Curtis Cunningham on technology, music, dogs, and life.

I love the iPhone, but something has stopped me from getting one.. and I can’t quite put my finger on it. No one thing, just a collection of negative press, plus some other developments in the market. For example..

• iPhone Cost
  The newer, “lower price” 3G iPhone isn’t that at all. A quick Google for stories on the typical cost of running an iPhone (device plus monthly fees over the compulsory 2 year contract) turns up estimates ranging from $1649 through $1936

• iPhone Security Issues
  In May of this year stories emerged that it was possible to retrieve personal information from refurbished iPhones, even ones purchased direct from Apple. To their credit, Apple appear to have fixed this, but it was headline news for a while before they did.
  Currently (August 30th 2008) there’s an issue where anyone can gain access to personal data on an iPhone that has been locked with a code. Seems Apple considers this a trivial issue and are waiting to next month to release a fix. If someone can bypass an important security measure many users want and need, and Apple took the trouble to implement in the first place, is that a trivial security issue? Someone needs to explain this to me, because I don’t see it that way.

• Developer Frustration
  I’ve read a lot of stories of willing developers of iPhone applications having a hard time overall.

• The Competition
  Google Android. Demo here. There’s the Open Handset Alliance, an organization setup in support of this platform, and there are many companies signed up. This looks like it’s going to be a great platform, with lots of support and available on lots of different hardware.

• iPod Touch Upgrades
  The iPod Touch is a great device, but currently very overpriced. There are many rumors floating around the net that iPod upgrades are imminent, including GPS integration into the Touch, a feature I could really use.

The most damning issue to date is the blog story from a friend of mine about his experiences dealing with a lost/stolen iPhone. He’s been unable to get any love from Apple or AT&T like blocking the phone, brick it, tracking it down using GPS, or anything much really. So his iPhone is out there with all his personal and corporate information (email, etc.) still alive (it’s been used to check his personal voicemail since being lost) and Apple and AT&T don’t appear to be giving much of a sh*t about this fact.

The combination of a new iPod Touch (with GPS) and waiting for a Google Android phone seems to be the mix that suits me best, and gives me the most freedom.