A Sugar Ray reference? Was this written in 1997?

First off, where’s Vince? Is he still writing for CG or what? Secondly, wouldn’t this blog be better written by Peter “the iFone is shittay” Ha? Anyways, the iphone is the best phone/pmp available right now. You really cannot make the same case for the razr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Ray_Leonard

Lord. Kids these days.

so here’s my question, John. You personally hacked my phone for me, days before 1.1 came out and bricked everyone. I have not updated the software. How do I now get the phone in a position to update the software again?

Iphone as it exists sucks. First its on cingular (kills it right there)

Second it plays music? but I can not copy my music onto it (useless) I have to install itunes and let IT copy my music

Third Non Replaceable Battery YEAH I’m gonna plunk $400-$500 for something that will be a paperweight in 2-3 years? not.

Gorgeous screen except I am not allowed to use it (locked down) so whats the point?

The hardware as usual is fantastic. the software blows. Want to know why the ZUNE sucks? every try to use one? its locked down even worse than apple locks down there crap.

When are these companies going to learn its my god damned money and my god damned hardware STOP FREAKING TELLING ME HOW TO USE IT.

I will buy an Ipod touch when it uses MASS STORAGE to allow me to dump my music and videos onto it (drm free stuff) and where DATABASE access is optional and not mandatory. is a simple directory tree so damned hard? ll the cheap players do not seem to have a problem with it.

I find it ironic that the $100 chinese crap players have the BEST software (none) and the BEST interface (none just give me my damned stuff) with the worst hardware.

While the big names have the BEST hardware and yet use software that makes it virtually unusable.

The first time one of these Chinese or Korean manufacturers manages to release apple quality hardware without the apple feces infesting the software side THEN your gonna see an ipod killer.

My Zen Vision is wonderful. FAR better than the ipod but even it still has some software infestations. At least it has more codec support and less intrusive software that works BOTH WAYS and even gives me file access to everything EXCEPT the music (same damned apple crap id3 database access)

When are these people going to realize I DO NOT WANT YOUR DAMNED SOFTWARE I JUST WANT YOUR HARDWARE. Would save a TON in R&D and Programmers rates too.

I find this stance quite reasonable - and venture even further to say that ALL CELL PHONES SUCK! - Give me the glory days of Old school Nokia candybar phones and black and grey displays - FTW!

Here is my dream Media Player. Lets start with an Ipod Touch.

Remove all DRM and Hardware Restrictions (except support for DRM content do what you want on that side but it all turns OFF if no DRM content is being played)

Use STANDARD plugs all around.

NO RESTRICTIONS on writing software for it. Just make it robust. Have a boot rom that is READ ONLY so no matter how badly you kill the thing you can plug it in and use your computer to WIPE IT and RESTORE IT.

Itunes? throw it out. NO software (mandatory software) device must be recognize as a mass storage device with nothing but built in drivers.

FULL UNRESTRICTED TWO WAY ACCESS to that Drive.

If its got wireless FULL UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TWO WAY NO CATCHES (except for DRM’d content do what you want with that)

Interface? thats easy. Have a set of folders in root. MUSIC VIDEO PODCAST PICTURES (add more as appropriate to the device)

How to put your stuff on the device. I got some mp3’s or aac’s I open the music folder and DUMP my stuff in there in any manner or format or structure I want.

When I goto MUSIC on the device the first time I do this it should ask do you want STRUCTURE access or DATABASE access whichever you pick becomes default (changeable in settings)

For Structure access you are simply put in the MUSIC folder and you simple SEE whatever it happens to be that you PUT there. Navigate accordingly.

You know why flash is popular? it limits how much MUSIC you can put on it because a database system is WORTHLESS once you have so much music on it that it makes accessing the stuff a murderous nightmare. Folder Structure access ELIMINATES this problem completely.

Now making a custom music playlist is as simple as tossing the desired mp3’s into a folder and dropping it on the device. SO SIMPLE SO EASY. EDITING that playlists is disgustingly easy. ADD OR REMOVE whatever mp3’s you want. IS THAT SO HARD ???

Creative ALMOST got it right with the Zen Vision. Folder access to video and pictures. Not perfect but good enough. but music they went with the useless annoying apple way with a database. Grrrrr

PC SIDE sadly they put mandatory annoying NOT WANTED software to access the device. THANKFULLY it integrates with Windows Explorer and behaves like explorer I can just drag and drop my files back and forth (even the music) and it stays where I put it how I put it without be changed.

ALL standard ports!! Regular AV out normal power jack NORMAL USB PORT

GORGEOUS VGA screen replaceable upgradeable batteries etc..

but then they made NO updates to the firmware and removed almost every single nice thing about it with the Vision M :-( Go Figure.

ONE of these days enough of us will stop being sheeple and start DEMANDING they give us what WE WANT not what THEY want to give us.

