Dump the iPhone, get a different phone?

[alchemistmuffin]

With Apple rejecting sooo many cool apps from appearing on the App store, do you think it's matter of time before people start dumping iPhone and at&t for different phone, even going far to breaking their contract early.

Also, will people leave Apple entirely, and go back to PC?

 

[dukebound85]

what other phone offers anywhere near the amt of applications?

i dont see your logic of dumping iphone for rejecting apps when most phones dont have remotely the same amt of apps

 

[Theaser]

what other phone offers anywhere near the amt of applications?

i dont see your logic of dumping iphone for rejecting apps when most phones dont have remotely the same amt of apps

I think what he means is that, Apple rejects too much cool apps and since other App stores are launching for other phones, he would want to go for that instead or the cool apps are already built-in features on other phones OR he is getting sick of the iPhone.

 

[Four20]

there's too much money in iPhone applications right now.

the palm will be web apps only(essentially)

the g1 will be for open source, so a developers last chance is the blackberry

 

[kas23]

what other phone offers anywhere near the amt of applications?

i dont see your logic of dumping iphone for rejecting apps when most phones dont have remotely the same amt of apps

Sure, there is quantity, but minimal quality. Unique apps are actually rare. The numbers are in; iPhone users end up using only about 1% of the apps they have downloaded. With such a low number of apps actually used, it is certainly not unreasonable to just download apps directly from developer websites.

And it is true, Apple does not let the most useful apps through the approval process. A fair compromise would be to allow people to download apps from any websites they want AND from the App Store too - then Apple can continue selling their fart apps and gun sounds apps.

As for changing phones, I have too much money invested in this phone right now. But, as a first-time smartphone user, the iPhone has certainly opened my eyes to new phone technologies. This is the trap I fell into, I thought the iPhone was the be all end all of cellphones, but it actually is just the beginning. I will be buying a more flexible phone next time (even if 15,000 apps aren't available for it).

 

[QCassidy352]

wait, let me get this straight. Your question is whether people are going to leave not only the iphone but apple entirely due to the fact that apple is rejecting a very limited number of apps, almost all of which none of us have heard of or would want even if they were accepted?

Is that your question?

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

Wow. If I ditched my iPhone, I'd do it for 100 other reasons before I'd do it because of App Store limitations.

 

[Digital Skunk]

what other phone offers anywhere near the amt of applications?

i dont see your logic of dumping iphone for rejecting apps when most phones dont have remotely the same amt of apps

I agree. I don't think THAT will be the reason people dump the iPhone.

They may because another phone gives them what they've been missing with the iPhone, but not because of the lack or amount of rejected apps.

if the new comers like the Pre are able to give user what they have been drooling for as well as the ability to play nice with OSX and other OSes then I see SOME users dumping the iPhone.

there's too much money in iPhone applications right now.

the palm will be web apps only(essentially)

the g1 will be for open source, so a developers last chance is the blackberry

Developers can develop on both open source and web apps. Those make it easier for them to make very consistent and stable apps actually.

Devoted Apple fans will never leave Apple, unless they see something elsewhere that better suits there needs.

Sometimes, devoted Apple fans will ignore what they need and just go after what they want. Some even go far enough to convince themselves that whatever it is they needed isn't relevant anymore because their Apple product doesn't have it.

 

[kas23]

Devoted Apple fans will never leave Apple, unless they see something elsewhere that better suits there needs.

The problem is that devoted Apple fans will never look beyond Apple products to see if a different brand might suit themselves better. We are currently seeing this phenomenon with the iPhone. As for laptops/desktops, in my opinion nothing beats a Mac mainly due to OS X, and I have experienced both sides of the argument.

 

[Michael CM1]

With Apple rejecting sooo many cool apps from appearing on the App store, do you think it's matter of time before people start dumping iPhone and at&t for different phone, even going far to breaking their contract early.

Also, will people leave Apple entirely, and go back to PC?

What exactly are these "cool" apps you talk about? 800 fart apps? "I Am Rich?" Yeah, most users are very concerned about those when there are crap apps like SimCity and TwitterFon out there.

 

[firewood]

And it is true, Apple does not let the most useful apps through the approval process.

Really? So you have a Palm Centro with a whole bunch of more useful apps than anyone has on their iPhone? Is that why the Palm Centro outsells the iPhone? Since Palm apps have no approval process required to sell on PalmGear, which has 1000's of PalmOS apps, which of those apps make a Palm Centro, as a whole, better than any iPhone for most people?

 

[LoganT]

Apple doesn't need to start approving more apps, they need to start rejecting more.

 

[lftrghtparadigm]

The problem is that devoted Apple fans will never look beyond Apple products to see if a different brand might suit themselves better. We are currently seeing this phenomenon with the iPhone. As for laptops/desktops, in my opinion nothing beats a Mac mainly due to OS X, and I have experienced both sides of the argument.

Nothing beats an iPhone thanks to OSX as well.

 

[kas23]

Really? So you have a Palm Centro with a whole bunch of more useful apps than anyone has on their iPhone? Is that why the Palm Centro outsells the iPhone? Since Palm apps have no approval process required to sell on PalmGear, which has 1000's of PalmOS apps, which of those apps make a Palm Centro, as a whole, better than any iPhone for most people?

