iPhone UK Flop

[slycat]

Just finished reading this article on The Register. Before the iPhone came out, I guess I bought the media tripe and thought O2 were going to make a killing and the iPhones would be flying off the shelves on launch day. However, as I walked through Southampton on Friday night, less than an hour after the launch I saw both the O2 shop and Carphone Warehouse which are opposite each other in the main precinct, both had queue controlling barriers set up outside the store, yet there were no customers in either shop. The quote on page 2 of the aforementioned article pretty much nails it. UK people don't want to pay for a phone and a contract, and nor do they want to put up with 2.5G when modern phones here are doing up to 3.5G. I thought that the thing would still sell based on the Apple factor and the number of hardcore followers of everything they do but looks like it didn't happen this time round. Now O2 are left having to pay the bill for the EDGE (2.5g) network rollout they did just for the iPhone while everyone else keeps on using the well established 3G.

Anyway I'm stuck in an 18 month contract as I expect many people in the UK are, so I can't pick up a new phone until May even if I wanted to. I'm still considering the N95 8GB, but I'm hoping there's something more impressive and new out by the time I have to upgrade. As a gadget freak, I do love the interface as it's very futuristic but personally I have problems with companies like Apple and Sony who are so far up their arse, they don't realise that in their attempts to control their hardware for only what they see as suitable, they're pissing off people who would potentially buy from them. Those who like the iPhone's interface can keep their existing phone and not need to commit to a new contract and just get an iPod Touch, however as nice as what the iPods do, they're severely limited format wise and also how iTunes is imposed onto you. My next gadget purchase will be the Cowon A3; it's not got the fancy touch interface but it wipes the floor with any competition with it's feature list (MKV playback - Woo!).

Comments

[orona-red.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I walked by a shop on friday and staff were basically hanging out of it, begging me to come inside and look at it :P There were at least 6 of them by the door, so an educated guess can fill in the number of people inside :P

I'm in love with my Windows Mobile SmartPhone (HTC TyTN 2) cuz I can write programs for it :P

[kytheraen.livejournal.com]

what's 2.5g and 3.5g?

[slycat.livejournal.com]

2.5G is EDGE which is faster than GPRS (2G) but nowhere near as fast as the data rates over 3G. 3.5G is HSDPA which lets you download (theoretically) at up to 3.6Mbps.

[lyctiger.livejournal.com]

Not to nitpick with SlyCat (well, I guess I am a little bit or else I wouldn't be writing this reply)... but...

2G = 2nd Generation mobile protocal of which GSM is one, with a downlink data speed of upto 14.4 Kbps
2.5G = GSM GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), downlink data speed of upto 80 Kbps
2.75G = GSM EDGE (or E-GPRS), downlink data speed normally upto 236.8 Kbps
3G = 3rd Generation mobile protocal of which UMTS is one using the W-CDMA air-interface. Downlink of upto 384 Kbps
3.5G = Generally refers to mobiles/networks using the HSPA protocals, the more common being HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) but also includes HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access). Initially launched at a download speed of 1.8 Mbps, which is now being upgraded to 3.6 Mbps, and eventually to 7.2 Mbps and 14.4 Mbps.
3.75G = The next upcoming evolution to 3.5G, and refers to HSPA+ (or Evolved HSPA), with a starting download speed of 42 Mbps.

And there you have it. In short, the current iPhone's offering of only 2.75G EDGE data speed (236.8 Kbps) is nothing short of a disappointment when current 3.5G HSDPA networks are offering 3.6 Mbps (Vodafone for example, has 3.6 Mbps up over nearly all their networks worldwide) with many upgrading to faster 7.2 Mbps version by the middle/end of next year.

[slycat.livejournal.com]

Trust someone to nitpick... I was just generalising without going into too much detail :P

[slycat.livejournal.com]

I get an email every time you send a new edit. Please stop that :P

[jinxxy.livejournal.com]

Gotta say I'm with you on this one, Sly. The iPhone in its current incarnation is a joke and probably only one that Mericans will fall for (they're used to shite phones and paying through their noses for them). Me? I'm really chuffed with my Nokia E65 still. It's compact, does what I need it to do quickly, has a few very useful advanced features, and lookie here, I can install apps on it without potentially bricking it.

[atpaw.livejournal.com]

I agree. "best UI evar!!!1" be damned. Only in CrazyLand would someone spend $400US on a phone AND be locked into a painful contract, when there are far more functional phones/smartphones with still-acceptable UIs available for a fraction of the price - and that's to own the device outright; no service contract.

[rallicat.livejournal.com]

There seems to be some disparity between people who choose to buy an iPhone at an O2 store or the Carphone Warehouse, and those that choose to buy it at an Apple store.

At the bullring in Birmingham on Friday, the Apple store there had a rather large queue, with more people joining fast as they got out of work.
O2 store? Well, they had closed the shop temporarily, and looked like they had allot of staff inside, and had queue control - but, only three people waiting!

Now, either Apple had managed to spread around the idea that the place to get an iPhone was the Apple store, or (perhaps more likely) - the people in that bigger queue were die-hard Apple fans, who wouldn't be seen dead buying their iPhone anywhere else!

Question is; are those die-hard fans the smaller group of Mac owners, or the much larger group; iPod fans?

It's perhaps too early to tell whether this product is going to lay waste to the competitions market (and mind) share, but it's defiantely having a polarising effect allready; you're either getting an iPhone, or 'something else'.

[giro-batol.livejournal.com]

I quite Fancy the N95, with s60 and a built in GPS you could use it as a sat nav as well as a phone and mp4 player

[jinxxy.livejournal.com]

The N95 is very nice, although a bit fat. The camera is very impressive and the GPS would be a lot better if you didn't have to pay extra for turn-by-turn navigation.

[rogerirrelevant.livejournal.com]

Bottom line is when I got a phone this time around, I got one which could send/receive calls and texts, had a decent camera (well, as decent as a camera phone can be), and that was all I was really bothered with. I don't watch movies on my phone nor listen to music or that, as I'm never in a position where I can do that, and when I am, I still don't.

So, ahwell!

I might end up with a Mac Mini soon though, simply 'cos I'm fed up having cables strewn everywhere to use my Macbook Pro as a media centre.

[aydin-e.livejournal.com]

I still fail to see the "point" of the iPhone: It doesn't seem to do anything special to make up for the limitations it has...

I think this has already been said many times in many different ways, though...