change

6 reasons NOT to buy an iPhone: They are expensive, crippled and outdated

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With all the hoopla surrounding the Apple Iphone 3G, I took a look at the device which is available in Taiwan through Chunghwa Telephone company. But I was seriously dismayed and opted for my Nokia for a number of good reasons. The Apple iPhone promises so much in terms of customer benefits that I was surprised how poorly it stacked up against my Nokia phone.

1. Functionality: it’s crippled in many functions.

Everyone raves about the iPhone and how it looks. In reality, there are basic functions that any standard 3G phone can do that iPhone cannot. The iPhone in version 2 is still crippled by Apple in significant ways. There is no cut or paste function, no multi-media email function, no video function, it’s unable to multi-task with 3rd party apps in the background, SMS can’t be forwarded, no tethering either so you can surf from your notebook, no FM radio, no in-built flash… to mention the most obvious ones. That the iPhone is crippled is obvious (when many competitors can provide these services and functions), the real question is why.

2. Repairs: Can’t replace your battery yourself.

For most repairs, you have to return your phone to the manufacturer for repair. With Apple, you have to return your phone to them when you want to change the battery. This adds to the expense, you’re without a mobile phone for the time it’s away, and probably your data, too. Doubtless, replacing the battery will be more expensive, too, as Apple are the ONLY authorised reseller of batteries. Can you imagine Nokia, Sony, or Motorola requiring their phones to be returned to change the battery? The repairs alone for replacing the battery will be US$85, and they WILL erase all your data for you for free. Thanks, Apple. (oh, by the way, my Nokia battery is replaced by me WITHOUT any data loss)…

3. Tied one provider: And one only.

With my nokia phone, I’m able to go to any provider and purchase a mobile service. The typical deal with Apple is that there is one service provider who is authorised to sell telephone service in a particular market. But that company may not be the best service provider in your area, or even the most competitive. It’s likely that the competitor will provide less than stellar support as well.

4. Expansion slots: What are they for?

There are no expansion slots for additional memory: in other words, you can’t add a memory card with an extra 8GB or 16GB of memory. At a time, when even the humblest made in China phones come with memory slots for SD cards or minicards, Apple can’t even add one to the machine. But then Apple claim that they are doing it for the convenience of consumers. It’s really convenient NOT to be able to slip in an extra RAM card. Oh, yes. That’s right… you have to send it away to do any repairs. Good luck with that one!

5. Intransparent pricing: It sucks to be a customer.

When I went to the Apple Iphone website in Taiwan, I was greeted by a hugely confusing pricing table that included no less than three different pricing structures each with variations in the pricing. In fact, the iPhone 3G was quoted at over fifteen different price points on the same page. Amazing? Confusing? The irony: only two of those price points were cheaper than my Nokia phone. Oh, and each pricing plan required a different deposit.

It will cost you more, MUCH more than other phones… By my own calculations, it will cost a minimum of 32% to over 70% more on the first plan than my own service + phone package. The basic plans are more affordable, but the initial outlay is quite considerable. You are expected to outlay more than 2/3rd of the cost at purchase point.

6. Apps: Tight control by Apple?

Now Apple supporters will croon: but you can easily add apps from other missing functionality. And it’s true. But why should I have to suffer all of these software limitations when other devices can do all this and more, just as easily, more cheaply, and with less inconvenience for the customer, OUT OF THE BOX! Tell me. But worse, Apple will only permit certain programs on their system and will pull licenses or restrict software in the iPhone App Store that they deem unsuitable for their phone. If this were only for issue of safety and reliability, perhaps it would be less of a concern. But it’s not.

So, in reality, the Apple Iphone will cost you a lot more money than almost any other similarly powered device available today. It is behind the times in technical capability in a number of ways, too. And your tied in so many ways, it’s unbelievable that anybody would consider such a beast. So, save your money, save your hassle, buy a better phone than iPhone3G and tell Apple to do better ‘next time’.

So can anybody explain to me why people are queueing up to buy a black brick with a nice screen and a price that leads to serious sticker shock?

Panasonic, Prada and Perspectives: Change isn’t that hard, is it?

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Flower shopping: a whole new world view! 

Just yesterday, I went with Christine to a flower market in Taipei. This is something I normally hate doing, but this time something twigged: I may not appreciate the enjoyment and satisfaction she has from growing and keeping plants, but I could enjoy another aspect that I already knew about – taking photographs of the specimens. And the new power zoom of my Panasonic Lumix made it that much more fun.

Fashion affects us all

While I was thinking about this, another example sprang to mind: The Devil Wears Prada. Since this movie is set in the fashion world, most of the girls I knew reckoned that I wouldn’t or couldn’t possibly enjoy this movie. But they were wrong! And I was teased mercilessly for enjoying a ‘chick flick’ but I didn’t see it as a ‘chick flick’ at all. Far from it.

What was my secret? I had found something that I really enjoyed in the movie, the intrigue, the lead character called Miranda Priestly – played by Meryl Streep (one of my favorites since I first saw her in “Out of Africa”) – and the whole business of the fashion world. I also loved the idea that the fashion magazines were somehow connected to our daily lives, as Andy Sachs promptly found out, when lashed by Miranda’s tongue in the following diatribe:

Miranda Priestly: [Miranda and some assistants are deciding between two similar belts for an outfit. Andy sniggers because she thinks they look exactly the same] Something funny?

