Yes, I'll admit it, I've been stoked about the iPhone ever since Jobs first unveiled and proceeded to prank call Starbucks on it. This may have come as a surprise to those who know me as a die-hard Mac-hater.
While I don't agree with them a lot of the time, I have a pretty deep respect for what Apple does design-wise. I have an iPod and am in a bit of a love/hate relationship with it -- I adore the clickwheel controls but could do without being tied down to iTunes or gtkPod (the Linux iPod software that I've had the most success with). I had an iBook for a while and can appreciate what Apple tries to do with OS X, but they simplify the interface so much (why do they still not have a real taskbar?) it's pretty much unusable.
That doesn't mean that I don't think their hardware and software isn't beautiful; but there's a big difference between beauty and usability. For a PC, I'm not willing to sacrifice as much usability as I'd need to. For an MP3 player, there are enough third-party iPod sync programs around these days that the sacrifice isn't nearly as great as it was when the iPod was first introduced.
So, where does the iPhone stand? It is, no doubt, a thing of beauty, but I'm being steered away from it because of the sacrifices in usability:
- No support for Flash or Java - For a device touted as displaying, "the REAL internet," this is a pretty big piece of it missing.
- No expandable memory - I know it holds 4GB/8GB, but how hard would it be to add an SD slot?
- Stuck on AT&T - My past experience with AT&T was pretty awful, and that's what I seem to be hearing from most, that their network still sucks big-time. I need a signal all along I81 between here and NoVA. If they can do that like Verizon can, maybe then we'll talk.
- Slow Data Rates - I'm not all too familiar with EDGE, but the the consensus I'm seeing is that it's painfully slow compared to even AT&T's own other wireless data protocols.
- Built-in battery - It's a downer, but not so hard to live with, at least until it's two years down the road and the iPhone has to be sent off to Apple to have the battery replaced.
- No SSH client - At least, not yet... I'm sure one will come along before too long, but I want my next phone to do SSH.
- No IM, MMS, or setting MP3s as ringtones - Again, not yet... though I'd hope Apple would add these capabilities in the near future.
What really hurts is how much I want to disregard all the above in favor of Apple's multi-touch, wi-fi-enabled, and all-around snazzy device. But I believe I'll let the most-hyped gadget launch I've ever seen come and go. I'll be here waiting and hoping that Verizon can conjure up something even remotely as cool to compete that will make up in some of the above areas where the iPhone falters.