4 ms·

whenever a user base becomes uncritical...the quality of the end product is likely to suffer Oddly, as a contented owner of an iPhone 1.0 (best eBay purchase e

whenever a user base becomes uncritical...the quality of the end product is likely to suffer Oddly, as a contented owner of an iPhone 1.0 (best eBay purchase ever!) I'd argue that the iPhone demonstrates exactly the opposite. I haven't used an iPhone 3G, but people seem to think it's an inferior product in various ways. And the reason it's an inferior product is that, in fact, Apple has a very critical user base. And the user base complained, and Apple listened to their complaints and adjusted the design to suit, with bad consequences. Last year, when Apple released an EDGE phone without 3G support, folks like Gruber offered some very reasonable explanations: 3G is faster on paper, but the coverage in the USA isn't as good, and the chipsets aren't as mature, and the battery life is bound to suffer. But the bitching and moaning continued. The public and the majority of tech pundits didn't know or follow these engineering arguments. They just knew that 3G was faster! On paper! So, never one to miss an obvious marketing hook, Apple designed a 3G phone. They gave the market exactly what it was asking for. And the result was a marketing coup: The 3G phones flew off the shelves. And now it turns out that the coverage isn't that great, and some customers are reporting flaws -- flaws of the kind that tend to happen when you design with newer chipsets and a short lead time. And the battery life isn't as good. What a surprise! Another complaint is that third-party apps tend to crash a lot. Apple had that problem solved last year, too: They didn't permit third-party apps. Every app on the phone was directly controlled by Apple's QA team. It wasn't necessarily Apple's idea to allow broken third-party apps onto your phone. It was criticism from the user base that drove them to it. And the fact that the phone is now more expensive? The market seems to love that up-front subsidy. It's what they're used to. Only those of us who actually do math dislike it. So it's not so simple. I think that, on balance, it's a good thing that Apple listened to its users. The market seems to like phones that are faster on paper. The market likes third-party apps, even at the expense of occasional breakages. My one wish is that the company hadn't discontinued iPhone 1.0 when they brought out iPhone 2.0. I understand why they did so, from a marketing and a production standpoint, but I'm going to be sad if and when my original iPhone is run over by a truck. I wish good fortune to the designers who are working away on iPhone 3.0...

unalone 18y ago
Exactly. Apple critics are about as hypocritical as Apple fanboys. Regarding Apple's current problems: I think it's because Apple's getting so ambitious. Right now they're attempting to shut out competitors in a slew of fields at once. Apple has usually done very well at this in the past. However, they launched three things in one (three things, right), and each one has had a set of problems on its own. So it's become noticeable that Apple's products aren't entirely flawless. I got myself an iPod Touch, and while I'm pissed off at the things that aren't working, and the lagging bits, I at least have some perspective. I know that I'd take the Touch over any other MP3 player in existence, and that includes the 1.0 Touch. I gained more than I lost. And while I want Apple to fix things as quickly as possible, that's not the same as my saying "Apple's doing bad."
- silencio 18y ago
  Apple products have NEVER been flawless. I suspect the only reason why it seems like it's exploded as of late (or, even in the past few years) is because of the popularity of the iPod and iPhone and those two possibly driving up Mac sales. Plus, I'm quite fond of complaining but rarely complimenting. I suspect a lot of these problems are selection bias multiplied by mainstream media mostly focusing on problems with the JesusPhone (etc). (I've been a Mac user since I was born, and I'm on my second iPhone. please don't mistake me as some anti-apple fangirl :) )
  - unalone 18y ago
    No, no. Not at all. I believe that being critical of something is the highest respect you can pay it. That said, Apple products are way above the norm in terms of seamlessness, and while I still nitpick at them a lot, I hate people that criticize them and pretend that that makes all their accomplishments futile.
silencio 18y ago
> I haven't used an iPhone 3G, but people seem to think it's an inferior product in various ways. When I complained about the lack of 3g on the original iPhone, I knew why, I understood the drawbacks, I understood the reasoning. I had prior experience with 3g mobile phones and personally knew that even with said drawbacks that it would be something I could live with. So I bought the original iPhone, then gave it up for the 3g iPhone when released. Don't regret it at all now..the only thing I want now is the mophie juice pack so I don't have to worry so much about battery (not that it's exceptionally bad in only the iPhone, it's pretty bad in most 3g phones, and iPhone more so for some of the applications). I love 3G on my iPhone. > Another complaint is that third-party apps tend to crash a lot. Apple had that problem solved last year, too: They didn't permit third-party apps. When I complained about the lack of an SDK for the phone, it was knowing that this was a brand new project (relatively) but that every single public excuse of Apple's was full of shit. I might also note that I jailbroke my phone on 1.1.x firmware and apps crashed too. Yes, Apple has some issues with 2.x (bug report time!), but a lot of the crashing is developer error. Like with any other program. No surprises there. Anyone expecting perfection in this area is completely delusional. Plus, I'd take a crash happy iPhone with third party apps over nothing. Makes my phone much more of a pleasure to use. Even if Apple ignored the third party app request, people would still be hacking away at it anyway (yay jailbreak). > And the fact that the phone is now more expensive? I realize the 3g iPhone is subsidized. I realize it's more expensive in the long run. But many phones are like that. I don't approve of Apple's marketing (it's "cheaper"! uh huh), but...really...just don't buy it if you don't like it, like you say. Anyway, all this to say that maybe I'm not a typical fangirl, but there's plenty legitimate reasons to criticize, and some people are doing it understanding the whole situation. On a sidenote, most people I've encountered complaining about 3g have nobody but themselves to blame. Yes there are some legitimate issues with 3g on the iPhone, but a lot of these people are overestimating what AT&T can give to them - i.e. it's not the phone they should be blaming in their case, it's AT&T's service or lack thereof. And personally, AT&T is the worst part of the whole iPhone experience, every single one of my troubles starting from day 1 has been with them and only once with Apple (solved in under a day with a free exchange and a store manager apologising, whoops). edit: Lastly, there's a lot of old iPhones out there, some for cheap. I managed to sell my 8gb one for just over $220 (not so great cosmetic condition), and although prices don't seem to be dropping much, they're still out there. Wish AT&T would let people purchase the edge plan with the 3G phone though, I bet that would make you change your mind too :)

