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quiklee · Jul 11, 2007, 01:46 PM

let's take waiting in line out of the equation . . . . let's say you got your iphone stolen and some insurance company reimbursed you for your loss . . . so you have $600 in your hand . . .

question: would you buy the iphone again?

reason I ask is it seems that so many people complain about every little problem of this 1st generation product . . .

I'm putting the over/under at 30% yes 70% no

mdc · Jul 11, 2007, 01:56 PM

Let me put it this way, if my iPhone got stolen and I had to pay out of pocket, I'd still buy another iPhone.
There are things on the iPhone that are not perfect, but everything else far outweighs the negatives.

icruise · Jul 11, 2007, 02:01 PM

If ever there was a thread that called out for a poll, this is it. So I added one. If you say no, please say why.

::maroma:: · Jul 11, 2007, 02:14 PM

I voted yes, because this is by far the best phone/iPod I've ever used. I know its not perfect, but for me its as close to perfect as I've seen. I will most likely buy each generation as they are released. (not the .5's but a full generation leap)

Big-C · Jul 11, 2007, 02:19 PM

For all the "smartphones" I've tried out, I've never used anything like the iPhone. While it's shortcomings (real and imagined) always get the most attention, the fact remains that this phone is a fantastic device. I've managed to use all of the features (except stocks!) with an ease that doesn't exist on other phones, and with an integration with my Mac that other phones don't have. Sure, the MIssing Sync is nice, but led to problems here and there, eventually to be dismissed from my system.

As you can tell, the honeymoon still isn't over for me. Got it on 6/29, and I think the iPhone is one excellent piece of hardware, and would not replace it with anything else. Dare I even admit it - it's still "fun" to use.

----------
After re-reading that, I must sound like a total fanatic. Oh well.

DKeithA · Jul 11, 2007, 02:24 PM

I'd buy the iPhone again in a second. No question. If anything ever happens to mine I'll make a bee line to one of my local Apple Stores and replace it as fast as possible. I'll also buy every iteration that is released.

bcaslis · Jul 11, 2007, 02:37 PM

Absolutely, great device!

DigitalEl · Jul 11, 2007, 03:50 PM

I'd buy another one within the hour, even out of pocket. And we'd never speak of it again.

Mrjinglesusa · Jul 11, 2007, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by DKeithA

I'd buy the iPhone again in a second. No question. If anything ever happens to mine I'll make a bee line to one of my local Apple Stores and replace it as fast as possible. I'll also buy every iteration that is released.

Ditto.

Quiklee, you're over/under numbers are reversed. As the poll shows, the majority of iPhone buyers would buy it again. This is not suprising given that the majority of reviews out there rate the iPhone VERY highly. It's clearly everything people thought it would be and in a lot of cases, more. Are there some quirks? Sure. But 95% of the "issues" people are complaining about can be fixed in software updates. There are only two things that can't: 3G and GPS. Personally, I don't care about those two things in the least.

mdc · Jul 11, 2007, 04:37 PM

I forgot to mention that I see myself buying every full release when they come out.

LeeG · Jul 11, 2007, 05:28 PM

I see myself buying most iterations as well.

Its pretty great.

Foxdog175 · Jul 11, 2007, 06:38 PM

I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. The iphone dev community alone makes up a great percentage of the iphone purchase. They're creating amazing apps already and the iphone's only been out a few weeks.

icruise · Jul 11, 2007, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by Foxdog175

I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. The iphone dev community alone makes up a great percentage of the iphone purchase. They're creating amazing apps already and the iphone's only been out a few weeks.

Less than two weeks, actually.

quiklee · Jul 11, 2007, 07:15 PM

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa

Ditto.

Quiklee, you're over/under numbers are reversed. As the poll shows, the majority of iPhone buyers would buy it again. This is not suprising given that the majority of reviews out there rate the iPhone VERY highly. It's clearly everything people thought it would be and in a lot of cases, more. Are there some quirks? Sure. But 95% of the "issues" people are complaining about can be fixed in software updates. There are only two things that can't: 3G and GPS. Personally, I don't care about those two things in the least.

