HAHA another iPhone bashing post? LOL.. No, this is gonna simply outline features which will be useful for the normal users and will outline why you should buy iPhone and why you should not buy iPhone.. so, in short.. I am leaving you guys to decide what to do..
So, let’s cut the crap and start off with the stuff..
Why you should not buy an iPhone?
- Way way too costly.. Rs. 31,000 is what official price from Vodafone..Read the info on their page here. So this makes more than 3 times of the original price.. (USD 199)
- No 3G – atleast for now.. I have heard that it’s gonna be out on Vodafone in December and all but nothing confirmed. And even after it is out, I am pretty much sure that, their data plan are gonna suck.. plans will be way too costly.
- No copy paste – Yes, till now no official support for copy / paste. I personally use copy / paste thing a lot on my SE W810i, useful in many things.
- No Bluetooth file transfer – Yups, you cannot transfer files via Bluetooth.
- You cannot use it as Modem.. Yea.. Yea.. I know you can install some Apps and get it working but I am not sure whether it will break the warranty or not. And no normal user is gonna go through that pain of doing all those things.
I guess, these are the MAJOR disadvantages that a normal user. I know there are things like MMS and all but I guess… not many people care about it.
So, why you should buy an iPhone?
- It’s SEXY.. no one can beat the looks of iPhone.. I mean come on guys… HTC Touch Diamond too can’t beat that sleek look.
- Fast and less buggy compared to other phones in the market. (Compare with touch screen phones only) Currently, there is HTC Touch Diamond in the market.. but I have not heard so good reviews about it.
- Usability – No one can simply beat it.. try the browsing…. try composing any message.. you will forget using anything else. The picture zoom and web page is superb.
- Apps – I am 100% sure that no one can beat this App Store thing. (Which Apple introduced with version 2 of their software.) So many innovative apps, so many games.. I have never seen this kind of thing with any phone. There is a sexy iLightr, FlashLight and many other things. It’s simply fantastic.
I think that’s it.. I am not gonna make this post more lengthier with more pros and cons but covering the important one does the job.
So, in short.. if you do not have any problems with the hefty cost of the phone, then just go for it.. you are surely not gonna regret this beauty. Or simply you can wait for sometime, the rates should reduce soon.
Important Links:
So basically put – Its *not* for normal mobile user but for those who have enough money to shell out on just another COOL gadget.. my thoughts!
The future of 3g is still in question in India…
I wonder how iPhone will compete against Nokia and SE.
Yes, right said.. for the normal guys.. it is not the right time to buy.. but if you have some extra cash.. just go for it..
We cannot really compare iphone with any non-touch phones. It should be compared with the phones with same type of features.
Just yesterday I used HTC Touch Diamond. And the phone didn’t feel worth the cost. Yes its Windows Mobile, can install apps, have mobile office. But its way too slow. And after using a friend’s iPhone, I see HTC is no competition in terms of user interface and speed.
But still there is a huge problem of cost with iPhone.
As you said, 3G is still not here and once lunched it will be premier service, costing more than GPRS, ie more than 10p per 10KB or Rs 10 per MB. So it will be foolish to spend 31K now on a phone which is not yet usable. May be once 3G is launched and iPhone costs are settled, it can be a worthy candidate.
Right now, I am rather looking for Sony C905 and X1. The speed at which mobile handsets are evolving, its better to check what you get now , than investing for future. Till the time future comes, your oh-so-high-tech handset will be obsolete.
I wanted to contribute something to the post as far the comparison between the US/UK pricing to Indian pricing.
iPhone is not $199 / £99 as people tend to think it is.
£99 – iPhone 3G
£35/Month for 18 Months (Contract)
You are tied upto a contract for 18 months and that show these people tend to give iPhone for £99 or $199!
You end up paying £35 x 18 + £99 = £730! The same is in US .. just multiply with 2 🙂 !! I wasn’t so much interested on iPhone… but I did help couple of friends with purchase and I did spend sometime with it.. certainly for people who adore Apple products.. I bet they would love this!
