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THE GREAT IPHONE DEBATE OF 2008
By Michael B. Brodkorb | June 29, 2008
This is a warning: this post has nothing to do with exposing Minnesota Democrats.
Here’s the deal: I am seriously thinking about dumping my Blackberry and buying an iPhone on July 11. I’ve been a dedicated Blackberry user for years, but I think the time has come to switch. I purchased my first Apple product last year (a MacBook Pro) and I’m hooked. If you have an iPhone, please leave a comment. If you’re a blogger, do you use your iPhone to blog? How’s the typing?  If you’re anti-iPhone, please tell me why in the comment section.
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Topics: Uncategorized | 21 Comments »
June 30th, 2008 at 1:33 AM
Michael,
just for the record , I work tech support for the iphone currently. Very happy with the job, very put off by the product.
Why?
1) deceptive pricing : those 199 initial prices mask the fact that AT&T has upped the cost of all data package by $10 a month , so in essence that $200 is an pax $450 phone after the contract run
2) service / coverage AT&T is coming late to the game with 3G coverage and has nowhere near the coverage that Verizon and T-mobile have with their 3G networks. Also I’ve worked call centers in various capacities for in excess of 10 years and I’d rate the customer service of AT&T ( the only service provider for Iphone) as only a D+ as a service provider
3) Features : there are smart phones that can do much more for the same or less cost. Iphone does not support multimedia texting, does not have onboard video camera and has no wireless data transfer. As for blog support , it would seem to me to be problematic to blog via iphone( thats an uniformed position, as I have no experienc behind the scenes with a blogging environment.
4) product life and security Neither apple or ATT provide damage insurance for the Iphone nor will they . In short , you drop the phone, crack the screen , and you are all but buying a new phone to replace your damaged phone. They will provide a exstenstion on the original 1 year limited hardware warranty , but hte key word here is limited. You drop the phone on the driveway , get it wet or the dog chews on it , and you pay
Just my observations
June 30th, 2008 at 3:38 AM
yeah,
iphone sucks, i bet you’ll still get one though
June 30th, 2008 at 5:18 AM
I have owned a jail broken Iphone for about a year now. I love it. Tons of applications available to do everything you can imagine. T-Mobile has great coverage and great prices. No issues with the phones hardware either. Dropped twice in a year on the ground and still functions great. I don’t use the 3G service I simply use the wifi function as everywhere I go there are very strong signals. I wouldn’t hesitate to think about a jail broken unit as opposed to the ATT version. Just my 2 cents.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:24 AM
I can’t wait to get an iPhone. The little bit I’ve used them they are simple to use and easy to type.
With the new iPhones, I think we’ll see Word Press come out with an application to make blogging easy from the iPhone.
Until then the web interface is still pretty good from the iPhone.
I recommend it.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:37 AM
I’ve had an iphone about a year and love it. You’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.
But if I was wanting to write long blog entries, I wouldn’t get one. Typing is clunkier than Bberry.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Personally, I can’t see how people use Blackberry. It is hands down the worst “mobile device” I’ve ever laid fingers on. With iPhone you at least get the real Internet and now that it’s opened up to 3rd party apps, it’s going outpace BB even more. Plus, the iPhone is a much more robust device with iPod features, movies, etc.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Yeah, don’t commit to Apple. The second they become profitable, Democrats will penalize them with windfall tax, and start subsidizing Microsoft.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Why would you consider an iPhone? Steve Jobs is a devoutly radical liberal and hired Al Gore to sit on the Apple Board of Directors. The end result of purchasing an iPhone is to contribute to the lining of Steve Jobs’and Al Gore’s pockets and all the anti-US groups they support. There are better products out there for less money. Also, remember important votes we cast as Americans is with our money.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Jason: I know. But I have few liberal indulgences, such as eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and enjoying the comic humor of Alec Baldwin.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:35 PM
By Jason’s logic, there’d be a heckuva lot of things no conservative should buy. That’s just ridiculus.
