I *really* want an iPhone 
7
… but I’m not sure if I should get one.
Before I bought my first iPod I’d nearly convinced myself that I didn’t want or need one based on the fact that it’d be an unnecessary luxury and besides, did I really need to be able to carry my music around with me? In the end I bought one and realised that even if I didn’t want one (which, of course, I did really) then I did at least need one; it’s become invaluable in many situations as a portable hard drive, it’s great for listening to music when you’re tucked up in bed and is great to be able to lend to people — it’s currently residing with one of N’s brothers-in-law, loaded with the first six Harry Potter audiobooks.
Then came my MacBook. Why would I need a laptop when I have a perfectly good desktop computer? I wouldn’t be able to carry it myself. Blah blah blah. I shan’t bother mentioning how great it is to be able to use a computer from the comfort of my (extremely comfortable) bed. Nor shall I say how liberating it is to be sat in the lounge (or anywhere else in the house) with N and Rocco whilst typing this rather than being sat in the back bedroom all on my lonesome. Oops, too late.
Anyway, the iPhone. My reasons for not buying one as soon as it was released are entirely different to the bollocks I’ve just spent five minutes typing. I know that being able to read my email and surf the internet using a ‘phone without having to curse the crappy layout or worry about the cost will be liberating. I also know that having a ‘phone that finally syncs my names, postal and email addresses, profile pictures, appointments, reminders and to-do notes properly will please the geek in me no end. And I also know that even though I probably wouldn’t bother having more than a couple of songs or videos stored on my iPhone, being able to keep and show off my photos in a decent way will please me mightily. No, the reason I haven’t bought one yet is because of my hands.
(“What about your hands?”)
Well, I have muscular dystrophy and they don’t work quite how most people would expect their hands to work.
(“What?!? You’re disabled?? Why didn’t you say?”)
Yes, I know I rarely mention it — sometimes I can go as long as ten minutes without complaining about it — but it’s a factor in many of my decisions in life, big or small.
So, I’m wondering if I’ll be able to hold an iPhone and be able to use it comfortably. If I’m at home and I want to text someone or indeed type anything into my current mobile (a Nokia 6131) then I park myself at a table or desk and rest my hands on that — this should work equally well with the iPhone. But the main problem I do see occurring is when I need to use it as an actual ‘phone, i.e. making and receiving calls: to lift a ‘phone to my ear I need to hold it in my right hand and then support my right hand with my left hand, so then I can only press buttons using my right thumb and it isn’t all that accurate — will I be able cope with the iPhone’s touch sensitive screen?
I’m due to travel down to Southampton this weekend with Tugger and, luckily, he has a shiny new iPhone, so I’m hoping to be able to bribe him with some Dairylea triangles in return for him letting me try it out for an hour or six. I shall report back with my findings once my inevitable hangover has cleared sometime next week.
Dude… I totally know how you feel about wanting an iPhone. I friend of mine at work has one and the interface is so silky smooth it’s enough to drive you insane…
Shame I have four more months on my contract with orange :o(
Of course, by time I can get one, Apple will have their API out and you’ll be able to get all kinds of crazy new apps for it! - andyk
Yeah, I should’ve mentioned in the entry that I love the fact that it can be updated with new features and am looking forward with interest to the apps people will be producing.
Luckily my contract with O2 ran out back in July so I can change anytime I like. - Timmargh
Christmas is coming isn’t it and America is calling too? Put it on the wish list and TRUST - me,Shirley Wendy
As soon as they put a camera on it, get a high speed internet connection and don’t corrupt the phones if you try and unlock it & put a Vodaphone/T-Mobile/Orange sim card in it and continue to upgrade the firmware… then I’ll start saying I want one.
Until then, I’m happy to upgrade to a new Nokia phone that works for my needs. However, my current 6230i has survived pretty much everything I’ve thrown at it. They are about as indestructible as you can get, and seem to fit perfectly into jeans pockets so you don’t lose them on buses/at the pub - stonysleep
The thing that annoys me about the iPhone is the way Apple have given it a flashy front façade when in reality it’s an inferior device to the rest of the smart phones.
The camera is rubbish, it doesn’t take videos, it can’t send MMS, the battery can’t be removed, it’s tied to one network (unless you unlock it and void the warranty), at the moment you can’t put any third party apps on it (unless you apply these ‘jailbreak’ hacks), it’s very fiddly to text people with it.
It’s irritating in a way, because I (for once) actually thought the device justified the patented Apple “take the cost of production and + 60%” pricing strategy, but then I found out the complete oversight of basic phone functionality.
Personally I’d get the Nokia N95. - Daniel
I’m kind of stuck between waiting for the next gen iPhone or getting a Touch. Maybe around the end of 2008 there will be an iPhone for faster networks.
I’ve held one many times. A few friends have them, and I’ve tried them out in the store.
With regard to your hands, it’s hard to say if you’ll have trouble or not. The first few times I had a lot of trouble typing with accuracy. It seems every time I use one that gets better.
I envision using the Touch as a media remote in the house. Using it to control playback from my G5 to an Airport Express connected to the stereo. As an Internet addict it would be nice to have at the handful of hotspots in my neighborhood.
Which leads me to my lust for the iPhone. Wifi just doesn’t do it for me, there aren’t enough hotspots. Having Internet access anywhere - that’s something I’d like to have.
Lastly - here’s my big frustration with iPhone critics: To deliver the phone the world demanded Apple had no choice but to build a touch screen. No keypad could deliver anything like the flexibility the iPhone has in terms of interface. And the touch screen they made is stellar. It’s so far beyond any I’ve ever experienced. Could they have included a real keyboard too? Yes. But it never would have had its monolithic feel - the design factor that the Apple public demands. For those who hate the touch screen - go get your Nokia. If Apple had delivered ANYTHING other than what the iPhone is we’d be looking at another ROKR. For a first phone Apple did pretty darn well.
If you go play with that iPhone for a few hours and you think you can operate it as well as some other phone, I think you should buy one!!
- Murphy
Video capture, Full Bluetooth, Tweaking to the SMS engine and various other updates are coming in Q1 08. It’s running OSX for god’s sake, which means they can add anything they want (limited by hardware).
I don’t agree with the way the went to market with the device, may work in the USA but not in the EU, but this is a new market for Apple and a first generation device. They had the same problems with the iPod some 10 years ago!
I’ll be interested to see how things pan out now they have to sell officially unlocked models in DE/FR. It won’t be long before some happy hacker works out how this is done and everyone can join in.
I now own 2 of the devices. Apart from some minor niggles, I’m loving it, and have yet to find a device as small as this which gives me full remote desktop access on my Mac at home ;) - Tyla
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