Apple’s recent launch of a few very popular services and products has brought many complaints and problems to the company. Despite this, the iPhone 3G has sold out practically everywhere, and the App Store is a huge hit, but Apple really needs to get on top of these issues. These products, namely iTunes 7.7, the App Store, and the iPhone 2.0 software, are near perfect, but each have its own flaws.
After the break I will outline some of these issues.
iTunes 7.7
Although this product’s initial failure could be blamed on the huge toll the servers were taking due to everyone trying to activate, it still needs some work. For one, syncing with the new iPhone 2.0 software isn’t quite there yet. For example, when you delete an app off of iTunes, but not your iPhone, that app will just be put back onto iTunes during the next sync, even though you don’t want it. Also, backing up iPhones with the new software takes an unbelievably long time, and some people have said those backups usually turn out to be corrupt. Let’s hope this gets fixed.
App Store
This part of the new iPhone was a huge success, with 10 million downloads in its opening weekend. It has brought amazing third party apps to the device that make it much better than competing phones. That said, the App Store isn’t perfect, either. For example, it still has some difficulty when it comes to determining which applications need updating and how many updates there are. In addition to this, many developers are not at all happy with the review system and how hard it is to debug their apps and talk to their customers.
iPhone 2.0 Software
This is probably the part that needs the most work. Many iPhone users are experiencing all sorts of lag when typing, opening applications, and doing everyday stuff. Along with that, many applications are crashing upon launch, even Apple made apps. Some may argue that the growing list of lacking features (copy and paste, turn by turn nav, etc.) could even be an iPhone 2.0 software issue. Items such as this are making the iPhone seem like a bad device even though it isn’t.
Did I miss anything? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.
I had to restore my iPod 3G and the backup was corrupt. iTunes said it was either for a previous version or corrupted. It wasn't for a previous version so….
Overall, 2.0 is not as zippy as 1.X was. I find that I don't have the confidence in doing things I did in my original iPhone. Reminds me of the Treo (yikes, I said it). I'm worried I am going to get into a state of unreliable.
Personally, I have had to restore about 12 times. My iPhone has repeatedly frozen up on at the Apple Logo and won't reboot. I have to force the iPhone into recovery mode. I believe the problem lies with the number of applications I have downloaded (50). Either way it goes, there is no reason backups should take 5 or 6 hours. Then when I try to restore from the backup, I get a "corrupted backup file" message. It has been a nightmare. I hope we get 2.1 SOON!!
Yep, you forgot the endless backup time on every sync ..
One thing that Apple has traditionally been very good at is getting a quick update out to deal with high priority issues – they are burning the midnight oil in Cupertino to deal with the biggies…
That being said, the time issue for backups may be a limitation of the phone processor – not the software. Not saying they won't come up with a creative solution – but that might take a bit more time.
I would love to see some form of system that would allow me to have my apps organized by type on individual pages – games for example – and being able to move these pages to an archive – swap out a game page for a productivity page – etc…
I also think there are some limits to what this sort of "system" can do – and Apple is pushing right up against those – so if you get 100s of emails a day – or want to carry 50 or so Apps around with you – this may not be the phone for you. I am having a hard time being sympathetic to the guy who could not understand why the "crappy iPhone battery" died after 6 straight hours of Sudoku [saw on another board],
frequent OS crashes are number one for me.
I crashed a good amount before but now it is every time I click something.
2 iPhones, 3G & Original both on V2.0 both sync & operate fine, perhaps a tad slower than 1.1.4. Mobil Me problems seem to be resolved and now working fine. Roll out of apps could use some validation testing, some crash but restart clears problem. Have not had an Apple app crash – all have been third party apps.