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.