What! The wonderful iphone doesn't get a perfect ten?

Stevamundo · Jul 1, 2007

http://reviews.cnet.com/smart-phones/apple-iphone-4gb/4505-6452_7-32180293.html

Oh well, I'm glad I saved $500. HAHA!

fleurya · Jul 1, 2007

Very rarely does anything in CNET get above an 8. It's a very respectable score, especially considering the features it's lacking compared to other smart phones.

I for one was a bit disappointed in CNET, not for the score, but for the way they reviewed it. Usually they take a considerable amount of time to really test and scrutinize a product and compare it to others. Apparently they were feeling the pressure of the iPhone craze or to be one of the first to review, because they decided to stay up half the night the day it was released and pushed out a review immediately.

Fromasta Flex · Jul 1, 2007

You're making fun of a rating labeled "excellent?"

Kash · Jul 1, 2007

I would have been rather disgusted to see it get a perfect 10, what with all the missing features in comparison to other phones in its class.

kaidomac · Jul 1, 2007

No 3G
No GPS
No A2DP
No BT DUN
No BT file transfer
No IM
No video camera
No voice dialing
No Flash
No Java
No Windows Media Player

No 10

fleurya · Jul 1, 2007

Wow, excellent summary!

kaidomac · Jul 1, 2007

fleurya said:
Wow, excellent summary!

My Motorola Q has been out for over a year and it has nearly all of those features (EVDO on the CDMA side, etc.) either stock or via very simple hacks. I'm still stoked about an iPhone though...the root password and other things have been hacked already, so it's only a matter of time...

gotham · Jul 1, 2007

kaidomac said:
No 3G
No GPS
No A2DP
No BT DUN
No BT file transfer
No IM
No video camera
No voice dialing
No Flash
No Java
No Windows Media Player

No 10

All the above is simple fact.
But lest be Fair here.
No G3 Agreed but this is on AT&T they really cant support it at this point in
time. sprint's network downloads data 5 times faster then At&t in the NYC area. Aslo AT&T used the excuse that it demands to much form the battery.
SO for 3G I blame AT&T
no GPS? Its a Phone is it not also it will kill the battery life.
No A2DP
No BT DUN
No BT file transfer Apple is playing it safe keep in mind this is there
1st phone ever and they have to supply tech support. perhaps they may
add them in later but I dont think so.
No IM i think that is All to do with AT&T being they are making money
on all the Messages sent. I dont see why it cant be added in. A simply software add on would do it.
No Video Camera ? again its a Phone Videos on phones stink as is.
No Flash
No Java ... it would be nice, perhaps it may be to demanding on the phone but I agree this would be a nice add on Again just software.
No Windows Media Player...........umm this is a mac forum right? when you
by a mac you dont get it why would you get it in there phone?

I was waiting for this phone since they 1st showed it earlier in the year.
I as on the fence being I am with AT&T and know they Stink service wise in the NYC Area but being in contract with them I broke down and got the phone. I have to say I am very happy with it and it flies when on a wifi connection but its a flash back to dail up speeds when on the edge network.

joshbrez · Jul 1, 2007

kaidomac said:
No 3G
No GPS
No A2DP
No BT DUN
No BT file transfer
No IM
No video camera
No voice dialing
No Flash
No Java
No Windows Media Player

No 10

While perhaps relevant to people who like to use their phones for anything and everything that can be packed into a single device, this list matters not one single bit to the average iPhone user, or to the average cell phone user, period, IMHO. The point that no iPhone critic seems to understand is that advanced functionality does not matter at all in determining whether this is a cool device. The iPhone sells itself on interface and ease of use, and that's the key to winning customers, not obscure features that barely anyone uses. I think that for most people, an iPhone would be a pretty darn nice mobile solution with the features it has. If it weren't for that pesky price, that is.

Stevamundo · Jul 1, 2007

kaidomac said:
No 3G
No GPS
No A2DP
No BT DUN
No BT file transfer
No IM
No video camera
No voice dialing
No Flash
No Java
No Windows Media Player

No 10

However, yes $500.

BTW, for $500 I EXPECT A 10 AND NO MISSING FEATURES!

mck_tj05 · Jul 1, 2007

Stevamundo said:
However, yes $500.

BTW, for $500 I EXPECT A 10 AND NO MISSING FEATURES!

and isnt that 500 with a 2 year commitment?

dtravis7 · Jul 1, 2007

If you are not happy with the iPhone, the answer is simple. Do not buy one.

