touch screen mobile phones iPhone Backlash

Today's nation-wide release of the iPhone is like technological manna to Apple aficionados and gadget junkies everywhere. Six months of increasingly frenetic hype has culminated in a launch around which the excitement has reached fever-pitch. The New York Times reports that over the last six months, the iPhone has been fodder for 11,000 print articles. It currently generates around 74 million hits on Google. Fans have been camping out in front of the hallowed entrances of Apple stores around the country days in advance of the release date, even paying people hundreds of dollars to stand in line for them.

But with all the lavish praise and attention, inevitably comes some backlash. Apart from the obvious worries about glitches and bugs that often accompany first time gadgets, tech critics and journalists have highlighted some major issues when it comes to Apple's latest invention.
Barriers to entry

"There is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a business this competitive. Even in the business where it is a clear pioneer, the personal computer, it had to compete with Microsoft and can only sustain a 5% market share… And its survival in the computer business relies on good margins. Those margins cannot exist in the mobile handset business for more than 15 minutes… What Apple risks here is its reputation as a hot company that can do no wrong. If it's smart it will call the iPhone a 'reference design' and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else's marketing budget… Otherwise I'd advise you to cover your eyes. You're not going to like what you'll see." John C. Dvorak, Market Watch, March 28th 2007.

"I think it will be big in the U.S., but not anywhere else. In Europe and Asia there are all those phenomenal phones out there that make the iPhone look pedestrian." Daniel Hesse, Nokia board member. As reported by CNN Money, June 15th 2007.
Not all that new

"Like the video iPod before it, the iPhone isn't the first to market in its category. Helio's 'Ocean ' beat it by more than a month and received a positive review from the Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg. The Ocean is $200 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone and it does GPS, while the iPhone doesn't." Jack Schafer, Slate.com, June 20th 2007.
High cost and service charges

"The worst thing about the iPhone is the price. $500 for the 4GB and $600 for the 8GB, and remember you don't get a discount. You have to pay the price of a desktop computer to get this phone and get locked into the contract. Forget it. When I can get the LG CU 400 with 3G for free, why would I shell out for this hunk of white plastic." Tom Merritt, CNET Video.

"One of the most anticipated, unknown iPhone features is its real price tag. We already know that it will cost $500 to $600, depending on storage capacity. But AT&T's contract requirements could easily quadruple that price. To qualify for the lowest pricing on many smart phones, carriers require that you subscribe to an all-you-can-eat data plan for around $40 per month, in addition to a $40-or-more-per-month calling plan. So much for getting the cheapest calling plan and just using the wi-fi feature for the Internet. Add text messaging and taxes, and you're looking at a bill near $90 per month. Over the two-year contract period, that's more than $2,000." Dan Frommer, Forbes.com, June 11th 2007.
No corporate e-mail

"While iPhones can be used for email, for now, many businesses don't plan to sync them with internal email systems that use technology from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and Good Technology, owned by Motorola Inc. That means many iPhone users won't be able to directly send and receive messages through their corporate email systems, although they may be able to forward their work emails through a third-party service like AOL or Yahoo Mail." Jessica E. Vascellaro and Nick Wingfield, WSJ.com, June 19th 2007.

"It looks as if you won't be able to access your corporate push e-mail system with the iPhone's built-in software. The iPhone runs the Mac OS X operating system, so, in theory, writing powerful software should be easy for outsiders. But Apple has been cryptic so far as to whether it will open the iPhone to developers." Dan Frommer, Forbes.com, June 11th 2007.
No 'real' internet

"Near essential applications such as Flash and Java will not be viewable at all on the iPhone and JavaScript applications will be limited to just five seconds runtime when using the built-in Safari browser." Stephen Wellman, InformationWeek.com, June 20th 2007.

"Then there's the Internet problem. When you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, going online is fast and satisfying. But otherwise you have to use AT&T's ancient EDGE cellular network, which is excruciatingly slow… You almost ache for a dial-up modem." David Pogue, The New York Times,