iPhone Competitor Talking Points Revealed

[yayaba]

I don't get why everyones getting so bent out of shape about the friggin' camera! Personally, I HATE cameras in cell phones, they are annoying and useless. That's what digital cameras are for. Hello!

I personally don't own a digital camera because I hate carrying one around with me. That's why having a camera on a phone is very appealing to me.

For the iPhone though, I might be willing to let go of the flash if the optics are still good enough.

 

[mac 2005]

You must be joking. My contract with Verizon expired today, and I nobody saying all the stuff you are mentioning even though I said I would get the iPhone.

Did you go to the same store as the OP and speak with the same salesperson?

 

[pgwalsh]

The "No IM" issue can be solved thusly:

http://wwwm.meebo.com/

(I should write a iphone version of this stuff, so it fits better on the small screen)

If you could do it with the iPhone devkit that would be cool. Seems plausible, but I'm not sure what Meebo uses behind the scenes. If it's ajax, flash or java?

 

[i4k20c]

Well, first off I think you're being unrealistic about the loss of capacity over time. I've never heard of a battery losing half it's capacity in 1 year, let alone 6 months. Second, there are many ways you could keep your battery charged besides just depending on swappable batteries. For instance, you can get a cigarette charger adaptor so that every time you're in a car you'll be recharging your battery, and you can get a couple of plug in AC outlet chargers to keep in all your regularly visited locations, and the iPod has accessories that add extra an extra battery pack that you can snap on when your battery is running low, so you can get a couple of these and toss them in your car and brief case like you would a replaceable battery, which will bulk up the phone when you have them plugged in, but they're just there to see you through until the next time you're near one of your many rechargers.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think that not having a removable battery is a downer for some small percentage of people, but it's definitely not a deal breaker. You just need to compensate for the times when you've got a low battery in a different way then you're used to.

p.s. Do you really use 8 hours of actual talk time between charges?

I didn't think about the battery packs, which if some do work, than it doesn't bother me so much.

I don't use 8 hours of actual talk time, but currently i recharge my phone every night, i am sure with the iphone, 8 hours is a bit generous cause i could see me using the ipod/movie player 1-2hrs a day (commute on train), and leaving the rest of the time for actual phone usage and internet usage. As you can see, if the phone was simply used to make calls, it really wouldn't be a problem, but i see it as more of a media player than simple "phone."

I mean again, I'm making blame before even playing with the device or seeing actual battery usage, but I'm just pointing out what bothers me the most is all.

Also the battery loosing capacity over a year, i am getting my information from here http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/26/iphone-facts-from-the-first-reviews/ that insists that apple will replace the battery/unit after 300-400 charges because of capacity loss, what that loss is i do not know, but comparing it to my ipod/powerbook battery usage, i'd say its definitely more than a good 20-30%.

 

[mac 2005]

Studies have shown that even the use of handsfree phones while driving significantly increases the risk of getting in an accident. As a result, some jurisdictions are considering banning ANY cell phone use while driving, handsfree or not.

For safety's sake, if you need to make a call, please pull over to the side of the road first.

Not to mention talking with other people in the car, adjusting the stereo, eating, drinking, letting your mind wander, reading directions, etc. I'm not discounting what you're saying, only underscoring the point that DISTRACTION OF ANY KIND is the issue affecting vehicle safety. I just get a bit tired of the sanctimony from people--and I'm not accusing you here--complaining about cellphone use when they drive with a sandwich in one hand, a soda in the other and their knee pressed against the steering wheel to navigate.

 

[ocyrus]

If you could do it with the iPhone devkit that would be cool. Seems plausible, but I'm not sure what Meebo uses behind the scenes. If it's ajax, flash or java?

Ajax

 

[i4k20c]

I think we geeks really don't get it most of the time. I remember when the iPod came out, the pundits didn't think it was anything different than other MP3 players on the market. Now "iPod" is synonymous with music player.

And when the iPod minis came out, message boards like this thought it would be a complete failure -- the dollars per megabyte was much higher for the mini than the regular iPod. Then the mini became the hotest seller on the market.

Everyone in the message boards were trying to guess who would win the next-gen console wars: PS3 or XBox 360. Then bam, the Wii is blowing everyone away in sales.

Where we techies see technical limitations, most of the world sees simplicity, elegance, and good price points.

Don't get me wrong, i mean from the videos and such, everything the iphone does, it does it with style. Hell my current phone freezes on me, i mean this phone is definitely leaps of improvement, but i'm just saying that i think it will be much like the ipod, where the true power/beauty of its existence won't be shown till a couple of generations of it...

 

[pgwalsh]

Ajax

Well that's great. Then it seems very plausible.

