Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 3G - Disaster, Triumph, Neither
- Thread starter jk000
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Neither, from your list of options. It's selling well despite its problems, and I'm sure will continue to do so. It has a lot of other things to recommend it beyond 3G data and the rather less than great GPS performance. Still, I had a vague, momentary urge to upgrade from my EDGE iPhone and I'm sure glad I didn't -- best think I didn't do, ever. I think the app store is overrated, though. Sure, I've found a few use apps there, a couple I've paid for, a few free. But, and I realize this may be an Apple thing, but something I really want, and I bet a lot of people really want, is to enable video-clip capture on both EDGE and 3G iPhones, since everything is there to support both that and transfer to a Mac or PC. I think the official tethering issue, which is as about as viable for EDGE iPhones in good coverage as it is 3G iPhones, is a nonstarter. If I'm going to be priced into the same class as other ATT smartphones for tethering -- $30 per month option, not inclusive of tax or other fees -- I'm going to stick with my $20/month unlimited EDGE iPhone data plan and pay $60 for Sprint's mobile broadband via USB adapter. Basically, I'm not going to do this, as I just have no need for it, but while $60 may be a steep premium to pay when you already have mobile data, $30 is steep, too, and Sprint's mobile broadband is fast, fast, fast, sports good coverage in most urban, and even not so urban, regions in the States.
Insomuch as people seemed to be lining up for weeks for this phone, yeah it's a triumph.
Insomuch as the software needs to be worked with, it's not so much.
It's far from a disaster though. People love hollering about when Apple flubs, however minor. But this is far from catastrophic.
Insomuch as the software needs to be worked with, it's not so much.
It's far from a disaster though. People love hollering about when Apple flubs, however minor. But this is far from catastrophic.
Verbatim what sacredpoet wrote, with a qualifier: The hip company, it's not when they flub, it's they WILL flub. When iPods got really popular it was they scratch or under constant use their batteries won't hold a charge after a year or so. Well, of course these plastics and these metal back pieces, they scratch; and these batteries, they only had so many charge cycles and it took A LOT of juice to run hard-drive music players. I, early adopter as I was, had another 5GB hard drive player from Archos before the ease-of-use and smaller-size wonder of original 5GB iPod was released. The battery wore down like you wouldn't believe.
So in the absence of a true flub, people will make one up, because The Big Fruit strive for perfection, and when the don't hit it, they get a flub call. Microsoft, they hit about 50% or less -- Xbox 360, great games console, easy dev. transition from Windows PC to 360, good online service (and cheap, too, considering it's a pay service), HORRIBLE build quality and NASTY failure rate, but considered by most consumer any even many devs to be a winner. Because this is what they expect from MS: Close but no cigar. So they get the cigar, anyway.
I greatly prefer my EDGE iPhone. If I didn't own an original, I'd love a 3G iPhone.
So in the absence of a true flub, people will make one up, because The Big Fruit strive for perfection, and when the don't hit it, they get a flub call. Microsoft, they hit about 50% or less -- Xbox 360, great games console, easy dev. transition from Windows PC to 360, good online service (and cheap, too, considering it's a pay service), HORRIBLE build quality and NASTY failure rate, but considered by most consumer any even many devs to be a winner. Because this is what they expect from MS: Close but no cigar. So they get the cigar, anyway.
I greatly prefer my EDGE iPhone. If I didn't own an original, I'd love a 3G iPhone.
Hardware is great: Better Signal, 3G is fast, and GPS is an awesome addition. Only drawback for me is the shorter battery life.
Software is a 50/50 mix. New features are great, but the stability stinks. Lots of slow downs and lock ups unless I force quit certain built-in applications (usually iPod), or reset the phone.
Software issues aren't enough to get me to stop using the phone though. It's only been about 45 days, and I am hoping that when 2.1 comes out, they address some of these issues...
Software is a 50/50 mix. New features are great, but the stability stinks. Lots of slow downs and lock ups unless I force quit certain built-in applications (usually iPod), or reset the phone.
Software issues aren't enough to get me to stop using the phone though. It's only been about 45 days, and I am hoping that when 2.1 comes out, they address some of these issues...
It all depends on your perspective.
Developing and marketing a new software platform via Apps Store: triumph.
Software updates marred by problems: neither - it's merely a failure, not a disaster.
MobileMe PR: disaster (note I said PR, not MobileMe itself - which I think is brilliant)
3G problems: neither - it's not quite a disaster yet, although too much speculation and not enough incite by Apple could prove to tip it into disaster territory if people believe their phones are broken or that they simple don't work and will never work properly.
Marketing of the 3G: triumph - even with the inconsistencies described such as the full internet experience or 2.5 times faster, etc.
Overall you can't call it a triumph or a failure. I mean Apple is selling 3Gs like nothing before, but there were some problems so I don't think its fair to call it a triumph yet. Maybe when the bugs get ironed out though...
Developing and marketing a new software platform via Apps Store: triumph.
Software updates marred by problems: neither - it's merely a failure, not a disaster.
MobileMe PR: disaster (note I said PR, not MobileMe itself - which I think is brilliant)
3G problems: neither - it's not quite a disaster yet, although too much speculation and not enough incite by Apple could prove to tip it into disaster territory if people believe their phones are broken or that they simple don't work and will never work properly.
Marketing of the 3G: triumph - even with the inconsistencies described such as the full internet experience or 2.5 times faster, etc.
Overall you can't call it a triumph or a failure. I mean Apple is selling 3Gs like nothing before, but there were some problems so I don't think its fair to call it a triumph yet. Maybe when the bugs get ironed out though...