iPhoneys

It looks like Orange won't be getting the phone that I want until December and even then I will have to pay them for it. I've worked out that even with the discount they are offering and supposing I can get the handset cheap retail, it will cost about the same as switching network and paying a full price tariff elsewhere for a year. I was quite hopeful for the European iPhone lauch but unfortunately Apple have stuck with a US device being sold in Europe, which is disappointing because I was genuinely trying to be objective about Apple stuff. I'm much more about what is better when it comes to phones and if the iPhone did all the things I wanted i likely would have switched, in much the same way that if I ever buy a new laptop it will likely be a Macbook because of the things I would use a laptop for (ie nothing too complicated). That and the fact I really need regular first hand experience in order to rage properly.

Unfortunately the current iPhone is firmly aimed at the US market. It has no 3G, claiming the combination of EDGE and Wi-Fi is just as good. Fanyboiyz have the typical 'If Apple don't offer it, I can't possibly want it' attitude but this doesn't wash with your average techy. EDGE is fine in America where they are having problems with a 3G network and EDGE has some measure of speed and large coverage, but basically it's a half arsed, spit and string, sort-of semi solution to mobile broadband. 02 have 30% EDGE coverage and, 7 years after buying a 3G license, are investing in their EDGE network because of the iPhone - 30%? really??!. So while the rest of the continent goes 3.5G, 02 are rolling back to 2.5. I'm sure there's a strategy there somewhere. The other lie about the lack of 3G is power consumption, as opposed to the truth 'If we offer new stuff rigth away our US customers will demand recompense for their 8 week old and now out of date devices'. This is my biggest problem, the only reason for me to upgrade is so I can improve my mobile connectivity - it's all very well having a full Safari browser but it's pointless if you have a data transfer rate of 16kps. The point of mobile connectivity is connectivity anywhere - not 'You have to first locate a Cloud Wi-Fi hotspot, travel there and then connect tot he internet'. If I want to go to a specific location in order to log on - I'll go home!

The iPhone also lacks MMS, so you can't send pictures to someone else's phone. No 3rd Party applications. No video recording with the camera. No camera settings (adjust for lighting etc).

As with all things Apple though, it's very pretty and has some extremely well thought out design and interface that everyone really should start taking notice of. Like Stephen Fry says (thanks for the link Hannah), why doesn't anyone else think design is important? Yes we have very different views of Apple, but then I am not in the cult. Mostly I am a function over form guy, which is probably why I find Apple devices so restrictive - they do what they do EXTREMELY well - so long as you are happy with their limitations and constrictions.

Bugger, this turned into an anti-Apple rant. It wasn't meant to, I really don't hate them it's just the attitudes of those that love them that infuriates me - there is no objectivity in reviews concerning Apple products and you actually have to find out first hand the flaws because so few people actually acknowledge they exist in the reviews. I don't want an Apple hater review, I want something kind of like Engadget but more - people who will take a piece of technology and evaluate it for what it is not for what they are told it is.

Anyway, I won't be getting this particular iPhone, not least because 02 tariffs are shit (what is it with Apple and going with the worst providers in each country?). Maybe the one they release around Christmas that has 3G (when the illusory power issues vanish). Until then I am going T-Mobile next week or so for the ugly, clunky but functional HTC I posted earlier. I've done a lot of Apple bashing, or rather fanboy bashing so I should finish on a positive.

As a general rule, Apple are THE best at hardware, they are the best at User Interfaces and they are undisputed champions of making stuff for people who don't want to know how it works or how to do anything clever. People who want to poke a button and go about their business, that's what they do well. It's a lesson everyone else needs to learn and quickly, but without going down Apple's proprietary route - Roll on Ubuntu mobile.

PS - I'm thinking I should start another blog for tis kind of crap, I don't think it fits here anymore. At least until the new blog is up and running (it has shiny categories)