I think buying the first version of most hardware is risky, but buying v1 of a pda phone from a company that’s never built one is almost stupid. I admit I love the look of the iPhone and the GUI is great too, but that’s what Apple does best. If you don’t want to be seduced into paying the high price tag to AT&T ($500-600 with contract), then avoid watching their TV ads.
In the meantime, here are my top 3 reason to wait on buying the iPhone.
- Building a mobile operating system is really hard. - Just ask Microsoft, which took a long time to catch up with Palm and all the other “no-name” companies that have tried to enter the space. Warning… issues for the early adopters right around the corner!
- All Apple’s products DON’T just work. – With this complex hardware, Apple will look more like Microsoft with unexpected re-boots and errors. Every blackberry, treo and sidekick I’ve seen or supported for my IT clients has locked up or been forced to reboot. I’ve been a Mac convert for 8 months and I love my Mac and iPod, but I still run into issues. Many Mac fanatics deny this and act like it must be my machine, but in their weak moments they know Macs have issues too. The complex engineering required to build a phone with a browser, camera, maps and 20 other apps will be shown in the first two weeks of its sale.
- Apple sells the sizzle first, then cooks the steak. – They love to look great first and work well second. Steve Jobs has made a mint with great interface and design and has recently grown his company from the profits of the iPod not the computer. The average consumer is content with their crappy PC and incessant error messages. Their impression of most Apple products (sans iPod) is pointing out how “cool” it looks, but they can’t see the difference how it actually works better or worse. The average consumers WILL see the faults in the iPhone very quickly.
Let me be clear, I love Apple products. I’m a user on MacMeter.com and I am officially a Mac convert, but I also know mobile devices. I could go on and on about how much Cingular’s (I mean AT&T) data network is still lagging behind Sprint and Verizon or how every 3rd generation pda phone still isn’t perfect, but waiting for the 2nd generation iPhone is smarter. In the mean time, I’ll patiently sharpen my steak knife while Steve’s engineers clean up the early bugs and build a reliable mobile platform. Then, I’ll be ready to eat at the Steve’s Steakhouse.