Buy the iPhone. It’s the superior product.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Well, I should strike this note of caution in case you are a woman, fat or both.
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/5/apple_iphone_discriminates_against_women_and_fat_people
June 30th, 2008 at 2:44 PM
Thingsh in hea don’t react well to bulletsh!
June 30th, 2008 at 3:21 PM
loris:
What’s truly ridiculus is not being at least a partially informed consumer. If you choose to throw away your right to vote with you dollars, don’t insinuate it foolish for others to do so. This type of action is quite often the only way to effect significant change. Why don’t you go buy some gas and sundries at Citgo. I’m sure good ol’ Hugo will just love you for it.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:31 PM
I buy the best product at a price I can afford. I’m not going to deny myself that because a few liberals happen to be higher ups at one company or another.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Jason posted some substantive complaints, but I can’t help but take the time to debunk them.
1) AT&T’s 3G data plan has cost $30 for some time. The move of the iPhone to 3G brought it up to the $30 price point. Annoying? Yes. Deceptive? Not really.
2) Service/coverage. As anyone will tell you, coverage is simply a matter of where you live and work and use your phone. Some people swear Verizon has the best coverage, some people say AT&T. Having used both I can feel comfortable saying that Verizon is solid, but AT&T works better where I use my phone most. Second point here is that all iPhone customer support/service goes to Apple, not AT&T. It’s part of their contract and thank god it is.
3) Features. By far your worst point Jason. There are also no smartphones who come close to providing an iPod of this caliber. Hell, there aren’t any iPods that come close (save the touch). Moreover, the App Store (also released on the 11th) will blow this argument out of the water. Take a look at some of the demos revealed already and try to tell me that you care it can’t do MMS (email works) or video (which I never used on a dinky cell camera anyway).
4) This point is valid. I got Applecare on my iPhone and Apple’s given my 3 iPhones with few questions (first one was slowing up and the second one got a dead pixel). My brother, however, dropped his on the driveway and the screen cracked; he had to pay for a screen replacement at a cost of $200. I can also say, however, that I’ve dropped mine on concrete at least 5 times from waist height and it hasn’t cracked. Point being, this thing’s pretty dang sturdy and any other damage will be covered by Apple with no question.
I’m a big time Apple fanboy but there’s a reason: I like things that just work. I’m incredibly tech savvy and can easily work with and set up any smartphone, but I’d rather just have something that works. On top of that, this thing is just brilliant. From visual voicemail, to the best iPod I’ve ever had, to an interface that reacts instantaneously, to voice features that I don’t have to dig through menus to use (try conference calls on an iPhone sometime), the thing just anticipates what I need to do. It’s far from perfect, but it’s also by far the best phone out there today.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I meant *chaosfish* pointed out some substantive complaints. Jason, on the other hand, needs to go take a breather.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:46 PM
Get a case. I have one and it protects them quite wel.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:42 PM
As for the iPhone, I was given a free demo and was not impressed at all. It is not ready for the enterprise as it lacks the application support needed for business. If you don’t have a problem with Apples’ politics and your teenie bopper wants it, go ahead. Outside of that, it’s worthless.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:26 PM
I’ve had an iPhone since November and absolutely love it. I’ve had Treo’s, Blackberry’s and others – this is the best phone I’ve ever had, bar none.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Thanks for this post, Michael. You prompted me to learn how my T-Mobile Dash (Windows Mobile 6) can update blogger or WordPress through yahoo mail.
I learned there are 5 smartphone groups: Apple/iPhone, Linux Mobile Foundation, Nokia (NYSE: NOK)/Symbian, Google (NSDQ: GOOG)/Android,
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)/Windows Mobile (RIMM/Blackberry, Palm)
Blackberry delayed the planned Bold device but that just means new features and applications will be that much more new! New features and
applications also might come from the other 4 smartphone groups.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/06/linux_on_the_mo.html
July 11th, 2008 at 10:00 AM
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