unalone 18y ago

Exactly. Apple critics are about as hypocritical as Apple fanboys. Regarding Apple's current problems: I think it's because Apple's getting so ambitious. Right now they're attempting to shut out competitors in a slew of fields at once. Apple has usually done very well at this in the past. However, they launched three things in one (three things, right), and each one has had a set of problems on its own. So it's become noticeable that Apple's products aren't entirely flawless. I got myself an iPod Touch, and while I'm pissed off at the things that aren't working, and the lagging bits, I at least have some perspective. I know that I'd take the Touch over any other MP3 player in existence, and that includes the 1.0 Touch. I gained more than I lost. And while I want Apple to fix things as quickly as possible, that's not the same as my saying "Apple's doing bad."

silencio 18y ago
Apple products have NEVER been flawless. I suspect the only reason why it seems like it's exploded as of late (or, even in the past few years) is because of the popularity of the iPod and iPhone and those two possibly driving up Mac sales. Plus, I'm quite fond of complaining but rarely complimenting. I suspect a lot of these problems are selection bias multiplied by mainstream media mostly focusing on problems with the JesusPhone (etc). (I've been a Mac user since I was born, and I'm on my second iPhone. please don't mistake me as some anti-apple fangirl :) )
- unalone 18y ago
  No, no. Not at all. I believe that being critical of something is the highest respect you can pay it. That said, Apple products are way above the norm in terms of seamlessness, and while I still nitpick at them a lot, I hate people that criticize them and pretend that that makes all their accomplishments futile.

silencio 18y ago

> I haven't used an iPhone 3G, but people seem to think it's an inferior product in various ways. When I complained about the lack of 3g on the original iPhone, I knew why, I understood the drawbacks, I understood the reasoning. I had prior experience with 3g mobile phones and personally knew that even with said drawbacks that it would be something I could live with. So I bought the original iPhone, then gave it up for the 3g iPhone when released. Don't regret it at all now..the only thing I want now is the mophie juice pack so I don't have to worry so much about battery (not that it's exceptionally bad in only the iPhone, it's pretty bad in most 3g phones, and iPhone more so for some of the applications). I love 3G on my iPhone. > Another complaint is that third-party apps tend to crash a lot. Apple had that problem solved last year, too: They didn't permit third-party apps. When I complained about the lack of an SDK for the phone, it was knowing that this was a brand new project (relatively) but that every single public excuse of Apple's was full of shit. I might also note that I jailbroke my phone on 1.1.x firmware and apps crashed too. Yes, Apple has some issues with 2.x (bug report time!), but a lot of the crashing is developer error. Like with any other program. No surprises there. Anyone expecting perfection in this area is completely delusional. Plus, I'd take a crash happy iPhone with third party apps over nothing. Makes my phone much more of a pleasure to use. Even if Apple ignored the third party app request, people would still be hacking away at it anyway (yay jailbreak). > And the fact that the phone is now more expensive? I realize the 3g iPhone is subsidized. I realize it's more expensive in the long run. But many phones are like that. I don't approve of Apple's marketing (it's "cheaper"! uh huh), but...really...just don't buy it if you don't like it, like you say. Anyway, all this to say that maybe I'm not a typical fangirl, but there's plenty legitimate reasons to criticize, and some people are doing it understanding the whole situation. On a sidenote, most people I've encountered complaining about 3g have nobody but themselves to blame. Yes there are some legitimate issues with 3g on the iPhone, but a lot of these people are overestimating what AT&T can give to them - i.e. it's not the phone they should be blaming in their case, it's AT&T's service or lack thereof. And personally, AT&T is the worst part of the whole iPhone experience, every single one of my troubles starting from day 1 has been with them and only once with Apple (solved in under a day with a free exchange and a store manager apologising, whoops). edit: Lastly, there's a lot of old iPhones out there, some for cheap. I managed to sell my 8gb one for just over $220 (not so great cosmetic condition), and although prices don't seem to be dropping much, they're still out there. Wish AT&T would let people purchase the edge plan with the 3G phone though, I bet that would make you change your mind too :)