Why I Returned my iPhone Fri, Nov 2. 2007
When I saw a colleague bring up Google Maps on his iPhone and then surf to a few other sites, I was sold. What a beautiful machine! What a beautiful display! I visualized myself never getting lost again, able to keep up with my e-mail and my research any time and any place. As soon as I got home I bought one. I didn�t even consider the 4GB model, although there were a few left � I wanted that extra storage for all the stuff I wanted to take everywhere with me.
I soon discovered that the iPhone isn�t a very good cell phone. I live in an area with marginal coverage. I get only one or (on a very good day) two bars at home. But the iPhone dropped far more calls than my old Nokia, and would drop any call if I put the phone to my ear. I had to use the speakerphone option or the headset, and I found myself contorting into comical (for observers, at least) positions in a vain attempt to catch enough signal to complete a call. I was surprised to find that I got poor voice quality even when I was out and about and showing five strong bars.
My next disappointment came when I accessed Google Maps while on an urban exploration, expecting to resolve a navigational question in a flash. The snappy response my colleague demonstrated was nowhere to be found! Without a WiFi connection, I was already miles outside of the map�s boundaries by the time it appeared on that gorgeous display. I spent so much time dinking with my iPhone and waiting for it to respond that I might as well have stayed home. I saw very little of the countryside.
When I got home, I thought I�d listen to some music. I hadn�t had a chance to load any of my music, so I just typed (slowly and laboriously) the URL of my favorite Internet radio station. All I got was a tiny icon of a box! Nothing else at all. I did some research and discovered that the iPhone does not support Flash. What? The most graphically-oriented mobile device ever introduced ignores the most common way to deliver graphical content on the Web? Unfathomable! My radio station was programmed in Flash, so I got a little box icon and no tunes.
OK, so I�ll load some of my music from my PC. Plug the iPhone into the USB port and drag my favorite songs over, right? Not a chance! You have to use iTunes. That should be quick and easy � Apple is supposed to be the most intuitive stuff out there. Well, maybe to a long-time Mac user, that program is easy to figure out, but I never did find a way to select multiple songs and port them over. If you want to �synch� your entire library, it looks pretty easy, but mine would have exceeded the iPhone�s capacity. And why would Apple assume that I want exactly the same things in both places? After about a half hour of struggling to grasp the arcane logic and puzzle out the meaning of totally uninformative icons, I figured out how to manually load a single song at a time. I had to wait for that song to finish loading before I could select another. I loaded a few favorites and gave up in disgust.
Somebody tell me, please, why the iPhone, a USB device, does not even show up as a device when you plug it into a PC. Why not let me see that drive as a drive and store whatever I want on it? It is, after all, my 8 GB of mobile drive space � why dictate to me that I can use it only for media imported by iTunes? All that space was completely useless to me unless I wanted to fill it with songs, one�.. at�.. a�. time.
There were things I liked about the iPhone. The camera, and the way photos are stored and viewed � outstanding! The way I could start the iPod feature and have my (very few) tunes with me while I worked around the house. The access to YouTube. I enjoyed those. But c�mon, it�s gotta be at least as good a phone as my old one, and it�s gotta access the Web while away from WiFi points fast enough to be useful. I mean, isn�t that when the iPhone would be most useful? When I have WiFi access, I also usually have my PC. And the iPhone should certainly unwrap that little box and display the Flash content hiding inside.
I gave up. I happily paid the restocking fee to return the iPhone and go back to using my ugly, beat-up, three-year old Nokia that hardly ever drops a call and transmits clear, understandable voice. If I want to surf the Web or get navigational help while I�m out and about, I�ll lug my laptop with a Sprint card. Those options are bulky and certainly not as beautiful, but they work! And if I want to take my tunes with me when I�m away from my laptop, I�ll buy an MP3 player� one made by anyone but Apple!
#1 - John Roberts said:
2007-11-03 08:25 -
Hey - thanks for saving me the time and expense of trying this out for myself! I was excited about the same things - Being able to combine by i-pod, pocket PC and cell phone into one unit. But now I can see that those functions are still mutually exclusive. Perhaps in some future release? Or perhaps someone besides Apple will come up with a unit that really does do all these functions well....
