Ok, so another post that Justin will find extremely boring. Tough hop.
So 2 days from the widely anticipated launch of the Apple iPhone. Here's my take on it: Big Whoop!
Sure, it's pretty cool. But what about it is so new? Basically one thing. Multi-touch screen. Ever heard of a Treo? It can do pretty much anything the iPhone is touting it can do. It's not new stuff! Treo has been doing most of it for years. Let's run it down.
First off, let's start by pointing out the things iPhone and Treo (I'm comparing against the 700w (which of course runs Windows Mobile 5.0) have in common, and which one wins.
1. They are phones
-a phone is a phone is a phone in my book
2. They can store and play mp3s
-iPhone...has a built in 4/8 gig hard drive to store them. Requires iTunes(boo!)
-Treo...Runs windows media player. Stores music on a SD Memory card (up to 4 gig). No iTunes! (Yay!)
3. Built in camera
-a camera is a camera is a camera
-iPhone has more megapixels. Either way, probably won't replace your normal digital camera
4. Surf the web!
-Treo has internet explorer. Kudos.
5. Email
-iPhone - POP, IMAP
-Treo - POP, IMAP, Exchange.
6. Applications
-Treo has Microsoft Office. View/edit word, excel, powerpoint, etc. OUTLOOK! What you are used to, and syncs up fully. Write your own/buy 3rd party! Thousands of apps out there for it. Sweet!
-iPhone - all propriety Apple stuff. O/S isn't open to outside developers, so you will get what Apple says you get. Don't think about writing your own apps or buying 3rd party apps!
7. Battery (This one is kind of a big deal, believe it or not)
-Treo, rechargable, replaceable, swapable. Have extras for backup, or replace if the battery is faulty.
-iPhoen, rechargable...NOT replaceable. No extra's! When your iPhone's battery goes kaput, guess what. You have a fancy piece of nothing. Send it in for repair. Don't think you can just swap it out with a new battery. Lame.
8. Touchscreen
-Treo, has one. Single touch input.
-iPhone, has one. Multi touch input. Cool!
9. Keyboard
-Treo, has a physical keyboard. As well as a software keyboard.
-iPhone, software keyboard only.
10. Service providers
-Treo: Verizon, Sprint, Cingular/AT&T
-iPhone: Cingular/AT&T only for now
11. Tether to laptop as a modem
-Treo: Yup! PDANet. Works awesome!
-iPhone: nothing i've seen indicates this is do-able.
12. Ability to be run over by a car
-Treo: Heck yeah! Still working good as new (just banged up a lot)
-iPhone: If you buy one, try it and let me know the outcome.
Benefits of the iPHone over the Treo:
- More built in memory
- Faster processor, etc.
- Cool auto-sense landscape mode
- Fancy UI and interfaces...
- Looks less dorky than a Treo (cool factor)
Overall, I think it's a pretty cool product. Is it as cutting edge as people are trying to make it out to be? Not really. Just a new player in an already existing market. The fact that the O/S isn't open up for 3rd party development is a HUGE fallback. Most of the apps I use daily on my Treo are 3rd party applications. And let's not forget that the Treo is almost half the cost of the iPhone! Sure, the iPhone will come down soon enough. If/when they expand to allow use of it on additional networks, and if/when they open up the iPhone for 3rd party development, and if/when they get rid of it's dependency on iTunes, I'd consider buying one. Only if it ran Windows Mobile :) Sorry, I'm a Window's user. I jsut won't buy something that natively isn't the same as what I use for everything else. Seamless integration is key!
Anyway, that's my quick overview. Please correct me if i've misstated anything. If you buy an iPhone, lemme know as i'd love to check it out.
