Public Object: The reasons I'm not on iPhone

The reasons I'm not on iPhone

It's really tempting. As far as devices go, iPhone 3G is the best there is. It's a generation ahead of its competitors, and the gap is growing. The app store is great for both developers and for its users. But I'm not gonna get one:

Amazon MP3. Lots of good songs with no 'deregister this computer' nonsense. But Amazon MP3 cannot compete with iTunes on Apple's platform—third party apps can't download while I surf the web. This also kills movie and video downloads.

Skype. Voice-over-IP is forbidden on the iPhone 'cause AT&T wants to bill voice traffic at a different rate than data. Even on my home network, AT&T would prefer I pay them for each minute of each call. I want net neutrality but the iPhone won't have any of it.

Flash and Java. That means no Line Rider, Hulu, Naval Command or flexgames.com. Apple would prefer for developers to write iPhone-only apps rather than phone-independent apps. This is good for Apple but bad for developers.

The iPhone is a lock-in platform. Sorry, Apple, but I'm not ready for that level of commitment.

# posted by Jesse Wilson on Friday, July 18, 2008

Apple = new Microsoft
iPhone = new Windows

History is repeating, you will buy it one day just like you have your Windows XP today.

I'm not an Apple fanboy, heck no, I don't even own an iPhone. But I'm afraid that's what's gonna happen.

# posted by Srikanth S on July 18, 2008 2:52 AM

Pandora's iPhone app, for listening to custom music stations, might help mitigate your first issue. They have a ton of music, and the stations you setup really are tailored to your specific music tastes.

I don't have an iPhone, but if I did, this would probably be the only way I listened to music. I currently have 70 GB of music, and I'm sick of it all!

# posted by Ken on July 18, 2008 5:11 AM

But I can't surf-the-web and listen to Pandora at the same time. No background applications is huge!

# posted by swankjesse on July 18, 2008 8:59 AM

Interesting perspective. I don't think I can resist which is why I'm going to go down London Regent Street early in the morning tomorrow and get one. At the very least it'll allow me to immerse myself in the platform and experience it first hand and then after 18 months if I'm not happy I'll return from O2 to Vodafone on a different device. From the point of a developer can you resist being a part of this software revolution? (Btw excellent blog - a fascinating read)

# posted by 52lemurs on July 18, 2008 4:39 PM

Amazon MP3: download on computer, load like any other MP3 from iTunes. Waste of battery to dl direct to device.

Skype: VOIP is forbidden on 3G, NOT on Wifi.

Flash and Java: Good riddance to bad rubbish.

# posted by Mark Hughes on July 18, 2008 5:25 PM

It appears that fanboys can convince themselves that something they can't have (such as the Flash videos on Dr. Horrible) is something they don't want.

# posted by swankjesse on July 19, 2008 1:58 PM

So it seems that iPhone is just another dongle like all Apple hardware I know..

# posted by Camilo Díaz Repka on July 20, 2008 7:04 PM

@swankjesse Dr Horrible is available on the iTunes store, both on the desktop and on the iPhone directly. Much of YouTube is in higher video quality from the iPhone app. Quicktime embedded in web pages just plays when you click on it from Safari.

Flash video is an archaic solution, and has crappy quality compared to a native video player.

# posted by Mark Hughes on July 21, 2008 10:20 AM

Line Rider is available as app.

# posted by Anonymous on October 14, 2008 5:01 AM