whyPhone?

[iSon]

Following on from the fantastic and impromptu Mac v Microsoft debate, I thought I'd ask you lovely people here why I SHOULDN'T buy an iPhone.

By that, I mean like many other jealous members of this forum, I want one. It's upgrade time with o2 and I was thinking of jumping on the bandwagon a bit late but jumping on it nonetheless. I currently have an HTC PDA - Tytn II to be precise which is a big clunky Windows Mobile phone with GPS, HSDPA, etc and it has served me well for now but I can't resist an upgrade. As much as Windows Mobile can be frustrating sometimes - it's a decent all round phone and lots of room for customisation and added applications.

Now I can upgrade to a few newer types of these phones, again with o2 - I'm especially tempted by the o2 xda Serra (HTC Touch Pro) as it's pretty much an upgrade of what I have at the moment but with a much nicer interface and a little more speedy.

But I just can't stop thinking that I want an iPhone. WHY!?

[Lorns]

Maybe Because like me, it just looks so super fab and i just want one. I think its cos it looks so sleek and easy to use that appeals to me. I'm not bothered about its techy stuff, it just looks such fun to play with. Its a phone, internetty and super duper games consoley thingy all in one. I soo want one.

Is santa reading this forum?
*

[Jovis]

Maybe Because like me, it just looks so super fab and i just want one. I think its cos it looks so sleek and easy to use that appeals to me. I'm not bothered about its techy stuff, it just looks such fun to play with. Its a phone, internetty and super duper games consoley thingy all in one. I soo want one.

You've just the complete opposite of what Ison wanted!

[lukey]

I was a bit surprised at myself, because I expected to have an instinctive 'oooh shiny!' reaction to it before I managed to rationalise why it's actually crap, but instead it's always just seemed a bit crap to me.

I would get very bored of the multi-touch within an hour or so, I'm sure. I really don't like their approach to the App Store *at all*, and it sacrifices so much interface standardness in a bid to be simple and cut-down rather than intuitive or even useable in the long-term (I'm told it doesn't actually have a ubiquitious back-button for backing up through the interface stack).

I think once the superficial honeymoon period is over, it's the way it just misses out functionally on so many areas that will begin to irritate. I'm not sure if this has been fixed through updates, but I seem to remember people saying it originally had no way to send texts to multiple recipients for example.

Even ignoring the cost, etc. it just doesn't seem like the best phone to get, to achieve the same levels of functionality as could be found elsewhere on a much more open platform. Granted I've said that about iPods for the last 5 years and no-one's listened to me about that either

[Bail]

Get one...

I did, still do, I didn't bother with the new 3G one because to be honest for my uses the first gen one has been super. I commute far to much and its great for keeping up to date with news etc on the move, despite the closed wall nature of the app store there is still tons of great, and free content. Having data bundled as part of the contract is great too, I've never yet been charged extra for it, and depending on the option you choose you needn't go over on calls/texts either.

Having email access everywhere is so useful, and whilst many phones can do it now, the iPhone, I've found does it with the most ease. Push email works properly and annoying bugs like Safari crashes have pretty much been eliminated in the latest OS release.

Also having free o2 and The Cloud wi/fi has come in very useful, I've been surprised by the sheer number of places that do actually have it. Whilst it does have its flaws (lack of copy and paste) I've been fairly won over by it, the maps app as gotten me un-lost or to wherever I want in may occasions and it also functions perfectly as an iPod to boot.

[cdd]

When it came out, I sneered at it because, despite it being evidently the best device in existence, I was certain other manufacturers would catch up very rapidly.

>1y later, the iPhone remains by far the best phone - and it only really needs to beat other phone at one function, that is rendering web pages, and in that it has won me, because I spent all my time on buses surfing the internet on my phone.

Currently I have a Windows Mobile device. PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer) is utterly hateful, and Opera, while better and offering good page rendering, is very unresponsive, uses custom prompt dialogs, and doesn't always respond to link clicks.

So, i have another 8 months (UGH) to go on this interface; it's not bad, and previously Windows Mobile used to win hands-down in software support. But now the iPhone is so popular, it's got lots of software - lots of modern software - that would be completely lovely to use.

So, I can fairly confidently say: If in 8 months, T-Mobile are offering the iPhone, I'll get one. If not, I'm not switching to O2's extortionate contract just for the sake of one. But 8 months is a long time in technology, so I'm quietly hopeful! (And, for once, grateful that I'm locked into a nice decision-prolonging contract!)

[cdd]

I would get very bored of the multi-touch within an hour or so, I'm sure.

Why? This is a huge innovation, in my opinion. It's "shiny" as you say but also practical: I mean, what more 'natural' way of zooming in would you suggest? From the other side of the fence, I am absolutely sick of unnatural things like double-tapAndHold-etc pressing just because of the lack of multi-touch.

the way it just misses out functionally on so many areas that will begin to irritate.

