Ok, so the iPhone is now available, and here in St. Louis you can walk into the Apple store in the local mall and walk out with a phone in a matter of minutes, if you go at the right time of the day. My wife thought the phone was the easiest one that she has used, ever. Here are a few disappointing things that will keep me from buying one right now:
- No user-replaceable battery, and only 300 power charges before it has to be replaced. Chances are your iPhone battery is going to be iDOA before your two-year contract is up.
- No sophisticated Bluetooth support: you only get BT for the phone calls, not for music, file transfer, or anything else.
- No AT&T Wifi data usage plan. AT&T has a bunch of hotspots and for free or $2/month their existing DSL customers can use them. Not if you are a iPhone customer though.
- No built-in IM client. Hunh? This seems, like, so obvious.
- Supports the slower EDGE network rather than the newer and faster 3G. Everyone has written about this.
- No third-party developer tools yet. Again, an obvious omission and something that should be fixed now.
‘iDissapointment’? 🙂 I actually think the critical sentence in that post was: “My wife thought the phone was the easiest one that she has used, ever.” Not bad for what is also without question the most sophisticated phone, ever, and the first truly portable computer. Your point about battery may be valid, but let’s not forget that this is also the first truly sw upgradeable device as well. IM will be available soon, and I’d be willing to venture that the iPhone will attract more third party development than any phone ever.
The battery issue is a big one. From what people around me encounter with their Apple laptops, they all seem to have problems after the warranties run out! Is it just coincidence?