I will not be getting an iPhone, but not for the reasons mentioned above. I don't need more than a basic Cell phone and am not willing to pay out that much $$$ a month for the plan to run it. It my situation were a bit different, I would buy one in a flash! Flash! hahaha.

Kash · Jul 2, 2007

joshbrez said:
While perhaps relevant to people who like to use their phones for anything and everything that can be packed into a single device, this list matters not one single bit to the average iPhone user, or to the average cell phone user, period, IMHO. The point that no iPhone critic seems to understand is that advanced functionality does not matter at all in determining whether this is a cool device. The iPhone sells itself on interface and ease of use, and that's the key to winning customers, not obscure features that barely anyone uses. I think that for most people, an iPhone would be a pretty darn nice mobile solution with the features it has. If it weren't for that pesky price, that is.

QFT

Apple did a splendid job at marketing this thing. It showed off how easy it was to use. Several blogs noted how many people had such outdated phones while standing in line for the iPhone. For these people, the iPhone was a HUGE leap forward.

Apple targeted the large demographic with clunky phones that these people hate. The menus on the usual run-of-the-mill cell phones are a total pain to use and many people don't care enough to learn how to fully use their phones. The iPhone makes using your phone easy and fun, and so there was a huge market for Apple to tap into. No other phone on the market is as easy to use for the average consumer.

Now when it comes to the power user, it's a different story. These people are used to using most, if not all, of the features that kaidomac listed. So for the iPhone not to have them, it just feels like a step backward to the people who have Treos and Windows Mobile phones.

I own a Windows Mobile phone and the lack of those features is a big turn off for me. It is the only reason why I didn't line up on release day. Yet my cousin, who uses the more simple type of phones, jumped right away onto the iPhone bandwagon. And he absolutely loves his new iPhone, and that's great because he can't miss features he never had or used in the first place.

The iPhone will sell like hotcakes, no doubt about that. Us power users will wait for Apple to release a model more attuned to our needs, which it inevitably will as that is the only way it'll make headway into the corporate market.

kaidomac · Jul 2, 2007

gotham said:
All the above is simple fact.
But lest be Fair here.
No G3 Agreed but this is on AT&T they really cant support it at this point in
time. sprint's network downloads data 5 times faster then At&t in the NYC area. Aslo AT&T used the excuse that it demands to much form the battery.
SO for 3G I blame AT&T

The GSM Razer has 3G and it's thinner than my finger. 3G doesn't equate to poor battery life.

no GPS? Its a Phone is it not also it will kill the battery life.

They could at least add Bluetooth GPS support. However again, even the Razer has built-in GPS support. My brother has one and uses the Verizon Navigation software and it works just peachy.

No IM i think that is All to do with AT&T being they are making money
on all the Messages sent. I dont see why it cant be added in. A simply software add on would do it.

True. Already hacked though, thanks to AJAX:

http://www.publictivity.com/iPhoneChat/

No Video Camera ? again its a Phone Videos on phones stink as is.

The iPhone has a 2 megapixel camera. My Motorola Q only has 1.3, but at least it does nice little videos. I probably use the video feature more than the phone, actually.

No Windows Media Player...........umm this is a mac forum right? when you by a mac you dont get it why would you get it in there phone?

Tell that to CNN and all of the other major news websites that have video news feeds! Having awesome Internet on the iPhone is a lot different than a full-blown operating system where it's very easy to add your own software like Flip4Mac - the Internet is still Internet Explorer-based, unfortunately (WMP, ActiveX, blah blah blah). A majority of national media sites use WMP as their default player. Apple really should have included Windows Media support. However, it doesn't look like Apple has made it tremendously difficult to hack the iPhone...they probably figured hackers would add support for it so they could just skip all of the legal and fanboy issues associated with adding that format to their phone. The hacking community already has the OS (system restore files) as well as the root password, plus the mobile user account password, so it shouldn't be too long until we see some fun aftermarket features popping up

VegasOnline · Jul 2, 2007

...anyone name a "10" phone?

I for one love the iPod/phone combo, I don't need or want GPS (look up direx on Google Maps), WMP (iTunes!), IM (Hello? P-h-o-n-e), BT (i WANT people to see me using this beauty), BT File transfer (I like spending time with my iMac)...