#2 - Calum said:
2007-11-04 09:13 -
I never figured the iPhone. You can do everything that the iPhone does using a Windows Mobile smartphone. I don't like Microsoft, and I don't much like Windows mobile, but they work and there's loads of good software for it. I have 3G and google maps and it works a treat. With vendor lock-in, Apple are turning into any other evil corporate giant.
#3 - Manoj Sterex said:
2007-11-04 09:56 -
About the USB interface of the iPhone: it is very similar to the one an iPod has. Though iPod (in reference to the 80Gb Video iPod) lets you store files (recognises as disk drive), it doesn't recognize the media files unless you add them via iTunes! Whenever my friend gets his iPod home and transfers a track he likes, he isn't able to listen to it on the iPod. And when I try to add it via iTunes, he has to format his iPod of the other tracks which he has, and reformat it and synchronize it with my iTunes library. All this for one song? That way, its boring to use an iPod. Videos are a pain to add, because it needs conversion to mp4.
I like the Creative Zen Vision:M better! 
#4 - Actino 2007-11-04 10:32 -
Hey..
I guess you didn't read any reviews before you got your iphone. It would be a great phone if for instance you had an ipod and maybe you were used to the itunes.
In my opinion it is a terrible phone for day one. My Qtek S200 (or HTC) it's better than the iphone and it's already 3 years old. It has all the features of the iphone except for the 4GB of storage. But I trade that for the easy contact synchronization feature with the outlook. My Qtek runs windows mobile, and since I'm not a mac user it works great with my laptop.
There are plenty of windows mobile cell phones that are way better than the iphone. The only thing is that they are not made by apple. There's a style factor regarding the iphone and I think that's why everybody wanted one..
#5 - brian said:
2007-11-04 10:45 -
You should have read my mini-review @ http://www.hategetsmeoff.com/2007/09/16/i-hate-steve-jobs/ before you bought it. =)
#6 - clak 2007-11-04 10:50 -
I noticed that you went back to your "Sprint" service. The ironic thing is that with Sprint, I had very bad coverage in the area in which I live. That problem was solved when I switched to Cingular (which is now AT&T). So you can't blame the iPhone for the coverage in your area. You can't complain because you can't do things that were never promised by Apple in the first place (like drag and dropping without iTunes). Learn how to use the playlist feature in iTunes before running back to the Apple Store because you couldn't get all the songs you wanted to sync. Jesus!
#7 - Aki said:
2007-11-04 12:01 -
If in a given location two different phones have different RF reception and transmission characteristics (read: one phone works better than the other one), then the problem is with the phones, not the network provider. Sometimes it'll be just bad enough to make the difference between working and not. I had the same experience with a Nokia N70 some time ago, which had effectively no reception at my house, even though the phone right before it (6100), and the phones that followed it (N73 and 6500 Slide) had no issues.
Now this doesn't mean that the network providers can't be blamed. Every time I travel to Europe or most of Asia, my GSM phones work much more reliably than in the US.
#8 - Zac Garrett said:
2007-11-04 12:06 -
All Apple products are very simple to use if you just want to do the basic functions. However, as soon as you step outside of that box the complexity jumps at least ten fold.
My primary home machine is a Macbook Pro and I love it; the reason why is because I am a *NIX person. I run most things via the command line and therefore I love the complexity. I have finally stopped using iTunes and use VLC in combination with Miro to deal with audio and video.
I've not even thought about buying an iPod, much less an iPhone. They are just too restrictive of the products.
#9 - Driver Man said:
2007-11-04 12:23 -
Just get a HTC TyTN II. It blows the iphone out of the water!
#10 - Loser Guy 2007-11-04 13:24 -
One song at a time? For someone who's apparently comfortable with USB drives and basic functions, I'm shocked that he didn't know you can CLICK, SHIFT, CLICK to select multiple items. Honestly...condemning Apple for including the most basic of features just because you're unaware of them is crazy.
Also, did you research to see how good coverage would be in your area? Is that Apple's fault, too? Not every cell phone service has the same coverage capacity.
I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy your iPhone experience, but perhaps next time you'll do some research for yourself rather than succumb to the "oohs" and "ahs" of the Apple hype machine.
