Top 5 Disappointments With The 3G iPhone

The iPhone is an amazing device. It has blown existing smartphones out of the water with its innovation and ease of use. What's probably most surprising is that in the year since the iPhone launched, no competitor has really been able to emulate this amazing new platform. The new iPhone 3G and 2.0 software update have generally made a great device even better. Updates like 3G, the appstore and GPS were sorely missed features. The iPhone, however, still isn't perfect. Below is a list of the top five disappointments that people have noticed when upgrading to the new phone. By no means is the iPhone bad device, but as this list proves, the folks at Apple still have a little ways to go:


5. The App Store

The app store is an excellent addition to the iPhone/touch, but it still doesn't match the flexibility that developers are allowed on other platforms. A centralized store run by Apple means that many potential applications (ie. emulators and any application that doesn't terminate when the home button is pressed) may never be allowed on the phone. With Apple's approval needed for all applications, one would expect only quality applications, yet with over two dozen tip calculators in less than a month, we know the name of the game is quantity over quality. To be fair, the app store is new and a lot of promising apps are on the way, but it seems that the need to jailbreak (and void your warranty in the process) hasn't been completely eliminated.


4. 3G Makes Browsing Faster, But Not Lighting Fast

Unfortunately, the inherit limitations of 3G service and the iPhone itself mean that even with the latest iPhone, you wont be browsing as anywhere nearly as fast as you can on your home computer. HSDPA, the 3G technology of the iPhone, has broadband comparable speeds but also suffers from extremely high latency. This means that while large data files will download fast, it takes a long time for the network to recognize requests and dish out the data to your phone. The iPhone (and all mobile devices) are also no where near as powerful as your home computer, so even when connected to wifi, websites load much slower as the phone processes the information. Many tests out there show the 3G iPhone is faster than the 1st gen iPhone, but even websites like ESPN.com still take almost a full minute to load completely. If you were expecting the browsing speeds depicted in the Apple television ads, you'll be disappointed.


3. Apple's Bandwidth Restrictions

Apple seems to be restricting a number of services to conserve the amount of cellular data the phone uses. Even with 3G, you cannot use the music store application unless connected to wifi. The app store only allows downloading applications under 10 megabytes over the 3G network. Those excited to stream high quality youtube videos over the network will be disappointed to see Apple is still downgrading the quality when not connected to wifi. All these restrictions clearly point to the fact that AT&T and other carriers are attempting to limit the amount of bandwidth they have to provide. What this means for you is your phone is intentionally crippled.


2. Buggy 2.0 Software

The first thing many people noticed when using the 1st gen iPhone was how quickly and smoothly one could navigate the phone. There was no lag, and all features worked exactly as one would expect. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case with the 2.0 firmware update. The phone is still certainly usable, but lag is ever present and several new bugs have popped up. Contacts lists are sometimes painfully slow to load. Keyboard presses are often ignored. continuously crash out to the homepage. Hopefully these issues will be fixed quickly in a future update, but until that happens, users will be dealing with a glitchy expereince.


1. The Battery Life

There isn't really any way around it, the iPhone 3G has horrible battery life. Even people using the iPhone moderately are reporting difficultly getting through the day without completely draining the battery. All 3G phones are quite power hungry, but every other phone also has a user replaceable battery. It's true that most users wouldn't carry a spare battery on them, but the lack of user replaceable batteries means that there's no option to install a higher capacity non-OEM battery. A quick and easy way to boost the battery performance of the phone is to turn off 3G services, but that makes one wonder why even upgrade in the first place?

4 Positive Ways The iPhone has Changed The Wireless Industry

The iPhone is ridiculously cool. It has its shortcomings like most phones, but overall it is a huge leap forward in mobile phone design. Any phone that is exciting enough to impress my technophile friends, but easy enough for my technophobe mother to use HAS got to be something special. In the wake of all this attention devoted to the iPhone and its interface, it’s important to take a step back and look at how one phone model is changing the entire wireless industry. Even if you don't have an iPhone yourself, here are 4 positive benefits of the iPhone's introduction


4. Increased Awareness of GSM Phone Locking

The media gave a lot of attention to the 1.12 update and subsequent bricking of unlocked iPhones. Thanks to this, everyday people were made aware their phones weren’t bound to networks due to a difference in technology, but as a result of provider locks. It may not be a coincidence that Verizon recently announced their decision to finally allow other CDMA phones not previously purchased from Verizon on to their network. GSM locks aren’t likely to disappear anytime soon, but at least now more people know they can unlock their phones and jump ship.


3. Sending a Message: Allow 3rd Party Development

Apple tried to hold out and prevent any official 3rd party development of applications for the iPhone. This is in contrast to almost every other modern phone that allows some sort of 3rd party development even if just through J2ME/BREW programs. We were told “web apps” would be just as good as native applications. They aren’t (especially when delivered at dial-up speeds). The resulting backlash has forced Apple to reconsider, and the company now says it will open up the phone. Hopefully Apple and future smartphone manufactures will not make the same mistake and allow at least some form of official support for 3rd party development out of the box.


2. Reduced Data Rates In Canada

It is true that few Canadians use or are even aware of what data on a cell phone is. That doesn’t mean it’s fair to charge those who do use data $0.05/kb. Who would want to download a mp3 that costs $175? On a practical level you sure can forget any kind of bulk html browsing or blackberry emailing. With the imminent arrival of the iPhone to Canada, Rogers is launching a $20 for unlimited data plan. Other carriers will almost definitely follow suit, and we can finally get headlines like “Canada Worse than 3rd World Countries when it comes to Mobile Data” headlines out of the news.


1. Embarrassment for Microsoft and the Windows Mobile Platform

Apple’s first crack at a phone resulted in a revolutionary OS that literally turns heads with both its innovation and simplicity. That has got to be embarrassing for Microsoft who has been touting its clunky, slow and unintuitive smartphones for a long time. Ok, so Microsoft isn’t the only company with an outdated OS (isn’t the Palm Treo just a Palm IIIc with an antenna glued on?), but Microsoft does deserve knocking down for its “If its got windows its got to be good” attitude.