Form vs. Function: My new iPhone 3g vs. my trusty old BlackBerry Pearl (and Frequency of Use)
BY Editweapon @ July 12, 2008
I bought a new iPhone 3G yesterday with my good friend, and major Mac enthusiast, Justin Youens. You may remember him from such things as getting me to buy a MacBook Pro in May. That turned out to be a good switch. (Although I do still miss Outlook on Windows. Oh well, I just do less email now.)
After 24 hours with the iPhone, I’ve decided that the iPhone chose form over function in too many areas for my *particular* (anal) self.
Two Examples of Choosing Form over Function
1) Lack of Copy & Paste. If a friend texts you to say, "Hey what Rich’s number?", how can you do this easily without copy and paste?
Or how about when you need to check-in online for your Southwest flight? Who can remember 6 random alpha-numeric characters after 4 beers?
I had to perform both tasks this evening. Neither are uncommon, at all.
Better sharpen those memorization skills friends.
Btw, here’s a hilarious spoof / "proof of concept" for adding Copy and Paste.
iPhone Copy and Paste from lonelysandwich on Vimeo .
2) Lack of App switching , or what I call "Alt + Tab" from my Windows days. If you’re composing a tweet using the Twitterific app on iPhone and someone calls you, Twitterific closes and you lose what you were typing. How do I know? It just happened.
A Freak about Frequency
These two complaints may seem mundane, but I’m an freak about frequency — the more often something is used, the easier it should be to access, use, and put away. When re-designing information architecture on a website or software application, I rely on this principle just as often, if not more, than any other usability principle.
To make anything easier to use, you must organize based upon frequency of use.
(HINT: It’s not the fancy-smancy stuff, it’s the meat and potatoes of any app or site.)
Three Other Complaints
1) Battery life sucks. How many times should one expect to see this screen on one’s iPhone each day? I’ve seen it twice in 24 hours, and I’ve used the phone no more than 2 hours, almost none of it talking or GPS, both of which are rumored to be expensive on the battery.
2) Down is Up. While on MacBook, I move two fingers DOWN the touchpad to scroll DOWN the page. That’s logical. But when I’m on the iPhone, it’s the opposite — moving my finger DOWN makes the page go UP. So far trying to get my mind switch between modes on is tougher than chicken breast on the grill after 45 minutes.
Side note: Sliding two fingers down the touchpad of the MacBook Pro to scroll down a page is probably my favorite part of using this machine. Why? Frequency of use! Since my fingers are always only centimeters away from the touchpad, I can move there QUICKLY, and then back to the keyboard. I don’t have to ever reach over for the mouse wheel or worse, move the cursor to the skinny vertical scroll bar.
3) Phantom Deletes. Anyone else having the delete key phantom backspace a whole bunch of characters? I’ve had it happen about 5 times now.
Most Surprisingly: Typing
The thing I was worried about the most — typing without tactile feedback — is actually not that bad. In just 24 hours, I’ve gotten pretty fast, mostly in part to Apple’s AWESOME word correction. I can type "ronirrow" and have it fix that to "tomorrow"…impressive guys! Much better in fact that Blackberry’s built-in corrector which I still fight 5 or 6 times per day.
The (Ironchef) Verdict
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best…
- Form: iPhone = 5, Blackberry Pearl = 4
- Function: iPhone = 2, Blackberry Pearl = 5
- Total: iPhone = 7, Blackberry Pearl = 9
Blackberry Pearl, you are the winner!
My Video Rants that Started this Post
Like I tweeted to Justin, sorry for being such an iPhone hater tonight. But I’m wired the way I’m wired. Function matters to me a shitload more than form.
Loading …UPDATE: Two more complaints.
1) Voice quality. iPhone through headphones is only about 60% the crispness of BB on Tmobile. iPhone is better on speakerphone than my BB, but that seems odd.
2) AT&T Customer Service. Closed on Sunday. All day. (What, are they Chick-filet?) However when I called T-Mobile this morning — and talked to a human — Melinda was so happy to hear from me and was ready that moment to reclaim me as a customer.
MAIN PROBLEMS
1) Lack of Copy & Paste
———————————–
First, this wasn’t accidently left out… the phone was designed so that you shouldn’t need to copy paste. (Good linking between apps, etc.) There has been a lot of feedback about it however, so it’s widely expected they will release this feature in a future OS update. Personally, I missed it right after getting an iPhone last year as I used copy/paste on my Treo quite a bit, but I haven’t though of it since. I can’t really recall a time recently when I was like… “Whoa, I sure wish I had copy/paste.” The examples you gave are probably the most common… in that case I have this really cool gadget called a pencil, and I write it down or something. Like I said, that’s even rare.
2) Lack of App switching
———————————–
Two things: First, it’s a GOOD thing that apps aren’t allowed to run in the background. One app at a time helps avoid the situation of Windows Mobile… slow phone and battery death. (You just think it’s bad now!) But that doesn’t have to affect your phone usage! Apple gives developers the opportunity to “save state” upon application exit (even if you got a call/text/etc). The problem with Twitterific is squarely without a doubt on Twitterific. They should be saving what you were typing, and bringing you back to that point when you relaunch. I’m sure they’ll address that in an update.
