During the past week I’ve been reading a lot of articles and blogs about the iPhone, some from Apple die-hards who refuse to say anything bad about an Apple product, some from Apple haters who refuse to say anything good about an Apple product, and some from people that tried to provide truly unbiased opinions. Someone actually told me I’m one of the Apple die-hards, even if I don’t believe so. More on this subject to come in another post.

Reading through all of articles though, there seems to be one major misconception about the iPhone. First and foremost, it is not a smartphone. It is not meant to be a replacement for the work-a-holic types unable to drag themselves away from their work and their Blackberries. Although it is not stated this way, the best description I can give it is a multimedia device with PDA capabilities that can fit in your pocket. The iPhone is meant for the consumer (not employee) that wants to combine their cell phone and iPod into one device, while also providing web browsing functionality. Not only that, the iPhone is what Apple prides itself in producing, not products with thousands of features, but products that are as user friendly as possible. And that’s why people will be willing to pay a premium to purchase the iPhone.

However, in order to get the Apple die-hard opinion off my back, I will admit there are a few things about the iPhone that bother me. I won’t be surprised if all these items are fixed in next generation iPhones. Thinking back, the first iPod wasn’t groundbreaking, it was the next generation iPods that really caught steam. I expect the same to occur with the iPhone. So, some things I think it is missing or could be improved:

1. First and foremost, the iPhone will only be available through Cingular Wireless / AT&T. About a year ago I changed from Cingular to Verizon because their customer service was just so bad. Not just that, they treat potential customers better then they treat current customers. This is an inherent problem with a lot of service companies, which is why I have a tendency to change them often. I treat service companies how professional sports teams treat coaches, like a carrousel.
2. Apple has published specs noting the iPhone battery will sustain 5 hours of talk time and 16 hours of multimedia. My only concern is this might cause the constant user to have to charge the phone daily. Also, if the iPhone is like the iPod, the battery will not be easily replaceable. If it goes bad after a year or two, the consumer will be forced to by another cell phone. My hope is that it lasts at least 2 years, which is about as long as I would expect to own a cell phone. Another option would be to purchase the Apple extended warranty plan which will extend the warranty from 1 to 2 years.
3. The price of the iPhone is a little concerning, although somewhat understandable. At $500 for the 4 Gb version, that is a hefty price to pay. A 4 Gb iPod Nano from Apple costs $200. That makes the phone and web browser $300, which is not out of the ordinary for a multimedia device. I would have liked it if there was a discounted combined cost, maybe $400 for the product. The iPod started at a pretty hefty price when it was first produced, it wouldn’t surprise me if the cost of the iPhone goes down when future generations are produced.

So, there you have it. I still don’t think I’ll be purchasing the first generation iPhone. It’s not worth the cost and frustration of switching over to Cingular / AT&T. But I can’t wait for it to be released so I can go to the Apple Store and play with it.