I recon you already have a iPod Touch.. just an phone add-on to it..!! When I spent time looking into this.. the iPhone alone costs around £350 ($700), so Vodafone charging around 31k is bit expensive.. but not bad… 25k should have been a perfect releasing in India without contract!
Again. iPhone is not $199.. its $199 only when you sign up for a $70/Month contract for 18 months!!!
GPS isn’t good which iPhone says it has… has Google Maps.. which just shows you the position and destination.. calculates the shortest path.. not an efficient one in my opinion. I am sure the apps could do some good…!!
For normal user or phone user.. I phone is not for them! iPhone is aimed at Business Users and people who tend to be connected to the web… (3G) but incase of India… I don’t really find a good reason to buy iPhone..no good 3G facility…!
But.. bash or adore.. iPhone certainly rocks! 😉
Cheers,
Vinay
Vinay – you are the MAN 🙂 Great info man.. thanks 🙂
You can use the NetShare app. Although it’s not sure if it’ll stay on AppStore for long 🙂
@Vinay: I don’t agree that iPhone is only for business users or heavy internet users.
As you mention, it has a full blown iPod Touch! And if GPRS rates are low, I know many normal people who’d love to use internet on phones, especially if it’s as simple as it’s on iPhone.
Anyway i too was hoping the price was lower 🙁
http://woikr.com/category/apple/iphone/
I am using iPhone in India since January .. I bought it from US and jailbroke it here in India ..
It’s working fine .. And let me tell u, even though it has got bunch of shortcomes, it simply rocks ..
Labnol has more into the pricing structure incase you are looking to know whats their latest update:
http://www.labnol.org/gadgets/vodafone-india-iphone-3g-price/4267/ (Vodafone announces price of iPhone 3G Phone in India)
“We are delighted to announce that the iPhone 3G will be available in India from August 22, 2008. It will be available in 8GB & 16GB models, priced at Rs 31,000 ($710) and Rs 36,100 ($820) respectively. ”
So.. Rs 31000 (for handset) + Rs 12000 (yearly rent) + Call Charges + Extra data charges + Taxes.
Damn… something hurts here!!?
Cheers,
Vinay
Only a fool would recommend the iPhone 3G for Indian users..
And Deep although your not recommending the phone.. you seem to be totally involved in the hype as well.. what with those advantages in bold?? Have you seen the Nokia E71? It looks damn sexy and can do most things well for a business user..
An indian user should just get the iPod touch and be happy with it (available for about 13 – 14k in the grey market for the 8GB)
You forgot to mention the very basic things.. The iPhone cannot do even what most 200$ phones can do pretty well like Video Recording, SMS forwarding etc. The battery is pathetic. even for 2G users.. For 3G its gonna suck more..
Less buggy? I dont think! I have been using the ipod touch safari browser.. Keeps crashing all the time.. am on 2.0
Lastly imagine your travelling on a rick on those good old indian roads.. How do you message??
30k+ for a phone thats more of a toy than a reliable device is simply stupid.
Well thats just my opinion 🙂
Ashok – I just pre-ordered my iPhone.. paid 10K to the vodafone guys haha..
Actually, as you know, I too use iPod Touch with latest firmware. Till now, not even a single time safari crashed.. but yes.. ipod restarted automatically around 4-5 times but I guess that’s fine keeping the size, processor and other things in mind. I am pretty much sure that in terms of browing, other phones cannot beat iPhone by any means.. just look at the technology man.. you can zoom the text with your fingers.. tilt the browser window by just changing the position of your ipod.. who would give that and that too with so perfection?
E71 looks sexy? It might be but from what I am seeing, more than half of the space is taken by the keypad..
About messaging thing.. this problem is going to remain with all the touch pad phones.. try even typing message with HTC Touch.. you will understand what I am talking about.. I have used HTC Touch and turst me.. it sucks big time..
30K – Yes, it is costly.. more than 3 times the cost.. it does not have SMS fowarding, it does not have MMS but it has the stuff which no one even thought of.. their App Store.. their usablity.. till now I have not seen any browser who could beat that..