To tell you the truth, I'm shocked at the poll results so far. I've been coming to this forum for a solid 2 weeks now and it just seems like a whine fest for iphone users, so I really thought some people wouldn't want to buy it again. I guess I was wrong.

By the way, I would buy it again too

PBG4 User · Jul 11, 2007, 07:32 PM

I'd buy it again. I will once the next generation comes out and my wife will get my current 8GB one. The iPhone is an excellent device and as long as Apple updates the software (and eventually releases an SDK), I don't see the iPhone's light dimming anytime soon. I love having the internet in my pocket, even if it can be slow over EDGE. It's a solid 1.0 product which I'm sure will only get better over time.

I don't believe I've whined about the iPhone yet though.

dpicardi · Jul 11, 2007, 07:44 PM

It's the best Apple product I own...and I have acquired quite a few of em over the years.

(ipods, iBook, Macbook, Macbook Pro, Dual 1.4 MDD, AppleTV (which is so much cooler than most people give it credit for) )

Apple has truly nailed it with the iPhone! Sure there is room for improvement. But overall it is the best 1.0 thing I've EVER bought!

and yes...it is still FUN to use.

I see it being that way a long time.

The Battery issue and EDGE thing are so overblown...at least for me. I'm almost always in a hotspot and when I'm not the Google Map search works perfectly over EDGE...as does surfing. (much better than my CrackBerry ever did.

quiklee · Jul 11, 2007, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by dpicardi

The Battery issue and EDGE thing are so overblown...at least for me. I'm almost always in a hotspot and when I'm not the Google Map search works perfectly over EDGE...as does surfing. (much better than my CrackBerry ever did.

I agree with you about everything . . . . but I think i have to point out that the Google Maps feature doesn't require any internet connection since all the maps are stored in the iPhone . . . it does, however, need the internet to check on traffic, but I think that's it . . . .

icruise · Jul 11, 2007, 08:53 PM

I don't believe all of the maps are stored on the phone. If that were true, it would be a lot faster in displaying them. Plus, do you really think they can fit maps + satellite photography for the entire planet on the phone? It also definitely has to connect to retrieve location information like the names, numbers, and addresses of businesses, etc.

EDIT: I just tested this by taking out my SIM card and turning off wifi. The maps application would show me things that I just viewed recently, but only the parts that I had seen -- the maps would just stop. It also wouldn't let me see a new location that I had never searched for. So it's downloading and caching the maps from the network.

vln2 · Jul 11, 2007, 10:57 PM

I would buy it and will buy the next 3G version whenever it comes out.
There is no other device available at this level. Yes there are few features here and there that I would like to have but overall browsing is great (when it works in WiFi). Hey we play with toys all the time and naturally have a tendency to overblow issues we care about.
Battery thing is only hypotetical and let's face it - announcement was mishandled. Edge, well it is the slowest where I live but I can get email and that is all I expected from Edge. I am surrounded by WiFi almost everywhere.
When I saw the video on iPhone at the AT&T store on June 29th my hands were shaking

-Q- · Jul 12, 2007, 09:28 PM

Without question, and without hesitation.

PhotoBug · Jul 13, 2007, 01:02 AM

I love all the positive comments! it really makes me wish i could buy one!

icruise · Jul 13, 2007, 11:19 AM

Admittedly, the people who would buy the iPhone at launch and be reading the MacNN forums are probably predisposed to like the device, but still... Not a single person here seems to regret buying it. Good news.

eScrib · Jul 13, 2007, 11:42 AM

Would you all terminate an existing contract and pay the termination fee to get the iPhone?

bcaslis · Jul 13, 2007, 12:57 PM

Yes. I don't understand all the attitudes about termination fees. It's usually a maximum of $175, it's not like it's thousands of dollars or something.

Originally Posted by eScrib

Would you all terminate an existing contract and pay the termination fee to get the iPhone?

