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Martin MC Brown's picture
Martin MC Brown

Computing From the Front Lines

Why I'm not buying an iPhone

The iPhone is release here in the UK on Friday, and while it is incredibly tempting to get an iPhone, for a few simple reasons I won't be:

  • The storage space is too small. Now I know I still iPods that have a 20GB hard disk on occasion, if I'm going to take advantage of that big screen, I need more space than the iPhone offers.
  • That big screen is nice, but on a phone, it makes the unit huge, and I like something small enough that will fit in my pocket without feeling to uncomfortable when I sit down.
  • The camera on it is way to low quality. I never thought I'd say this (I avoided buying a camera phone until last year), but I love the 3.2 megapixel camera on my K800i, and I'm already considering upgrading to the K850i for the 5 Megapixel camera.
  • The call pricing plans are a joke. No, honest. They are terrible in the UK at the best of times, and while O2 have sensibly offered the same unlimited Internet access as available in the US, they are at a price which is still more than I'm prepared to pay when I can get a cheaper tariff, on a better phone, at a time when I spend most of my time in the home-office anyway.

With all this in mind, I am considering getting an iPod Touch for use around the house as more portable solution than the MacBook for some basic web browsing and reading. I doubt I'll use it for playing music, except that I might use it in the lounge or the kitchen as a more interactive alternative than the iTunes Express solution. But back to the iPhone, I don't doubt that to some it it is invaluable, and probably I would be included in that group if I was more mobile, but I would still have to think hard about that camera resolution and the overall size before committing myself.

What People Are Saying

Sorry, the iPhone, for me, has flaws

You know, you're right - by volume terms alone (especially if you take the official figures which don't describe the K800i's odd shape), the K800i is larger than the iPhone. But the thickness of the K800i doesn't bother me as much as the larger facial dimensions of the iPhone do. It's a good 10mm taller and almost 50% wider than my K800i, and that takes up a big space in your pocket at any thickness.

As to the memory, again, I don't disagree with you, and I never once suggested that the K800i (or the K850i) had more than the iPhone, but then, I don't have a nice big screen on which to watch videos on my K800i either, so I don't do it.

And no, before you ask, I don't use the built in MP3 player much either, I tried it, yes, but I prefer the space on my iPod to give me a larger choice in music. In fact, I couldn't even put my usual cut-down music selection on my iPod that I was using with my first generation iPod. How daft is that? And therein lies the issue with the iPhone.

The space on the iPhone is pathetic if you want to take advantage of that screen for watching anything on the go. Convert a few movies for viewing on the iPhone and you'll fill up the space pretty quick, and still not have enough for a trip over to the US, let alone the space for some additional music to listen to while your there or for the trip back again.

Oh, and I haven't even considered the space that would be required to hold my email, address book, or calendars. If I take that into account, I have even less space for the music and video that Apple expect me to carry. At a time when music-targeted iPods are at 160GB, having one-tenth of that in a unit that Apple promote as a video player seems a little odd.

--
Martin 'MC' Brown, MCslp.com

iPhone fits in my pocket

I keep my iPhone in my pants pocket all day. It fits great & is very flat. Are you saying you'd rather have a much fatter phone in your pocket? WTF are you talking about? I don't care if you don't like it, but at least make some sense...

you make some good points

you make some good points and it is a shame that people seem to want to put you down rather than add their own counter points.

So let's get this

So let's get this straight.

Your K800i has much less memory than an iPhone.
Your K800i is actually 25% LARGER than an iPhone
O2 iPhone rates are actually similar to other DATA plans.
and......
You don't get out much!

Yep. 'm beginning to see the your problem.

im just telyou that you

im just telyou that you releas a good software.... you need to have a better job to do... im not satisfies for it!!!!!!!!!

wow. i am seriously

wow. i am seriously disappointed that i stumbled upon this. waste of time.
plus, commenting was/is a waste of time.
dammit.

Nobody cares. I didn't read

Nobody cares. I didn't read the article - just wanted to post. Buy or don't buy - but blogging about it is just silly.