I'd agree, but really you have to assess how well implemented the core functions are. A phone can have millions of functions, but it fails at being a phone/sms platform/web browser compared to the competition, then the choice is surely obvious.

to achieve the same levels of functionality as could be found elsewhere on a much more open platform.

My Windows Mobile device has practically identical 'functionality'. Does that mean I like it? No; it's clunky, pretty unresponsive, things are in odd places, and... the word I'm searching for is 'unnatural'. So is every iPhone killer I've seen. As with most things, it is not speed that is important but the perception of speed. I think the iPhone is a bit faster in real speed, but miles faster in perception of speed due to the animations etc. I've got pretty good at the WM interface after several years of using it, so it's not a fair comparison to compare the iPhone and WM; however, when I first got my hands on someone's iPhone, I felt like I totally understood it, even before I had pressed the first button. That's the kind of device-user relationship other manufacturers should strive for - not obscure menu commands and annoying placement that Sony, Nokia and, if I weren't so used to it, WM spend their life doing.

Remember that people browsing the internet on the move are in a hurry. They are not interested in fiddling about with "features", they just want to know where the hell that restaurant they were looking for is. I am certain I could find the information I am looking for faster on an iPhone than any other device, and that's all that counts IMO.

[lukey]

I don't think it's wrong for people to get an iPhone, as such - I know that in terms of the overal user experience, it's probably going to appeal to more people than other phones, and that's fine. (Much like your point about perception of speed, it's perception of 'good', which a successful UX will achieve.)

What this really comes down to is for me and my incessant tinkering instinct, I would feel horribly constrained. Admittedly trying to impose that angle on anyone else seeking advice about buying one is a bit daft. I can be a complete whore for nice UI transitions and so on, but I crave the right platform beneath it. I could take the latter without the former, but never vice versa.

And about the multi-touch - I think it's a brilliant secondary input method; for 'tasks' like zooming pictures etc. then yes, but I'm still very dubious about building a pervasive touch layer over *everything*.

[iSon]

I don't think it's wrong for people to get an iPhone, as such - I know that in terms of the overal user experience, it's probably going to appeal to more people than other phones, and that's fine. (Much like your point about perception of speed, it's perception of 'good', which a successful UX will achieve.)

What this really comes down to is for me and my incessant tinkering instinct, I would feel horribly constrained. Admittedly trying to impose that angle on anyone else seeking advice about buying one is a bit daft. I can be a complete whore for nice UI transitions and so on, but I crave the right platform beneath it. I could take the latter without the former, but never vice versa.

And about the multi-touch - I think it's a brilliant secondary input method; for 'tasks' like zooming pictures etc. then yes, but I'm still very dubious about building a pervasive touch layer over *everything*.

I can sympathise with that. A Windows Mobile device might not be the most intuitive thing ever created BUT it is incredibly easy to customise. Mainly thanks to the very talented people at xda-developers which create complete new ROMs for the devices, taking the best bits of each and creating something wonderful. It's kind of why I want to stick with the platform, because it means you kind of "upgrade" the feel of your phone and capabilities of what it can without spending a penny.

The iPhone however does seem to be fast becoming the developers choice. Even though Apple have deliberately closed the platform so that no-one (supposedly) can make software that will crash it, a lot of innovations are being brought to it and it's widely recognised that it'd be the first "smartphone" you'd develop for to get to the largest number of users.

I don't drive, but having Tom Tom on my phone at the moment is a great draw for inevitably when I'm on that journey where the driver gets lost despite INSISTING that he knows where he's going. I don't have to carry anything extra on me... I can just whip it out (and the phone!) and find magnetic North. So to speak. I would imagine it's only a matter of time until of of the big sat nav companies takes their product to the iPhone but I do like having a good sat nav to hand whenever I need it.

I don't use of push email and all that so that doesn't matter to me. Google Mail access on both the iPhone and Windows Mobile appears to be good - but the iPhone has probably got the edge in terms of having it integrated. I do make good use of the calendar function though as I'm a forgetful soul and it's useful to be able to see things at a glance. I know this is something the iPhone can do as well but can any users tell me just how powerful it is?

I'm still slightly torn, but not in a rush. I won't be able to afford anything until I'm back in gainful employment anyway. I would say I'm thinking of better the devil you know as the Windows Mobile phone I use at the moment is more than capable of doing what I need it to. But then, if it's more than capable - why am I looking to upgrade? Tut.

[Lorns]

You can get Tom Tom on a mobile. Wow!
Maybe an i phone will be too overwhelming for me. I'm bound to break it.

[iSon]

And now the Gadget Show has just voted the Apple iPhone the gadget of 2008. And because I respect them and am so easily swayed I think I could be an iPhone user after Christmas.