[DM-MUG] daft enough

[Bill Davis]

On Aug 7, 2007, at 10:21 PM, Matthew W. wrote:

> Well, I cannot say my Treos have survived unscathed when I've  
> dropped them (multiple times) They do look like h3ll, but they  
> didn't stop working.
>

Neither did the iPhone stop working....but the broken glass cover/ 
touch screen made it unsafe to use (can you say glass fragments in  
your cheek?)  Yet they did a TOTAL replacement of the phone instead  
of just fixing the damaged glass cover and chrome at a cost of $270.  
That's far too much money and shouldn't have been necessary if they  
had not used glass.  The LCD under the glass was fine.  The phone  
worked, the camera worked, it charged, it synched, heck the  
touchscreen even kept working... all was fine except the broken glass  
cover they added at the last minute and a bit of scuffing on the chrome.

I'm not surprised the Treos didn't survive unscathed; they've always  
seemed a bit fragile to me too, most notably all those little  
keyboard buttons.  Tailor-made to pop off when you drop it! That was  
one reason I never bought one (the other was I wanted a larger screen  
such as the TX and LifeDrive have for ebooks and spreadsheets and such.)

If they made a TX or LifeDrive that was a phone, I'd buy it in a  
heartbeat.  Or would have, anyway.  Instead, Palm has consistently  
fumbled the ball over and over and over and the company is at death's  
door....except for the Treo and even that's getting long in the  
tooth.  I'm hoping the iPhone will eventually be a  
replacement....once the hackers get going and create the development  
tools that Apple hasn't provided. They're well on their way already!


> It is a little bit more than a phone

So is the Treo, though.


> and you really can't blame Apple because it broke when it was dropped.


Oh, I disagree totally.  I most certainly CAN and DO blame Apple.  If  
it happens again I will NOT be paying for a replacement; they'll  
replace it free or I will raise a big-time stink with BBB and anyone  
else I can think of.  Maybe State of Iowa/Attorney General under the  
"Lemon Law" or something like that, too.

Mobile devices need to be sturdier than the iPhone is, ESPECIALLY  
cell phones: witness my other three phones that have been fallen on  
and dropped a lot and had no problems over the last decade plus...  
yet the iPhone breaks in less than a month.   A case should NOT be  
necessary. It never was for ANY of my cell phones; all I ever used  
was a belt clip holster to attach it to my belt, the whole holster  
remained on my belt when I removed the phone for use.

Apple did not design the iPhone hardware with mobility in mind, they  
designed it "pretty".  They should be held accountable.  I've dropped  
my iPods and THEY didn't break in similar situations.  Hell, I've  
even dropped my PowerBook G4 from higher than I did the iPhone and  
while the metal on one corner "tore", the HUGE glass screen did NOT   
break and the unit remained (remains) functional over a year later.

The iPhone is quite simply too fragile and this is unacceptable.    
Wait and see: someone out there WILL file a class action suits  
because of this fragility.  I've already heard complaints about it  
online.

Make no mistake, except for this fragility and a few small software  
limitations I REALLY like my iPhone.  MUCH more than I liked my RAZR  
(and I liked it quite a bit).  Some of the software limitations have  
ALREADY been improved by Apple, which is a good sign for the future.

But when Apple makes a mistake (the glass screen cover) they need to  
be called on it and word needs to be spread so customers can take  
steps to deal with it.   I'd recommend the iPhone to anyone over any  
other phone...but warn them about the fragility compared to other  
phones.

  - Bill