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14 comments:
well, we see your where your bias is, but don't just ignore the benefits of the iphone. Take the battery for instance... The battery will last over 7 hours during continuous talk time. That's definitely more impressive than your stupid, clunky Treo. Plus, Apple never touted that you can do a lot of new things with the iphone. It's appeal is how you do the things you already know how to do, using it's touchscreen and awesome new user interface. The browser is supposed to be far superior as well as using email. Not to mention screen size and clarity. It's ok to compare, but at least don't forget to ignore the advantages of the iphone. For unbiased reviews from real professionals, check out these reviews
I mentioned it's benefits. Maybe you should read the whole entry! Mrs. Anonymous. Coward!
My treo battery lasts for days, mostly using the internet connection and playing music. If i'm talking on the phone for 7 hours continuosly, why bother with an iPhone. I'd be too busy yapping to play with it's 'cool' features.
I did mention the display and UI. Clearly mentioned it. Skimmer.
And the battery life is nice....until the battery is shot. No battery has an infinite life...they will all go bad, and usually after a couple of years. So that is a pretty poor design.
Like I said, the Treo does a lot of what the iPhone does, the iPhone just does it in a prettier way. And when Steve Jobs says it is 5 years ahead of any other phone, that to me is them trying to say it can do a ton of stuff no other phone can. I've read the reviews. Now I'm comparing what i've read of the iPhone with the Treo. I thought I was pretty clear, but I guess not.
Man, you'd think you own Apple stock or something with how defensive you are of a device you don't own and probably won't own.
Did I mention that Slingbox has a client for Windows mobile, Palm, Windows and Mac O/S? Guess what. No 3rd party development (including a Slingbox client) anytime soon on the iPhone. Plus, with only being able to use AT&T's pokey EDGE internet connection, the quality would suck anyway.
Again, it's a cool phone. But it has a long way to go before I'd consider buying one.
Here's an article I was just sent that covers a lot of the drawbacks I mentioned, most in more detail. Again, cool phone. Just not THAT cool.
Click here to read it, yo!
Man...you do a lot of responses on your own blog. Anonymous must have gotten you really jacked up.
Go watch America Has Talent...queer.
Yeah... you rip Bear effer for multiple replies and then you go out and send about 6 replies in a row. Must have been sending them from your Treo or something and kept running out of screen real estate! Oh well. Anyway, the biggest advantage of the iPhone will be it's ability for dorks to impress chicks. You should seriously consider getting one just for that!
I'll stick with impressing chicks with my sweet computer hacking skills. And hot dance moves.
I don't know who Anonymous is, but I sure like his/her style. As for skills, do you have numchuck skills. Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Michalangelo was my favorite because I enjoyed his numchuck skills.
The rest of this post sucked! I think i read the first two paragraphs and stabbed my eyes out with a fork. Which brings up another discussion I had this weekend with my family. DO you think that I could kill an elephant with a butter knife? What if I stabbed it in the eyes for 7 days straight? (Yes I know that the elephant would probably fight back, but let's ignore that for a second and pretend like it couldn't fight back) Do you think I could do it? How long would it die without food? How long would it take for me to actually hit the brain from behind his eyes?
Do you guys pee in the shower? That was another debate all weekend up north. I pee and I don't see what the problem is.
Thanks and I am curious to hear back.
I love you
Thank you Bearlover for those insightful words.
1) No, you couldn't kill an elephant with a butter knife. And we all know elephants don't have eyes.
2) I would never pee in my own shower. Someone elses, maybe. But no. That is disgusting. By the way, you are never showering at my house again. There is a toilet right next to almost every shower! What's wrong with that?
Another deep question. Do you sit down to pee at night? I do. I'm too tired to aim. Plus, I'm not that good at aiming to begin with.
ITS ALL PIPES!!!! (Seinfeld quote for you people who have lives and don't memorize quotes)
y'all want an iPhone say f* that, f* that f* that.
yah, big news story about iphone, I guess it sucks big time.
Anonymous...were we supposed to get some sort of info from your comment? A link or something? Or are you just making random words show up and then publishing them?
and the reviews I've read now all agree with me. Overhyped. Phone part of it sucks (so it is just a clever name), and the browser is pretty worthless (even though anonymous said it would be the best browser ever or something like that). Soiunds like a sweet iPod though.
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