You don’t need me to convince you the iPhone is a good holiday gift. You’ve heard from Apple about the iPhone’s many supernatural capabilities. Some of them are TRUE — I know first-hand, I’m an iPhone owner. But be not fooled, the iPhone is not all fun & games.
Consider these 7 reasons NOT to buy an iPhone this holiday season:
AT&T. Enough said. This is without a doubt the least-liked iPhone feature among iPhone owners. Bad connectivity, bad customer service, bad privacy policies define this communications giant in the minds of many iPhone owners. If you live in the US, AT&T is the #1 reason not to buy an iPhone.
No hardware keyboard. This was the largest point of debate leading up to the iPhone’s release. The Wall Street Journal said the iPhone keyboard is a non-issue, but in my experience it can be an issue in some cases. Whereas you can type on hardware keyboards without looking at the keys, the iPhone’s flat touchscreen offers no tactile response, which requires you to look at the screen more often. The lacking keyboard can be dangerous while walking, or worse, driving.
Strict App Store regulations. Apple has ridiculous App Store approval policies that are bad for developers, and bad for you. While developers may waste hours creating apps that are rejected for inane reasons, users will suffer by being denied innovative capabilities on their devices. For example, the Facebook app has been so scrutinized by Apple that it caused the Facebook app developer to quit, thus delaying improvement of the Facebook app, which needs many improvements.
Apple = Proprietary. I use Linux on a PC and it annoys me to no end that Apple will not release an iTunes for Linux. It’s not because they can’t or because there’s no demand. It’s because they want you to buy a Mac and stay locked into the Apple circle. Think about it. Why does no other MP3 player work on iTunes? Yes, I understand, Apple can do whatever it wants with its products, but you don’t have to support them with your money.- Privacy concerns. In August I named 6 iPhone privacy issues, among them the fact that you can’t password-protect individual apps, and the fact that AT&T has a history of violating user privacy.
Google Android. Google is unleashing an army of Android phones that will offer a diversity of features, some more compelling than iPhone’s. What’s more, Google is not proprietary like Apple. In fact, Android is open source, so anyone can create apps and there is no ridiculous approval process like Apple’s.
Peace of mind. Never has my mind been more crowded than in the time I’ve been an iPhone owner. Yes, the iPhone is a great productivity tool, but it can also be an on-demand distraction.
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