Actually, in the end, the things I mentioned above should let the users decide what they wanna do.. but again, cost wise.. It is overpriced..
cheers
Deep
Browsing is agree.. But deep you can do that with your iPod touch too, which costs how much 1/3rd? Its not like we have 3G here, browse on the move in India is not possible.. You can only browse from home and for that the iPod is good enough.
Rest of the things like photo zooming with fingers is stuff that you would be excited for about a week or 2 at max.. As i said more of a Toy than a actual reliable device.
Regarding Safari one or two pages is fine. But once it goes beyond that it starts to play up. Especially if your typing something on a form. I was posting something on a forum few days back and it kept crashing. But yeah the browsing experience is great no doubt.
And Apple although their products are great.. pwoer hungry control freaks.. why the F cant i install app without their appstore? Why cant i install 3rd party applications without jail breaking it? Why cant i send even ringtones / recorded audio clips via bluetooth? why do i have to transfer music / photos only through itunes? Beyond me 🙂 When ur paying such a premium price, cant you at the least expect control over your device?
If i had 37k.. I would rather get a Nokia N95 8GB for 23k, and get a iPod touch 8 GB for 14k 🙂 You get the best of both worlds
Seriously Deep, you could have got a Mac Mini at that price or a Macbook with a lil more. LOL
PS – Tried using the ipod touch a few times while watching movies to take down a few points but it just sucks so bad. I cant type without looking at the screen, with T9 i am much more comfortable.
Ashok – GPRS? I browse all the time using GPRS on my SE W810i and it works fine.. it does not have Edge so it’s bit slow but in iPhone it should work fine.
About photozoom and all – No man, I still love it.. like you said, it’s there in iPod touch and I use it very frequently for browing and all.
Safari – Yes, if you have like 5-6 tabs open with heavy pages (may be say 200 – 300 KB+ each) then it is possible but I personally have not tried it so won’t be able to comment about it.
About apps and all – Well, every phone has their own limitations, they have must have added this restriction keeping security in mind and I am fine with that, app store has great stuff anyways. About other minor things, Yes, they are lacking as mentioned in the list of points but again, I am ok with it. For Indian users these things are important and requires. Let’s see how iPhone works for Indian market.
About not being able to type without looking at the screen – Man this problem is going to remain in ALL touch screen phones. Be it iPhone, or HTC Touch or Samsung ones or whatver but at this point of time, keypad of iPhone is the best around.
HTC Touch Diamond keypad
I am gonna post the detailed review of Indian iPhone once I get hold of it 😀 (Yea, it’s gonna have some bashing on the basic features too haha)
Interesting coverage on iPhone 3G sensation at http://cellpassion.mobi/ !! 200 people queue outside Delhi Airtel Shop! 🙂 !! Not bad!
Cheers!
Paid to stand in Q to create hype? Check this
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPhone-Poland-Launch-Used-Lines-of-Actors-to-Hide-Weak-Demand/?kc=rss
GPRS is so slow! Hmmm.. The last time i activated EDGE (Vodafone) a 100 kb page used to take around 20 – 30 secs to load.. How is it out there in Mumbai?
Ashok – Yet to get Edge activated on the phone.. should be done in a day or two. Not expecting any good speeds though.
I think there is no need to get EDGE activated. Whenever EDGE enabled network is present, its activated without any extra cost or any extra settings. And it uses the same APN as of GPRS.
@Deep: Even your W810i is EDGE enabled (Class 10, 236.8 kbps). And with Vodafone, you should get EDGE speeds, at least in areas like Andheri. I am not sure if all of Mumbai is EDGE enabled. At least I get EDGE signal on W910i with BPL in most of the places, and when I move to Palghar, I get normal GPRS. I have not tried my Vodafone SIM in W910i, and my W800i is not EDGE capable, so not sure about Vodafone’s EDGE coverage.
So as far as EDGE speeds, I don’t think iPhone will make much difference. But when 3G is lunched, the 3.6 Mbps of HSDPA will make the killer difference.
Ashish – I never knew my W810i had Edge enabled.. speeds were always pathetic hehe