The iphone from Apple is the latest must have gadget for those of us who are ‘gadget must have types’. Its basically a VERY nice looking and stylish new phone and its sold millions within the first year of its release. In fact its the fastest selling consumer electronic item of all time. I’ve even re-modelled my main site www.reverbstudios.ie to look like one!
I should say first that this isn’t really a review as I don’t have an iphone in my possession nor will I any time soon and wouldn’t dream of writing a full review of something I’ve never seen! There’s a few things I keep hearing in the media that I’d like to share and they are the reason I havn’t bought one yet. Here are some reasons I’m waiting.
- The iphone is only available from O2 in Ireland which gives them a monopoly on pricing.
- Its a minimum of €45 per month.
- It costs €399 – a full €100 dearer than our nearest neighbours in the UK – why?
- Apple want the iphone to be used for internet access but see below!
- It doesn’t have 3G capability which is amazing for such a high tech phone and means most of us in Ireland wont be able to browse the internet.
The cost of great new technology is always high at first so we’ll forgive the high cost of buying the unit but as usual Irish consumers are getting screwed compared to other countries. Both the phone and its running costs are cheaper almost everywhere else. For example you get more minutes, texts and data for your monthly fee in the UK. The 3G issue is probably the main reason I’m not going for one and really it should not have been sold in the Irish market where 3G is a lot bigger than in the USA where the phone was originally designed for. A 3G version is planned but not until the end of the year and as far as I know its a whole new phone that will need to be bought!
Until then, anyone in Ireland who buys an iphone and hopes to make use of its excellent internet browsing features like a large landscape screen and Safari browser as well as the generous data allowances will be very disappointed unless they get the iphone online via WiFi which requires a nearby broadband wireless point and some configuration.
I’ve always said that Apple makes very nice looking and user friendly gadgets that sell millions but their stuff is high on price and low on features and the iphone fits that description. I will have one eventually though!
More information HERE.
Leon
Reverb Studios Design 
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