OreoCookie · Jul 13, 2007, 01:03 PM

According to this article 85 % would recommend the iPhone while 90 % are extremely or very satisfied. I think that should settle this. I don't know why so many people here complain about the iPhone.

Personally, I would get one as soon as it is released in Germany.

::maroma:: · Jul 13, 2007, 01:10 PM

I think a lot of the complaints stem from the over-hyping that went on before the release of the iPhone. And this wasn't done by Apple, it was done by the media and the general public. A lot of people thought that the iPhone would be something that it was never meant to be, simply because of the massive amounts of hype. I think most of the people who complain or dislike the iPhone feel a little burned because they thought it would be something it isn't.

If you accept the iPhone for what it is, a very well designed mobile phone/iPod/Internet device (remember Steve's Keynote, he repeated those 3 things over and over again... he never said it was going to be anything more than that), then there's very little to complain about.

icruise · Jul 13, 2007, 01:29 PM

If that's the case, what were those people expecting? And where did those ideas come from? I think the iPhone lives up to pretty much every claim that Apple made about it.

::maroma:: · Jul 13, 2007, 01:50 PM

Yeah, the iPhone lives up to and exceeds what Apple claimed about it, in my opinion. I was saying that the vast majority of the hype came from the media and the general public.

Leading up to iDay I was following a lot of different outlets for info on the iPhone. I was reading all I could on it, articles and user reactions and opinions. I witnessed people saying things about the iPhone that Apple never claimed, that no one of any authority ever claimed, that turned out to be false or blown way out of proportion. These sorts of things were coming from pretty reputable sources (as far as tech journalism goes), as well as users posting random things.

I think many people took a lot of that made up hype as truth. A lot of people thought that the iPhone was supposed to destroy all known mobile phones on the market. They thought it was supposed to directly compete with Blackberry, Treo, etc., as well as every other phone out there. It even went as far as gaining the nickname "The JesusPhone", the savior if you will. This was great for Apple, since they got more attention than even they thought was possible leading up to the launch. Apple on the other hand did and said very little after the January Keynote address. Aside from putting up a section on their site for the iPhone, and then releasing a few commercials as we got closer to launch, they did virtually nothing to add to the hype.

So now we have the people who are dissatisfied with the iPhone. They complain about its lack of features like full blown SDK for development, lack of GPS, lack of 3G, etc etc. Some people believed the hype and thought it would solve all of their problems. Some people didn't even pay attention to what Apple was saying, instead listening to other sources that were misleading. (see the thread about the "hidden" charge for battery replacement, that was never really hidden). That's just one example of many things I've seen.

Every person I've talked to personally that has an iPhone has nothing but praise for it. They all have very short lists of things they'd like to see added, but even they admit those things are minor. It just so happens that those people didn't pay attention to the hype. They may have seen the Keynote, and/or watched Apple's commercials, but other than that didn't get into the Internet's mad rush of hype.

-Q- · Jul 13, 2007, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by eScrib

Would you all terminate an existing contract and pay the termination fee to get the iPhone?

I would have had to do so as I'd just gotten a new Blackberry Pearl this past October with T-mobile. However, the nice people at T-mobile upped the cost of text messages if I went over my plan, and that gave me a viable out for my contract without having to worry about the termination fee.

But yes, even if I had to, I would have dropped t-mobile and paid the fee.

And on a side note, so far I've been very pleased with AT&T's coverage here in Atlanta. In areas that I'd previously drop calls on the t-mobile network I'm getting excellent signal strength. So while the lock-in to one provider was mildly concerning when I started considering the iPhone (I'd been a happy t-mobile customer for about 5 years), I've been very pleased so far with the overall phone coverage of AT&T. Their EDGE network definitely needs some work tho'.

-Q- · Jul 13, 2007, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

Every person I've talked to personally that has an iPhone has nothing but praise for it. They all have very short lists of things they'd like to see added, but even they admit those things are minor. It just so happens that those people didn't pay attention to the hype. They may have seen the Keynote, and/or watched Apple's commercials, but other than that didn't get into the Internet's mad rush of hype.