OTHER COMPLAINTS
1) Battery life sucks
———————————–
First off, I’m doubting you had the thing fully charged to begin with. Even if the battery symbol is full, it’s not fully charged until that sucker is glowing. (It does a quick charge to what appears to be full really fast.) But, that said, I used mine for way way way more than 2 hours yesterday, and I guess I had about 40% left when I went to bed. I was on WIFI most of the time, lots of games, etc. I’m not sure why yours would be running down so fast… I guess you can try disabling 3G in favor of Edge (which is the same as your Pearl anyway, no?) and turning off the GPS completely. Then, unless you just have that big gorgeous power-consuming screen on doing something for a long time, it shouldn’t run down… assuming it’s charged fully. If it still does, then there is either a software bug that should be fixed, or you need to return it for a new one.
2) Down is Up
———————————–
Get over it.
3) Phantom Deletes
———————————–
I’ve read about people having this issue with the beta firmwares of 2.0, though I haven’t myself. Not sure what the deal is with that. Either your finger is touching something strange (have no clue what though) or that’ll be fixed in a software update too.
IN GENERAL:
The iPhone will only get better with software updates and new apps. Everything, including battery life, can and will be addressed at some point. You can go ahead and get your Pearl going again… but I think if you wait it out you’ll learn to appreciate why it is how it is. The 3rd party apps to come (games aside even) are justification enough to give up copy/paste IMO… but to each his own.
Justin, that’s a damn good rebuttal, tho it doesn’t fully sway me. What if I returned the iPhone, kept my BB, and bought an iPod Touch instead…don’t those still do most of the same App Store games and apps?
I have to agree with everything you said, those are all the reasons I will stick with my Treo, the iphone still has a lot of improving to do. Also, lack of a landscape keyboard is a killer for me. However, I have heard Apple is testing an iphone with a sliding keyboard. Good rebuttal from Justin but not persuasive enough.
And what will you say about my new Gphone?
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/13/gphone-may-really-happen-and-ammunition-group-may-be-designing-it/
(More importantly, what will I say about it?)
Justin, RE: the comment you made about charging. I charged it over night on a wall plug.
If GPS and 3G eat up so much battery, where in Settings do I turn either of those off to do a test for conserving batter?
I think the gphone is a myth, it has been rumored for over a year now. I have a hard time believing that Google wants to break into that competitive of a market. But, I could be wrong.
Settings > Network to turn off 3g
and
Settings > Location Services… though, it only uses that when you are on an app that gets your location, so you can leave that one I suppose.
As I side note, my first iPhone’s battery ran out before the end of the day for about a week straight. I think it was because I was playing with it a lot more than I thought. Over the past year, it wasn’t common for me to go 2-3 days without a charge. I’m sure this 3g is worse in battery life by their own admission with 3g on, but I don’t think it is that big of a difference.
Yes though, the Touch will give you access to a lot of the apps, but not all. Basically, a developer must check that the app they submit works on a Touch also. Basically, if the app users location assistance, it probably wont be available unless they compile another version without it. (Market probably not big enough for most small apps to go through the trouble for something that has to be on WiFi to work.) But most all the games should work on the touch.
I think the “killer-apps” to come though will be specialized business apps tying into [insert your most important system/software here]. Those will probably be mobile-focused… the touch being WiFi only wouldn’t be very handy unless you track down hotspots. And if you do have a hotspot and a computer, might as well use that.
gPhone - I’ll buy one of those too. Different number perhaps… already planning to get an Android phone when they come out in mass for development purposes.
Nothing wrong with a BlackBerry I suppose. To me, it gives me no more *function* than an iPhone. But to you it may… so go with that.
(You’ll still be back… one day… mooohahahhahahaha!)
Edit: It wasn’t *un*common for me to go 2-3 days without a charge I mean.
Dude… all this and I forgot the most important feature that makes it 10000x times better than the Blackberry. It has a real web browser. Flash aside, you can do anything from that web browser, without the frustration and pain from most other mobile web browsers. In other words, you aren’t just getting all the app store apps, you are getting mobile access to just about every web application ever built. (Jigster works great for example) It’s hard to appreciate that after just getting it, but it would be horrendous to go back to something else after that.
And remember, you’re talking to someone who has had quite a selection of smart phones. (3 windows mobile, 3 blackberries, and 2 iphones). I’m just sayin’.
Here’s what you should wait for: http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/13/blackberry-thunder-first-ever-live-pics-unearthed/
Nice write up, I haven’t left my Pearl for the first iPhone and won’t for the iPhone 3G either - it just does the functional things better and does what I want the way I want it.
The iPhone does have some cool apps but that’s not nearly enough for me to switch AND pay double for service that has less data options than my current unlimited data plan with Tmo and dealing with AT&T.
Thx for the real comparison.
