Anybody else feel underwhelmed?

[Senor360]

But.. but...

There's Monkey Ball coming.. isn't that alone worth anything they'd ask from us??

 

[extraextra]

I could not care any less for the 3G announcement. The only thing that pissed me off about yesterday's keynote, was the announcement that 2.0 Firmware was pushed back to July.

Yes, this + iPhone launching on July 11th was what I was most let down by. I was hoping for a late June release at the latest.

 

[ipodtouchy333]

^^ Me too. I think the most disappointing thing for me was the release date. When he said July I about died and had to rewind.

I have a question about iTunes though. I do not mean to hijack this thread at all but I just bought a season of Weeds off iTunes and when I got to watch it it is very choppy and almost unwatchable. Can anyone help me ? Please .....

 

[FullGaz]

I love the new phone and now even more with the new price
However, I feel let down that there is no front facing camera for video conversations. Also, I wish it was possible to make videos out of the box instead of having to rely on 3rd party software.
Also, I don't know what is the status of wireless syncing, anyone knows?
Overall, I wasn't as exited as I was when the first phone got out but it got to the point where I can say I'm going to get one for myself as soon as it goes on sales.
Apple, once more, has managed to get very close to perfection... but not quite.

 

[Red-red]

From a personal point of view, I prefer the high gloss back of the new one. Always liked high gloss finishes.

Hardware changes. 3G+GPS is a big boost for me, coupled with the UK prices if you don't upgrade your stupid.

The amount of times I need directions but have to find where I am is very frustrating so a big problem has been solved.

3G, while many think it should have been included from the off (myself included) is still new and for the relatively low price you pay for the upgrade if anything it's a welcome addition as EDGE is very slow + 3G open up a whole new area when it comes to apps because of the faster connection compared to the old one.

MMS? You could spin it and say why don't other phones have email? but it would be nice to have both.

My biggest beef isn't the camera quality because countless people praise it for it's quality during the day but it's low lit areas and it's lack of flash that annoys me.

I wanted the speaker to be better quality and apparently it's been improved so thats good.

From my point of view, £60 for a upgrade from my current 8GB iphone to a 16GB 3G one is a good deal.

 

[jrbdmb]

The July release date for the new firmware kinda took me by surprise. I figured it was coming out sometime this week. I guess they needed more time to build a supercomputer that could handle the deluge of downloads when it'll be made available.

I would expect that the July 11 date is to allow the iPhone 3G to be loaded with 2.0 software. It would look poor for a new product to need an immediate firmware upgrade to use all of it's functionality. I'm disappointed that the date is that far out, but I understand it.

 

[Bern]

Although the iPhone is an amazing tool I'm not going to be getting one because the cost of accessing the net and running all those wonderful new features and apps here in Australia will be astronomical. That would leave me then with a phone that I would only use half the features of unfortunately and owning an iPod Classic that is now three quarter full maybe even less.

 

[Goldcard]

I second this thread to the fullest. Totally underwhelmed.

 

[spinkick]

Dude, wake up. "They really didn't do much of an upgrade at all?" They did a HUGE MASSIVE upgrade with all the Enterprise functionality, but of course, that's not personally interesting to you, and so you conveniently forget about it, and give no credit for it.

FOOL.

I left it out because the iPhone 1.0 is getting the SAME SUPPORT. So, who's the fool here?

Did you also notice that it will cost $45 dollars a month to use those enterprise features?

 

[spinkick]

The fact that you're comparing a bug-fixing 10.5.x OS update with the iPhone 2.0 OS shows that your sense of logic and reality is out of whack.

How many new, bonafide features did 10.5.3 add over 10.5.2 or 10.5.1 or 10.5? How many? Count em for me!

Now, look at iPhone 2.0, and tell me how many new, bona-fide features have been added? The answer is A TON.

