Proving that they are perhaps the least relevant technology publication on the planet, the folks at “PCWorld” have named the iPhone as one of the top 15 disappointments of 2007!!! This coming on the heels of “Time Magazine” naming the iPhone Invention & Gadget of the Year and “Consumer Reports” naming it the best smartphone.
I won’t link to the article because I assume it was in fact written as pure link bait. I thought we’d moved past the point where the haters would prove their stupidity by saying such things, but I guess ad dollars are hard to come by, so attacking the most popular cell phone in the universe may be all they have left.
Perhaps someone needs to create a biggest disappointment in technology journalism award and give it to “PCWorld.”
I assume the following will go unanswered - but just in case ANYONE over there at “PCWorld” has a set of stones, you have an open invitation to come be on the Apple Phone Show for a good old fashioned debate on this subject. I won’t hold my breath.
EDITOR NOTE: Comment was modified to remove link to PCWorld. As I said, I don’t want to reward link bait.
They didn’t really trash the phone so much as the ATT’s service and Apple’s handling of the device (The price drop and updates bricking unlocked phones). Which is fair I think.
Why can’t the iPhone be the Invention of the Year and be a disappointment?
I think the PC World article makes perfectly valid points that should be addressed and not discarded at face as ‘link bait’.
I love my iPhone. It’s my gadget of the year but I do have some reappointments. The PC World article states “….aside from minor flaws like …lack of Flash support, the phone itself is pretty terrific.” Right there is your acknowledgment of a terrific phone.
PC World then goes on to say “The $600 price tag–which soon dropped by $200 and then was followed by a $100 quasi-rebate–didn’t help.” I whole-heartedly agree. Now, I think it’s worth the $600 I paid for it. I’d pay that now, but the $200 price drop was lame- especially just to bump sales in effort to reach projected figures.
I will disagree with their take on the iBrick thing. I think Apple gave plenty of warning and those who got bricked deserved it.
Most of the closing paragraph is true “It’s time to treat iPhones for what they really are–pocket computers with phone functions built in–and open them up the world.” Apple agrees and is doing so. It wasn’t difficult to forecast the desire to add 3rd party applications on such an amazing platform.
It’s not link bait because it’s a perfectly valid The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007. Moreover, an article of that nature is inherently editorial and should be treated as such.
I’ve run across more than one person who says “isn’t that just the new iPod (meaning the Touch) with a phone built in?” Well yes, it is.
So, I conclude that, despite being a huge success and a (r)evolutionary device, the iPhone has left room for disappointment.
They haven’t been relevant for a long time. Every issue has some variation of 25 ways to speed up windows. The only honest answer to that is a Mac.
They also ranked Leopard as a bigger disappointment than Zune.
@scott - here is another iPhone hater column from this AM’s news roundup: http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=2890. Enjoy, or not. BTW, my lastest blog entry is more of my writing interest, and would also be of some interest to Scott@MBW.
I agree with you Scott, this is a desperate way to get hits on their site and readers. Little to do with fact.
You have to feel sorry for them really…being PC World, the only thing they had to write about for the holidays was the Zune.
Lets look at some choice quotes, post iPhone launch, shall we:
“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”
– Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO
“We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.”
– Ed Colligan, Palm CEO
“They would have been stepping in between us and our customers to the point where we would have almost had to take a back seat … on hardware and service support.”
– Jim Gerace, Verizon Wireless VP
Lastly, my personal favorite:
“What Apple risks here is its reputation as a hot company that can do no wrong. If it’s smart it will call the iPhone a ‘reference design’ and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else’s marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace failures.”
– John Dvorak, International Link Monger
When will they learn. Truthfully, I wish they would learn so we could have some better competition. Until then, long live the iPhone…..and Jobs.
Sorry Scott, I took the bait and went over there to pcworld.com to see if for myself and ran across the another list. The iPhone also ranks #2 on their “Top 10 Cell Phone Favorites for 2007″.
That “Biggest Disappointment List” is just honked up. They’re sounding like the combined PETA and Greenpeace of tech critics - they like nothing and are disappointed with everything. Talk about emo. Who hurt you Dan Tynan?
I agree, a shameless way to get people to view their page.
I did read the article and it seems as though they are ‘bitter-betty’s’. They dog on everything to try and sound as though they are ahead of the curve and know what’s cool and in. the reality is they are balding(with a bad comb over) and still trying to look cool!
Joe I realize that you enjoy being a contrarian - and based on some of your comments, I am pretty sure you’d gladly take any position opposite mine for sport, but here my friend, you are engaging in pure mental masturbation.
Let’s look at your comment…
You said…
*Why can’t the iPhone be the Invention of the Year and be a disappointment?
