Three Fixable Apple iPhone Issues
The Popular PDA is Eye Candy, but Apple's Fan Base Sees Problems
The Apple iPhone was the most eagerly anticipated PDA to launch, ever. Some Macintosh fans and detractors have complaints, though; is Apple turning into Microsoft?
Stand in line at a Starbucks any weekday morning in any urban area, and watch the business professionals tapping away on their PDA's. Until recently, it was the elegant Blackberry that held court here; the speedy remote email access, reliable cell phone service and more proved the Blackberry to be an immensely popular PDA for busy professionals. But then, along came the iPhone. When the iPhone first started appearing on those early-morning Starbucks lines, it was enough to rouse the white-collar business users out of their pre-caffeine stupor. And certainly, the beautiful, innovative design of Apple's iPhone has much to do with this. Talk about eye candy!
More recently, however, the iPhone has fallen into a certain amount of disfavor. Three main issues regarding the PDA have resulted in much criticism.
- The Price: The hefty $500 starting price (and this is before the bells and whistles) was decried as leaving the PDA out of reach for many consumers, and threatened to have it popularly labeled as an elitist product. Two months later Steve Jobs announced a price drop, but that, also, resulted in a backlash - the early adopters, who rushed out and bought the first iPhones on the market, felt (and rightfully so) taken advantage of.
- The Cellular Service: Apple fanboys assumed that any carrier company would be able to be carried on the iPhone. Then, the service came to light: The iPhone is locked, to be used only with AT&T, and hackers unlocking the device soon found an upgrade made their PDA unworkable.
- The Battery: The third issue is the battery. To maintain the elegant, streamlined, and let's face it, downright gorgeous look of the iPhone, the designers soldered the battery into place. When consumers need a new battery for their iPhone, it's a real pain.
Apple likely wants to regain its luster. After all, message boards (Digg, Reddit) are humming with angry messages from Apple loyalists, fretting that the company is becoming more and more like the dreaded Microsoft with each new innovation. What can Steve Jobs and Apple do, to improve its image in the sometimes raucous user community?
- Set a price, and stick to it. Sure, seasonal sales are appropriate, and the market practically dictates holiday rebates. Beyond that, decide what you want the iPhone image to be; luxury business PDA or a populist one. Set the price accordingly, and only lower it when a new model comes out.
- Unlock the iPhone. It bears repeating: Unlock the iPhone! The fan base for Apple and Macintosh products is strong, strong, strong. This is due not just to the cool design - Apple products' seamless integration of form and function is incredible - but the company's "one of the good guys" perception. With the phone service locked into monolith AT&T, that perception is fading fast. To make matters worst, when users unlock the iPhone on their own, an Apple update causes the system to shut down. That, Mr. Jobs, is seriously uncool. Unlock the iPhone.
- Modify the design, and add a removable plate in the back. Here we come to a real toughie. Yes, the eye candy design is a key appeal of this shiny PDA (witness how a small crowd gathers when someone takes it out in public). Yes, the battery has to be flat and hidden to maintain that streamlined look. But surely the designers at Apple can avoid actually soldering the thing into the body of the iPhone. If the battery's not removable, then when it runs out of juice, changing it is no simple matter - and a new one costs around $85, too (cnet.com, July 3 2007).
Now, Apple's shares are at a historic high, with a market value of more than $140 billion (LA Times, Oct. 8 2007). The company is not about to go bust because of these complaints. However, hard working professionals who do a lot of business travel would be happy to have an alternative to their Blackberry PDAs, and the iPhone could be this alternative. The iPhone's superior web browser can view web pages as they appear on laptop PCs - only the Blackberry comes close. The Apple fan base is there, loyal and vociferous. Fix these problems with the iPhone, and Apple could very well corner the PDA market.
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