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Just a Peek
iPhone Whine and Cheese
Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 4:00 PM - by Vern Seward
This is the fifth time Ive rewritten this article. I didnt like the first four efforts because they made me sound like either a puling Apple hater or an Apple apologist.
I like to think that Im neither. When Apple does something good then I should write about it as quickly as I might if theyve done something stupid. At least, thats what Ive aimed for.
The reason Im having such a hard time committing to what I want to say is that, in essence, Im not sure what it is I want to say.
I know what I want to talk about is the iPhone and the environment Apple has carefully built around it, and I believe the reason I cant settle on any one thing to praise or complain about is because there is no one thing I can praise about the iPhone that I cant also complain about.
For example, the iPhone 3G has a GPS receiver built in and it works great with Google maps and other applications that make use of it, but it doesnt offer compass headings, so some really cool applications, even true turn-by-turn navigation is missing.
Another example is the iPhones ability to use information between applications. I can touch a phone number in my email and it is dialed, touch an address in my address book and a map showing the address location is shown. However, not all applications share this ability, most notably, Apples Notes app. I can type in phone numbers and addresses and names and the Notes app stores them for later reference, but thats it. I cant touch a name and have associated information appear from the address book, I cant touch a set of numbers and either bring up the phone or calculator, and web addresses do nothing when I touch them in Notes.
See what I mean? For every good thing is to talk about on the iPhone theres at least one comparable thing thats not quite so good.
And dont get me started on things that are missing altogether from Apples uber-phone. Chief on many peoples list is cut/copy/paste.
There is no explanation Ive heard that satisfactorily answers the question of why this feature is not available on the iPhone yet. Less capable smart phones have this feature so it cant be that hard to do -- especially since the iPhones operating system is a version of the same famed OS that runs Apples Macs.
Another almost-there feature is Bluetooth. You can connect cellphone headsets, but you cant connect stereo bluetooth headsets. Why? You also cant connect other Bluetooth devices like keyboards. Again, the iPhone is running OS X, a tried and true OS with device drivers galore. We should be able to connect our iPhone to Bluetooth printers, speakers, and any other device we can think of. We cant and the only reason I can think of as to why we cant is that Apple, for some mysterious reason, thinks thats a low priority, too.
And speaking of what Apple doesnt want, whats up with kicking applications from the App Store because they compete directly with Apple products? Why should Apple care if a vendor attempts to out Apple Apple? Its healthy competition and, if anything, Apple should welcome it instead of banishing it.
Understand that Im all for Apple keeping a close eye of the content of the App Store. Quality applications inspire other quality applications and Apples offerings are usually a good yardstick to measure against, but Apple acting like a king in some Greek tragedy where it must keep a wary eye on any possible heirs to its throne is silly and diminishes the iPhone as a platform. This is especially important now that real iPhone competition is starting to appear.
Well, there I go whining. I really dont mean to, but it so frustrating to have a device that almost lives up to its promise, that almost does everything I need it to do, but in the end it is still almost.
No matter how you dice it, the iPhone is a powerful platform that has done a lot to shake up a stale cellphone industry, but the full potential of the iPhone has yet to be realized. I guess I want to realize it sooner than later, if you get my drift.
Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.
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