I Quit The iPhone!

[grahamwright1]

Questions for all -

Will you quit the iPhone due to (Apple & AT&T)'s recent behavior? E.g. blocking Google Voice app and host of others? A tech blogger M. Arrington from TechCrunch is quitting just because of that...

What's your opinion/position? Were you disappointed because you can't use Google Voice or any other apps that were blocked? Will you quit it as well?

If you buy a device for what is does, not what it MIGHT do then you will never be disappointed by it. I'd love my iPhone to do a range of additional things, and if it does through additional apps then I'll consider myself lucky.

It's really sad to see the number of people that get all wound up about these issues......

 

[neil1980]

If its AT&T that bug you, why not just unlock your iphone and change carrier rather than give up one of the best phones on the network?

 

[maflynn]

While I do think the app store approval process is nutty, unfair, not documented and will hurt apple in the long run. I'm not about to quit using my iPhone over the not seeing a google app on the iPhone

 

[Drumjim85]

If its AT&T that bug you, why not just unlock your iphone and change carrier rather than give up one of the best phones on the network?

There's a debate on who's to blame for this whole no GV app thing. And the consensus between big Tech blogger types is it's a feud between Apple and Google, and (this case) is not ATT's fault.

 

[The General]

no

 

[uberamd]

If you buy a device for what is does, not what it MIGHT do then you will never be disappointed by it. I'd love my iPhone to do a range of additional things, and if it does through additional apps then I'll consider myself lucky.

It's really sad to see the number of people that get all wound up about these issues......

I agree with you 100%. I purchased my iPhone 2G for its built in functions. I purchased my 3G to be able to use the same built in functions in my 2G as well as a few apps I discovered while using the 2G. I purchased my 3GS for the increased speed, because I broke my 3G, and so I could use its functions as well as some apps I found on the 2G and 3G.

I *never* purchased any device due to a rumor or whatnot about an upcoming app. To alter the worth of your phone after you buy it due to the fact that said phone doesn't do something it could never do to begin with (see MMS, Google Voice) is stupid. Simply stupid.

 

[TheMBC]

The fact you started a thread in the iPhone forum of MacRumors means you have not quit the iPhone as your thread title describes.

 

[profets]

I think I'm going to quit the iPhone

i've really enjoyed using my iPhone for over a year, but its been downhill since Mar 14 - I was really hoping for some change with 3.0 in terms of UI/categorization/customization..

i've always spoken highly of the iphone to friends,family and will continue to do so, but i've gotten tired of using a phone with no customization, no multitasking, no voip and a poor notification system. i'll probably be jumping to android soon. for the sake of the iPhone & its users, i really hope apple does something incredible for OS 4.0.

 

[ucfgrad93]

No, the iPhone does everything I want it to.

 

[Oskee2001]

the iPhone is perfect for me... I wouldn't have much use for Google Voice. To begin with, you can't use your existing phone number so it would be very impractical to start all over with a new number. Anyway, the iPhone has everything I'd ever need, so no, i'm not going to give it up.

 

[darngooddesign]

...but i've gotten tired of using a phone with no customization, no multitasking, no voip and a poor notification system.

Just jailbreak.

I have great customization (WinterBoard), great multitasking (Backgrounder), voip (Google Voice), and great notification (LockScreenInfo, GRIP and Status Notifier).

 

[uberamd]

i've really enjoyed using my iPhone for over a year, but its been downhill since Mar 14 - I was really hoping for some change with 3.0 in terms of UI/categorization/customization..

i've always spoken highly of the iphone to friends,family and will continue to do so, but i've gotten tired of using a phone with no customization, no multitasking, no voip and a poor notification system. i'll probably be jumping to android soon. for the sake of the iPhone & its users, i really hope apple does something incredible for OS 4.0.

Jump to Android, you will be back here in a week. I did the same switch (got a G1 after getting my 3GS) and came back. Why? Multitasking, while good on paper, really made Android turn into a fat cat. It was slow. Sloooooow. I had to reboot constantly to clean up and get the speed back up, but a few apps later and once again it was slow. In Android there is no way to 'close' most applications without a task manager.

Also, many Android apps decide that they are going to run in the background at boot, slowing things down. I don't need twitter, Meebo, and a variety of other apps running all the time. This also made the battery life AWFUL. I use my 3GS heavily throughout the day and it will get down to 30% by the time I go to bed (18 hours of standby/use). With Android, I was down to 35% by the time I was done working an 8 hour day. By bed time it was. And the on screen keyboard sucks.

