These shenanigans have gone on long enough, and I think it’s time for Apple to admit that the 3G iPhone was (and still is) not ready for public consumption.
3G network connections are still reportedly abysmal, MobileMe is in such a state of disarray that Apple has already offered a second free extension to subscribers, and now Steve Jobs himself has apparently acknowledged that there’s a known bug that causes some downloaded apps to simply stop working.
By all accounts, the 2.0.2 update was a crapshoot, with some users reporting minor improvements, but other 3G iPhone users reporting that they can now no longer make calls at all.
The bottom line is that the 3G iPhone is, at this point, simply too unstable to recommend to anyone.
If yours is working flawlessly, hey, that’s great. You played Russian roulette and won.
But the mountain of bugs and glitches is simply becoming too huge to ignore.
I’m guessing this situation will be ironed out in a month or so (assuming a full recall isn’t necessary) with a collection of patches.
But until then, I’d suggest staying away from the iPhone until Apple gets this train wreck back on the rails.
UPDATE: I wanted to address some of the points made in the comments.
First, regarding the complaint that we (and by we, I mean “I”) are rooting for Apple to fail, well, I would be an iPhone owner right now if the launch day lines hadn’t been so long. I still plan to purchase one eventually. And I think we’ve been more than fair in our coverage.
I mean, if we had really wanted the iPhone to crash and burn, we wouldn’t have provided daily updates on local iPhone availability for the first two weeks after the launch.
Second, I thought it was interesting that even a lot of the iPhone defenders in the comments section acknowledged that, yeah, the 3G is spotty, and the battery life is short, and some apps have glitches. Guys! Wake up! Those are the symptoms of a phone that is not working the way it should!
Can you honestly state that if a friend or family member (not a techie, but just an average person) asked you if they should purchase an iPhone now, you wouldn’t advocate that they wait until at least the 2.1 update? Because I would.
Third, I do think that, if these problems are fixable in software, then in a month or so, the 3G iPhone should be fine. But why should consumers pay full price for a beta product? Just wait until the (substantial) bugs are ironed out, and then purchase it. I know early adopters are willing to put up with a lot, but I think many average buyers who think they’re buying a finished product are getting burned.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Entries (RSS)