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Why I won’t be buying an iPhone

9 July 2008 No Comment

UPODBut as I read more about the phone my heart sank a little, the network lock-in, the price (upfront cost and monthly subscription), the missing key features (no MMS, really!?) and the deal-breaker for me…I can’t run my own applications on it, wtf?

This is what really got me, you fork out a pretty-penny for the hardware and then you are restricted as to what you can do on it! If I want to write a quick script to Geocode my pics after I take them (oh wait no GPS either!) I should be able to. Yes I can hear all the Mac fanbois screaming about the iPhone SDK, but why should I pay Apple to let me write applications for MY phone!?

Didn’t I already pay them for the hardware before?

But salvation might be at hand, it looks like we could finally see some Android handsets hitting the market-place. Rumours are abound that HTC will soon be shipping their Omni with Google’s Android OS.

HTC Omni

HTC Omni phone pictures

Ok first lets talk about appearance, some of the earlier Android handsets looked like the had been built by developers without a designer ever coming within 200 feet of them, probably because that is what had happened.

But the Omni looks like the sleek love-child of an iPod Touch and a Nintendo DS. Not only is the design really rather sexy but it has a touch-screen and a proper keyboard. Lets hear a big hurray for tactile response!!
The stats ain’t to shabby either:

Windows Mobile 6.0 OS Google Android OS
32 bit Qualcomm MSM7200 Chipset, 384 MHZ CPU Clock
256 MB ROM 128 RAM
800 x 480 px TFT 262 color touchscreen
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS850, UMTS1900, UMTS2100 connectivity
CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA data support
Built-in QWERTY-type keyboard, 65 keys
SDIO, microSD, TransFlash expansion slots
USB 2.0 client, 60Mbit/s , USB Series Mini-B (mini-USB) connector
Bluetooth 2.0
802.11b, 802.11g
NMEA 0183 , 20 channels built-in GPS
3.1 Mpx camera with LED flash (640×480 VGA secondary camera)
Dimensions: 81 x 130 x 16 mm

Infact some people think that the Omni is the Google ‘Dream’ phone, it sure sounds like the phone from Google’s Android demonstrations.

The phone, code-named “Dream” inside Google, looks somewhat like Apple’s iPhone: It is thin, about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long, and features a touch-sensitive, rectangular screen… The bottom end of the handset, near the navigational controls, is slightly beveled so it nestles in the palm. The screen also swivels to one side, revealing a full keyboard beneath. (The screen display changes from a vertical portrait mode to a horizontal display when someone uses the keyboard.)

- Quentin Hardy of Forbes

Google Android

So why am I so excited about Android, well lets look at a few quotes from the Android homepage.

Open
Android allows you to access core mobile device functionality through standard API calls.

Core phone functionality, lets see you do that from a webapp running in Safari on the iPhone!

All applications are equal
Android does not differentiate between the phone’s basic and third-party applications — even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

No more Apple GOOD, everyone else BAD (unless you pay them the $99 developer application fee)

Breaking down boundaries
Combine information from the web with data on the phone — such as contacts or geographic location — to create new user experiences.

Fast & easy development
The SDK contains what you need to build and run Android applications, including a true device emulator and advanced debugging tools.

Ok enough I’m starting to get a semi here! So the platform is open and easy to develop for, oh and you don’t have to pay for the privilege. Can’t get better than that right? Wrong!

Android Developer Challenge Logo

Google will actually pay YOU to develop for it (emphasis mine).

Cool apps that surprise and delight mobile users, built by developers like you, are a huge part of the Android vision. To support you in your efforts, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge, which will provide $10 million in awards — no strings attached — for great mobile apps built on the Android platform.

Google you might have a scary amount of information about me, but I love you and want to have your babies!

Yeah so which would you rather have? A crippled phone which looks nice but is never really yours. Or a phone which has the potential to be and do whatever you want to do, and looks pretty damn sweet as well?
Yup, I’ll be waiting for the Omni as well!

So Android is a developer’s wet-dream, but 99% of people aren’t gonna care that they can’t develop their own applications for their phone as they have no inclination to do so. They just care about the phone’s features, how it looks and how easy it is to use. Well I hope I’ve shown already that the Omni can rival the iPhone on features and looks but what about the UI? The whole ‘pinch‘ and ‘flick‘ interface on the iPhone is pretty cool, but even it can’t compare to the concept UIs being produced for Android. Don’t believe me check out these videos.

Android UI looks far better than Iphone - part #7

Updates

According to a comment on reddit (joel2600) I’ve misunderstood some information on the Apple site. You do NOT have to pay the developer’s fee if you only wish to run your apps on your own phone. The fee is for those people wanting to distribute the apps through iTunes, which does make a huge difference..but not enough to change my mind.

The network lock-in is also apparantly typical, well its not in the UK (and anyways just because something is common doesn’t make it right). The majority of handsets in the UK can be purchased SIM-free with no ties to any network. Or you can pick them up cheaper on a contract from many different networks.

there are already a lot of apps out there that take advantage of this sort of functionality for the iPhone

There are already apps using GPS on the iPhone? But from what I heard the iPhone won’t get GPS until #2? Which isn’t released for a few more days yet. Yet another reason not to want an iPhone, gotta pay twice to get the functionality I should have had in the first place

Joel raises some other good points, read his comment. It does leave a couple of my points dead in the water, but it hasn’t quite improved my view on the iPhone enough to make me want one.

Like every geek I’ve played with the iPhone - and yes it is a nice device, its just not a great device. It’s selling not because of it’s features or the platform, it’s selling because its made by Apple - and the brand doesn’t make up for all the phones short-comings in my eyes.