Andy Sachs: No, no, nothing. Y’know, it’s just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. Y’know, I’m still learning about all this stuff.

Miranda Priestly: This… ‘stuff’? Oh… ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back.

But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers.

Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

Shift your focus: Shift your future

That’s when it suddenly hit home to me, if I’m struggling to understand why something is interesting to other people, I just need to shift my focus to something that I am already familiar with, and perhaps, just perhaps I can make a connection with it that helps me to ‘get it’.

When I first started doing the finances, and handling the money, it was a very difficult time for me, as I had to learn new ideas and unlearn my former prejudices – thinking about, talking about, and taking action on finances weren’t things that came easy to me.

How Things Change

In fact, it would be impossible for me to imagine then that I could be writing a finance column about money, investing, loans, credit cards, blogging and technology (to name a few of my themes!). But somewhere between the date I got married in June 1995 and when we bought the house in 1999, a transition took place in my brain that allowed me to grasp ideas and information that had been ‘foreign’ to me for a long time.

Have you had a similar experience? Share with us.  Ever had to tackle something that you had a distaste for? What happened?

Working hard? Take a break or just a change of office space!

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The InvestorBlogger would love a change of pace, and a change of space! And if he didn’t have his own place of business, the life of an itinerant blogger might be just thing. Just imagine the places he could go… perhaps even taking a Caribbean cruise on the Queen Mary 2.

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Of course, the trick with a cruise has to be that you don’t get stuck on board the ship for too long. You need a chance to hop off and on, so an island cruise is perhaps best for this: you get the chance to visit different places, and can return to your own luxury hotel on the ocean.

Oh, and indeed it is a luxury: copious amounts of space (for a ship), hotel-standard suites and rooms (no hammocks here!), lots of recreational activities, restaurants, movies, exercise, and so on.

800px-Roadtown, Tortola

This may not be cheap, but you’ll likely fine a cruise to suit your own pocket as Holiday Hypermarket offers a variety of cruises, ships, room and flights, and so on. Just make sure your room has a data socket for access to the Internet! Then you’ll be able to make all your readers envious of your life style!

So, on a cruise, here’s my itinerary (with suggested activities for bloggers) for those sailing from New York:

Day -3 You fly to New York , check into your hotel. Blog about your flight!

Day -2 You tour New York , do all the touristy things… and check out the places where InvestorBloggers dream about: the NYSE, Wall Street, and the other financial attractions! You take photos of these great places and write them up in your blog! Try to ‘bump’ into some of the people who work there, and interview one or two them for a podcast!

Day -1 It’s SHOPPING ! You get stuff for the Caribbean trip and learn how to spell it properly for your blog postings! Clue: it’s NOT Carribean as I thought!

Day 0 You get to the ship and embark, taking as many pictures, videos and recordings as you can! The Queen Mary 2 is a fantastic ship… You can simply put the best ones on your blog, add video to YouTube, and post the stuff. You won’t need to write much. The ship departs at 7:00 pm. It’s probably getting dark, get ready from some wonderful scenic shots of the city.

Days 1-2 You are on the ocean , relaxing and making good use of all the recreational activities. Of course, you manage to do some real postings!… Remind people that your blog isn’t ALL play, and NO work!

Day 3 Your arrival in the British Virgin Islands where you will come across your first Caribbean experiences of the sands, seas and atmosphere! Tortola welcomes you! At night, you post pictures and share how you achieved your dream vacation!

Day 4 lands you on St. Kitts where you’ll see the colonial old town, fortress and markets! Perhaps a little light blogging and email before bedtime!

Day 5 is on to Bridgetown, Barbados . In Barbados, you get time to stay overnight and enjoy the real Caribbean lifestyle. Perhaps it’s time for some lively blogging and photos about how the other half really live! Show your readers, too. They’ll believe you are the other half!

Day 6 will show you how the local people on St. Lucia run their markets as you shop for antiques, souvenirs, and whatever else takes your fancy! Markets are a wonderful place to shop, and you require your wits… it’s so different to the sterile stores of North America! You can blog about how the locals trade and do business! Sprinkle the post liberally with shots of the markets, people and products.

Day 7 In St. Thomas , you’ll be able to experience quaint streets lined by duty-free boutiques. What are those taxes for after all? Blog about how taxes are used to rob the rich, pay for services, or redistribute wealth! Whatever angle takes your fancy! But do make your readers envious as you purchase perfumes, wines and all manner of goods duty free!

Days 8-9 see you on the high seas , but you ain’t no pirate! Still time for a little swashbuckling on your blog! You’ve got time to reflect on your time as you begin the trip home.

Day 10 it’s back to New York . Time to attend to some banking, investing, bookstores, good restaurants, and theater. Then off home. No time to blog much except at the airport, as you wait for your flight back to Taiwan.

So, there you go, the flights, the cruise, the itinerary and a blogging schedule… What else do you need? Why are you still reading this? Go, now, go…

Thanks for lettting me cruise the blogosphere with you from HolidayHypermarket.co.uk.