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Everyone loves the iPhone, but do they secretly hate it?

TheSpaz

TheSpaz

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 20, 2005
7,032
1
Okay, so today I was thinking about how crazy popular the iPhone has gotten... yet it's one of the MOST SERIOUSLY CRIPPLED smartphones ever made. I got to thinking how much I love the iPhone, but deep deep deep down inside I wish it had the features of other phones.

I was talking to my brother last night and he still loves his iPhone but he was like... I really mostly just use it as a regular phone lately.... and how come I can't send pictures to someone elses phone and why aren't we allowed to text in landscape mode... it seems so easy for them to add.... why can't you edit the contrast and brightness of your photos?

So a few of those things are doable through downloading extra applications from the app store. Some of them cost money and some are free, but then you have all these extra apps you have to launch and clutter up your homescreen with all of these icons to give us BASIC FEATURES?

Why can't we have a background color or picture on our home screen?
Why can't we change our SMS tone (those 6 tones are really bad)
Why can't we text in landscape so that when we're lying down or not sitting perfectly straight we can still hold the phone (it's almost impossible to type with 2 thumbs in that position, because you can't grip the phone with both hands well enough)
Where's our promised Push Notifications?

I guess I'm secretly embarrassed to have an iPhone. Yes the touch screen and iPod functions are the best out there, but for pete's sake... we've been waiting almost 2 years for standard features.

I guess you can tell me to get another phone, but I don't like any other phones, I just want some integrated features on my iPhone because I feel a little left out in some areas.

Sorry for the long post. Anyone else secretly hate their iPhone sometimes? I wish Apple would at least give us a hint for what might be coming. It always feels as if we're just constantly waiting and waiting... then when we finally do get an update, it usually adds stuff that I really don't care about and then starts the waiting again.
 
Everyone does not love the iPhone.
Don't apologize for the long thread, apologize for the long post. ;)

When I paid $400 for a phone I knew what I was getting myself into. I can't complain. That would be like never voting and having some opinion on the President. It's useless really.

If all this bothers you so much get another phone, if you don't want another phone then keep it in your pocket until you absolutely have to use it.
 
jessica. said:
Everyone does not love the iPhone.
Don't apologize for the long thread, apologize for the long post. ;)

When I paid $400 for a phone I knew what I was getting myself into. I can't complain. That would be like never voting and having some opinion on the President. It's useless really.

If all this bothers you so much get another phone, if you don't want another phone then keep it in your pocket until you absolutely have to use it.
Click to expand...

I love what my iPhone does... it's what it doesn't do is what's getting me a little down. I knew exactly what I was buying to... but, there's a part of me that had this idea that Apple could fix a lot of these issues with firmware updates.
 
The majority of Americans don't have a smart phone of any sort. They're coming from regular phones with no data connection besides phone calls and texts.

These people are quite happy with the iPhone.

As the smartphone market grows, the masses will become better educated and the iPhone will have to keep up with those expectations.

But for now, I think the problems you list bother far fewer people than you realize. (Hint: 100% of Macrumor posters is still a very, very small number.)
 
I think I'm just getting bored of the current iPhone setup. I hardly use it lately and I'm still paying $100 a month for it... it doesn't seem right.
 
I actually see it the other way around, like 10 million other users out there are saying, why can't mine be like an iPhone. Is there another PDA out there that allows you to manipulate photos? I agree we need a free app or the ability to attach photos and send to whatever. Furthermore, there should be more iPhone to iPhone services for transferring stuff like photos, notes, etc via bluetooth. Bottom line I think you are bored with it at this time. Hate is pretty strong, I would just say I'm looking for more from the iPhone, but still secretly love it.
 
I know what you mean, I feel the same way. As great as the iPhone is, it is mind boggling to me why they don't have some seemingly standard features. When people ask me why I can't text or send emails in landscape all I can do is shrug my shoulders. If they ask about MMS all I can say is, "well, I can email it". Once having email is standard on phones I will accept that as a viable option, but until then MMS is more convenient most of the time.

Luckily these features are software based, but as time goes on I become less optimistic about any real changes occurring.
 
