My old 60GB iPod packed in recently and I had to start looking around for a replacement. I was spoilt for choice with Apple's new range of iPhones, iTouchs, Nanos and other funky named gizmos. People have been going on and on about the iPhone about how brilliant and easy it is but I have to say I have not been convinced at its charm.
I ask myself is it really neccessary and practical to have everything in one device. Pretty soon our lives may be reduced to one little black box which will control everything!
The main argument that they throw at you is that it is good to have your iTunes library, videos and use of a mobile phone in one device. The first issue I would point out is that the iPhone's maximum capacity is 16 GB which is not ideal if you have a collection that is larger than this. It just means you have to spend ages swapping playlists when you get bored with your music. This is just a hassle especially as you have probably bought an iPhone to make things easier. As far as space goes, you can now get an iPod classic with a wapping 120GB for only £169.
The other point that my flatmate pointed out is if you want to connect it to your laptop and use as a modem - forget it! You can only use the iPhones built in browser to surf the internet. It will currently not allow the use of browsing on external hardware. Other standard 3G phones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson will allow you to do this.
The last issue is cost. For the most part the iPhone is a over-priced flashy bit of equipment that doesn't do any more than other mobile phones currently do at the moment. The handset on its own costs over £300. Alternatively you might get it cheaper by signing up for one of the mobile phone tariffs. However, in most cases you will end up paying the same if not more in the long run. Other mobile phones can already take pictures, play music, access the internet, etc and they do this at a comparitively lower price. It is also important to point out that they are significantly less bulky than the iPhone and do not have a massive screen that could get broken or scratched easily (see picture at the top!).
A lot of the people I have met with iPhones seem to band them in a kind of 'look at me I'm so cool' fashion. On closer examination it is often apparent that they are unaware of many of the features that it offers. Worse still some of them seem to also carry an iPod around with them as well which further defeats the object of having an iPhone in the first place. They obviously enjoy wasting their money.
Thanks very much but I'll settle for a new iPod Classic and a separate mobile phone.
