Full FeedSeven problems with the iPhone 3G
The new iPhone 3G hasn’t even been released yet, but seven problems with the new iPhone have already been pointed out by many, all of which have been based on demos and published specs of what the iPhone 3G will offer. We may get 3G and GPS, a way to connect to Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store, but what about all of the other features that are missing from Apple’s device? Outlined below are the seven most prominent issues with the upcoming iPhone 3G, as defined by Forbes.com and Yahoo Tech:
- The cost - The price of the actual iPhone 3G itself seems to be a lot more affordable than that of the first generation, but sure enough it’ll cost you an extra $160 or so over the next two years versus the original iPhone, and even more for people outside of the U.S. (such as for customers on Rogers).
- The camera - Unfortunately, there’s still no flash or video recording features on the device, and the iPhone is still stuck with a 2 megapixel camera, while other smartphones will be gaining up to 8 megapixels with their built-in cameras this year.
- The battery - Non-replaceable, yet again, which shouldn’t be a surprise, since Apple is starting to do the same thing with its notebooks as well.
- No MMS - Apple is basically right that you don’t need MMS to send pictures on a device that has a full e-mail client, which the iPhone 3G does, but the real problem comes when users of other phones send you a photo via MMS: you simply can’t view it on the iPhone.
- No Cut-And-Paste - Copy and paste is an essential feature for the iPhone, which has been requested by users since the first generation iPhone was released. Copy and paste is a simple tool that would make blogging and other tasks on the iPhone a whole lot easier.
- No live TV - The YouTube implementation was seen as a great feature when the first iPhone was released, but it has grown tiresome and old. Live TV is a feature that has been implemented into many other smartphones as part of the standard data plan, but one gets the impression that Apple keeps it off the iPhone just so that they can sell you TV episodes at $1.99 each instead.
- No 32GB option - 8GB feels like a pathetically small storage capacity, and now 16GB still doesn’t seem like enough. 32GB USB thumbdrives have been on the market since 2006, as cheaply as $140. Apple is likely to launch a 32 GB model in the near future, but it should have came with the launch of the iPhone 3G.
Although the iPhone 3G is undoubtably one of the greatest smartphones on the market, these crucial missing features show that it does have its weaknesses as well. We can only hope that Apple will implement these features into the iPhone in the near future.
Via [Forbes] and [Yahoo! Tech]
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There will always be ways to make any tech product better. A lot of these could be fixed now but its still great. Still the best phone out there!
on June 30, 2008 at 07:59 PM - LINKSounds like Mr Lutz has a list of reasons to go out and buy one of these other smartphones.
on June 30, 2008 at 08:44 PM - LINK@George Yeah I do, and another one is Rogers’ ridiculous rates for voice and data.
I still love the iPhone, though, as well as my iPod touch which was worth every penny to me.
on June 30, 2008 at 10:02 PM - LINKFor live TV, AT&T;would have most likely wanted Apple to implement MediaFLO into it as that is what they are pushing now simply because it is Live TV that _DOESN’T_ have any affect on the data network. If Live TV were implemented on the iPhone 3G and a million people upgraded within the first two months, the network infrastructure at some sites would become horribly slow.
For the 32GB option, just because there’s 32GB memory sticks that doesn’t mean you can simply pop those chips into the iPhone. It’s still quite expensive as they must use two 16GB flash chips to get that storage as that’s how all the other iPods are done.
on June 30, 2008 at 10:40 PM - LINKThese, among other reasons, explain why I’m not buying an iPhone 3G. My main complaint is the pricey MANDATORY data plans for Canadians.
on June 30, 2008 at 11:04 PM - LINKPointing all these things is absolutely useless, I own an iPhone, enjoy it and would not change it for any other smartphone in the market. If you balance the best features of the iPhone vs the ones it doesn’t have, the iPhone still is the best phone out there, and it has a very promising future, the other phones will be forgotten, period. And like they say, no one is perfect, even electronics. Technology will always have room to grow.
on July 1, 2008 at 02:07 AM - LINKI know the iPhone has so many good things going for it, but I am disappointed it can’t record video. If it could do that, then I would have no need for a compact camera. But I record video just as much as take photo’s on my days out, so the iPhone can’t replace it yet. The amount of megapixels is a moot point as far as I am concerned- 2 megapixels is good enough for any A4 print and even viewing on tv. However, I have that many videos (tv shows and films) in iTunes that 16gb just won’t do it for me, so I am also disappointed a 32gb version isn’t available yet. So if they can sort out the storage and video recording I would be happy to get one. Until then, I’ll stick with my seperate compact camera, phone, and iPod Touch.
on July 1, 2008 at 03:33 AM - LINKHonestly I think some of your points are valid, i.e. MMS, Camera and battery, but Live TV and 32GB are not that desirable for everyone, that’s more like personal choice for some and not the many.
on July 1, 2008 at 03:35 AM - LINKThe iPhone 3G is actually cheaper in the UK than the original one was, so that first point is actually for the North American market and is irrelevant in many other places.
Cut and paste? Desirable but not a necessity.
Why in the world would anyone want an 8 megapixel camera in their phone? Anything above 5 megapixels is overkill for most print sizes, and the files would be huge. I don’t want to waste my phone hard drive space with 8 megapixel images, especially if they’re taken without the benefits of SLR, manual focus, filters, etc.