TheSpaz said:
Okay, so today I was thinking about how crazy popular the iPhone has gotten... yet it's one of the MOST SERIOUSLY CRIPPLED smartphones ever made. I got to thinking how much I love the iPhone, but deep deep deep down inside I wish it had the features of other phones.

I was talking to my brother last night and he still loves his iPhone but he was like... I really mostly just use it as a regular phone lately.... and how come I can't send pictures to someone elses phone and why aren't we allowed to text in landscape mode... it seems so easy for them to add.... why can't you edit the contrast and brightness of your photos?

So a few of those things are doable through downloading extra applications from the app store. Some of them cost money and some are free, but then you have all these extra apps you have to launch and clutter up your homescreen with all of these icons to give us BASIC FEATURES?

Why can't we have a background color or picture on our home screen?
Why can't we change our SMS tone (those 6 tones are really bad)
Why can't we text in landscape so that when we're lying down or not sitting perfectly straight we can still hold the phone (it's almost impossible to type with 2 thumbs in that position, because you can't grip the phone with both hands well enough)
Where's our promised Push Notifications?

I guess I'm secretly embarrassed to have an iPhone. Yes the touch screen and iPod functions are the best out there, but for pete's sake... we've been waiting almost 2 years for standard features.

I guess you can tell me to get another phone, but I don't like any other phones, I just want some integrated features on my iPhone because I feel a little left out in some areas.

Sorry for the long post. Anyone else secretly hate their iPhone sometimes? I wish Apple would at least give us a hint for what might be coming. It always feels as if we're just constantly waiting and waiting... then when we finally do get an update, it usually adds stuff that I really don't care about and then starts the waiting again.
Click to expand...

Everyone can pick out all the things that are wrong with any phone. I had an iPhone 3G for about 4 days until I got pissed off at dropping a call with my grandma in a wide open area with full bars. I ended up getting a Blackberry Curve 8330 with US Cellular. Best phone I've had so far when it comes to the minor things I do with it. When I had my iPhone, my wife would yell at me cause I'm basically paying too much for so little (Hopefully AT&T learns from this mistake), but I would charge it when i got home from work when I wake up it would be at half of battery life. Turns out my wife was playing with it as I was asleep. She secretly loved my phone, but hated that I had it. I told her since we are staying in Chicago I am getting my iPhone back. Now I have to wait a year.
 
I've got no problem with my iPhone and I'm endeared with it now as the day I got it.
 
I love my iPhone and some of its really cool features, but sometimes I wish I had a BlackBerry, just because EVERY aspect of a BlackBerry is customizable - you can tweak it until it acts exactly the way you want. Some aspects of the iPhone are modifiable through SSHing, but most aren't. Also, some aspects of the iPhone OS are just stupid - no unified email inbox, for example. No way to individually delete texts.

So yeah, I love and hate my iPhone.
 
I love my iPhone(s), but I do agree with you in the fact that the iPhone is crippled in some departments. However, the two biggest iPhone rivals in my opinion are the G1 and the BB Storm. I have gotten to use both of those phones over the last few weeks and I still think that the iPhone far succeeds it's predecessors.
 
TheSpaz said:
Why can't we have a background color or picture on our home screen?
Why can't we change our SMS tone (those 6 tones are really bad)
Why can't we text in landscape so that when we're lying down or not sitting perfectly straight we can still hold the phone (it's almost impossible to type with 2 thumbs in that position, because you can't grip the phone with both hands well enough)
Where's our promised Push Notifications?
Click to expand...

I would hardly call any of those points as being "crippling" as such.

Background? A purely personal choice that doesn't affect functionality.

SMS Tone? A purely personal choice that doesn't affect functionality.

Text in landscape? Personal choice that doesn't affect functionality, but also a possible design/UI choice. Landscape keyboard does take up quite a bit of the available vertical space of screen.

Push Notifications? Valid point, but then again not everyone cares about them. I for one am not so obsessive about my email that I need it sent to me immediately. I can just pull it from the server when need be.


Sure there are things that I would like to see done differently on the iPhone. Mine is jailbroken mainly for the ability to theme it. BUT if I couldn't theme it would I toss it in the bin and buy another phone? Not even close.
 
The iPhone already has over 50% of the mobile browser market, and for being the newest Smartphone. . .that's very impressive.

