10 Things that "Absolutely suck" about the iPhone. (Yes I have one)

[oddgit]

heh, at least it is 9 dollars, i loose cables so fast, i have been through close to 12 iPod cables
I walk by the SF apple store on my way to get coffee so im always taunted by apple goodness! I really should go play with the iPhone when it is not a total mad house =D
I hope that i can port my number from tMob. =D
I had a cool idea, the iPhone plan is not that bad of a deal if you have a good smartphone, i wonder if you can some how get a simcard with the iPhone plan



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[tttexxan]

I really hate to say this but your expectations of what this phone can do were WAY to high....Steve Jobs stated Its and IPOD and its a PHONE....I love everything about the phone so far and the only drawback I can find is the edge network and you tube. My phone has been working great without issues. The signal is strong and driving while using the edge not a problems with safari.

As for activation I had mine up and running in less than 10 minutes. Put a protective covering over the face and got a leather jacket for it. If your reading this alot of negative from the Op but really all in all LOVE the phone!

 

[NewSc2]

jeez, i thought the OP had some valid points. File management and not syncing over Bluetooth are 2 pretty big issues. Some issues I couldn't care less about (google maps locator, headphone tether).

 

[killerrobot]

and its a phone....dont expect it to do everything you want. if there were no copyright laws for music, im sure apple could gave you access to iTunes via web on the phone.

How come the zune can download music on the go? Apple just assumed everyone would sync up through their itunes library on their computer. It has nothing to do with copyright laws

@OP Thanks for being honest in your review. I think they were valid real world problems (not those marketed by newspapers and magazines). It seems like they made the "little OSX" just too little for my liking. Your e-mail attachment story is enough to make me wait - God that would be annoying.

Do you guys really think (I want to know for real, not being a bastard) that Apple will fix all this stuff through software updates?

 

[hollerz]

That no junk mail one is disappointing, I get so much junk mail its not funny

 

[Natalia81]

SIM card ??

The only option you have (so far) is to take the new AT&T SIM card included with the iPhone and insert it into any other phone to emulate this feature. It can be removed with a paperclip or sewing needle inserted into the small hole on the top of the phone (there's a panel that releases and slides out from the phone). Tricky, but functional.

So does this mean you can take the iPhone SIM card, put into another at&t phone and that phone will work with your iPhone phone number? I was told you could not go the other way around (normal cell phone SIM to iPhone), so I just assumed this was not possible. But if it is, that would be perfect for times I don't wanna carry my iPhone around for fear of messing it up (i.e. jogging, skiing, or anything active). I could just switch over to my crap cell phone.

 

[i0Nic]

2. Why can't I do [obvious task]?
Numerous times I've run into problems with not being able to do very simple tasks... the iPhone's simplicity actually makes it MORE complicated.

~~ Example:
I got an e-mail from a company I'd ordered car parts from concerning an issue I'd had, they asked me to take a photo. I jumped at the opportunity to test out the phone's camera (yay!) and was pleased with the quality. I then went back to the Mail section (after taking the picture) and clicked 'Reply', wrote a short note, then went to attach the picture. Wait... you CAN'T ATTACH THE PICTURE! There's no option, since there's no visible file-system.

I then back-tracked to return to the 'Camera' section via the Main menu... clicked the icon I assumed was 'Send this photo' (there are no popup 'text-tool-tips' to help you [as far as I know], so you can only guess what certain buttons do if they're vaguely represented by their icons) and was presented with options to either 'Use as Wallpaper', 'Email Photo' (ding ding ding!), or 'Assign to Contact' -- which I'm sure will sync with your Address Book back to your Mac, very cool.

After choosing the E-mail option, I was presented with a blank message, not including his e-mail address or any of what I'd typed before. Of course he's not in my Address Book, so I had to go back to the Mail section, write his e-mail address on my hand (since you can't copy and paste??) with a PEN.... analog style (wtf!!), then type it in manually into that new message with a new subject. Is this a joke? How is that productive at all... shame on you Apple.

How do you send multiple photo attachments in an email then, if the only way to email a photo is by going to the photo app and selecting a photo and clicking email?

Some of your complaints such as this one are very valid and I hope Apple does something to fix them.

