The real tech disappointment of 2007
PC World recently wrote up a column discussing the 15 biggest technology disappointments of 2007. And while many of those issues revolved around topics that were certainly a disappointment, I was disappointed with PC World's number one pick.
According to the venerable publication, Windows Vista was the biggest disappointment of 2007. Why you ask?
"It's just that Vista isn't all that good. Many of the innovations the operating system was supposed to bring--like more efficient file and communications systems--got tossed overboard as Microsoft struggled to get the OS out the door, some three years after it was first promised. Despite its hefty hardware requirements, Vista is slower than XP."
And while I must agree that Vista "isn't all that good", I can't call it a disappointment. After all, did anyone actually believe this operating system would do anything besides cause headaches and make people want to go back to XP? Certainly we knew better than to expect a great operating system out of the gates from Microsoft, right?
But do you want to know what the real disappointment of 2007 was? No, it had nothing to do with the fact that the high-def format war is still being waged or Net Neutrality is still sitting on your Senator's desk. The real disappointment of 2007, which was touched on in number five of PC World's list, was Apple's unwillingness to stand by and allow hackers to do what they wanted with their iPhones.
To heck with Vista -- the real disappointment fell on Steve Jobs' plate.
As an iPhone owner who has used a number of smartphones and PDAs over the years, I can say with all honesty that no device has ever rivaled the iPhone. Call me crazy, but the iPhone really was the best device of the year.
And while some of the allure washed off as I continued using the device, there's no debating the fact that it lived up to its hype. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the way the device was handled subsequent to its launch.
Let's paint a picture: you're a T-Mobile convert who has been relatively satisfied with the company's services. Eventually, you find out that the iPhone will be an AT&T exclusive and you'll be forced to switch your service and get locked into the grips of a new cell phone company. But just in case you don't like the iPhone, you decide to keep your service for a few months to see how everything works out.
Upon opening the box, you love your iPhone and can't fathom the thought of going back to a Blackberry. And just when you're ready to abandon T-Mobile, you find out that hackers have found a way to unlock the device and let you use your iPhone on any GSM carrier you'd like. Even better, your T-Mobile plan was slightly cheaper than your AT&T plan and you'll be able to save money even though you canceled your AT&T contract.
What excitement! Now you can get out from under the horrific AT&T service and save yourself some cash in the process. Sure, everyone has their own preference, but let's face it, if Consumer Reports is right, T-Mobile is far better than AT&T on most categories.
Then just when you thought things were going well, you found out after you updated your unlocked iPhone that the fine folks at Apple had sent it into a coma (after all, we can't call it a brick). Disappointed yet?
Can you imagine the disappointment in knowing that your iPhone has been rendered useless after finding the right tool to use, jailbreaking the iPhone, playing around with the command line and finally unlocking the device? Sheesh.
Knowing all this, Vista is still the biggest disappointment in the world? Please. If nothing else, Vista is a known quantity -- people know that when they use the OS, there will be growing pains and it will probably work about as well as Windows ME.
But to be given the opportunity to use a device in any way you see fit only to find out that a company has not only stopped you from doing what you want, but has stopped you from doing anything, is easily the most disappointing event of the year.
And if the public outcry (of Apple haters and fanboys, alike) were any indication, Apple and AT&T made a big mistake on this one and so far, very little has been done to fix it.
Say what you will, but the biggest disappointment of 2007 has nothing to do with Microsoft and everything to do with the iPhone.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Touch that does so much more...Voyager by LG...on the best data and voice network.
To a certain extent I can understand why Apple would want to limit the tweaking of the iPhone, because there is an interest to keep a great user experience intact. However, an enhancement to a great user experience involves personal choice of how to use a specific device. No one with one iota of interest in having full control of their device would want to be told how to use it or be kept from doing certain things with it.
As much as I have been impressed with the iPhone's beautiful and mesmerizing interface, it only seems to be nothing more than eye candy.
Why else would they bash the iPhone unlockers saying that they hurt Apple's bottom line (apparently Apple gets a kickback from AT&T).
They've also rationalized the bricking, mentioning some vague applespeak about "unforseen technical reasons" that the phones were rendered unusable. What B.S.
I'm glad I already had an AT&T account so that was never an issue with me. If they brick my iPhone I'll never buy an Apple product again. They handled this very poorly. This Apple user will not be an apologist for this increasingly evil company.
Installer.app is an awesome hack that shows what could be done, but frankly the iPhone already so far surpasses any other phone I've used that i don't mind waiting for the officially blessed solution for third party apps. Call me a sheep, but I'm a satisfied iPhone user.
I was a Verizon customer and HATED the stupid red interface and my options for phones were so limited it just drove me away. AT&T doesn't have the best service in my area but it has improved since the iPhone was introduced.
The device itself can be improved OBVIOUSLY, after all, the first digital camera/computer/iPod/camcorder/TV/GPS/fridge/stereo system every person who has reply to this column bought years ago is a far cry from what you own today. Give me a break people.
