iPhone comes to town!!! - Is it worth the hype?

The wait is finally over!!! The most awaited gadget of the year has now been finally launched officially in India. Apple has tied-up with Vodafone & Airtel for the same. So with all the hype & hoopla making the rounds, is the 3G iPhone really worth paying Rs. 31,000 for the 8Gb version & Rs. 36,000 for the 16Gb version? In US, the 8Gb model is 199$ & 16Gb model is 250$ - 299$ - Almost 1/3rd price compared to the price here.

Here is my VERDICT - NO!!!

I know, most of you guys are just going to get turned off hearing this & probably even close the window of my blog & continue surfing other sites & blogs that favour the gadget. But if you have the audacity to be objective in making rational decisions as opposed to emotional ones, you will read this post & decide for yourself.

Lets see what the iPhone has to offer:

Pros:

1. The biggest reason to buy the iPhone is that its a product from APPLE.
2. Its cool, sleek & more of a fashion & style statement.
3. It has an amazing GUI (Graphical User Interface).
4. It runs on a robust Mac OS (Operating System).
5. It has a great touch interface which is cool & simply stunning (Even I love it!!!).
6. Its supports latest Internet Technologies.

Cons:

1. Cannot FORWARD SMS to others!!! Yes!!! This is not a typing error. I am serious. Try forwarding any message received to your other friends & you just wont be able to. This is simply dumb. In the US & overseas forwarding an SMS doesn't seem to exist like we do here in India.
2. There is no - long SMS support. In other words, you cannot send a long sms having more than 160 characters approx. You must break it up into more than one sms to do that.
3. It doesn't even inform you as to how many more characters are remaining!!! So you have to do the math!!!
4. You cannot delete a single SMS!!! That's because all sms'es are in the form of chat conversation bubbles. If you delete one SMS, you delete the entire conversation from that person whose sms you deleted. That's super irritating to say the least.
   
5. You dont get a Delivery Report of any SMS sent by you.
6. You cannot send SMS to a group. I think they have probably fixed this one in their new version. Not sure though.
7. Cannot cut, copy paste text.
8. Bluetooth is just a dead feature with very limited utility. You can only use it with their bluetooth handset. You cannot transfer pics, files, songs or anything from your iPhone to other cell & vice versa!!!
   
9. Sometimes even after storing a number as a contact, when that person calls you, his name will not flash on screen but only the number will flash. You need to prefix +91 (or something else am not sure while saving a number to correctly show the contact name when someone calls)
10. The touchscreen although cool & sexy sometimes can slow down or even hang or crash. It may sometimes not respond at all unless you switch off & switch on the phone.
    
11. An unified search tool (all Mac OS support unified search except the one on the iPhone) is missing. So its difficult to search something stored on your cell phone.
12. You cannot mark several items to delete them or move them from one folder to another.
13. You cannot assign your fav song or any mp3 file for that matter as a ringtone. Only song files on your iPhone can be used as ringtones. If you want more ringtones, you can however download them from the iTunes store directly from your iPhone but at a certain cost to you!!! That's another way you will help make money for the Apple guys.
14. The Opera Browser does not have flash support. So you cannot watch youtube videos directly from there. But there are many 3rd party applications available for the same. But from the browser directly you cannot watch files having flash support.
15. The iphone camera doesn't support Video Recording - a common feature in even the most basic cell phones!!!
16. The camera is only 2.0 Mega Pixels when today you are getting cell phones with even 8.0 Mega Pixels.
17. Although the camera is fairly decent, its so basic that it only allows you to take snaps. There are no modes, features, to satisfy ones creative photography urges.
18. There is no voice recording facility available. You cannot record a conversation when on call with anyone.
19. There is no voice dialing - a common feature today in most above average phones available in the market.
20. No FM - There is no FM support. So the question of FM recording doesn't even arise. - Even most LG phones in 4K-6K price bracket have FM & FM recording ability.
21. Low Battery Life - Needs to be charged frequently because of 3G functionality & 3G cannot be fully tapped here in India yet.
22. Battery cannot be replaced. If the battery gets damaged, you can do nothing about it. Its a paperweight then onwards.
23. Keyboard can be too small for people with big hands or fingers. Can be irritating for some. Certainly requires getting used to. I didn't have problems though.
24. Many 3rd party apps are available, but you use them at your own risk. Apple does not cover damage caused due to these apps in their warranty.
    
25. On rare occasions it has been reported that the iPhone may explode while charging. Many people have experienced it & it was even reported in an article in Mid-Day.
26. The 3G support cannot be fully experienced in the Indian market as Internet Technologies here are still not at par with the Global Standards.
27. Also to surf the web on your iPhone, there is no unlimited plan. So you pay Rs. 500 - Rs. 1000 a month!!! for super slow surfing experience on your iPhone. Its like having a Merc with a Fiat Engine.
28. Apple support in India is horrible. So if you have any problems, MAY GOD BLESS YOU!!!

After reading all of the above, if you are still excited to buy the gadget by spending 31K - 36K , go ahead & do it. Atleast, you will make a wise decision, as you will know what to expect & what not to expect from your iPhone. You won't have anyone to blame but yourself if you decide for buying the gadget.

I am personally going to hold my decision to buy any phone right now. I would not like to buy a paperweight for 31K to 36K!!! Am very happy with my Sony Ericsson K790i as of now. Am sure in the year to come, this touch technology is going to revolutionise the mobile industry. Infact, it is remoured that Google is going to come up with its gPhone!!! to compete with the iPhone & am keeping my fingers crossed. Check out this link for more info - http://code.google.com/android/

I hope this article was helpful to you all, in making an informed decision. Please let me know your comments on the same. Gud Luck buying. Take care & God Bless. Ciao :-)

NOTE: Please do not misunderstand me for an Anti-Apple guy. In fact, am a big fan of APPLE & Steve Jobs. I closely follow Apple. I simply love the Mac Machines. But just because I love Apple as a Brand, it doesn't mean that I am going to blindly make my buying decision. I certainly dream of owning an iMac one day very soon. It's one of my dream machines. The purpose of this post was only to help the buyer make an informed decision. That's all for now.

Love you all.
- AD