For the last six months, I have been an IPhone user. Yes, yes I know, anyone who knows me is saying “what? the Linux guy turning into an apple fanboi?” Not quite, the phone is a company phone. The phone is a black IPhone 4G. I must admit, it was a pretty cool phone. I still had my problems with it, but overall, it was an enlightening experience that I enjoyed.
First the good, this was my first experience in having a smart phone, sure I’ve used them on occasion, but never on a day to day basis. The IPhone’s interface is really well done, apps are easy to install and use. Navigation on the phone is nice and harmonized, and things are mostly where you would expect them to be, sometimes too many levels deep in the menu, but where you would think all the same. The base installation of the IPhone is a very nice platform to use.
Lets talk about apps now. The Apple AppStore, as of this post, has 350 000+ apps. That is a huge number, and I have only sampled a very very microscopic sampling, but my experience has been mixed. Some apps are really well done, to the credit of the development team, but some have been AWFUL, to the point of crashing repeatedly. It goes to show that more isn’t always better. I even at one point worked on an IPhone app, for a former company, and can only say that the development is one part, but then the process to get the app published to the AppStore, is both complicated, and not entirely logical. Some apps make it online easily, while others get refused for weird reasons. It almost feels like there is some guy ( or girl ) at the other end, and depending on their mood at that moment. I had thought that the complicated purpose of getting apps onto the app store was to GUARANTEE quality, but that seems more fiction that fact. So I ask myself, why the complex and lengthy submission process?
Of those 350 000+ apps, there are hundreds that do the same thing, I agree selection and competition is important, but at some point having 400 options becomes a hassle to find one, that isn’t broken, no longer supported, that does what you want, etc. My only real other comment about the apps, is the selection of pre-installed apps. Some of which I would have preferred not being there. There are some options, that I wish I had the option to not have there. For instance the weather app, for a Canadian is not the best option. The YouTube app, is “unnecessary” since you can add the mobile web page to the home page. The Notes app, is also not the greatest, but usable. I just believe that if you are going to impose apps, make them the best around, or offer people the chance to remove them.
I guess that’s it for now, I will be switching to an android phone in the next couple weeks as I must return this phone upon leaving the company I was formerly employed at, so look forward to seing a post about that at some time in the future.
May 6, 2011 at 07:19
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