I’m surprised your finding it so form over function heavy. Not that you need to hear from ANOTHER kool-aid drinking, mac fanboy (love you Justin), but I wonder how much of it is a familiarity issue over actual functionality issues.
Some of your cons are exactly mine, copy/paste for instance, seems like a no brainer. I know they tried to eliminate the need through simplification and making things like addresses and phone numbers “smart”, but I find myself wishing it was there at least once a month. At least it’ll be a software update if and when they do add that feature.
Battery life on mine is fantastic, goes about three days of regular use without a charge. But that doesn’t help you. Maybe you got a poo poo battery?
The scrolling “down is up” issue… really? I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that. I know it’s backwards from mouse or trackpad input on a pc, but it’s a different animal. The interface is quite literally “touch”. If you were reading a long sheet of paper on a table in front of you, and you reached a point where you needed to slide that paper to read more, which direction would you press and slide? It’s just seems intuitive.
A comment on general usability: I needed to test a website we were building on a BB, so I borrowed Drake’s to pull it up. It took me 3 minutes to remember how to open the browser and navigate to a URL… and I was a BB user for 2 years. Once I got it, it all came back and made sense. BUT, there has never been a case where I’ve handed my iPhone to someone to play with and they have asked “how do I do ____”. They just know, and it just does what you’d think it would do. That said, maybe it’s TOO simple (if there is such a thing). Maybe it’s too dumbed down or slick for the mega-power users?
The extensibility alone is worth tolerating the cons for me. And I don’t mean being able to turn my screen all white and call it a flashlight, or have it make the super mario sound every time I jump. I’m talking about gaining functionality at an OS level. Getting things like MS Exchange support, copy/paste, voice dial, etc. from a simple software update. While having applications in your pocket that enrich the daily routine. Like hearing a song on the radio and being able to hold your phone up to it to find out what it’s called, who sings it, what album it’s on and an option to buy it right there. Things like that take this phone out of the realm of a straight communication device, and turn it into something much more.
Sorry for the long post, the thoughts just kept coming. I’m off to go jump around the house sounding like mario.
That’s an awesome post Casey!
Ok. So I had voice mail problems yesterday and called AT&T at 1:30am AZ time. Got a CS rep on the phone in 2 mins and he fixed my problem in less than 5 mins. So unsure how you got jacked up? Maybe because I set mine up as a business account?
Also - want another reason to stay?
http://iphone.wordpress.net
Whoop - there it is.
Been there. Done it. I was ranting and raving about my first iPhone August 27, 2007. May of the same complaints you have. I have days I miss my BlackBerry. Other items you didn’t document:
Voice dialing … miss that with my Bluetooth system in the auto.
Accept appointments / Add people to appointments … dah.
Wireless sync … why do I have to use a cable. Isn’t this the later half of 2008?
Single inbox … this missing feature almost has me ready to build my own iPhone app. A single inbox that consolidates all email accounts and SMS into one place, like I had on my BlackBerry.
NOW SOME POSITIVES FOR iPHONE:
Syncs with my MacBook Pro … BlackBerry sucked for me. Too many dups. Like you, I’m probably a heavy contact / calendar user. I hated dealing with sync issues.
BlackBerry email view sucks … no HTML rendering. Too many of my emails looked like crap.
Media … it’s the best PMSPD (Portable Media SmartPhone Device). I show clients “their” movies on my device.
Platform … I’m convinced that a year from now, we’ll be blown away by the apps available on the iPhone. Palm, RIM, MSFT, Nokia — they all missed this boat.
Damn Sexy … the longer I use Apple products, the more find other industrial design as sucky. Just look at any Dell product. Yuck. Apple does it right.
What you should know before switching from Blackberry to iPhone.
http://webworkerdaily.com/2008/07/15/the-former-blackberry-users-introduction-to-the-iphone/
Well i was looking frward to getting an iPhone but after reading throguh your post i think i will keep my dash for a little longer…..
My Iphone makes me feel like my mom. I am in agony every time she tries to find the “play” button on the VCR. I caught myself in the mirror the other day with my finger set to “push” but clueless as to what I was looking for. And if that screen goes black one more time when I am trying to figure it out….I AM GOING TO SCREAM!
LOL Glory! No one wants to feel like they are turning into their mother, ever.
PS - I know you can change the default screen settings in System Preferences.
PPS All - If you have been following my tweets (http://twitter.com/editweapon), you’ll see that I gave up trying to use iPhone as a phone and instead am going to use it as an iAwesomeHandHeldComputingDevice instead.
EditWeapon, just wanted to say you hit the nail on the head with this one. I stood in line for several hours but I’m going to return it for many of the same reasons you mentioned. (You can see specifics at my blog, http://www.beforeisleep.net )
I also came to the same main conclusion as you — that the iPhone is a wonderful handheld computer but a crappy email/PDA device. Likely solution? Stick with my Blackberry 8700 (at least until the Bold comes out), and pick up an iPod Touch…
I’m SO SICK of seeing this post on your site!! Write something for crying out loud!
Fine jerk, I’ll write something right now!
PS - I’ve been getting sick of this post too. Thx for the kick in the arse.