 

[princealfie]

Studies have shown that even the use of handsfree phones while driving significantly increases the risk of getting in an accident. As a result, some jurisdictions are considering banning ANY cell phone use while driving, handsfree or not.

For safety's sake, if you need to make a call, please pull over to the side of the road first.

Amen... people with cell phones driving are worse than people who survive in Death Valley.

 

[kwikdeth]

the one and only problem i see with the iPhone is AT&T/Cingular.
They are so god awful it's beyond belief.
Recently I had to go to chicago for a business trip and was provided
a samsung blackjack by the office in order to keep in touch.
I was flabergasted by the awful performance, signal strength and call quality of cingular's network. The Cingular phone actually told me at one point that it couldnt find the network (this was in the vicinity of Wells & North ave) and when i pulled my personal T-Mobile phone out of my pocket, it had four bars of signal. Look back at the Blackjack, still "NO SERVICE" The GPRS/EDGE network is a joke. my wife's T-mob Dash is pretty fast with internet, whereas the blackjack's internet is abysmally slow. just loading up google sometimes takes on the order of 20 seconds. absolutely ridiculous.
it was the same thing in 2002 when i was an actual Cingular subscriber.
The iPhone will be a success in canada and europe (whenever it arrives) but I'm almost certain that Apple's pairing with AT&T/Cingular is going to sink the iPhone in the US. I hope apple has some provisions in their contract with ATT &T/Cingular to get out of their binding contract early, as Im sure that a lot of people are going to complain about the awful service that AT&T provides and it will hurt the iPhone's reputation. I myself was totally sold on the iPhone until it was revealed they partered with AT&T, and now, sorry, but no thanks.

 

[motulist]

I didn't think about the battery packs, which if some do work, than it doesn't bother me so much.

Judging by the good reviews on many of the battery pack accessories for the iPod, I'm sure many iPhone battery accessories will work just as well.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/griffin-tunejuice-battery-pack-ipod/

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/belkin-backup-battery-pack-ipod/

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/bti-aa-ipod-battery-ipod/

And more http://www.google.com/search?num=10...kup+OR+external+battery+accessory&btnG=Search

 

[OutThere]

Verizon should not be allowed to criticize anyone for lack of features. They are notorious for absolutely crippling their phones and eliminating or limiting core phone features built-in by the phone manufacturer. Come on now.

 

[Tampa Tom]

You must be joking. My contract with Verizon expired today, and I nobody saying all the stuff you are mentioning even though I said I would get the iPhone.

No joke. I was gang banged by two Verizon employees. They were well armed with misinformation.

 

[yayaba]

the one and only problem i see with the iPhone is AT&T/Cingular.
They are so god awful it's beyond belief.
Recently I had to go to chicago for a business trip and was provided
a samsung blackjack by the office in order to keep in touch.
I was flabergasted by the awful performance, signal strength and call quality of cingular's network. The Cingular phone actually told me at one point that it couldnt find the network (this was in the vicinity of Wells & North ave) and when i pulled my personal T-Mobile phone out of my pocket, it had four bars of signal. Look back at the Blackjack, still "NO SERVICE" The GPRS/EDGE network is a joke. my wife's T-mob Dash is pretty fast with internet, whereas the blackjack's internet is abysmally slow. just loading up google sometimes takes on the order of 20 seconds. absolutely ridiculous.
it was the same thing in 2002 when i was an actual Cingular subscriber.
The iPhone will be a success in canada and europe (whenever it arrives) but I'm almost certain that Apple's pairing with AT&T/Cingular is going to sink the iPhone in the US. I hope apple has some provisions in their contract with ATT &T/Cingular to get out of their binding contract early, as Im sure that a lot of people are going to complain about the awful service that AT&T provides and it will hurt the iPhone's reputation. I myself was totally sold on the iPhone until it was revealed they partered with AT&T, and now, sorry, but no thanks.

Did it ever occur to you that AT&T might have other areas of the US where their network is OK? Granted I agree that this will hurt Apple in areas where service sucks but you shouldn't go around dissing AT&T for being awful when it's ok in other areas.

Where I live, AT&T works great. Rarely have dropped calls and EDGE runs at a speedy clip.

 

[MacinDoc]

Not to mention talking with other people in the car, adjusting the stereo, eating, drinking, letting your mind wander, reading directions, etc. I'm not discounting what you're saying, only underscoring the point that DISTRACTION OF ANY KIND is the issue affecting vehicle safety. I just get a bit tired of the sanctimony from people--and I'm not accusing you here--complaining about cellphone use when they drive with a sandwich in one hand, a soda in the other and their knee pressed against the steering wheel to navigate.

Agreed. I've seen ppl doing some crazy things while trying to drive. I was just pointing out that voice dialing is not the only issue when using a cell phone while driving.

