And his latest rant is here…

smartphone_thoughts_forums_logo

In it, Jerry says:

Personally, I’m not impressed. As a phone it seems mediocre, as a Smartphone (if they even try to call it that) I’m certain it is severely lacking. What is even more interesting though is the latest development of Apple apparently going after sites and people for duplicating the look. It occurred to me that maybe all this new thing really is, is form over function in a way. Nothing more than a pretty interface to rub your greasy fingers all over and a tired music player design inside.

There is no doubt that the iPhone has a beautiful GUI with a slick exterior, and it has certainly polarized the blogging community.

Read Jerry’s post here, and then let us know if you think he is on the mark or if he is missing the point.

I have some personal issues with the iPhone, and I am sure that they may or may not be relevant to anyone but myself. But since that’s never stopped me before…here I go. ;-)

1. The cost. When I first heard $599 for the 8GB model, I thought it was reasonable – because I figured that would be the price without a contract. Come to find out it is the price with a two-year contract. :shock:

Sorry, but I don’t think I have ever even owned the same phone for two years, and considering that in that time – two more iPhone models are about guaranteed to come out, I would hate being locked into such a stiff contract.

By the way, for a two year contract? The most I would be willing to pay for any PDA phone, smartphone or mobile phone – I don’t care how sexy it is – would be about $250 – and it had better come with every bell and whistle known to man.

To make matters worse, $599 may not even be the entire upfront cost on the phone. Read this piece to see what I am talking about.

2. No buttons. For years I have been hearing that the most “intimidating” thing for Pocket PC Phone Edition users is that the devices typically don’t have hard buttons for dialing numbers.

Ummm…hello? Do you see any hard buttons on the iPhone?

How is the iPhone suddenly the most exciting piece of phone hardware on the planet, when it revels in this same supposedly fatal flaw?

I’m just asking!!

3. No 3rd party software. In a quote from The New York Times,

Moreover, Mr. Jobs also appears to be restricting the potential for third-party software developers to write applications for the new handset from ringtones to word processors.

[source: Frank McPherson]

In other words…there will be nothing installed on “my” iPhone that Apple doesn’t want me to install. No developers will be able to create programs – at least for a while, and I won’t be able to load a soon-to-be-released iPhone version of eReader, because…there isn’t going to be one!

Well, that’s a deal-killer right there, sorry. :-P

4. No keyboard. I enjoy sending text messages and email from my mobile phone. I do not want to compose these by sliding my thumbs all over the screen or by pressing my finger to it. I want the technology that is already in place for rapid fire text entry – which means either a sliding thumbboard or a below-the-screen thumbboard, preferably QWERTY.

If all I did was make calls from my phone, I might not care…but it’s not and I do.

5. Apple is petty! Any other company might be flattered to have potential customers who are so excited about their product that coders are creating GUI imitations to keep these people happy until the real deal appears – six months from now.

But not Apple.

Here is what they aren’t happy about…

WM5_iPhone_skin
photo courtesy of SlashGear

And here is what they are doing about it:

VIA E-MAIL

NOT FOR POSTING

Paul O’Brien
Founder, Administrative and Technical Contact for MoDaCo

[snip]

Re: Unauthorized Dissemination of Apple Computer Copyrighted Material by MoDaCo

Dear Mr. O’Brien:
We represent Apple Computer, Inc. (”Apple”) and are authorized to act on Apple’s behalf to investigate and take legal action with respect to the unauthorized dissemination of Apple’s copyrighted material. It has come to our attention that you have posted a screenshot of Apple’s new iPhone and links that facilitate the installation of that screenshot on a PocketPC device. The post in question is located at http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=251112. While we appreciate your interest in the iPhone, the icons and screenshot displayed on your website are copyrighted by Apple, and copyright law explicitly prohibits unauthorized display and distribution of copyrighted works.
Apple therefore demands that you remove this screenshot from your website and refrain from facilitating the further dissemination of Apple’s copyrighted material by removing the link to http://forum.xda-developers.com, where said icons and screenshot are being distributed.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation,

[snip]

O’Melveny & Myers LLP

[snip]

DMCA Certification: I hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the activities described above are not authorized by Apple, that the information in this notification is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on behalf of Apple in this regard.

Way to promote anticipation in the community, Apple! Pffffft!

Just to be clear, I am not saying I won’t ever buy an iPhone. But at this point, Apple is not giving me a compelling reason to want to, either.

Related posts:

  1. Fortune Fuels 3G Iphone Pricing Rumors: 8GB – $399 and 16GB $499 plus $200 Rebate For New Customers
  2. Rumor- $99 8GB iPhone 3GS To Replace $99 iPhone 3G??
  3. Apple iPhone + Unsupported Rumours = Big News Day
  4. FINALLY..! iPhone Pricing Details Announced
  5. Let Freedom Ring (iPhone 3G style)