IPhone IWant ICant

I want an Iphone 3G.

I can’t let myself buy one though.

The Iphone 3G is by far and away, one of the coolest phones out there. Apple didn’t their homework, and now that the App store is open, I can do nothing but drool over some of the software already released. For example, if I went to ATT right now and bought one, I would be downloading the SmugMug App (found here) in seconds… Which would be so dang cool because I’ve been looking for a simple camera that could GeoTag my photos for me.

Not to mention at least one of the tetris clones that would have been released today.

But there’s at least a few reasons, one of which is a deal breaker for more, that I simply can not let myself get one. And they all stem from one simple fact, that I think eventually, will kill Apple.

Apple is not open enough as far as features and development goes.

It’s the reason they can’t get the same market share as windows… How do you expect Mac OS X to be “more popular” than windows, when you won’t let, Dell, HP, IBM, etc. sell computers with your OS on it? Is it a great OS? Definently… But if you thought Microsoft was a cruel monopoly, wait to see what happens if you let Mac OS X rule the world… Oh wait, isn’t that what’s happening with the Iphone?

So let’s actually see where the problems start for me:

#1 – It’s still locked into ATT. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, but really.. Why? Why can’t you let it be with Verizon, or T-Mobile. I realize T-Mobile’s 3G network isn’t rolling out til later this year, but seriously… Why AT&T Only? This is like the same stupid mistake you made when you refused to work with only one type of processor *Power PC*… Oh wait, you still do that *Intel*.

#2 – It’s still not an open application framework. This isn’t a deal breaker for me either. I don’t have time to develop my own apps… But heck, if Google can release a decent OS for a phone, and get someone like HTC to put some solid hardware behind it, Apple, I’m afraid to say it, but your going to be in trouble… Then again, your still capitlizing on the entire ipod market… But eh. Google not only released it’s framework for developers months before release, but it’s letting anyone build anything they want… How great is that.. I expect to see a smugmug app for Android in no time… So that might be a simple reason right there to wait for it.

#3 – You still can’t tether the iphone – Ok, this one is the deal breaker for me. Why in the world would you disable a phone and prevent it from being used as a modem for a computer. They did it with the first gen phones, and they did it again with this phone. Perhaps they’ll let someone build an app that fixes this, but there must be a reason… and I can’t believe that it’s ATT saying we don’t have the bandwidth… After all, every one of their other enterprise phones seems to be able to tether. If I’m going to buy a phone that has data powers, I expect to be able to use those data powers with my laptop in the event I need more power than the phone can supply… And for that reason alone, I can’t let myself get an Iphone.

So where does that leave me?

I think I’m still finding myself holding out for the HTC Touch Pro. It won’t be as slick a touch screen, but it will have a keyboard. It won’t sync nicely with itunes, but it will let me put any winmobile application on it. It won’t be as expensive, but I’ll probably be able to put Android on it when Android is released.

If a phone company is reading this… This is what I want in a phone:

• Tethering
• Bluetooth
• Wifi
• 3G (or 4G) and Quad Band
• Slide out keyboard
• Camera with decent shutter speed (and ability to instantly upload photos to something)
• Music (Mp3)
• Video (record and playback)
• Recording calls to mp3 feature (that would ROCK)
• Dual Touch
• Open development framework
• Full screen webbrowsing (simulated 1024×768 or higher with zoom feature)
• Good Calendar
• Good Contacts
• Good Email

I think that’s everything… You’d think given that I’m using a standard flip phone, I’d be happy with even just some of those features:-).