I’ve given up on iPhone 3G after 48 frustrating hours. Instead of today’s post praising the platform, I must chastise Apple for one of the worst product launches in memory. Given Veronica Belmont’s experience, maybe I should be grateful for the delay. To avoid my inevitable agonizing over buying it or not buying it, I’ve come up with my five-point ultimatum that Apple must meet before I’ll consider buying an iPhone again:
1. I don’t have to stand in line to buy it. My current Blackberry/Touch configuration is good enough for now. One of three things needs to happen: Demand abates, supply increases, or Apple bitch-slaps AT&T until they agree to online purchases and at-home activations. Otherwise, it’s just not worth the bother.
2. Apple releases two software updates. Apple’s notoriously bad at Dot Zero releases, and they don’t seem as on top of things with the iPhone as they are with OS X. In this particular case, I’ll stick to the two update rule assuming the first update will fix most things but break a few more in the process.
3. I can synchronize with a released version of OmniFocus. Having my not-at-computer actions with me is a must have, and I’m unwilling to trust my daily operations to a sneak peak version of OmniFocus. I may buy the iPhone version for my Touch when OmniFocus 1.1 comes out, but only if I can use or transfer it to an iPhone later. Anybody know how the App Store works with multiple devices on the same iTunes account?
4. Reliable sources report battery life exceeds 24 hours. If the device can’t last an average day without turning everything off, I don’t want it. Ideally my everything device needs to last 48 hours–one weekend away from home and/or laptop–to be practical. This might be a deal-breaker with iPhone 3G. Anybody know how to tether an iPod Touch to a Blackberry Pearl or Bold? That might hold me over until a third generation iPhone with a reasonable battery life hits the shelves.
5. It comes with a reasonable plan. A reasonable plan includes text messages. The fact that I’m paying for an all-you-can-eat data plan but still have to pay extra for snippets of text drives me crazy now. I don’t love T-Mobile, and I don’t really hate AT&T from personal experience, but I have lots of AT&T-hating friends and feel that the iPhone and Apple itself have both been tainted by a deal with this particular devil.
The real shame here is I’m totally hyped about iPhone 2.0 as a computing platform. The total interface package (multi-touch, accelerometer, proximity) really delivers in what has been a decades-long innovation dead zone, and the App Store is a first look at the amazing possibility of putting such power in the hands of thousands of developers. The missing piece with the Touch is Internet Everywhere, but I’ve learned to live with good-enough works in progress elsewhere in life.
I can wait. I think. Ask me again tomorrow.
Update 2.1 is in the works, and Apple’s got a new plan for dealing with the lines at the stores. Progress! If I keep doing side-by-side comparisons between my Blackberry Pearl and my iPod Touch, I just might cave on a few points.