Okay, so I played with an iPhone in the Apple Store yesterday. I already think it’s a worthless piece of tosh compared to my Nokia N95 due to it’s lack of:
- 3G support (fast mobile Internet)
- HSDPA support (broadband-speed mobile internet)
- MMS support (“picture messaging”)
- Video capability (N95 takes DVD quality video!)
Okay, so it can hold 8GB of music. But even ignoring the new N95 8GB, the proper N95 can too, provided you get a memory card big enough (and yes, huge cards DO work). And the N95′s Mac software interfaces with iTunes cleanly, so having an Apple-branded iPod doesn’t make that much difference.
Lack of 3G/HSDPA support is a total deal-breaker for me, because I use my N95 as a stopgap device for when I’m not near my Mac. Sometimes I even use it to get my Mac online when I’m nowhere near any form of internet connection (or even electricity). On the way down to London this weekend, it saved me from buying a wifi voucher on the train.
Nonetheless, I played with one, to see if it’s shinyness could sway me. Sadly, it didn’t. If anything it just cemented the idea that I already have a much better device.
The keyboard is nothing short of ABYSMAL. Sure, if you’ve never ever used a mobile before it probably wouldn’t be so bad, but my typing speed was only a QUARTER of what it is on the N95. It took me SIXTY seconds to write something on the iPhone that only took me FIFTEEN seconds to write on the N95. Wow.
The lack of tactile feedback (being able to “feel” when you’ve pushed a button) means you can’t type without looking at the device, something I rely on probably a bit too much. Imagine sending a quick text while walking down a busy Central London road — you really need to look where you’re going, rather than at the phone. London’s pavements would grind to a halt more than they already do if everyone had an iPhone.
The camera: why did they bother? Yes, perhaps I’m spoilt by my N95 with it’s 5MP camera, Carl Zeiss optics, and it’s DVD-quality video recorder, but on a phone as expensive as the iPhone, you EXPECT a decent expensive camera to match it.
All in all, it’s an absolute turkey. I’m sure with future iPhone releases, Apple will address some, if not all of these issues, but will they outdo the likes of Nokia? Probably not for a while.