By biggest gripes are the lack of bluetooth syncing, no file manager, no MMS, and if what you're saying is true how you can't just add attachments like you can in every other mail app then that sucks too.

 

[Captnroger]

I am probably in the minority, but I'm really not crazy about my iPhone and here's why - the keyboard sucks. I don't have big fingers and I'm having a hell of a time typing on the thing. two thumbs for me definately isn't working. I have to use a single finger and even then at the far edges of the keyboard it's a crapshoot.

Sure, the thing has the "wow" factor. I took it with me last night to a local pub and people couldn't keep their hands off it. I'm just not sure it's going to replace my Blackberry Pearl for me right now, especially not at the price. It may go back soon, I'm just not sure - going to give it more time. It's freaking beautiful though, I will give apple credit, it is an amazing device, I'm just not sure that it will suit my needs. I'm not happy with the speed of Edge either.

 

[72930]

How come the zune can download music on the go?

It can't...

 

[germ war]

Mine likely will be returned to Apple. There's a 14-day return policy, so I've got some time to test it out. The only thing I'm concerned about is that I switched providers (T-Mobile to AT&T), and I'm not sure if AT&T canceled my contract with T-Mobile when I switched. If they did, am I able to switch back? I may be out a bunch of cash no matter what.

The phone does some things nicely, but so far I'm not totally convinced. Some basic things about mail are annoying to me - cannot sort the order of mailboxes, there is not one "inbox" folder where I can read ALL of my messages from various accounts, to many menu screens, etc.

Having a full web browser seems good in practice, but it seems tedious to read messageboards where the browser window doesn't adjust text wraparound when you zoom in - too much scrolling. There is a lot of screen real-estate, but this makes the screen seem much smaller than it is.

Call volume seemed a bit too quiet on the highest setting, and ringer volume is sorta quiet, too. I don't really like any of the ringtones - most of them aren't even ringers.

If my Blackberry had WiFi, I probably would've never switched, as that's the biggest feature to me.

Sooo...waffling. I know a lot of this could be fixed via firmware, but I don't know if it's worth the kind of money I spent to wait around seeing if they will. I owned a Sidekick 1 and 2, so I know how painful it is expecting updates you want.

 

[killerrobot]

It can't...

Sorry. You're right. It can't yet? I read a rumors blog about it. Who knows? Don't own one.
It would be hellish sweet if it were possible on Zune or iPhone to download songs. Still, it has more to do with bandwith and wifi than it does with with copyright laws.

 

[DonWilson]

1. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
2. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
3. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
4. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
5. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
6. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
7. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
8. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
9. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
10. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.

 

[rockstarjoe]

Lot's of good points here. THanks for the info! Let's hope Apple gets crackin' on fixing some of these issues.

 

[peharri]

I really hate to say this but your expectations of what this phone can do were WAY to high....Steve Jobs stated Its and IPOD and its a PHONE....

I didn't really see anything in his criticisms that suggested over-expectations. The main things seemed to be:

1. Frustrating UI (for example, no access to photo library from mail.) I wouldn't expect Apple to fail in this area either. (Points 2, 3, 5, and 8)
2. Lack of features iPod users are used to and expect (points 1 and 6)
3. Lack of features generally common to mobile phones or implied by Bluetooth functionality (several points made under 7)

The remainder weren't unreasonable either.

Only one or two features mentioned, such as the ringtones limitation, were "widely known" before the iPhone was released.

The iPhone needs criticism like this, because it does target itself at a specific market and the critic here seems to be part of that market. I would understand your points if smash was complaining about the lack of Exchange compatibity, or inability to add third party applications, but that's not what was being said here.

 

[Captain Ken]

Built in Speaker

My built in speaker isn't working.
Volume is set to high, silence is off. I plug in the headset and can hear just fine. I've rebooted and reset the phone. Still no luck.
Any have suggestions?

 

[X5GEE]

My only issue so far is I can't get the thing to work properly on my WIFI network at my house, but it is a pretty substantial one, so I will need to get it resolved.

