Missing Features

Notably, the iPhone is missing a few features that make the phone seem not-so-complete. The first and biggest surprise when the phone was announced is that it wouldn't be 3G and utilize HSDPA, rather it would be a 2.5G phone and use the EDGE network. Given my experience with how quickly the battery was used up on the Samsung Blackjack, I'm not terribly surprised. I would predict that battery life of the phone would be noticeably worse (25% or more) had Apple included HSDPA in the phone.

The ability to use Bluetooth in any meaningful way other than during a phone call is another complaint. The phone lacks the ability to utilize stereo headsets (A2DP), can't tether with another Bluetooth device to provide internet access and can't sync contacts, calendar entries, pictures or music over Bluetooth. Granted, you probably wouldn't want to sync a firmware update or a movie over Bluetooth given its paltry 3Mb/s throughput, but just to update contacts and calendar entries would be sufficient for most.

Likewise, the next most requested missing feature is real GPS for turn by turn directions. The Google Maps widget does provide some turn by turn information, but if you were to miss a turn, you would need to replot your route in order to get rerouted driving directions.

The internet forums are abuzz with people loudly complaining about the lack of Adobe's Flash and Sun's Java platforms on the phone. While one can understand why, as they are both CPU intensive - and therefore drain the battery quicker - it is still a large chunk of functionally that is present on the "real internet"� that wont be accessible from the phone.

The lack of a replaceable battery is a big issue for those who will use the phone often. Estimations are that the battery in the phone may only last 350-400 cycles (charge, discharge). If you have to charge the iPhone every night, that's only about 13 months of usage. The Apple battery replacement for the iPhone is $85 including shipping, and that does not include the user of a rental phone while yours is in the shop. And given that you might not get your phone back, you'll get someone else's that was formatted, you'll need to sync and make sure that all your data has been backed up from the phone.

Finally, smaller features like instant messaging through AIM, MSN or Yahoo, multimedia messaging (MMS), and being able to shoot video with the camera are also small sticking points for those not convinced of the iPhone's worth.