Just because people are missing features like cut and paste, tethering(which you won't get on the palm pre either), etc. . .that doesn't mean people hate the device.
 
Whenever I feel like I hate my iPhone, I try to use another phone and then I instantly fall in love with it again.

Yes there is things it can't do (take good photos, forward texts, copy and paste to name a few) everything it does do, it does really well.

It's a love/hate relationship :)
 
I love to love my iPhone, and I use it more now than I did when I got it.

I couldn't care less that I can't send pictures in text, since I don't even have a texting plan.

I have absolutely no desire to waste time customizing the look of my phone's screen... it looks fine, I can sort my apps, that's great.

Typing in landscape would be fine, but I don't really care, I can type in portrait just fine.

I wish I could tether without JBing, but that's about it. I'll live until it's available.
 
This thread title should be switched around. Everyone I know wants to complain about the iPhone, but they secretly like it. People are trying to find every way to blast Apple's product out of the spotlight.
 
I completely agree with you Spaz. I use my iPhone a ton throughout the day; I'm always checking email, surfing the web, playing solitaire, reading an ebook at night. I love it and it has changed my life. That said, the iPhone is incredibly crippled compared to other smartphones on the market. I want a common area where I can store all my files (like what the iPhone does with photos). Why can't we have this simple feature, instead of files being locked away in each app's sandbox. Why can't we have cut and paste? Why can't we have multiple apps running in the background? These are simple, basic features every smartphone has and sometimes I fell like I'm stuck back in the year 2000 with this phone. These are some of the reasons I hate this phone.

Just imagine for a moment if the iPhone actually did have these seemingly standard features? It would be impossible to beat. Now that Apple has actually roused the cellphone market from a deep slumber, if Apple keeps it's current course, the iPhone will be surpassed in 1-2 years by a competitor.
 
I had a HTC TyTn (till it broke recently). Honestly, it's the best phone I ever had, and I loved using it. At the same time, it had many small things that annoyed the hell out of me, not least Windows Mobile 5 (later 6). I worked out how to use most of the features on it, but never used them as it was so annoying to use them. That's an example of secretly hating my phone.

My partner has the same phone and she uses maybe 1% of the features on it, as she can't work out how to use them. Even the camera function is too complicated for her. (she isn't thick - she runs a company - but she's not technical).

I'm really looking forwards to getting a new iphone for both of us, just for ease of use. It doesn't matter if it has a crap camera, just as long as she can work out how to use it.

The best feature is worthless without a good UI.
 
Out of the smartphones I went through, HTC 8125, 8525, 8925, iPhone 1.0, iPhone 2.0, iPhone 2.0 3G, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB...

Nokia N95 8GB is by far the most reliable! By far.

I love the iPhone, don't get me wrong but... :| I think they gotta work on it a little more, and I hate the fact that you can't use it as an international phone wherever whenever, that to me is the biggest BS :apple: could have come out with. For example, I pick my phones because I travel a lot between USA and Romania (my home country) and if I want an unlocked iPhone I gotta buy it with the risk of voiding warranty because I need to unlock it? That's BS, I'm sending my Nokia N95 8GB to repair because 3 buttons stopped working (don't ask, I went through at least 30,000 text messages) and they don't even need proof that I purchased the phone, they'll send me a box to send it in and everything...
 
I too would love to see new features, but they are not absolutely relevant to my iPhone experience. I love my iPhone just the way it is.
 
If people didn't know what the iPhone could and couldn't do before plunking one down, they shouldn't go about complaining afterward.

1) It's a phone.

2) Do research before to see if it fits your needs. Don't be a lemming.

3) If it doesn't meet what you need, DON'T BUY IT! Don't be a lemming.

4) If you become distraugt about it after the fact, get a phone that makes you happy.
 
Sometimes, I compare my Iphone to the (lol, *cough) first 'iphone killer' Samsung Instinct... where it's not really.. a smart phone. Its a dumbed down version of a smartphone (I feel like at times). BASIC things to get things done the iphone can't do when I'm away from the office. I do love my iphone for the multimedia/browser/ipod capabilities.. however, it is a rather dumbed down version of a smart phone. That is what makes it so attractive to new smartphone users- how easy it is to use.
 
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