Monday, October 8, 2007

Wrong about the iPhone

I was wrong about the iPhone. The real problem isn't its lack of haptics – though that would still be a neat touch to add. It's the fact that Apple is hell-bent on turning the iPhone into a device as proprietary as the calculator sitting on my desk. It's simply astonishing to me that Apple has managed to get away with an update that intentionally and permanently "bricks" unlocked phones, or more astonishing yet, automatically removes or breaks any third-party app you might have installed. To put this in perspective: imagine Microsoft automatically uninstalling OpenOffice or Lotus Notes during an update because it decided they weren't authorized. Try to imagine the outcry; and you'll see why I'm astonished that there's only been the current level of bad PR about Apple, and not several orders of magnitude more.

I was thinking hard about getting my wife an iPhone for Christmas: they're pretty cool. But I'm going to hold off until Apple changes their tune, if only as a protest vote. I really am astonished at how badly Apple has stumbled on this one.

No comments: