I’ve been contemplating getting the new iPhone 4 ever since it was released but as always with Apple products they’re considerably more expensive than others. Very desirable and beautifully designed objects are usually pitched at a premium price. As a student £35 a month, 24 month contract is too much and too long for me. Tesco’s do a 12 month deal for £20 a month with £350 upfront for the phone but they can’t get any phones at the moment and, due to their tie in with O2, are well down the pecking order when it comes to getting new stock.
Added to this is the rather clumsy way Apple Inc.’s PR has been behaving recently. Don’t get me wrong, I love Apple products, PC are a no, no for me. But there seems to be an underlying arrogance creeping in to their rhetoric.
Firstly their refusal to adopt Adobe’s Flash player for the iPhone and the public spat that ensued was poorly handled. Then as the Flash debate raged Apple accused Adobe of being 100% closed and proprietary. Hello! Apple you are hardly open-source yourself! As much as I agree with Apple that the way forward for the web and hand held devices is to adopt open software like HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript, Flash is no less open than Final Cut or iLife. Apple also like tethering and keep a tight control on how apps are made and received. It appears Apples only claim to open-source is WebKit, an open-source HTML5 rendering engine which I doubt may people have heard of and must mean that Apple are now only 95% proprietary. See Adobe and Apple: Please Spare Us the Platitudes About “Open” and See Thoughts on Flash Jobs speaks.
Secondly the inept explanation and diverting tactic over aerial antenna on the iPhone 4 which initially made them look like they were blaming the user and then the software settings.
So what can a poor boy do?…… The answer is…. a smart phone with Google’s Android operating system. The advantage is price in relation to functionality. Google’s operating system in conjunction with high quality smart phones like the HTC Desire are beginning to give the iPhone a run for its money. Android is also an open-source platform with a bourgeoning application market place that is ripe for developers to experiment without the weight of Apple applying restriction. It suits the model that, ironically, Apple say they want for the future of the web – open, customisable and free from proprietary company interference.
So I’ve ordered a HTC Desire at £15 a month for 24 months with 300 mins, 300 texts and unlimited web access. Only problem is they are so popular that I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for delivery.
