Chris WiegmanWith all the buzz around iPnone 4 one would be inclined to think that not only has the product been the single best phone to ever see the light of day, but it perhaps has also brought about world peace, stopped the oil leaking into the gulf and maybe even cured cancer. I can’t turn on my TV, open up my browser, or even look at a newspaper without some fan-boy proclaiming its wonders. The question I have to ask is why?
OK, so it has a few things last year’s model didn’t. Does that really make it worth disposing of a perfectly good phone? Will any of these new features do anything to really help anyone’s daily life? To both I have to say it’s doubtful. I myself will once again avoid the mass hysteria. Even as an OSX fan I just can’t justify a switch to iPhone and here’s why.
- AT&T This alone accounts for numerous reasons why I won’t touch the product. They don’t have nearly the coverage of Sprint, and I have yet to meet a single person around here who has ever had anything to say about their service other than “it’s ok.” In addition, I pay $35/month/phone for unlimited everything on Sprint and I can use it everywhere I go. Why would I want to pay more for a data cap?
- The Antenna Does this really even need to be addressed?
- Android With Android ever increasing it’s market and market share iPhone really is yesterday’s news. Not only have I been able to find thousands of apps I don’t really need for my HTC Hero, I’ve been to install custom ROMs and do all sorts of tricks iPhone users only dream about. In addition, Android Market is growing so fast that it quiet possible will soon be bigger than Apple’s App Store anyway and doesn’t enforce ridiculous restrictions on it’s developers.
- Phone Cost I paid $99 for my HTC Hero. Why would I want to drop double that for a phone that will be laughed at in a year?
- Google Apps I use Google Apps both at work and for personal use. The integration of Email/Calendar/Tasks/etc with Android is something that iPhone can’t currently match and doesn’t seem to have on the drawing board either. Google definitely has a leg up by already offering the services most people are using their smartphones to try to connect anyway.
Apple makes some good products and I in fact own 4 iPods and a Macbook Pro. These past experiences however simply don’t overcome the downsides of both iOS and AT&T. Now should Sprint ever offer iPhone and Apple perhaps start allowing people to actually develop what they want I might be convinced to change, but for now I really don’t see a point in paying extra for an inferior service and closed product.