Anyway, congrats to those who scored an 8GB... I hope to join the club soon.

Mattlike · Jul 2, 2007

Kash said:
QFT

Apple did a splendid job at marketing this thing. It showed off how easy it was to use. Several blogs noted how many people had such outdated phones while standing in line for the iPhone. For these people, the iPhone was a HUGE leap forward.

Apple targeted the large demographic with clunky phones that these people hate. The menus on the usual run-of-the-mill cell phones are a total pain to use and many people don't care enough to learn how to fully use their phones. The iPhone makes using your phone easy and fun, and so there was a huge market for Apple to tap into. No other phone on the market is as easy to use for the average consumer.

Now when it comes to the power user, it's a different story. These people are used to using most, if not all, of the features that kaidomac listed. So for the iPhone not to have them, it just feels like a step backward to the people who have Treos and Windows Mobile phones.

I own a Windows Mobile phone and the lack of those features is a big turn off for me. It is the only reason why I didn't line up on release day. Yet my cousin, who uses the more simple type of phones, jumped right away onto the iPhone bandwagon. And he absolutely loves his new iPhone, and that's great because he can't miss features he never had or used in the first place.

The iPhone will sell like hotcakes, no doubt about that. Us power users will wait for Apple to release a model more attuned to our needs, which it inevitably will as that is the only way it'll make headway into the corporate market.

How dare you make sense and make rational statements instead of ZOMG you wasted your money LOLZ!!!

kaidomac · Jul 2, 2007

joshbrez said:
While perhaps relevant to people who like to use their phones for anything and everything that can be packed into a single device, this list matters not one single bit to the average iPhone user, or to the average cell phone user, period, IMHO. The point that no iPhone critic seems to understand is that advanced functionality does not matter at all in determining whether this is a cool device. The iPhone sells itself on interface and ease of use, and that's the key to winning customers, not obscure features that barely anyone uses. I think that for most people, an iPhone would be a pretty darn nice mobile solution with the features it has. If it weren't for that pesky price, that is.

I agree. I think the iPhone is a marvelous device, mainly for the simple, intuitive UI. If you *really* want the full feature set, you could simply buy an AT&T 8525, which is the Windows equivalent of the iPhone. It has a physical keyboard in addition to a large touchscreen and most or all of the features the iPhone is lacking. There are plenty of iPhone skins available, plus the price is half that of an iPhone:

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=AT&T+8525&q_sku=sku970003

But that's not really the point of the iPhone. The iPhone brings complex features to the average, non-geeky person and makes them...usable. What a concept! Touch, open! No fighting, no crazy hard menus, just simple and straightforward operation. Most of the problems I'm concerned with can be fixed in software (Bluetooth tethering, Bluetooth GPS support, etc.), so I think I may actually jump on a first-gen iPhone.

Kash · Jul 2, 2007

kaidomac said:
I agree. I think the iPhone is a marvelous device, mainly for the simple, intuitive UI. If you *really* want the full feature set, you could simply buy an AT&T 8525, which is the Windows equivalent of the iPhone. It has a physical keyboard in addition to a large touchscreen and most or all of the features the iPhone is lacking. There are plenty of iPhone skins available, plus the price is half that of an iPhone:

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=AT&T+8525&q_sku=sku970003

I love my 8525

elephantattack · Jul 2, 2007

ok so this is my first post... big deal...
The iPhone looks pretty darn cool all things considered... Like a slicker version of my phone (and I have a SLVR)... I want one... But only if it comes with my plan for 200 or less (preferably MUCH less).
What REALLY looks cool about this is the WIFI. It's ingenious, only problem is I have a 15" MBP and that certainly has WIFI... The traffic reports and such is pretty sweet but in my area... I'll never use it. So lemme run this down...

(I actually have all this stuff too, I'm not just saying random products that are iPhone replacements.)
1. Watching video? - MBP
2. Taking high quality pictures? - Canon SD800 IS
3. Shooting video? - Sony Handycam
4. Calls/TXT? - Motorola SLVR (the iTunes one)
5. Music? - 80 GIG iPod

gee...iPhone kills every phone on the market in the cool factor but... who on EARTH would need it? I still want one... DANG marketing...

Kash · Jul 2, 2007

elephantattack said:
gee...iPhone kills every phone on the market in the cool factor but... who on EARTH would need it? I still want one... DANG marketing...

Maybe those people who don't have all the nifty gadgets you do.....