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
Why the Japanese Hate the iPhone
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