Hey I have a sanyo 8400 on sprint. Nice 320×240 screen. Plays ANY FREAKING music I stuff on my 2gig Memory card with NO software interference. Just shows me a list of whatever I stuff in the media folder and OFF I GO.

While uploading content is locked down sprint is lenient on it nd does NOT intefere with hacks to get around it. SO I can upload ANY normal 30second mp3 or m4a file I want to my phone and use them as ringers. I can put any picture or video I want on the memory card and access them.

I can load home made programs onto it.

Replaceable battery. GREAT reception.

I pay $35 month WITH taxes and I get 500 any unlimited N&W Unlimited M to M Texting and Internet access. OH and that internet access is insanely fast I can even stream LIVE TELEVISION from my computer at home or any other audio video files I Have at home for FREE. I can take pics and video and GPS works.

ALL for a phone that cost me $99 with contract and $35 a month tax included.

For another $40 I can get tethering and connect my phone via wire or bluetooth to any pda laptop or computer I want and get better than DSL and NEAR cable speeds and still be spending less money than with AT&T (that would be $76 WITH taxes for ALL THAT) and it works EVERYWHERE I travel all over the country from home in PA/NJ to Virginia to florida to tennesse to texas Arizona Michigan Colorado and it has NEVER ONCE not worked.

SO why would I even consider an iphone were I can do NOTHING without apple’s blessing and what they permit is a FRACTION of what the hardware is capable of doing. It has NOTHING to offer except a larger (NOT higher res) screen and SLIGHTLY better internet access but MUCH slower.

Like I said the iphone is amazing. its software pukes.

“Need email? Get a Blackberry. Need instant messaging? Get a Sidekick. Need an operating system so poorly designed that it causes physical illness? Get anything running Windows Mobile 6.”

I just wanted to thank your for these lines. I almost spewed coffee out my nose, it was that funny.

Crunchgear, I’ve had tough times with you. Like when one of you morons hated on the Wii and claimed the PS3 was the way to go. That just pissed me off.
and now this.
You dirty little varmint you. This is unreal. Not only is this tasteless and hateful, but it’s uneducated and NOT funny. I don’t even give you props for trying to be the underdog saying that the iphone isn’t all that. The matter of fact it… the iPhone IS all that.
Your just a dipshit.
So thats that. I’m sick of you crunchgear.
Goodbye crunchgear, it’s been (almost) fun.
Hello gizmodo

lol. hope the door hits you on the way out.

Iphone *AS IT IS* does suck, but the potential/innovation is astronomical.

To Chris Taylor and the author of this article, you know that you love the iPhone. Stop pretending. Chris is probably could not afford it and trash it instead.

It is like saying, “I prefer the Ford Pinto over a Ferrari”. Or “I like the taste of dirt in my mouth over a 7 course gourmet meal”. Or “I rather walk from FL to California then sitting in first class flight because the AC on plane is cold.”

No matter how many uneducated reasons you wrote, trashing the iPhone, the fact is, the iPhone is the only phone that is considered a work of art. It is PERFECT in every way, even its flaws are still a work of art. No one in the world will be able to match Apple’s design and delivery. EVER.

Are you all kidding me? The iPhone is AMAZING!!!!! The web browser on it ALONE puts ALL other phone browsers to complete shame - I can do nearly everything on this browser that I do with the browser on my home computer - the iphone, in fact, IS the only true portable computer that is also a phone. That plus the fact that it plays my TV shows, movies, music, YouTube videos, has instant access to Google Maps, stores all my contact and calendar information on it, the virtual keyboard that the author of this article put down has been shown in tests to be faster than actual keyboards (once people are used to using it). Apple has not only proven itself to be incredibly innovative and a part of the future, once again - and people have shown - through this article and responses - how much they desire to live in the past. The RAZR? - LOL - you’ve got to be kidding!

That comparison chart was the dumbest piece of shit i’ve ever read in my life. i thought this was going to be an actual intelligent piece of writing. Thanks for wasting 5 minutes of my time idiot.

Jay Linto I guess you did not read my posts. (I guess I can’t really blame you)

I LOVE the iphone. I think its a truly impressive peice of hardware. BUT since its hardware that runs SOFTWARE and is a paperweight WITHOUT said software the hardware is meaningless if you do not have the software to run it.

HENCE my problem with the IPHONE. the SOFTWARE BLOWS CHUNKS. More specifically the RESTRICTIONS that apple PUT on said software and therfore the hardware.

Crappy Software equals crappy gadget no matter how good the hardware is.

Does not help that its on Cingular. You could not pay me to switch. If they released an Iphone on sprint WITHOUT the restrictions I would upgrade in heartbeat.

Plenty of cell phone companies have exclusive phones. Maybe the problem is that this is the first that you really wanted so bad you were pissed you would have to switch carriers to get it.

