Apple. I think it’s about time we sat down and had a real heart to heart.
Two years ago, I renewed my AT&T plan with a two year contract and purchased one of your iPhones; my life has not been the same since. I can use the GPS to see where I am, where I’m going, and (most importantly) what direction I need to walk in to find a delicious burrito. With the constant mobile internet connection I can Tweet, Tumbl, Facebook, +1, or Yelp to my heart’s content. Even though I never see any of them anymore, I’m never more than a chime or tap away from the lastest news from my ever growing group of cyber-friends. My life is now connected. My life is now meaningful.
So you understand how important the next few weeks are to me as I consider my next phone. Please, don’t misunderstand me. Your hardware is top of the line. Your software… fan-fucking-tastic. You absolutely nailed the touchscreen interface. I really want to get another iPhone. It just works!
And yet, I’m torn.
I want to be able to purchase MP3’s from Amazon. I want to use Skype. I want Google apps that work. I want… Well… I wan’t you to better understand your place. You make hardware and the operating system to run it. I love that! No compatibility issues! Who wants a phone that has compatibility issues? However, there is an intrinsic implication that you let other people or companies develop software to run on your OS. For the most part that is what you do. Your app store is full of great apps. Unfortunatly I’ve notice a distinct decline in their quality. It’s almost as if you are forcing third party developers out of the App Store in favor of your own, usually inferior, Apple developed apps.
For example, Facetime. WTF is that shit. Nobody who doesn’t own an APPLE computer uses it… BECAUSE THEY CAN’T. How will that help me? For what purpose is that little front facing camera? Why can’t I use Skype to make a video call from my new iPhone to any of my non-apple friends? BECAUSE IT COMPETES WITH FACETIME!!! (EDIT… My GF just pointed out to me that Skype now works with the iPhone 4… AFTER AN FCC INVESTIGATION.) Even though someone else creates a better application for a specific purpose, if it competes with one of your own, you ban it from your app store or force them to release a dumbed down version!? Fuck you. And don’t even get me started with in app purchases and how you’ve prevented me from using Amazon cloud player to it’s full potential.
So despite the iPhone being a better piece of hardware and iOS an arguably better piece of software. I will probably be switching to Android. Just so that I video-call my girlfriend on Skype while listening to my Amazon purchases.
(Oh and I can’t actually +1 on my iPhone, either!)