I haven't a clue what you're talking about. I can't comment a this Palm Centrino you are talking about as I have never owned or used one. I do know that the Blackberry has plenty of useful apps minus 10000 poorly developed games, one-touch dialers, and fart apps. Furthermore, and the same may be said of WinMo I believe, is that the Blackberry OS natively comes fully featured (not half-baked), so there isn't a need for 15000 apps.

 

[plumbingandtech]

With Apple rejecting sooo many cool apps from appearing on the App store, do you think it's matter of time before people start dumping iPhone and at&t for different phone, even going far to breaking their contract early.

Also, will people leave Apple entirely, and go back to PC?

Please post the EXACT number of rejected apps.

Then post the % of them as per the 20K ACCEPTED apps.

Anyone who thinks this is a problem should buy a PRE.

 

[Turmoil]

Apple rejects a tiny percentage of apps. There are thousands of useful and tens of thousands of not so useful apps in the store. Not very many people will leave the i-phone due to apps.

Mac people use PCs all the time.

 

[RexTraverse]

With Apple rejecting sooo many cool apps from appearing on the App store, do you think it's matter of time before people start dumping iPhone and at&t for different phone, even going far to breaking their contract early.

Also, will people leave Apple entirely, and go back to PC?

People will probably jailbreak their iPhones before dumping them. Until the Pre, Android, and WinMo marketplaces get up and running full speed, there really isn't a true competitor. And Apple's not stupid, they may be pissing a lot of developers off with their arbitrary guidelines right now (seriously... Podcaster duplicates functionality when downloading podcasts away from your computer is nowhere to be found? South Park app is potentially offensive when you sell episodes in the iTunes store?) but if the other guys are getting the goods, they'll relent. Big Brother-style censorship versus Consumer choice, in the free market choice wins.

Not sure if the second part of you question is related to the first, but sure. Not the ardent fanboys, they'll stick with Apple to the bitter end, but then I've never understood obsessive brand loyalty either. I only switched when Apple had been producing a superior product to Microsoft for awhile (I despised using classic Mac), and if Microsoft or someone else comes out with a superior product, I'll switch to that. Apple's not infallible - they've screwed up bad in the past, they'll screw up bad in the future, and I'll be the first one off the boat when they do. Again, the free market at work. If Apple is smart, which they are, the failure will be the kick in the nuts for them to fix whatever they did wrong.

 

[zap2]

the g1 will be for open source, so a developers last chance is the blackberry

What?

You can sell apps on the G1(throught Android marketplace)

 

[kdarling]

Nothing beats an iPhone thanks to OSX as well.

Really, how so?

IMO, it has everything to do with having a very nice browser, and with creating a quick, simple, and flashy UI.

Without mobile Safari, the iPhone would likely have been a minor footnote in phone history. It was the only unique and compelling app for over a year.

As for the UI, Apple used every trick in the book to make it look better than it is.

No multitasking means they can count on free memory most of the time. Slow app startups are hidden by instantly displaying a static image, a clever sleight of hand that makes people think it's faster than other phones even when it's not. And the flashy effects hide the amount of swapping and scrolling that you have to do with large finger friendly buttons.

 

[MidtownFreak]

... Also, will people leave Apple entirely, and go back to PC?

Um, am I the only one that thinks that the question goes a bit too far?

Nixing the iPhone in favor of another phone is one thing. But, deciding to dump one's Mac and revert to a PC just because of a phone is a little ridiculous and extreme, no?


And, no. First, the iPhone is too mainstream for one to risk their social appreciation and return it. Second, if one does not care for the mainstream, then they would wait until another phone AND PLATFORM becomes perfectly suited to their needs. Which is highly unlikely for now because well -- otherwise those iPhone users would have switched long ago.

 

[zap2]

Without mobile Safari, the iPhone would likely have been a minor footnote in phone history.

I doubt it, but regardless...it has Mobile Safari, why would we take it out of the equation?

 

[kdarling]

I doubt it, but regardless...it has Mobile Safari, why would we take it out of the equation?

Who's taking it out? I said it was a major part of the iPhone initial success equation.

And still is. The moment that Iris or Opera or Fennec or any of the others becomes just as quick, the iPhone loses a big selling point.

( Iris is getting really close, and is a lot easier to scroll to the bottom of a long page with.)

 

[kas23]

Apple rejects a tiny percentage of apps. There are thousands of useful and tens of thousands of not so useful apps in the store. Not very many people will leave the i-phone due to apps.

Mac people use PCs all the time.

This is partially true. Apple has outright rejected only a very small handful of apps. However, it is not the rejected apps that are the problem. It's the apps that have been submitted for approval and then stagnate in the "approval" process. These are the useful, game changing apps that Apple doesn't have the balls to reject because it would be a marketing nightmare. Instead, they leave the developers in the dark and then people can't complain about app rejections (even though these apps, in effect, are currently rejected).

As for "thousands" of useful apps, I couldn't name a thousand if my life depended on it. If you truly believe this, then you don't have a solid handle on what's actually in there. I'm not proud to say this, but I have appshopper.com OCD. I check that website at least 3 times a day. I sadly know exactly what's in the App Store. I religiously check it because I somehow have faith that something useful will show up in there, but I'm constantly let down. The same type of apps just keep showing up using different names. In fact, there's still new V-day apps coming out. A bit late, eh?