I also don’t want the iPhone’s cost to go up for features such as live TV, excessive hard drives, etc. It doesn’t make sense for Yahoo Tech and Forbes to complain about the phone’s price, then complain it doesn’t have items that will greatly increase that price. Let’s let the phone be a phone, okay?
on July 1, 2008 at 07:36 AM - LINK1. People love instant gratification. Apple and AT&T;will not have any issues selling the 3G iPhone
2. I really don’t care about having a high-megapixel camera in my phone. That is what my real camera is for. And, Third party developers have enabled the iPhone to record video.
3. Google “iPhone Battery”. You will find many external batteries that will triple, sometimes quadruple, the battery life of the iPhone.
4. Almost revelant. Apple will probably do something about this in the near future. And, if they don’t, a third party developer will.
5. Apple has said that they are working on a cut and paste for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch.
6. Who cares? I sure don’t. And if anyone really does want live TV, chances are someone will do something about it.
7. 8 GB and 16 GB has done Apple fine so far. I really don’t think that 32 GB is necessary.
So, please do some research before spewing this crap. Don’t just write for the sake of writing. Put some thought into it.
7.
on July 1, 2008 at 08:20 AM - LINK“So, please do some research before spewing this crap. Don’t just write for the sake of writing. Put some thought into it.“
Uh, Patrick did do research. As we indicated in the article, the lists are referenced from Yahoo Tech and Forbes.com. Whether they did their research, I can’t say. Also, because you don’t feel some items are necessary doesn’t mean they aren’t. I agree with you on some of your points, but an external battery is not a good solution for a replacement internal, and your point about Apple “probably” adding full MMS support is kind of the point of the article, if you’ll read the last sentence. Also, whereas I also don’t need 32GB of disc space, those who will install a lot of apps or use the iPhone to watch movies probably will.
In other words, saying the writer is “spewing crap” just because your needs differ is a bit harsh, don’t you think?
on July 1, 2008 at 08:41 AM - LINKExactly. I didn’t come up with this list, although I do agree with everything on it. Just because you don’t care about these missing features, doesn’t mean others agree with you.
So please think before you make a comment like that again, Joe.
on July 1, 2008 at 02:21 PM - LINKWith the negative comments toward the writer of the article, I thought I’d write something positive. I added this sites RSS feed to my Bookmarks a week or so ago, and am so glad I have. There have been some very interesting topics for conversation on here. I like the articles, and I like the fact I can post comments on here regarding them. Keep up the great work team.
on July 1, 2008 at 02:28 PM - LINKBack to the article, regarding the lack of video recording, will the App store be able to provide such an app from a third party developer?
I’m curious as to how software can take what’s a standard camera and somehow capture motion from that. After reading Joe’s comment, I searched the web to see if such an app even does (or can exist), and found this:
http://www.iphonevideorecorder.com/
They say they’re preparing for registration in the AppStore, so we’ll see.
on July 1, 2008 at 02:47 PM - LINK@Kirk Hiner It’s easy to make software use hardware to do stuff it wasn’t originally. It’s called hacking. I’m not hating the poster, but instead just criticising some of his points. Some which seem trivial to me.
on July 1, 2008 at 06:38 PM - LINK@Adonis, not everyone wants a ‘hacked’ iPhone. Me for one. If I’m ever going to get one, I want one that is legal and official. And I want one with video recording software on it that’s legally installed. Which is why I asked on my post if a video recording app could be available at some point from the iPhone’s new App store. Kirk obliged by providing details of one that could well be that.
on July 2, 2008 at 01:34 AM - LINKAgain, you say you are criticising some of his points. But it has already been stated they are not his points. Read the article again -
“Outlined below are the seven most prominent issues with the upcoming iPhone 3G, as defined by Forbes.com and Yahoo Tech:“
Apologies to the Author, valid, it’s not his points.
on July 2, 2008 at 03:21 AM - LINK@Barry Ward - Hacked iPhone’s will be a thing of the past as soon as the Apps store gets going. You will have official 3rd party software to do a lot more with the iPhone.
Before iPhone came out, we have been promised and we have expected a quality product and good service. After the device saw daylight, we have been assured that all the issues will be taken care of. Now, after a second generation of the iPhone, many months later all we get is terrible service, low product quality and no explanation, no excuse, no credit.
Visit shameonapple.com and sign in the comments. Explain your problem, voice your opinion. Let’s hope that mr. Jobs will finally understand how pissed off his customers are!
on August 20, 2008 at 09:48 AM - LINKMy iPhone 3G from HELL is on YouTube… On YouTube, type in “RoyFromTexas.“ Look for my video entitled “NO BARS IN TEXAS.“
I love this phone but I hate AT&T;.
My first Apple product was a $10,000 LISA computer back in 1983, so “YES,“ I’d say I’m a “branded” fanatic.
My wife and I bought two iPhones on 10-14-08. Hers works OK, but her battery will only run in the standby mode for 6 hours before the phone dies. My iPhone (and hers) can be seen in the above mentioned video on YouTube.
on October 16, 2008 at 12:39 PM - LINK