were promised but the release date came and went with nothing more than a few wallpapers and games being released. It soon became clear that LG viewed the Viewty as a flash in the pan. It may be that the reason for his was that LG had little to do with the phone in the first place. It was pretty much built via third-parties. So all the community led hacking and development of the ‘Viewty’ will gather dust and rot. That’s why Apple’s latest move stands out.
Touch-screens devices are the way forward.
Phones like the ‘Viewty’ and the iPhone are the future of mobile devices, whether they are categorised as MID‘s PDA‘s or Phones. It’s all about technology convergence, if Nokia put 3G capabilities into the N810, they would join the race.
Now the one grip I still have and it’s a big gripe as it will prevent me from buying the iPhone 3G. Network exclusivity, I don’t mean having to get the phone on contract, I mean restricting the iPhone to a single network. In the UK it’s 02 . I currently use Orange. So swap, I hear you all say, well I was on 02 and it was 18 months of hell! 12 bills wrong and always over, 6 disconnections for no reason, repeated problems with connectivity that 02 described as a handset fault, even though it was apparent in three separate N80‘s!
Previous to my 02 contract I had been a Pay-As-You-Go user, using my phones more as a ‘device’ rather than just a phone. I am not a huge phone caller, but use my phone as a tool. I had been with Virgin for years, but the appeal and amount of minutes etc caused me to jump the fence. My feet landed in 3 foot of shit!
So I will never return to 02 and willingly give them any more money, so technically I will not be able to buy the iPhone. I may be in a minority for demanding customer service and consumer respect, not returning to companies that fail to deliver this but make huge profits from my bucks. However I can’t be the only one, there must be plenty of people that don’t like the taste of 02 and so have reasons to not buy the iPhone.
Until Apple considers the loss of network exclusivity over the gain of network kick-backs they will never have market share, mainly because this would mean that a single network would also have market share and this leads to a monopoly investigation.
However this doesn’t mean I can’t break the iPhone out of jail and play with it, but it does mean I will slip of the official users radar, maybe this is why Apple lists units sold rather that units in official use.
Think on Apple.