I think this is the key part here. The iPhone isn't perfect. I have things I'd like to change, but as ::maroma:: said, they're minor and don't really impact my enjoyment of using this device. It's been a *long* time since I've sat down and just played with a gadget. And the iPhone really is *fun*. Going to kill my battery sooner than most just b/c this thing is so much fun to use.

danuff · Jul 14, 2007, 09:59 PM

Q: Would you buy the iPhone again?
A: See subject.

Why?
Ever since I got my first cell phone back in the early 1990's, the iPhone is the first one that I see me keeping (or upgrading) for a very long time. I am also a person with a disability (moderate Cerebral Palsy) and I find that I can operate ALL of the iPhone's functions better then I ever could with my other (less function) phones.

Dan Uff

icruise · Jul 14, 2007, 10:01 PM

All right, who's the wise guy who said no?

iMag · Jul 15, 2007, 12:42 AM

The iphone is so beyond a status symbol. In all honesty it is revolutionary. The thought of loosing it is sickening. my wife suggested gluing it to my hand. She thinks anything that expensive should be insured by Lloyds of London. She is probabley right but truth be told, my butt would be heading straight for an att store to get a replacement. It is beyond cool that I am typing this comment on my iphone.

SirCastor · Jul 15, 2007, 02:00 AM

I didn't think the iPhone was going to be as good as it is. I thought it would be thicker, heavier, less elegant, and based on that, I bought into a two year contract with tmobile with my wife. The positives are that between the two of us, we don't nearly use the 700 minutes we have. She calls her Mom and her sister for free (myFavs deal), I call my Dad for free, and the rest of my family is with Tmobile, so that's free. For us to squeeze out of our contract, it would've cost us $400, and we'd be spending more of our non-unlimited time talking to those people. An individual iPhone plan would cost us as much as our family + free people + in network calling costs. I don't have a data plan, and I don't get unlimited SMS.

All that said, I would LOVE to have an iPhone, and I'm disappointed that I can't. Unfortunately for me, what I'm doing right now makes more sense than having one. If I could go back to April and make the decision, I would've waited for the iPhone, and ended up paying more (and personally getting more). But there's definitely no logical reason to try to switch now.

jared747 · Jul 15, 2007, 02:25 AM

I would buy another iPhone if the one I have ever walks of or gets left behind. Heck of an expensive mistake if it happens, but I just love this phone! The possibilities are endless with OS X on this phone, my bet is the best will only get better over time, yes I plan to buy 3G when it comes out as well as any other major improvement.

mpetrides · Jul 15, 2007, 12:44 PM

I'd get another iPhone in a heartbeat if something happened to my current one. In fact, I will probably get a 2nd gen one as soon as they come out and keep this one, too.

I LOVE my iPhone...and it can only get better with time. http://forums.macnn.com/images/smilies/up.gif I've already found a workaround for porting text notes over to the iPhone (which had been the primary missing feature for me).http://forums.macnn.com/images/smili...ol/biggrin.gif

gansan · Jul 15, 2007, 01:49 PM

I agree with everyone in that this is the most fun gadget that I've seen in a long time, maybe ever. (OK, my Apple //c might have been even more fun in my youth.) I think what's more exciting is that we are still at version 1.0, and I have high confidence we will see the iPhone software evolve much more than we see in other phones, including Smartphones. New features, bug fixes, and enhancements will make this a much cooler ownership experience than other phones.

My previous phone was a Sony Ericsson K750i. Very good camera, decent UI, good sync support with iSync, but doesn't come close to the iPhone experience. And even though there have been various firmware updates over the past few years, none of them provided any significant feature upgrade--just bug fixes. The few J2ME apps I installed, such as GMail, Google Maps, and Opera Mini were fun toys, but nothing on the level of what is in the iPhone.

chrisutley · Jul 15, 2007, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

So now we have the people who are dissatisfied with the iPhone. Some people believed the hype and thought it would solve all of their problems.
...
Every person I've talked to personally that has an iPhone has nothing but praise for it. They all have very short lists of things they'd like to see added, but even they admit those things are minor.