The fact that Apple makes that available for FREE to all iPhone users (not just 3G users) doesn't change the fact that it required a huge investment in time and dollars, and it also doesn't change the fact that the iPhone 3G hardware enjoys many benefits from that work (which sets it apart from other 3G phones out there)

Your problem (shared by others in this thread) is that you don't have a grasp of the concept of "limited resources" and the need to pick and choose your battles. Sure, Apple could have spent its time and money coding MMS and Copy and Paste and adding a higher resolution camera. But given a year's development time, that would mean something else would have to go: 3G, or hardware GPS, or best-of-breed 3G battery life, or the new low price, or Enterprise functionality, or the iPhone dev kit and the App store (which is going to bring HUGE benefits in even the short term), or the ability to do live over-the-air synching with .Mac accounts (Mobile Me), etc. etc.

My problem with this thread is that a number of people are whining about their personal preferences not being implemented, and saying "This is hardly an upgrade at all!". That's what offends me, because this is a HUGE upgrade. It's a record-breaking upgrade (name another mobile device that has added so many new features in only a year, and given them away for free? Can you even name one?!).

I'm fine with people expressing personal disappointment that their pet little feature (like MMS--the vast majority of cel phone users never use it!) isn't implemented, but don't try to write-off everything that Apple HAS delivered. Have the common sense and the sense of fairness to acknowledge it, because what Apple has delivered recently *IS* very significant.

Finally, I think some of you need to take a step back and compare the iPhone 3G to real-world alternatives out there...not to your fantasy dream phone, but to other phones on the market. The iPhone 3G has:

* 3G speeds (with, apparently, very impressive battery life)
* Built in WiFi
* Hardware GPS
* Game-changing multi-touch interface
* Huge 3.5" screen (which is far better for watching video or looking at photos than virtually any competitor on the market)
* Thoughtful Apple software and hardware design in terms of usability (isn't easy to measure on a spec sheet, but we all know it adds value)
* Very easy syncing of media to and from your computer (video, music, photos)
* 2MP camera
* Ability to sample and buy songs directly from the world's biggest and most popular online music store, with a couple easy clicks
* Ability to transfer and watch major TV shows, care of Apple store (how easy is that to do on a Blackberry? A Palm? A Nokia?)
* Ability to RENT and then download and watch major commercial movies starting at 99 cents (again, what other cel phone can do that?
* Superior development environment, and huge, enthusiastic developer community (which, I'm betting, will quickly out-pace anything seen on Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm, and Nokia platforms)
* Built in Application store, which allows you to buy and install apps with a couple easy clicks, directly from your phone
* Full (or nearly full) Enterprise functionality
* Instantaneous over-the-air syncing of personal data (contacts, schedule, photos, etc) to your other computers via MobileMe (if you subscribe
* Only $199 for 8 gigs and $299 for 16 gigs.

So tell me, what real-world phones offer these kind of features, for that kind of price? A Nokia N95? Some Samsung flavor of the month? The new 3G Blackberry? How do these compare to what Apple is offering in the iPhone? And if we're talking about 3G phones, will those competitors also have to subscribe to a $30 3G plan from AT&T, or a more expensive plan from Verizon or Sprint?

The fact is, Apple is offering an AMAZING product in the iPhone, at an incredible value. I think many of you have forgotten that.

Most of the features you are listing will be available for the 1.0 phone, without the price hike. What about people who do not live in a 3g area. Should they be paying the more expensive data costs?

You act like the 2.0 phone is adding all these features, when in reality it is not. This is why the thread is about people being "underwhelmed". You are going off on people and telling them that its a great value for two new features because "somone has to pay for all this amazing development lol!". you forget that those with iPhone 1.0's where promised these features. To get us to upgrade you gotta give us more than a gps and a faster chip (which is a feature most available on modern phones these days". These features should have been on iphone 1.0.

 

[Sweetbike40]

The iPhone is still the most beautiful, fun phone out there. I stopped in AT&T yesterday, since my phone is 2 years old, to check out the stock. TERRIBLE. I walked out and keeping my black RAZR. I know, i know...done with the RAZR's already. I have a nice matt black metal phone that feels solid and works well. The crap i saw yesterday felt like Barbie toys. If AT&T would only give people the option of a different plan. Or the option of no plan, then i'd buy an iPhone. Personally, I can't justify the high price for it.
When i bought a Sony Ericson years ago, they tried to sell me the media plan so i could go online. I had it free for 3 months. Never used it. At least i had the option to cancel it.

 

[t0mat0]

Underwhelmed? In the UK? Want a pick me up? Check 9to5mac.com today!