 

[Royale w/cheese]

Well they gotta keep customers somehow. We will see.

 

[twoodcc]

ok, so they have some points.....but not enough to stop people from buying the iPhone

 

[JGowan]

they should have mentioned the outrageous price tag for a freaking phone.

Walt: Who is the intended customer for the iPhone? Is it for current “smart phone” users? For iPod fans who want a combined device?

Steve: Almost everyone we’ve talked to hates their phone. The terrible user interfaces keep most users from discovering or using most of the features. We’d like to change that for everyone. Many users want both a phone and an iPod, since most phones are not good music players. When you subtract the $200 cost of an iPod, which is included in the iPhone, the rest of the iPhone costs just $299.

People are not just not thinking about what this thing does. It's NOT just a phone, people. It does many things and from all that I've seen, does them VERY well.

I remember all of the crap I took back in Fall '01 when I paid $399 for Apple's first iPod. But, when people finally took a look, suddenly it all seemed perfectly legitimate.

This thing is LIGHT YEARS ahead of that first generation player and only costs $100 more -- the phone plans are extremely reasonable and very affordable.

 

[nydoofus]

Verizon's talking points are somewhat BS, but Sprint's talking points are valid. I have a PPC-6700 (which I pay $37 a month for, plus insurance) and EVDO is just awesome. When it switched back to the equivalent of EDGE, I just want to cry. The iPhone intrigues me, but my plan (unlimited internet, unlimited txt, 6PM N&W, free roaming) is just too good to give up.

 

[zap2]

- No "Song ID" feature on iPhone

I can never see myself, taking out my iPhone and using that...its stupid(for me)

- No IM on the iPhone
.

Webs App for IM on Safari are coming along....(for me this is less of an issue, I'm mainly facebook only)

- Unprotected music can be transfered to their Verizon phone using Music

Wow, thats a big one ..my iPhone can do that do, out of the box with no add ones needed.

- 4 GB expansion cards are available

Have to buy those, adding more price to the phone. Plus UI is terrible on Verizon. Also 4<8..FYI

- Notable quotes: "stay near a plug", "watch your wallet"
g.

I've yet to have a problem with my battery life, and you get what you pay for in this case.

- Sprint 3G deployment is strong, "leading the way" in 4G/Wi-Max

Hmm..Wi-Fi, it wins. EDGE is slower yes, but fast enough in most cases.

- The iPhone allows desktop-like surfing, but is on a slow network

Again, true, but Wi-Fi helps alot. Still a valid point.

"using the iPhone on the GSM/EDGE network may be like having a really powerful computer on dial up"

And this will be the 3rd time, Wi-Fi.

No, iPhone isn't perfect, but its better then anything Sprint or Verizon has...oh and my SIM card can come out, so HA

Edit-Opps, thread kind of old...why was this brought back?

 

[bousozoku]

Mod. note: Please find a better way to express opinions.

 

[freediverdude]

I bought an iPhone last night (yea!), and I purposely turned off the wi-fi for a while to see how web pages loaded on EDGE. Yes, it was slightly slower, but not like dial up, like verizon and sprint are claiming. In most cases, the pictures on a web page would load in 3 or 4 sections, like blip-blip-blip-blip, instead of just the whole pic appearing in one blip on wi-fi. But we're talking just a few extra seconds to load a web page, still fast and usable. There's no sitting there for a whole minute for a page to load, like dial up or something, at least in my experience.

 

[iShak]

the edge vs 3g is a valid argument no matter how much of a fanboy you are, you can't deny that .. then there are absurd restrictions e.g if you need to get some more ringtones then there is no way but through Apple's $0.99 barrier (yes you can use 3rd party softwares but the question is why the restriction in first place? no other phone has this ridiculous restriction why iPhone? why resort to 3rd party apps? if the hackers hadn't come up with those softwares you would have been stuck wouldn't you?)

so yeah everyone has one thing or another against iPhone, lets face it its just a start there are bound to be some shortcomings but most of the arguments raised are not against the shortcomings but against silly decisions like edge over 3g, restricted phone access, price (Apple sold the iPhone at $200 premium to a million fanboys in 2 months *shock* only to stick their tongue and go HA HA .. but then .. OK we have your $100 .. come and spend that on any other product of ours .. *cough*HA HA *cough*) etc.

one thing that even sprint can't is the quality of the prodcut, so yes a few valid argument, thats why iPhone never appealed to me and it still doesn't, but I am getting iPod touch for sure!.

 

[mymaccc]

Well done

Nice move Verizone
MyMac

 

[whistler72]

At least with my Winblows mobile phone, I create whatever ring tones I want. It sucks that I'm supposed to Think Different, but I'm not allowed to be different. I have to use whatever ringtones that Apple says I can use.