So to sum up, you cannot possibly be a rational person if you found yourself dissatisfied with the iPhone? That's ridiculous. I have been a fanatical Apple customer since the Apple II+, so I have no agenda here except to try to restore some balance to these one-sided "defend the iPhone at all costs" discussions. I really wanted to love the iPhone, but it's just not there yet - not for me anyway. The sum of its' parts cannot overcome the shortcomings, bugs, and omissions. Yes, I know software updates will follow, but I'd rather sit it out until a few of those updates and hardware fixes are in place.

lavar78 · Jul 15, 2007, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by chrisutley

So to sum up, you cannot possibly be a rational person if you found yourself dissatisfied with the iPhone? That's ridiculous.

It's ridiculous that you'd get that from this:

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

Some people believed the hype and thought it would solve all of their problems. Some people didn't even pay attention to what Apple was saying, instead listening to other sources that were misleading.

"Some" != "All"

chrisutley · Jul 15, 2007, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by lavar78

It's ridiculous that you'd get that from this: "Some" != "All"

I got "that" from the overall tone of the post, which implied the people unhappy with their iPhone must have been influenced by the hype, not legitimate gripes about the phone or service. I have picked the wrong place to have a rational discussion about the iPhone, too many Apple zealots getting in the way.

lavar78 · Jul 16, 2007, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by chrisutley

I got "that" from the overall tone of the post, which implied the people unhappy with their iPhone must have been influenced by the hype, not legitimate gripes about the phone or service. I have picked the wrong place to have a rational discussion about the iPhone, too many Apple zealots getting in the way.

Interesting that the guy looking for rational discussion takes the first opportunity to start name calling.

Anyway, I don't think he implied as much as you inferred. This is probably the most hyped piece of consumer electronics ever. Of course there are loads of people who bought into the hype and are now dissatisfied. That doesn't mean there aren't people who just don't think the phone suits their needs. The difference is that you're a part of a group that exists for any (and every) phone. The group he mentioned is almost exclusive to the iPhone.

SEkker · Jul 16, 2007, 10:21 AM

I'm an iPhone user since June 30 - I purchased it because I went to an Apple store to see if they had demo models to look at (which they did), but they also still had some in stock.

I am still learning new features of this device after weeks of everyday use. And the third-party apps (web-based for now) are just coming online - in other words, the utility of the iPhone will only get better. I've even discovered one reason Apple went with the slow Edge network - its coverage area is quite a bit better than the 3G network, and having constant web access is a real boon for some features. Slow-and-always-on (EDGE), fast and intermittent = wifi (in the US - should be 3G and wifi in Europe, you lucky dogs!) And that switch is pretty seamless.

Despite the compromises Apple had to make on the iPhone in the US, the iPhone does what Apple claims, and does it well. The hype is exactly that - hype.

cmoney · Jul 16, 2007, 11:34 AM

Not only would I buy it again, I truly doubt I will ever buy any other phone again. Unless the next Motorola/Nokia/Sony Ericsson phone can do all the exact same stuff while being as seamlessly integrated with my Mac and iTunes, with twice the battery life and some magical screen that can do both a virtual and physical keyboard (like it can raise parts of the screen).

For me at least, I don't see any other cell phone living up to iPhone standards ever again.

lkrupp · Jul 16, 2007, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by quiklee

To tell you the truth, I'm shocked at the poll results so far. I've been coming to this forum for a solid 2 weeks now and it just seems like a whine fest for iphone users, so I really thought some people wouldn't want to buy it again. I guess I was wrong.

