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Quickies August 22, 2008
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It’s Not Me; It’s You (iPhone Edition)

Joel Evans, one of the most device agnostic men I know, has just published a rant on why he thinks he now hates his iPhone.

When I first reviewed the iPhone 3G I couldn’t say enough good things about it. I even recommended that existing owners of the iPhone upgrade to it. After a little over a month of ownership, though, I’m contemplating getting rid of mine.

Gear Diary Its Not Me; Its You (iPhone Edition) photo

Joel lists five things he hates about the 3G and two things he loves, as well as the reasons behind his choices. I’ll save the others for you to discover on his site, but here is a quote from the “hate” list:

Scratched screen
I was very careful with the original iPhone until I saw an article (I think on PC World) where they threw the iPhone into a bag with a bunch of keys. They shook it around and it surfaced without a scratch on the screen. Well, my iPhone 3G has some nice scratches on both the screen and the body and it hasn’t even been a month! Meanwhile, my original iPhone, now more than a year old, has no scratches on the screen.

As a fellow reviewer, I have to say how much I respect Joel for amending his earlier recommendation! This just drives home the point that we are consumers too, and sometimes a device that originally excited us will ultimately let us down. Read Joel’s full article, and then tell us if you agree or disagree. Gear Diary Its Not Me; Its You (iPhone Edition) photo

Link: Rant: I think I now hate my iPhone 3G

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About Judie Lipsett Stanford

View all posts by Judie Lipsett Stanford
I have had a fascination with all types of gadgets and gizmos since I was a child, beginning with the toy robot that my grandmother gave my brother - which I promptly "relieved him of" in 1973. I have long been captivated by devices that did anything interesting or served a unique purpose - however silly. I can't tell you how everything works – but I am known world-wide for using a product until I have a full understanding of what it does, what its limitations are, and if it excels in any given area...or not.
  • http://www.gamingwithchildren.com Michael Anderson

    That was a nice update – he highlights what he still loves, and expresses frustration at the problems, some of which have been around forever.

  • questionfear

    Very interesting article. I have to say, I’ve had days where I’ve pretty much said the same thing about my original iPhone! The battery life worsened terribly, the app store seems buggy (half the time I try to d/l a program on the fly and it fails on me, assuming I even get to the point of installing and it doesn’t just time out on the password portion) and the dread SMS keyboard lag seems to surface EXACTLY when I need to pound out a message in a hurry. Also, and this isn’t really a direct criticism of the iPhone, but it seems like most of the apps that could really shore up some of the iPhone’s weak points (like a good PIM replacement) are still a few months away…don’t know if Apple is holding that up or if it is on the dev side, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.

    Having said all that, there’s nothing that really seems to be worth dropping it when you weigh in the good points: the browser is great when it works, the UI is great, and the iPod integration is wonderful. I am waiting to see what this fall brings to AT&T, and if anything worthwhile comes along I might wander over to another phone and wait out the iPhone for a bit, just to see if they get a handle on some of the software issues.

  • Dan Cohen

    WOW!

    I have to say, I am still quite happy with my iPhone 3G (love the gps and the 3G which is available everywhere near me but at home) but I am now ESPECIALLY glad that, for the first time, I didn’t even handle a new device without putting an InvisibleShield on it first.

    That written, just last night I was comparing my original iPhone (which my wife is currently using) with my 3G and commented to her how much sturdier and overall better the original iPhone feels. Makes me wish Aple hadn’t cheaped out on the 3G with the plastic back and now, apparently, the screen.

  • Christopher Gavula

    I haven’t had a signifcant level of browser crashing ever, but the couple of times it has crashed in the past year it was as was just mentioned – no OS pollution – just the app crash. After many years of PIE on a WM device, this is a welcome change. Now if Opera 9.5 was a little more stable and little less awkward in it’s approach….

    I will say, however, my 1st gen iPhone screen DID scratch from being in the same pocket as my keys so they oculdn’t have tested it very well in that “put them in a bag and shake it” test.

    All that said – the iPhone, 1st gen, has been one of the best mobile phones I’ve ever owned (and I’ve owned a LOT of them). It is NOT without flaws, but when you look at the good + the bad it definitely comes out to the good. I’ve been toying with getting the 3G, but some of the issues have certainly made me hesitate!

  • http://geardiary.com Christopher Spera

    Well, as I’ve mentioned, I have an appointment at the Oak Brook, IL Apple Store tomorrow at Noon to exchange mine. Depending on how things go there will determine if I return mine and close the account or insist upon a different device entirely from AT&T. I love to hate it, and hate to love it right now. Honestly, I thought it would be nothing more than the original iPhone with the addition of a 3G radio and GPS…

    My iPhone is nekked out side the hip case I carry all of my daily drivers in. I have no screen scratches and only (I think) very, VERY minor scratches on the Apple logo on the back of the device. Other than that, its in GREAT shape.

    However, I am at a point where something needs a change, because I am really having a hard time with this guy. I shouldn’t have to drop to 3G, and REFUSE to do so, just to make the device more stable and usable as a mobile device with a battery that lasts longer than 2 hours (yep, that’s all I get with this thing…)

  • http://geardiary.com Christopher Spera

    CORRECTION:

    However, I am at a point where something needs a change, because I am really having a hard time with this guy. I shouldn’t have to drop to *2G*…