But beyond that, Android does show promise (notification bar is a major +). I just can't vouch for it and encourage it given the current state of the OS and hardware.

 

[profets]

Just jailbreak.

I have great customization (WinterBoard), great multitasking (Backgrounder), voip (Google Voice), and great notification (LockScreenInfo, GRIP and Status Notifier).

i have jailbroken, and while i can customize, doesnt help with anything else.

"great multitasking (backgrounder)" - what a joke. backgrounder - which rarely works to begin with, is far from multitasking.

also, i dont care for GV at all, so the issues with apple/att/gv dont bother me..

EDIT: jailbreaking gets annoying as well. look, we have 3.0.1 available to fix the sms issue, and i cant even update without doing a restore and losing jailbreak. pretty annoying cycle to go through for each update

 

[profets]

Jump to Android, you will be back here in a week. I did the same switch (got a G1 after getting my 3GS) and came back. Why? Multitasking, while good on paper, really made Android turn into a fat cat. It was slow. Sloooooow. I had to reboot constantly to clean up and get the speed back up, but a few apps later and once again it was slow. In Android there is no way to 'close' most applications without a task manager.

Also, many Android apps decide that they are going to run in the background at boot, slowing things down. I don't need twitter, Meebo, and a variety of other apps running all the time. This also made the battery life AWFUL. I use my 3GS heavily throughout the day and it will get down to 30% by the time I go to bed (18 hours of standby/use). With Android, I was down to 35% by the time I was done working an 8 hour day. By bed time it was. And the on screen keyboard sucks.

But beyond that, Android does show promise (notification bar is a major +). I just can't vouch for it and encourage it given the current state of the OS and hardware.

i know what you're saying, but if i went to android, it would maybe be the Hero, or preferably SE experia X3 when its around... no way i'm touching the dream, lol. i've played with the magic though, and it was much nicer than the dream

but still, once i switch, i wont be back.. i cant take it anymore using a grid of icons the way its setup now. theres too many things that are important to me available on android and not on the iphone unfortunately..

 

[darngooddesign]

i have jailbroken, and while i can customize, doesnt help with anything else.

"great multitasking (backgrounder)" - what a joke. backgrounder - which rarely works to begin with, is far from multitasking.

also, i dont care for GV at all, so the issues with apple/att/gv dont bother me..

So how do you need multitasking to work? There are other solutions that also include an app switcher, but yeah, Backgrounder was a more robust on 2.2. It does still give you ability to run apps int he background while you use a different one. That is the essence of multitasking.

I used GV as an example but there are several VOIP apps out there, and an app to allow you to run wifi-only apps on 3G.

If you want something new then cool, but don't pretend the solutions aren't available for the iPhone.

 

[uberamd]

i know what you're saying, but if i went to android, it would maybe be the Hero, or preferably SE experia X3 when its around... no way i'm touching the dream, lol. i've played with the magic though, and it was much nicer than the dream

but still, once i switch, i wont be back.. i cant take it anymore using a grid of icons the way its setup now. theres too many things that are important to me available on android and not on the iphone unfortunately..

Hey if it works out for you, thats great. I had the exact same gripes as you did about the iPhone when I got my G1, and I was most disapointed. Yeah you can customize, but only to an extent. To get themes you need to *buy* the aHome theme switcher for $5/10 (I forget which) and most of the themes suck. The notification bar is nice but every app thinks it deserves space in the bar. App quality is currently so-so at best, and the apps that replace the stock SMS app are good on paper but suck badly.

Give it a whirl and see if you like it for a permanent replacement. But I went into Android expecting all the features of the iPhone like the fluid OS, multi-touch, lag-free experience in a better package and was highly disappointed.

And as I said, backgrounding eats performance and dominates battery life. It isn't all that lovely. At all.

 

[profets]

So how do you need multitasking to work? There are other solutions that also include an app switcher, but yeah, Backgrounder was a more robust on 2.2. It does still give you ability to run apps int he background while you use a different one. That is the essence of multitasking.

