Re: [tlug] About to break down and get an iPhone

[Mark Makdad <makdad@example.com>]

On Sun, May 3, 2009 at 1:57 AM, Dave M G <dave@example.com> wrote:

My question to the group is if there is a good reason I should *not* get
an iPhone. Any reason at all. I've been rooting for some kind of open
source alternative to come along for ages now, but I just don't see it
happening. Am I wrong? Is there a better option than the iPhone? Is
there some flaw (like will I not be able to transfer files from my
Ubuntu machine to the iPhone?) that I'm not considering?

Dave,

There could be one very good reason, depending on how you use your phone now.

Apple and Softbank totally bungled the implementation of "keitai mail" when they brought the iPhone to Japan - likely they were rushing it to market.

In the US (and other countries as well), you can send SMS messages to any phone number - regardless of carrier.  In Japan, "C Mail" (what AU calls it, I am not sure of the Softbank name) you can only send text messages via SMS between people who are on the same carrier (yes I love this country sometimes...).

Therefore, the iPhone has a really, really slick "text messaging" feature that can only be used with other Softbank customers.  As for "regular old keitai mail", it has to be set up as an e-mail account on the phone.  The phone does not automatically retrieve new messages from the server.

As a hack (at least I assume it is a hack), Softbank had Apple engineer something so that when Softbank sends the phone a message saying "you have mail", it won't actually push the mail to the phone, and the phone won't swing into action and pull the message, but you will know you have a message.

So - you won't *miss* messages, but if you are texting back and forth with someone on a different carrier, you will have about 4-5 "taps" every time you want to read their message.

It is very lame, and I am hoping for a fix in a later firmware upgrade, but I would say that if you do a LOT of texting, it may be enough of a reason not to get an iPhone.  

Mark