Not just a disappointment Joe - they are claiming it’s one of the biggest tech disappoints of the year. Context is important. And to further illustrate why they can’t have their cake and eat it too - let me give you an exercise. Next time your wife asks how she looks in her new dress - try telling her she looks beautiful AND fat. Let me know how that works out for you.
*I think the PC World article makes perfectly valid points that should be addressed and not discarded at face as ‘link bait’.
You are in the clear minority here Joe. You’re entitled to your opinion and I stand by mine.
*I love my iPhone. It’s my gadget of the year but I do have some reappointments. The PC World article states “….aside from minor flaws like …lack of Flash support, the phone itself is pretty terrific.” Right there is your acknowledgment of a terrific phone.
So how is it one of the biggest disappointments of the year? This is talking out both sides of the mouth and doesn’t make ANY sense.
*PC World then goes on to say “The $600 price tag–which soon dropped by $200 and then was followed by a $100 quasi-rebate–didn’t help.” I whole-heartedly agree. Now, I think it’s worth the $600 I paid for it. I’d pay that now, but the $200 price drop was lame- especially just to bump sales in effort to reach projected figures.
This is some of the most twisted logic I have ever heard. People are disappointed that the phone is now cheaper? Only in America. Maybe lame but to talk about a business decision in the context of evaluating a piece of technology while calling it one of the most disappointing products of the year is nothing short of BS.
*I will disagree with their take on the iBrick thing. I think Apple gave plenty of warning and those who got bricked deserved it.
But even if this has merit it still isn’t relevant.
*Most of the closing paragraph is true “It’s time to treat iPhones for what they really are–pocket computers with phone functions built in–and open them up the world.” Apple agrees and is doing so. It wasn’t difficult to forecast the desire to add 3rd party applications on such an amazing platform.
So their complaint is that it’s one of the biggest disappointments of the year because it doesn’t (but will) support 3rd party apps?
*It’s not link bait because it’s a perfectly valid The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007. Moreover, an article of that nature is inherently editorial and should be treated as such.
Editorial or not it’s pure link bait.
*I’ve run across more than one person who says “isn’t that just the new iPod (meaning the Touch) with a phone built in?” Well yes, it is.
So, I conclude that, despite being a huge success and a (r)evolutionary device, the iPhone has left room for disappointment.
Your last comment is completely off the subject but once again I ask where is the context - to call this one of the biggest tech disappointments of the year is to fly in the face of simple, undisputed facts.
The iPhone is one of the fastest selling cellphones of all time. It’s dominating every market it enters. It’s gotten more awards and more attention in six months than any other gadget. Every user survey shows an astonishing 85-90% approval rating for the phone by owners compared with 67-70% for most cell phones.
Sorry Joe - it’s linkbait. But thanks for playing.
Scott, thank you for at least quoting the article in your reply to Joe.
But If you’re going to open up an article for discussion, linkbait or not, you should provide a link to the article so it can be discussed fairly and honestly. Basic nettiquette. That’s why I at least tried to link to the article.
You could make that excuse for ANY article that would slam the iPhone, fairly or not. Just because it’s disparaging a poplular product it’s “linkbait” by default. An article with no controversy to it isn’t going to be linked to as much. It doesn’t automatically invalidate the article.
In THiS case though, I certainly agree it’s pretty much linkbait, because they just took the 15 most popular tech/internet products and called them a “disappointment.”
I agree with you Scott, the iPhone certainly was not a big disappointment. But I did agree with some of the points the article made, in particular with regard to ATT. The points weren’t enough to merit an automatic “disappointing product” though.
Peter while I completely reject your opinion that it’s basic nettiquette to link to an article I consider link bait, and while I don’t appreciate you trying to over ride that decision on a blog where you are a guest, I did allow you to speak your mind. That is the end of my obligation in my opinion. And even if you’re right about the nettiquette thing - I guess you’ll just have to write me off as being uncouth in that regard…and proud of it.
I COULD make that excuse for ANY article that slams the iPhone, but haven’t. As any careful reader will note I often point to articles that are critical of the iPhone. But in this case, in my opinion, and in the opinion of almost all those who commented on this story, I DID determine that it was link bait and acted accordingly. And will do so again when I so desire.
While the article had some nearly valid points, it was clearly written to run as link bait. And what’s particularly amusing to me is that you agree but seem to just feel the need to pick a nit.
[…] According to Bloomberg.com, “Apple Inc. surged to a record in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after more than doubling this year on sales of Macintosh personal computers and demand for the iPhone.” As of this writing, AAPL is at $200.62. Not too bad for a gadget PC World dubbed on of the top disappointments of 2007. […]