I’ve been using an iPhone for slightly more than 1 year now and because of my connection with myMacBUZZ as well as my “expertise” on Apple products and being the technical editor in the magazine, a lot of people came to me and asked me if the iPhone is good.  So I’m writing this guide, as part of the guides in my blog.

Should I buy an iPhone?

There are a few things you need to consider:

• Are you buying it because your neighbor’s daughter’s boyfriend’s classmate’s friend has one?
• Are you buying it because it’s cool?
• Are you buying it because you think it’s beautiful but you know nothing about it?
• Are you buying it just to call, SMS and surf the web?

If your answers are “yes”, then don’t buy it.  The iPhone is not right for you.  It’s no doubt a beautiful and cool phone but it won’t be practical enough for you.  I’m always against those who buy the iPhone just for bragging rights.  If you don’t even know how to jailbreak your iPhone, you are not entitled to brag about it.   Even if you know how to do that, you don’t get to brag about it too.  Just go to a crowded mamak, I can guarantee you’ll see at least 1 person using the iPhone.  It’s not unique anymore.

If you:

• are a technical person and doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty when jailbreaking/unlocking your iPhone
• use your iPhone for more than just to call, SMS and surf the web

Then you should get the iPhone.  These are some of the basic things you’ll need to know to use one.

Pros and Cons

I’m pretty sure there are plenty reviews on the iPhone with pros and cons listed down but I just want to give you guys a layman breakdown.

Pros

• Accelerometer – I’ve used plenty of devices with accelerometer and nothing comes close to the one on the iPhone’s
• Touch Screen – The touch screen is also one of the most responsive among the touch screen devices I’ve used
• Speed – It’s fast to a certain extend.  Opening applications are slow, but once you’re in the application, everything is blazingly fast
• Wi-Fi – The iPhone is the only device I don’t mind surfing internet on it.  Safari is just great!
• E-Mail – The Mail application is also one of the best I’ve used

Cons

• Limited Bluetooth capabilities – Can’t even send and receive songs from other phones and devices
• No MMS – Technically you can, but the iPhone doesn’t have MMS support officially
• Volume – The volume is so soft that you won’t be able to hear anything if it’s in your pocket.  Don’t get me started on speaker phone.
• Reliance on iTunes – iTunes is nice to use but some people, like me, prefer some other players, players that I’ve been so used to over the years.  I have to change to iTunes just because the iPhone relies on it so heavily.
• Knowledge – Like I said, if you don’t understand how the iPhone works, the phone is practically useless to you.  The iPhone might be simple to use for computer literate people, but give it to a child, or your dad, he won’t know how to use it.  You give any other phone to them and they’ll be able to chat away without bothering you with “eh, what slide to unlock?”, “Where do I dial my number?” and questions like that.

So there you have it.  I might be an Apple fan, but I’m not biased in anyway.  I’m never biased towards a particular brand, mainly because of what I do.  If it’s good, it’s good.  If it’s bad, then it’s bad.

To conclude this, should you buy an iPhone? Yes, if you can ignore the cons listed there.  No if you know nothing about the iPhone.