Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Sundry iPhone discoveries: none good

AppleInsider summarized 3 reviews.

There's no good news in the bunch; anything good has has been out for a while. My comments in parens.
  1. With 3G enabled, the iPhone 3G's battery drained much more quickly in a typical day of use than the battery on the original iPhone. (Just as Jobs said a year ago. Many didn't believe power drain would be so bad.)
  2. While iPhone Software v2.0 allows for both personal and Exchange email accounts to function simultaneously, synching Exchange calendars and contacts will erase any personal calendars and contacts. (Clearly there's a limit to Apple's genius. I'm definitely disappointed, but not surprised.)
  3. Old iPod accessories meant to charge over Firewire circuitry (such as a Belkin car kit) don't work; iPhone 3G still only recognizes USB. (I'd never heard of this limitation. Annoying, but it's unlikely ever to change.)
  4. The GPS receiver's antenna is too small to replicate turn-by-turn navigation of a full unit. (So the GPS companies should be ok.)
  5. Battery replacement will still cost $86. (Still not user replaceable)
The worst news, by far, is that Exchange sync wipes personal calendars. In other words, the 2008 iPhone is no better than the 1996 PalmPilot (maybe a bit worse) at managing work and home calendars and contacts.

I will be buying my iPhone in the next week or so. I approach the date like a condemned man!

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