As for software, I haven’t been able to play with one yet. However, from all that I’ve seen, it has always looked rather intuitive and a clean design. Even without an official SDK, developers have already proved the potential of the iPhone. What’s the key to the iPhone? It’s a PDA phone that can utilize wifi when available but almost always has an internet connection (as slow as it may be). What does that mean?????? Connected apps. Sure, complain about the slow connection that causes web pages to load slowly. Webpages often send alot more “stuff” with them. photos, videos, etc. But you look at the stock app, or the remote admin apps people are plugging out and whoa, you’ve got a useful app to watch your servers around the clock.

I don’t know….maybe I’m wrong….I know there are features missing like video recording, etc. but the best part about software is it is easily patched and upgraded. Hardware is not. So maybe you should be happy you have that great hardware in the first place.

I’m with Chris Taylor all the way. I had an iPhone for awhile, but I had real problems with the phone aspects of it. It’s a shitty phone. The ipod and web browsing are amazing. Thus, I got an iPod Touch. But the phone, man, the phone sucks. Can I send a single text to more than one person at a time? Nope. IM client? Nope. Voice quality? Not even close.

Look, let’s be clear about two things: the iPhone, while impressive in interface, is all gloss. Style over substance may fool some, but not all of us. And two: read the title of the article. You’re supposed to be pissed off. Duh.

The gPhone is sooooooo much better than the iPhone.

We got 15 good, intelligent comments out of my little rant. I wanted to kill a sacred cow and see what we could get out of it but I really do find that the iPhone IS really the best phone out there BUT the potential is still untapped. Apple can do so much more with the phone but as it stands, unlocked and unaltered, it is very basic. Will it get better? Absolutely. Is it the future of phones? Absolutely. Is iPhone 1.0 the best thing since God? Nope.

John,

I agree completely - The iPhone IS the best phone, but its potential is untapped - and it needs several improvements.

For all of you hating on this author, Especially you JAY LINTON, are morons. What the iphone is capable of doing and what its restricted to is exactly what Chris is writing about.

First of all JAY, your brain must be the size of a carrot for analogies you gave us. HORRID.

Iphone, it doesn’t have a keyboard. Touch Screens are the most overrated technology to date. Would you type on a touch screen? No, because its far too inaccurate and you cant rest your fingers on the screen.

Email on the iphone? BAD, and text and instant messanging on the iphone.. Well I’ll just say I hope they give you a discount on advil with the purchase of the phone. A few messages and you will see why.

Do I own an iphone? YES

Do I also own a sidekick LX? YES

Do I love apple? absoulutley. But the iphone my freind. IS NOT TIGHT.

In order for the iphone to be practical are the following:

1. Get over 40 gigs of memory.

2. 3G, how the hell did you make the iphone without 3g. Its like a super skilled basketball player who’s stuck in a wheelchair.

3. Just make a damn slideout keyboard.

4.Push Email

5. Is it really that hard to make similar Instant messaging software as the sidekick? Cmon.

Jay,

please reflect on how immature and idiotic you’re sounding when compared to sober criticisms of the iPhone. Also, “No matter how many uneducated reasons you wrote.” Grammar is not your forte, right? I think this refers to twits like yourself:

“Your defence of the iPhone is ridiculous and fallacious. Firstly, you compare the phone to a BlackBerry Pearl, which is a second-rate mobile device. Even more second-rate than your ability to effectively argue your case for the iPhone.
When you compare the phone to a Nokia enterprise mobile device, the iPhone is little more than a fashion accessory for every spoilt middle class twit, which is why Paris Hilton uses one. The Apple iPhone is all about the interface, just as Paris is all about the interface, and both lack what it takes to perform necessary office procedures. The Apple iPhone cannot even create and edit documents let alone support 3rd party applications like games or say an integrated library system.
Secondly, you resort to rhetoric - i.e. intellectual cowardice - to dismiss the function of multiple SMS (for poker players and teenagers, apparently). If you want to generalise the demographics of mobile device users, look no further than your own applause for YouTube integration on the iPhone. YouTube is saturated with videos BY f—wits FOR f—wits. And while iTunes is a great database application, the iTunes Store is for imbeciles who “choose” to listen to what the store “chooses” to make available - it’s little more than socialised mediocrity. That countless idiotic schoolboys and sociopaths often argue that people only critique the phone if they can’t afford it, shows that despite your “…since I’m not 16…” argument is simply futile because, well, shall we say you’re in “good” company.
Indeed, the iPhone is very user-friendly (if Paris can use one, I’m not in the least bit surprised your 3 year old can engage with the phone to some extent) but perhaps this is because Apple think Apple consumers are incapable of reading manuals. Perhaps it is because Apple think Apple consumers are too busy enjoying their inane videos on YouTube to care to read at all.
Gmail, Google Maps, the internet and assorted applications work effortlessly on my mobile device. Anyone who bought the hype surrounding the Apple iPhone only demonstrates their own limited experience with smartphones and PDAs. I suggest you replace your Apple iPhone with a textbook showing you how to identify media hype and the discourse of marketing.”