Apple TV is the biggest failure of the year. Forbes magazine calls it "a flat-out iFlop".
I have both (personal AT&T and Work T-Mobile my wife has Verizon) I have not purchased an iPhone yet (waiting for next generation) but all I can say is T-Mobile's service is HORRIBLE i have to forward all my calls to my AT&T to be able to get my calls.
I am one of this guys who believe that unfortunately all phone providers are horrible anyway.
Now, about that iPhone. It?s terrible that Apple pushed out an involuntary update that bricked. . .wait? What?s that? It was an OPTIONAL update? Hmmm. Now let?s be honest. Was it TRULY optional? There was some indispensable feature attached to it, right, thus making it ?volandatory,? right? (Volandatory = something that is claimed to be voluntary but is really mandatory. . .if you had a bricked iPhone this year, you?re probably not swift enough to otherwise understand the meaning of this word.) Did it add GPS or 3G? No? Hmmm. Well, I?m sure there were no warnings; Apple simply blindsided all those people that had. . . What? They issued a press release indicating the likely ?bricking?? And people who had modified their phones still installed it? Wow, that seems rather, well, STUPID. Literally, that behavior makes no sense at all.
Let?s sum up. The company releases a closed product, and sells it that way. People buy the closed product, open it, are warned that an impending OPTIONAL update may make it inoperable (due largely to the fact that Apple isn?t about to hike up its development costs by working around modifications that run counter to the nature of the product as sold), ignore the warning and install the update, and then complain that the phone is inoperable? Pardon me for saying, but his sounds rather moronic, especially when there are legitimately ?open? phones. The bottom line here is that if you?re one of these people, and you want to find the biggest disappointment of 2007, look in the mirror.
The lack of 3G doesn't seem to be a factor in the real world since the Safari browser more than makes up for the difference in network speed. Pages are being rendered on the iPhone faster than possible on any 3G phone. Several examples of this can be found on Youtube.
And as far as ATT, I've been a customer since the Bellsouth Mobility days. I've traveled extensively though the SouthEast and Midwest and have never had a coverage problem. And they don't cripple features so you have to pay extra to sync/backup the data on your phone. Something my coworkers tell me is common with Verizon.
Apple sold the phone as being locked to AT&T's network, good or bad. And locked to that network for some unspecified period of time. Some "hackers", I call them criminals for various reasons, came up with a way to circumvent Apple and AT&T's restrictions and this guy and other installed these hacks, thereby violating their warranty, terms of service, and service contract with AT&T.
Apple updated the firmware and software in a perfectly normal way, assuming, and rightly so that every legal phone would take the update and continue working. I use the word LEGAL, because what these people did was ILLEGAL according to the agreements and contracts they signed with AT&T. Plain & simple, and I'm tired of the ******** about it. If you break rules and laws, whatever happens is YOUR fault, not anyone else's, and you accept the consequences, whatever they might be.
Whenever you hack something you are doing something that the manufacturer did not intend. If, lo and behold, they decide to fix the problem what are you ******** about? There are contractural obligations that Apple must adhere to regarding the iPhone and the exclusive AT&T deal - you knew it when you bought it sooo - quit with the ********'.
If you hack into Bank of America, even if it was just to change your account's GUI, wouldn't you be more concerned if they didn't do anything about your intrusion. The iPhone is a device and a network and a contract. While you did pay alot for the thing, AT&T is subsidizing the phone (i.e. kick-backs, residuals...).
Cell phone coverage varies from one area to another, so one weekend in a motel doesn't a whole network decide. Besides, if the T-Mobile tower was next to you... That the columnist signaled T-Mobile is ridiculous. Verizon is a much better service, by and large, and is certainly better than the Sprint that I use. By T-Mobile? That's for travelling internationally.
- by drwam December 18, 2007 12:29 PM PST
- I am an Apple fanboy. I love my iPhone but I am disappointed with it. The disappointment is in having such a well designed portable computing device and being unable to add software capabilities. Apple spoke of new software being added to the iPhone post launch, but so far, only the Music Store app has been added. That sucks, plain and simple. Every time you go the the calculator and find no square root key, you're heart sinks just a bit. When I see a colleague and they ask if it works with Exchange, you just wonder what the hell Apple is thinking. The lack of Exchange connectivity alone has cost Apple MILLIONS of sales. So, you are left with the iPhone conundrum--you love what it can do and are frustrated by what it won't (not can't) do.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (26 Comments)Not to apologize for Apple, but I think they shipped a fundamentally insecure device to get it to market ASAP. If I am right, there is an iPhone OS 2.0 ready to be demo'd at MacWorld in January. That will be designed to work with the SDK and will have features to make the device much more secure. If nothing like that is in the works, then mark it down as the biggest disappointment of 2008.
BTW, ATT service is not as good as Verizon but it is very usable for me. No deal breaker there.