Does the iPhone REALLY get more criticism than it deserves?

[SmartAlx]

I think the phone APPEARS to take more bashing than it deserves because people defend the minor complaints so vigorously and the people with minor complaints refuse to back down. Minor issues turn into heated arguments. The people who bring up the minor issues get accused of hating the phone and are told to go back to their Blackberries and Treos. While the other side gets called brainwashed mac fanboys.

And if I'm going to be completely honest here, I would have to say that I see a lot more blind mindless loyalty to the Apple brand than people that hate the iPhone. Most complaints that I have seen are pretty valid. Though I certainly don’t hate the iPhone, you have to admit that there are some glaring omissions.

 

[brinky]

I think the phone APPEARS to take more bashing than it deserves because people defend the minor complaints so vigorously and the people with minor complaints refuse to back down. Minor issues turn into heated arguments. The people who bring up the minor issues get accused of hating the phone and are told to go back to their Blackberries and Treos. While the other side gets called brainwashed mac fanboys.

And if I'm going to be completely honest here, I would have to say that I see a lot more blind mindless loyalty to the Apple brand than people that hate the iPhone. Most complaints that I have seen are pretty valid. Though I certainly don’t hate the iPhone, you have to admit that there are some glaring omissions.

I think that this is true for all Apple products. There are just as many people willing to defend them no matter how bad they are as there are haters who will bash it no matter how good it is. And I agree with you about the amount of blind loyalty some people have to Apple products. Part of the problem might also be that the iPhone had so much press prior to its release that expectations might have gotten set higher then they should have been.

Overall I think the iPhone delivers on what it promised to do. Yes there are things it could do better, but they were things we knew about before the release, well at least those that kept up with all the stories. No third party apps, no exchange mail, no custom ring tones.

So I guess the answer to your question is if you knew what you were buying. If you did your research on what the phone can and can't do then I think it delivers. If you had no idea what the iPhone actual capabilities were, but just got caught up in all the hype then you might be more critical of what the iPhone can't do.

Oh and I didn't vote since I didn't see a option for hate it because I got caught up in the hype and didn't understand what I was getting myself into.

 

[SmartAlx]

Overall I think the iPhone delivers on what it promised to do.

Yes, I have to agree. The iPhone delivered PRECISELY what it promised to do (except that this is most certainly NOT the most advanced ipod to date.) Steve was very careful . The problem was that so many people were making these wild assumptions before it was available. The facts became murky. Then we found out that these great features like A2DP, GPS, video camera, MMS didn't actually work.

Oh and I didn't vote since I didn't see a option for hate it because I got caught up in the hype and didn't understand what I was getting myself into.

Oh darn. I wanted to put a couple of other options down. I do wish we could edit these polls afterwards.

 

[pounce]

a lot of the complaining is based on things that aren't factually correct, or the users expectations - which neither Apple or anyone else has any control over. so i've found like half of the complaining to be useless trash talking, and the other half of the complaining to be on target.

almost every complaint i have can be fixed in software, which is the main reason i am not complaining yet. as has been correctly pointed out, the iPhone is exactly what was promised. i'm very happy with mine, and it works well for the way that i use it. having said that, i'm quite sure we'll see some software or firmware updates to address the valid complaints and that would make me very happy.

i don't think Apple is a stupid company. i think they do know what people want, and what is being said in the forums. we are likely to get all of the software updates we are looking for in the near future. (my opinion based on my mac experience with Apple).

but for all the comments about Apple fans being uberloyal (totally true), there are other non iPhone owners randomly bashing the product and that is only bothersome since they aren't really telling the truth about the iPhone in their bashing.

 

[cj sparrow]

I think the phone APPEARS to take more bashing than it deserves because people defend the minor complaints so vigorously and the people with minor complaints refuse to back down. Minor issues turn into heated arguments. The people who bring up the minor issues get accused of hating the phone and are told to go back to their Blackberries and Treos. While the other side gets called brainwashed mac fanboys.

And if I'm going to be completely honest here, I would have to say that I see a lot more blind mindless loyalty to the Apple brand than people that hate the iPhone. Most complaints that I have seen are pretty valid. Though I certainly don’t hate the iPhone, you have to admit that there are some glaring omissions.

Well my blind mindless loyalty to Apple and the products it sells is based on the crap I ended up with when I bought other brands. I like being treated like a thinking human being when I go into an Apple store. I like talking to people who know their products and give me thoughtful responses to honest questions. I like not being decended upon like a piece of road kill for a commission. I like getting good answers to my questions, and never feeling that I am being abandoned after I have spent my money on an Apple product. I like calling Apple support and talking to people who do more than read prepared scripts.

If that makes me a blind mindless loyalty Apple freak, then so be it. I proudly show my phone to everyone who wants to see it. I talk about Apple, battery life, great support, and outstanding service. And I do defend the phone from naysayers.

Is the iPhone perfect? Heck no. But, like all things Apple, "there's one more thing..." Patience, and ye shall be rewarded.

Oh, and the people who nay say the iPhone, for the most part, had no plans to ever buy one. They're just jealous......

 

[Sleeper]

Onviously, sparrow. That's why they're voting 2:1 in favour of constructive criticism.

 

[listenclose]

number 1 comment. "I hear it has a lot of bugs"

 

[SmartAlx]

number 1 comment. "I hear it has a lot of bugs"

I think any of us iPhone owners can dispel this ignorant rumor quite easily. Its certainly not perfect, and it has limitations, but what the iPhone does do, it does extremely well. A bug is unintended behavior. In that regard, the iPhone is anything but buggy. I hear there are something like 63 known bugs? But considering the complexity (it is a computer) of the iPhone, its probaby the least buggy device I've ever owned.

 

[SmartAlx]

So far, the results of this poll are quite telling, you must admit. Look at the responses. IF it is true that people are making unreasonable complaints and the haters want the world to hear about how much the iPhone sucks, why I've provided a perfect place for them to do so. This poll is practically designed to attract "imoaners." What better way to give them a voice than to give them an opportunity to anonymously give their opinion? They don't have to worry about that '1' under their name that we are currently using to identify trolls. But take a real look. Not one supposed imoaner has said that we don't complain enough. (Only one person has responded that he hates it because he got caught up in the hype. I wouldn't call him a troll though. He wouldn't even say that we don't complain enough.)

At the time of this post, 43% of the responses are in defense of the iPhone. They are from people that do not want ANY complaints.
Seriously 43% of respondants don't want us to complain about the iPhone AT ALL!
I really think this proves that the people who are loudest are the people attacking the complaints.

 

[PhatKid]

I think any of us iPhone owners can dispel this ignorant rumor quite easily. Its certainly not perfect, and it has limitations, but what the iPhone does do, it does extremely well. A bug is unintended behavior. In that regard, the iPhone is anything but buggy. I hear there are something like 63 known bugs? But considering the complexity (it is a computer) of the iPhone, its probaby the least buggy device I've ever owned.

Excellent point. I keep hearing talk about how many bugs there are because it doesn't have cut/paste and other such things. But it's not like the option for cute and paste is there but when you hit cut it just copies and when you paste it always puts some random text. That's a bug. People are talking about features they desire that are just not there. The phone is a great device.


People bash it all the time because they don't own it or because they didn't pay close enough attention before they bought it to what features it did or didn't have. Apple has the best customer service I've seen in a long time. Most companies work at making sure that you don't get what you want and making sure they're right. Apple goes out of their way (in my several experiences) to make sure that you're happy with your products and that you keep coming back for more.