Last week I wrote on the top 10 things I liked about the new Apple iPhone 3G. Now that I’ve had time to incorporate the iPhone 3G into my daily regime, I’ve ratified my most annoying things about it into the following 10. This list is also the result of speaking to fellow iPhone 3Gers like Twitter buddies @mpesce and @allisonr.
I see this list giving those who are still pondering on whether to make the iPhone 3G leap, a realistic view of the iPhone 3G - like all things on this earth, nothing is perfect.
1. Terrible Battery Life
The trade-off for all the wonderful functionality on the iPhone 3G is poor battery life. Running WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, iPod, and mobile phone capabilities at the same time will suck the living daylight out of any gadget. I’m sure Apple knew this, so one has to ask why didn’t they bump up the milli-amps to cater for this? Could this also be a reason why Apple didn’t include more bluetooth functionality such as A2DP or Bluetooth data file sharing abilities?
As a power-user (I use all the aforementioned power draining functions with gusto daily), I’m finding that I have to charge my battery every night.
Here are some tips to help you conserve your iPhone 3G battery life:
a. Condition battery in first week: even though battery technology has improved immensely over the last 10 years, I still habitually fully discharge and charge my batteries of new devices in the first week. In the ol’ days of nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride (still around), this both lengthened the life of your battery and ensure it knew where full and empty were.
b. Turn-off WiFi and Bluetooth when not required: this will save you considerable battery juice as your iPhone 3G won’t be actively scouring the air waves for nearby access points or bluetooth gizmos. Both of these can be switched off via the Settings option.
c. Get an extra charge cable or adapter: keep one at home via your bedside table and one for your work / study desk. This way you can re-juice while you sleep and work. I got an extra charge dock given to me at the Telstra Shop in Melbourne, since I was one of first so I’m all set in this area.
d. Get a iPhone 3G car charger: similarly if you drive to-and-fro everyday, make use of auto-power and top up your iPhone 3G.
e. Be conservative in your usage in general: I know I sound like a killjoy, but prioritise the tasks you perform on your iPhone 3G, e.g. do you really need to be using GPS when walking to your local convenient store? Save your battery for important situations like showing off at birthday parties with party tricks like the photo pinch ‘n’ zoom functionality.
2. No Bluetooth Data Transfer
Yup, you heard right, the Apple iPhone cannot transmit data files over Bluetooth. Kinda sad if you want to transfer your photos to friend’s phone or PC. For those in the U.S. blessed with lavish data plans this isn’t an issue as you can send via Internet/email. However, for the Australian Telstra iPhoners who are without all-you-can-eat or even remotely generous data plans this can be an expensive data transfer alternative. Guess we’ll just have to carry our USB cables on us wherever we go and hope that there will always be a free PC handy…not.
3. No full Outlook Sync Support
Contrary to what iPhone 3G non-business users will tell you, the iPhone does not fully sync with Outlook. More accurately, the iPhone 3G only syncs contacts and calendar events and does not sync notes or to-do list. This is annoying as I have a lot of notes created and stored from my Windows Mobiles days, not to mention my daily to-do list which keeps me on track. Now I have to install separate apps to store this info and squirm at the idea of re-inputting these items into those.
4. No default Cut ‘n’ Paste
Apple made many advances in portable device user interface technology however did not include one that has been part of our lives for many years - the simple cut ‘n’ paste ability. I used this on my previous Windows Mobile device to copy contact details, bank info, SMS bits and the like between different apps on my mobile gadget. However, this is a no go with the iPhone and we are ported back to the stone age where different apps could not share data on the fly with eachother.
5. Camera needs pimping
A 2 megapixel on a cool device like this is so 2007. At least bump it up to 3 megapixel with inbuilt flash. Then again this would drain the battery even more. Having said that, the pictures it takes aren’t too shabby in daylight or well lit environments. In contrast, don’t expect great pics in lowlight conditions - absence of image stabiliser and flash means there’s high probability of blurry photos.
6. No packaged Data Download Manager
In most countries around the world, mobile data connections via 3G are still expensive. Currently I am on a $100 monthly plan with Australia’s premium HSDPA network (Telstra) which only comes with a paltry 5MB of data. No there’s nothing wrong with your eyes, I did say 5MB. I had to purchase an additional data package _on top_ of my monthly commitment. My point, it would have been nice to have a Data Download Manager to help track and manage the amount of data I’m downloading per month. Haven’t seen one in the App Store yet, so this could be an idea for someone to develop (just me my fair cut ok?).
7. No Voice Dialling Built-in
This is standard fare on Windows Mobile devices so interested why Apply didn’t integrate voice dialling. This is very handy when it comes to sizeable contact lists - I have 500+ and not out of choice. Also invaluable when your hands are busy performing other tasks such as eating or dare I say it, driving… *ducks for cover* Perhaps Microsoft can make some inroads here with something like their award winning Microsoft Voice Command for Windows Mobile. I was a huge fan and advocate of this product and it worked well for me for many years.
Perhaps in it’s absence, it’s a good time to cull unnecessary contacts so you won’t have so many to scroll through?
8. No frontface Camera
Despite being on a very limited data plan with my telco, it would have been nice to have a camera on the front of the iPhone so I could conduct video calls with other tech-minded (geeks) people.
9. Lack of handwriting recognition
Doesn’t it make sense to have some form of handwriting recognition for something aimed at finger-usage and a decently sized input screen? It does to me. On my iMate Ultimate 8502 I was inputting around 40WPM by writing. Another idea for would-be iPhone app developers.
10. No Turn-By-Turn GPS Software
And last and definitely not the least gripe is, at the time of purchase there was not turn-by-turn GPS software available. Now don’t get me wrong; the little blue beep appearing on Google Maps is cute, but compared to the likes of CoPilot, TomTom, Navman or Route66 it falls short as it only gives a visual blue dot on a birds-eye 2D map and static textual directions. Whereas something like CoPilot 7 gives turn-by-turn voice instructions, 3D visuals and many more dynamic navigation options.
So that completes the 10 biggest iPhone 3G gripes for Arnold Aranez (me). While you and others may have your own list, I’ve highlighted the ones which most irk my experience on Apple’s second version of the iPhone.
At the end of the day, it is still a fantastic device - see my post on the top 10 things I like about the iPhone 3G. I think that both these posts together will give one a well-rounded view.
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