I'm not getting the iPhone either, but to blame gaps in the consumer's research and application to the device (or company) itself is ludicrous. Common sense people.
#11 - Ben said:
2007-11-04 14:49 -
Um, I'm sorry, but did you actually read up on the iPhone at all befor buying one? iTunes is requirement to use it. In fact, unless you bypassed the activation step, you had to have iTunes installed. Creating playlists in it is dead simple and a matter of selecting the tracks you want (as noted click,shift,click; or click, control, click, click...) and dragging them to the playlist. If your friend is reformatting the iPhone before copying music to them, then they are doing something really wrong or creating entirely new playlists each time, and even then the iPhone isn't formatted.
For the speed, EDGE is slow, this is known. If you're not near a hotspot, then your speeds to the Internet are going to be slow. If you want fast speeds, move near a hotspot.
Coverage is not the iPhones fault. As you put it, you have bad coverage. Some phones to better then others with poor coverage. The iPhone falls towards the middle of service connectivity.
Not liking a technology because it doesn't work well is one thing. Not liking a technology because you don't understand it is your fault, not the developers. There are plenty of reasons to not like the iPhone (contract lock-in, not third-party apps, etc.), but just because you expected it to work one way while it worked another is not an indication of a bad product.
Ben
#12 - HHH 2007-11-04 16:40 -
get a n95
#13 - Vyas said:
2007-11-04 19:34 -
Though I do not subscribe to the views expressed in the article which anyway are debunked and dismissed by most of the readers, I have to say this:
Nokia wins handsdown when it comes to handling voice calls.
A cellular phone's primary function is to allow the user to make and receive voice calls! A fact which, unfortunately, is lost on most people. Today, camera, MP3 player and GPRS, all have become default cell phone features. But I can live without them anyday.
I've owned Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola in the past. I've gone back to Nokia again. No iPhone for me for some more time to come. 
#14 - n1x said:
2007-11-04 23:20 -
You know, all you have to do is create a new playlist in iTunes (by clicking on that little ' ' icon on the bottom left of iTunes). Name it. Drag songs into there. Go into your iTunes settings, select the folder you want it to sync to - and voila! Should sync to that folder... always.
I have an iPhone folder... makes things easy.
Also, not being able to view flash - you're right. Kinda sucks, but definitely something a quick software update can make, which I'm hoping Apple comes out with in the near future.
I'm an iPhone user, but I only use it for just a few things. iPod, phone, Google Maps, Internet (while in WiFi hotspot, EDGE is slow), taking pictures, playing games (yes, mine is hacked), I use the built in notes app for grocery shopping lists and the iPhone itself to pick up chicks.
There are a lot of features the phone comes with that can be useful to some - but Apple (with the phone) is in no way trying to dominate the cell phone market. They just want to make a dent in it. I can tell... funny thing is, for every negative review, there are 20 or so positive ones.
It's personal preference. I always say, give something a shot at least once - but only after reading about their return policy.
#15 - Jed said:
2007-11-05 01:38 -
Buy a treo 700p. At least where I am it gets reception in basements. It also does what the iPhone claims to do and much more. 250$.
#16 - Aki said:
2007-11-05 08:28 -
"You know, all you have to do is create a new playlist in iTunes (by clicking on that little � � icon on the bottom left of iTunes). Name it. Drag songs into there. Go into your iTunes settings, select the folder you want it to sync to - and voila! Should sync to that folder� always."
Clearly the usability of that isn't where it should be after so many years in the market. I have almost forgotten how difficult and demanding iTunes can be to use.
On my Creative player it's a single step, quoting from the excerpt: "Drag songs into there." Ditto for the last few Nokia phones that I have and which came with high quality earphones that double as a handsfree set with a remote control. I wonder how long it will take for Apple to catch up.
#17 - danr said:
2007-11-05 08:45 -
Wow, this drew a great response! Thanks for all the feedback. To answer a few of the comments:
It's true that if I had taken the time to research the iPhone better, I never would have bought it. I was pressed for time, did a very quick overview, and figured that I could work around the shortcomings I saw. I'm usually more deliberate in making such purchases, but I definitely, as Looser Guy so aptly puts it, "succumbed to the �oohs� and �ahs� of the Apple hype machine". It's such a beautiful machine that I just flat wanted it.
