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iPhones can do some pretty neat things; but with all those
awesome features, you'd think they'd have covered the basics.
Although iPhones have been out for over 2 years now, I never
had a chance to test one out until recently. In the past few weeks, four of my
friends purchased iPhones -one after the other, each not wanting to be out-done
by the one before. After some research and playing around with their phones, I
found some seemingly fundamental phone capabilities missing from the iPhone.
Pricing Model
First, let's take a look at the pricing "scheme" for iPhones. When the iPhone 3G was released the public was
ecstatic to hear that the price had dropped $200 from the original model. Many
didn't realize that along with this price cut, came a monthly rate increase and
the elimination of text messages from the "unlimited data plan". (How that
works, I don't know.)
With the mandatory unlimited data plan, the base monthly price
for an iPhone is $70 for the least amount of minutes and no text messages.
Needless to say, most people's bills hover around $100 per month after taxes. You
can bet AT&T is very happy with this pricing, but it has yet to be
determined if the lower prices of other carriers will force AT&T to follow
suit.
No Text Message
Forwarding
The lack of this very basic feature was brought to my attention my friend accidentally
sent me a text message intended for someone else. I was standing right next to
him at the time and he complained about having to type the entire message again.
I was stunned to find out he wasn't able to forward the message.
No MP3 Ringtones
Last year I posted a blog entry on how to create your own MP3 ringtones.
MP3, being the universal audio format, shouldn't have a problem being read by
any current phone, right? Guess again. Apple has locked the iPhone from being
able to use MP3s as ringtones and requires their own proprietary M4R
format. This makes the iPhone the only
phone on the market without the ability to play MP3 ringtones.
This is done purposely to try to force consumers into buy
iTunes ringtones. It is still possible to make your own ringtones, but there is a second set of steps to follow after you create the original ringtone
file.
No MMS Messages
The next issue arose when I tried to send my friend a Mario ringtone I have on
my phone. The message never went through. Even worse, I never got notified that
the message wasn't received. At first I thought it was due to the iPhone's lack
of mp3 ringtones support, but after a search found out that iPhones can't
accept MMS messages at all! (This includes all pictures messages folks)
The lack of this feature, which is found on virtually every
other phone, is due to a political feud between Apple and AT&T over the proper
way to transmit the data. AT&T is
able to send MMS messages across its network on all other phones except the
iPhone.
Not an iPod Replacement
To me, the real benefit of an iPod is being able to have a vast library of
music on you at all times for any situation that might arise. This is why iPod
Classics have capacities up to 160GB, but the iPhone maxes out at 16GB. Remember,
that is before installing Apps which will be eating up large chunks of that
memory.
iPod Touch vs iPhone
Another factor many people don't realize is that an iPod Touch has almost all
of the features worth bragging about without any monthly fee. Granted, it
doesn't have phone service and you need to be in Wi-Fi range for internet, but
all the applications and games are available on the iPod Touch without any monthly
fees.
There is even an App for jailbroken iPod Touches that turn
it into a free Skype phone with no monthly fees.
Applications
You might say that there are Apps that fix some of these problems, but none of
these solutions are perfect as they force
your friends to have an iPhone with the same App or cost money.
The Apple iPhone is a great phone, probably one of the best
on the market, but due to the policies and restrictions put on by AT&T and
Apple, they have severely crippled its functionality to fill their pockets. So
if you must be part of "The It Crowd" at least take the time to jailbreak your
phone, restoring some of the functionality that Apple and AT&T have
removed.
I know there are millions of you out there that disagree
with me. Let's hear it, but before you get too riled up, it's not all hate.
Next week, we'll show you all the benefits of Jailbreaking your iPhone to get some extra functionality.
Resources:
New and old AT&T iPhone plans compared, cost increases detailed
AT&T Playing Around With iPhone MMS Possibility, Wireless Network "Caching"
iPhone service plans too pricey. Duh!
Why the Japanese Hate the iPhone
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