By the way, I would buy it again too

When are people finally going to realize that there is a significant percentage of the population that complains about EVERYTHING! And because of the anonymity of the internet and forums there are large numbers of trolls who scour forums to post negative comments just to see the responses. I'm betting that fully half of the negative comments made about the iPhone are from people who don't own, never will own one, and have no intention of owning one. They just want to rile people up. Current American pop culture dictates that you haven't arrived socially until you become someone's victim so it's perfectly fashionable to be a whining crybaby about every aspect of one's life in order to enhance one's victimhood.

chrisutley · Jul 16, 2007, 06:01 PM

Here we go again ... LOL - So you must be a troll if you have complaints about the iPhone.

Some of you should go to the Apple discussion boards for a does of reality. Granted the people there are mostly people with problems seeking solutions, so it might distort reality. However, the MacNN forums distort reality in the other direction, so put the two together and maybe you have something realistic.

The one recurring theme I find everywhere I go, is that many people seem to be willing to accept the iPhone's flaws in anticipation of future updates and fixes. Only Apple knows what the future holds, but it should be interesting if the iPhone goes without any significant enhancements in the next 6-months.

Originally Posted by lkrupp

When are people finally going to realize that there is a significant percentage of the population that complains about EVERYTHING! And because of the anonymity of the internet and forums there are large numbers of trolls who scour forums to post negative comments just to see the responses. I'm betting that fully half of the negative comments made about the iPhone are from people who don't own, never will own one, and have no intention of owning one. They just want to rile people up. Current American pop culture dictates that you haven't arrived socially until you become someone's victim so it's perfectly fashionable to be a whining crybaby about every aspect of one's life in order to enhance one's victimhood.

::maroma:: · Jul 16, 2007, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by chrisutley

So to sum up, you cannot possibly be a rational person if you found yourself dissatisfied with the iPhone? That's ridiculous. I have been a fanatical Apple customer since the Apple II+, so I have no agenda here except to try to restore some balance to these one-sided "defend the iPhone at all costs" discussions. I really wanted to love the iPhone, but it's just not there yet - not for me anyway. The sum of its' parts cannot overcome the shortcomings, bugs, and omissions. Yes, I know software updates will follow, but I'd rather sit it out until a few of those updates and hardware fixes are in place.

Excuse me, but I think you misread my post. You are sounding a bit defensive about your decision to return the iPhone. But I digress. What I was talking about were the people who bought into the hype, and didn't do what any good consumer would do and research a little, find out the nitty-gritty. I was not referring to someone such as yourself, who obviously knew what he needed and probably didn't buy into the hype and came to find that it just didn't hold up to what you needed.

At any rate, in no way did I mean to call out anyone who has a gripe with the iPhone is irrational. I never said that and I never implied it. You chose to make that the "tone" of my post. From your other posts in this thread I think you're taking people's observations on some of the dissatisfied customers a little too personally. No one is attacking you, nor are they attacking "everyone" who returned or are dissatisfied with their iPhone. They are talking about the group of people (and there are plenty of them) who bought into the massive hype, found out that the iPhone wasn't what the hype suggested it would be, and then chose to bash Apple for not giving them what they expected.

And I don't think you can judge any sort of consumer satisfaction levels by visiting Internet forums. Most forums are for complaints, which will skew your view of reality for sure. I think the poll taken last week of 1000 iPhone buyers that said something like 95% were extremely satisfied with it is also skewed. I think the reality is that most people are pretty damn happy with it, some found that it wont suit their needs, some found that they shouldn't believe the hype.

icruise · Jul 16, 2007, 07:17 PM

People tend to go to Apple's forums for technical support issues more than MacNN, which is more about discussion and not specific issues. So yeah, you'll get more problems and complaining on Apple's forums. And as I've mentioned before, the kind of people who read MacNN are more likely to be favorably disposed toward the iPhone. But I think general tone here is that most people are very satisfied, while admitting that there's certainly some room for improvement.

There are always going to be people who will complain about everything, and there will always be people who think Apple can do no wrong. But in this case, the people in the middle seem to think the positives of the iPhone far outweigh the negatives.