I stand by my assertion that the iPhone is not a good cell phone. When we left T-mobile and went to AT&T, we went with a family plan and my Lady traded her phone for a newer model Nokia. It did much better than the iPhone in the same house, with the same service. The fact is, if the iPhone had been capable of decent cell phone performance, I'd still have mine. Maybe, as Aki indicated, it would work better overseas.
I'm sure I could have figured out iTunes if I had taken more time with it, but I was pretty disillusioned by then, and I was not willing to invest time to puzzle out what should be a very straightforward operation. As a PC user, the logic behind iTunes (and other Apple programs I have used) escapes me. What the heck does a "playlist" have to do with transferring files? I guess that's intuitive if you're used to Apple logic, but it sure didn't ring any bells for me. I feel that a decently-designed user interface should not require the user to consult help for such basic operations. I did consult help, but did not find the answer quickly, and the time investment required quickly outweighed the benefits I would have received. I gave up. I know the Apple approach is very easy for some people to understand. To me, it's baffling. Had I kept the iPhone, though, I'm sure I would have adapted.
Kudos to those of you who can make good use of the iPhone. It's such a beautiful machine - I kinda envy you!
#18 - Chris Hill said:
2007-11-05 09:24 -
I own an iPhone, have for 2 months now. My verdict, I love it! This is my first "Smartphone". I gave up my crappy razr for the iPhone. Yes, Edge can be slow in places, but my reception versus T-Mobile thus far has been superior. For example, we went riding this weekend in a remote location North of Reno, I was the only person to get cell phone coverage. In fact, I forgot the exact location while on our way...handed the iPhone to my wife, said Google "this". She found the website with the directions in a matter of seconds, and on we went, not skipping a beat.
I've also used the Google Maps bookmarking feature for a recent trip we took to Southern California. In advance I bookmarked the directions for our entire trip, what a life saver! No need to print the directions out onto numerous sheets of paper that will inevitably get lost and destroyed during the trip. Load the bookmark, switch to list view, and bingo, you've got step by step driving directions. Hmm, is traffic slow, switch back over to map view, click the traffic icon, �ouch it's all red!� Let's find an alternate route and save ourselves 30 mins.
Many are right, this phone is not for everyone, but isn't that why there are thousands of different phone models? Apple never claimed this would be for everyone, just like macs aren't for everyone. Just remember to do your research before buying any techie device and this will prevent disappointment. Heck, they've got 10 iPhones on display at any Apple store that you can play with for hours if you so desire. There is a reason for every bad review of the iPhone you can find 20 great reviews.
I could go on and on about other features that I love, which happen to be most of the iPhone's features. And, with third-party apps coming in February woot woot! it's only going to get better!
#19 - kevin 2007-11-05 09:42 -
I wasted a ton of time with iTunes for my new iPod classic before I figured out how to use it as a "drag and drop" interface for my iPod. It's not inherently apparent, but my system now suits me. As mentioned in my article, (http://www.pcdoctor-community.com/pcdblog/2007/10/29/death-by-software-an-update/) I waited for a decent Slim Creative Vision M and finally gave up. I don't like iTunes at all but it's a necessary evil.
Anyone ever notice how it seems to be thinking when you delete or add songs to your iPod and it doesn't give you any indication of what it's doing?? What's that about? How about a simple progress bar (no the one they have isn't active at this time). Apparently something is thinking hard because iTunes is frozen for a while....
#20 - Josh 2007-11-07 15:36 -
Sorry, but this is entirely your fault. First off, yes you have to use iTunes, its pretty much commonsense its made by APPLE its a phone with IPOD capabilities hence the given title iPhone. If you get poor signal then you are bound to get crappy calls. Thats not the phones fault thats the ISP. AT&T.
#21 - Dan said:
2007-11-07 17:18 -
I am totally agree with Ben, I have my iPhone and works really great and I already hacked it so I using it in Mexico where I live and works really great. You have to investigate before buy.