I used GV as an example but there are several VOIP apps out there, and an app to allow you to run wifi-only apps on 3G.

please, backgrounder isnt even close to real multitasking. i'm talking about about how webOS or android can multitask. not being in the middle of a skype call or some game and have it shut down because a phone call comes in. i want to have multiple apps running, and switch through nicely. current iphone OS just isnt designed in this manner. i'm really hoping for 4.0 they have some cool implementation for it.

voip - this is important to me, it may not be for a lot of people, and i could understand that. i use a few voip apps right now, and even use them over 3G which does work well. i have them set to stay running with backgrounder, but its only so long before i find out the OS has closed them. i want voip/sip integration into the main phone function like can be done on winMo or android. is this a possibility on the iPhone?

push Gmail - IMAP_IDLE... this i would love.

customizable home screen with widgets is really just cool. i hate having a home screen of just icons. or how about some sort of categorization? i know there is categories app in cydia, but with 50,000 apps you think this is something apple could have looked into for 3.0 no?

If you want something new then cool, but don't pretend the solutions aren't available for the iPhone.

i'm not pretending anything. i love using my iphone, but whats important to me now just isnt possible, and what i've seen in android has made that possible.

 

[Ibjr]

Steven Frank, a cofounder of Panic, has announced he is switching away from the iPhone because of the arbitrary app store approvals and rejections.

 

[profets]

Hey if it works out for you, thats great. I had the exact same gripes as you did about the iPhone when I got my G1, and I was most disapointed. Yeah you can customize, but only to an extent. To get themes you need to *buy* the aHome theme switcher for $5/10 (I forget which) and most of the themes suck. The notification bar is nice but every app thinks it deserves space in the bar. App quality is currently so-so at best, and the apps that replace the stock SMS app are good on paper but suck badly.

Give it a whirl and see if you like it for a permanent replacement. But I went into Android expecting all the features of the iPhone like the fluid OS, multi-touch, lag-free experience in a better package and was highly disappointed.

And as I said, backgrounding eats performance and dominates battery life. It isn't all that lovely. At all.

i can understand that.. thats why i'm waiting to see the hero in person and hopefully something like SE X3 isnt too far away, something more powerful as well.. thanks for the tips as well

 

[Eallan]

All the people defending apple and saying how it's the greatest phone on earth fail to see the implications.

No one is whining without cause and Apples policies are terrible to devs.

Devs apparently field the full price of a refund. They make 70% and pay back 100% for refunds.

Apple approves GV apps for 4 months. This is 4 months they're sanctioned by apple and apple and the dev are making $$. Then arbitrarily they remove them without notice or a reasonable explanation and/or communication.

Now the devs must pay back 100%? How is that not theft plain and simple?

 

[profets]

All the people defending apple and saying how it's the greatest phone on earth fail to see the implications.

No one is whining without cause and Apples policies are terrible to devs.

Devs apparently field the full price of a refund. They make 70% and pay back 100% for refunds.

Apple approves GV apps for 4 months. This is 4 months they're sanctioned by apple and apple and the dev are making $$. Then arbitrarily they remove them without notice or a reasonable explanation and/or communication.

Now the devs must pay back 100%? How is that not theft plain and simple?

are you serious? devs pay back 100%? unbelievable

apple approves an app, lets the dev make 70%, and then pulls it, forcing the dev to pay back 100%? thats really incredible. dev has no control at all? if theyre going to pull an app, apple should be doing 100% of the refund

 

[Simgar988]

If I quit my iPhone, I'd probably go back to smoking weed 6 times a day.

 

[Eallan]

are you serious? devs pay back 100%? unbelievable

apple approves an app, lets the dev make 70%, and then pulls it, forcing the dev to pay back 100%? thats really incredible. dev has no control at all? if theyre going to pull an app, apple should be doing 100% of the refund

Agree completely, i'm not 100% positive but thats what everyone has been reporting.

 

[profets]

If I quit my iPhone, I'd probably go back to smoking weed 6 times a day.

thats probably healthier for you

 

[christyn]

Agree completely, i'm not 100% positive but thats what everyone has been reporting.

This is true. The policy is crap. GV mobile's dev is trying to get people to ask for a apple store credit, in place of a refund because of this policy.

As for 'quitting' the iPhone. No I won't be.
I didn't buy the iPhone for the few apps that have been removed.
I don't buy that it's all AT&T's doing. But it's clear why AT&T does not want users to have the app available.

I personally use and love google voice, and currently have both GV mobile and voice central on my phone. Should they disappear, it's not the end of the world. It's not like they're blocking you from getting to google voice through Safari.