Let me start by saying that I really like my iPhone. In fact, the relationship is borderline love between the device and me. So, my reason for giving up the iPhone is not full of technical mumbo jumbo, rather it’s just as practical as the reason I purchased the device in the first place. It’s just not cool to own one anymore!
UPDATE: I totally forgot to introduce this post. My buddy Greg Jones was telling me how he wanted a new phone, which is nothing new, except he did not want an iPhone. I quickly told him to write this down as his reasoning was worth others hearing. This is Greg’s first post on Simple Mobile Review. Hopefully, we can get an update after he gets his new HTC Incredible.
The Downside of the iPhone
There are perhaps technical reasons to give up the iPhone, but for me the technical reasons are not enough for me to part with my iPhone. The iPhone’s inability to run multiple apps (background multitasking) is the only real technical reason, but that can be addressed today by jail breaking (same as rooting on Android). Additionally, iPhone OS 4 will soon address multi-tasking for iPhone 3GS and above. And, while jail breaking the iPhone can offer so many options, for me it would not address the underlying reason for ditching the device.
Other things that have negatively impacted the iPhone experience for me have been dropped phone calls and poor navigation in the email app. I live in a small city, so as a phone the iPhone works fine, but when I travel for business to large cities like New York or Washington, DC I frequently experience dropped calls. I have several email accounts on my iPhone, and while navigating the menu system for email could be better, backing in and out of one mailbox into another is an annoyance I’ve grown accustomed to.
Highlights of the iPhone
My iPhone has been attached to me for the last 18 months. I’ve dropped my iPhone, and each time was a sad event. My 9 month old uses it as a teething toy. My 2 year old loves to look at pictures with super sticky hands. My iPhone has never had a case or a screen protector. The slots for the iPod cable and headphones are full of pocket lint, yet my iPhone rolls on. The iPhone has not missed a beat despite all this punishment; it still alerts me to appointments, dings for emails, and rings for calls. It’s a good phone that I’ve had for 18 months. That’s six months longer than any phone in recent memory. Thank you Apple.
Finally, Why I am replacing my iPhone
I was on a National Rental Car bus in Raleigh Durham, headed to the Terminal. I was sorting through some emails after being off the grid at a customer site for a couple days. I looked up and saw a guy of advanced age, with trousers pulled up to just below his nipples, doing something on his iPhone. Then it dawned on me. The iPhone is no longer cool! I remember the first time I saw the iPhone in public. It was the very same scenario…on a rental car bus, headed to the airport. I was on my Motorola Q (oh the nightmares are coming back!) and I looked up to see a guy fiddling with his iPhone. I chatted him up, and he was a pretty cool guy, and the phone was revolutionary and I had to have one. It was cool!
Sitting there on that bus made me realize that the iPhone, for me, has come full circle. Its time to move on. I can only hope that the ever expanding hardware will not make the Android platform catch on to a point that I see my grandfather with one anytime soon.