#22 - Mike 2007-11-07 19:09 -
Just get a cingular 8125 or 8525 , It has all the features you lacked using the iphone , Plays MP3's Plays flash , Wifi , You can plug it in USB and have a storage device . Now I will give you that the Windows mobile is not as pretty as the iphone but U can download themes and mods that Mock the iphone perfectly
#23 - dude 2007-11-07 22:46 -
youtube uses flash files to (swf) , how can you see that but not your radio station? that sounds retarded
#24 - Nicholas gdiza said:
2007-11-08 01:08 -
South Africa won't be getting the iPhone, probably a good thing, we don't need shyte here, we got enough! haha.
#25 - Clay 2007-11-08 07:04 -
The iPhone isn't all that, I agree, but you've got to learn how to copy multiple files from one directory to another if you are going to get the most out of your computing experience.
To move multiple files at once, in itunes or whatever, select the files and drag them to the new directory. For example, if you wanted to move 5 files from your desktop to your documents folder, you could select all five documents, drag them to your documents folder icon and drop them in there. In itunes, you would have to select all the files you wished to move, drag them onto your ipod's icon (on the left) and let go. it is very simple... and not mac specific either.
#26 - Matt Ellsworth said:
2007-11-08 07:18 -
wow - thanks for the heads up. I would never buy a phone that ran on AT&T (Cingular) because their coverage here is horrible. But wow - this review is pretty bad...
#27 - Chris Hill said:
2007-11-08 10:30 -
And again, you'll find 20 great reviews for this one bad review. Plus, as it's been reiterated numerous times, it's all about what YOU need in a phone. If you're interested in one, do the research yourself and don't base your decision on one bad review.
#28 - Andy 2007-11-14 14:05 -
Your little "rant" I just read only proves that you are a moron for investing that kind of money and not reading the simple requirements and reviews.
#29 - danr said:
2007-11-14 14:42 -
Sheesh, Andy! I already admitted that I goofed. What more do you want from me? My mistake was costly: I paid a month's service fee and a restocking fee, and wasted a lot of my time. Now, abuse from people who don't even read the whole post is supposed to help how, exactly?
I think this account of my experience will help those who do take the time, as I should have done, to investigate well before they buy. What did you see in my post that sounded like a "rant"? I stand by my assertion that the iPhone is a sub-par cell phone, and that the iTunes interface is confusing to anyone not familiar with how Apple does things. I concede that many find both quite satisfying. Is that ranting?
#30 - Dan 2007-11-14 14:55 -
The Voyager is better...
#31 - Terri 2007-11-15 09:26 -
I LOVE my iPhone! It gets very good reception in places where I got nothing before with my Treo 650, both on Cingular/AT&T. I admit, it did take getting used to and in the beginning I thought of taking it back. The more I used it though the more I found to love about it. I won't be going back to the Treo!
#32 - Dr. Blip’s PC-DoctorÃ?® Blog » Drag and Drop to an said:
2007-11-16 08:58 -
[...] Windows With all the talk lately of bad iPod and iPhone experiences and iTunes nightmares (See here, here, and here!), I decided to share my system for managing my music and movies to hopefully ease [...]
#33 - sam 2007-11-18 11:31 -
what i cant understand is why apple didnt stick a camera in it. that just eats me up.
#34 - :/ 2007-11-19 03:59 -
there is a camera 'sam' :/
#35 - Chris Hill said:
2007-11-19 10:17 -
Yes, there is. I believe it's a 2 megapixel camera that takes very nice photos. Not great in low light, but still great pictures for a phone. sam, have you researched the phone at all?
#36 - Wajih’s Blog » Why I Sold My iPhone - LightBlu said:
2008-01-17 00:51 -
[...] The iPhone will surely visually appeal you, but when you sacrifice its beauty to its functionality and practicality, you want to wait for v2 or look elsewhere.Ã? Don’t believe me?Ã? Dr. Blip’s wrote another good article here. [...]
#37 - Lynn 2008-01-14 14:44 -
Danr,
Thanks for the review. It squashes my iPhone curiosity completely. I have a Treo 700wx that I really like and I would be annoyed by the same things you posted about, so I'll stick with it. It's not as "pretty" as the iPhone, but I can use google maps, install all kinds of third party software on it, browse the internet (no Flash) and store whatever I want on my storage card (via drag and drop and ActiveSync).
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