So I’ve had the iPhone for about 2 months now, and I’ve figured it out.
I love the UI more than I love the phone.
I love the screen more than I love the phone.
Sometimes even, you could say I hate the phone.
It’s frustrating, because I want the iPhone to be amazing – the best mobile I’ve ever used. And at times it is. But as it stands there are 2 things that come up that really hurt it.
Bluetooth
and
iPod functionality
Bluetooth is great. I love it. Long’s SonyEricsson T616 was the first phone I ever used that had Bluetooth. And it was neat. There was a program called Float’s Mobile Agent (fma). It was neat to connect to your phone from your computer and control Winamp and add/edit contacts. And I could even send ringtones to my phone – no more using Nokia’s ringtone program to type in ringtones on the phone. I could send midi files and it was spectacular. Eventually I upgraded to a SonyEricsson K700, which had HID profiles so it could act as a keyboard or a mouse. Very neat stuff. Anyways, the iPhone can do none of those neat things. The only Bluetooth profile it has is headset. I can’t even make calls/send text messages from MacOS X’s Address Book like I could with all of my previous phones. It’s more disappointing than ridiculous.
See, every so often I think wouldn’t it be great if I had a GPS in my car. But, I don’t want to spend thousands to replace my factory radio and then have it stolen. Nor do I want a separate GPS device like the Garmin Nuvi or TomTom whatever. I’ll leave it out in plain view one day and it’ll get stolen. Plus I don’t want to have to keep track of something else. So the ideal solution is to buy a Bluetooth GPS puck and stick it in my car, and then use Navicore or whatever on my phone. Brilliant plan. Except the iPhone doesn’t support the Bluetooth Serial Profile. Because you know, and I know, and Steve Jobs knows that the iPhone has an amazing screen. If it had a GPS application, it would be amazing. Just look at the Google Maps app.
Steve Jobs likes to say that iPhone is their “best iPod”. And that is a lie. Their best iPod is the iPod. There are 2 things missing in the iPhone – iPod app: Searching and the ability to Shuffle by Album. Don’t worry, I’ve already suggested it to Apple in their iPhone feedback form.
So, I’m just counting the days until someone releases something that matches the iPhone in terms of user experience. I think Nokia can do it. Just look at the N810. If it wasn’t almost $500 I’d buy it in a heartbeat.
2 Comments
You were using an MDA before. Come one, this is the greatest thing ever. Every “shortcoming” with the exception of stereo BT (which will more than likely be a firmware update in the near future) are really impractical (i.e. controlling win amp with your phone). I mean people want to hack their iPhones so they can add tip calculator applications. Give me a break.
All the whiners should just go get one of these $800 unlocked sony and Nokia phones if the iPhone is so bad. Jeez. Okay I’m done.
I got a new apple keyboard. It rules!
You’re delusional.
These things I want are not impractical. They only make the iPhone better. Pairing your phone with your computer – that was the future. Just take a look at the Address Book
Clicking that Bluetooth button will do nothing if you’re paired with an iPhone. Normaly, it gives you the ability to send/receive calls and text messages. That’s built in to MacOS X. But yet, incompatible with the iPhone. Do you see the disconnect here?
So you don’t want to control Winamp, what about controlling Powerpoint? Or DVD Player? It’s not essential, but it’s nice.
And you’re telling me a Google Maps application that works with GPS is impractical, give me a break. You know it’ll be amazing.
And wouldn’t it be great to be able to send documents and ringtones to your iPhone? Or do you like paying 99 cents to make ringtones out of music you already own. I mean take the situation – I have a list of x to look at when I’m shopping in a document. Why must I email it to myself and then check my email from my iPhone (depends on getting a good EDGE signal or Wi-Fi) to view it. Wouldn’t it be great to just send that file over and view it from a “Document Viewer” app?
And surely you agree the iPod application could be better.
Also, did you not read the beginning of the post, where I said I love using the phone. Am I not able to criticize it, or was that in the TOS that you agree to when you sign up with ATT. Because as you know, I’m not with ATT.
The iPhone needs competition. The iPod needs competition. It’ll only make Apple put out a better product. Take the Zune. Maybe by v3 it’ll be something hot. I mean it has some nice features now. Wi-Fi syncing?, that’s something EVERYTHING should be able to do. And if you can’t agree with that – Apple has you by the balls and that’s pretty sad.