I'm having the same problem too

 

[jamesarm97]

I love it but,

1) Needs Notes syncing, it will be hell trying to type all of the notes I need.
2) No file manager / syncing. Would be nice to throw on some pdfs / docs I need for work to read when I am on the road.
3) Can't change the alert tones for the various things such as Voicemail / SMS / Calendar events.
4) Needs Cut & Paste.
5) Can't send attachments or photos from email, you have to find the photo first, then email it.
6) Email accounts need to each have their own polling settings. I want to check work every 30 minutes, home 1 / hour, and my wife's manually.

Maybe we should start an enhancement wishlist somewhere like on a wiki and email them to Apple.

 

[X5GEE]

I love it but,
4) Needs Cut & Paste.
5) Can't send attachments or photos from email, you have to find the photo first, then email it.

Very true!!

 

[sananda]

smash: why did you buy it? they were videos on apple's site showing how it worked (or how it didn't work) and there were display models in the shop. a lot of things that "absolutely suck" should have been known to you before you bought. caveat emptor. just take it back and get something better suited to your needs.

 

[lag1090]

1. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
2. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
3. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
4. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
5. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
6. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
7. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
8. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
9. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.
10. Settle down. It's the first day. Updates will come.

If nobody complains, then how will Apple ever realize that these are problems that need fixing? They obviously didn't realize that these were problems in the minds of consumers buying the phones.

 

[David R]

Mine likely will be returned to Apple. There's a 14-day return policy, so I've got some time to test it out. The only thing I'm concerned about is that I switched providers (T-Mobile to AT&T), and I'm not sure if AT&T canceled my contract with T-Mobile when I switched. If they did, am I able to switch back? I may be out a bunch of cash no matter what.

Go to T-Mobile and port the number back from AT&T. Then go and return your iPhone. You'll be out the 10% restocking fee.

If you do this within the first 3 days, AT&T will refund your activation fee. T-Mobile may charge you an activation fee but they can sometimes waive it if you ask nicely.

 

[worldcitizen88]

Hey, guess what. Being one of the first owners of an iPhone makes you and early adopter. To make a successful product a company needs early adopters. These adopters must be vocal about what is missing, but at the same time it was your choice to buy the first version, no doubt because of the cool reactions you're getting at the local pub.

But seriously, alot of what you're talking about is valid and will be addressed. Unfortunately a company can't think of everything for everybody on their first crack. That is why you have early adopters and beta testers. You may end up returning your phone in a few days and Apple comes out with an update addressing all of your concerns next month. Then what, go re-sign up and cancel yet another contract?

 

[paulobrad]

6. You need an adapter to use other headphones.
The iPhone's earphone connector IS standard 1/8" jack... but it's recessed. You need an extender to plug in any other type of headphones. Apple's earphones hurt my ears so I have no choice but to lug around an antenna-like product from Belkin that cost an extra $10 and is easily lost. Lame.

Is this true? This is the first I've heard of this issue - is this a common problem with most other earphones other than Apple's own earbuds?

Living in the UK so won't be getting one for a few months. This sounds like a major problem though, I really don't want to be stuck with those white earbuds for ever.

 

[jwa276]

My in-ear iPod headphones work fine, but I see what you mean with any other headphones. Oh well. Sucks for you I guess!

Loving the iPhone this far... Keyboard was easy to use right out of the box, EDGE seems fast enough to be useful (not worth complaining about), and everything that I have tried to do so far has been a wonderful experience I am most impressed with this gorgeous touchscreen! It is the single most hi-res screen I have ever seen!

If Apple wants to incorporate Bluetooth File Exchange, I probably won't even use it. I do hope they enable disk access, but I'm thinking AT&T might be the ones to blame for that lack of functionality.

 

[jamesarm97]

4) Needs Cut & Paste.

Here is a thought, based on how I have my macbook pro's track pad setup. You know how if you hold down your finger on the iPhone it will show a magnifying glass to help in positioning the cursor? Since you are probably already holding the phone in one hand using the other to move the glass, have it detect if your thumb touches the bottom of the screen while you are moving the cursor (since it has multi-touch) and that would cause it to then highlight the letters under the cursor instead of just moving the cursor. Then you let go and the text is highlighted. Next you hold your finger on the highlighted text and it will show a popup that allows you to Copy / Cut / Paste (this part is how the Windows Mobile works).

- James