is the iPhone release simple by design??

Is iPhone Intentionally simple to start with?
I was thinking about this a lot lately. There are so many things, simple things, obvious things, missing from iPhone on its release that I cant help thinking its more of a strategy then lack of foresight or users needs.

Apple and AT&T both knew that this release was going to be huge, possibly adding 1/2 million new (or changing) users to AT&T's infrastructure and immediately putting a strain on its system, support technicians, help desk, etc. Apple knew it would be handling calls from confused users, those needing help, etc etc.
So perhaps they simplified things by putting out the most basic elements possible on the iPhone. If you think about it, if they had put MMS on the iPhone, there would be a huge increase in data transmission over the Edge network of everyone sending pictures from their new iPhones. That could be a huge strain on the network. Also the more the iPhone does, the more people will be calling with questions, problems, or complaints, flooding Apple and AT&T's call centers with tons more seemingly unneessicary calls. Leaving a lot of things out on the release probably prevented tons of calls to the helpdesks so the teams can focus on the release and any problems related to it. Maybe the idea was make it simple, and then once the storm calms down, add more things out little by little until the iPhone reaches its full capabilities.

I sincerely hope this is the case! While I love my iPhone and most likely wont return it (that thought is still on the table though) it is obviously severely lacking in many of the more basic and wanted things.
I just hope we dont have to wait months for an update. A week into owning the iPhone and I have found that I am getting bored with it's current abilities. Definitely better then my blackberry was, but the Nokia 7125 I had for a while, while it didnt have the cool gui the iPhone does, was quite a bit more useful, not to mention fun, in terms of its abilities.

PC, Windows Vista

Posted on Jul 6, 2007 5:59 AM

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6 replies

Jul 6, 2007 5:03 PM in response to markdr

If there is one thing that is very obvious here, it has to be that Steve Jobs loves to introduce new functionality on-stage. It is one of his biggest passions in life, to stand on a stage and talk about a new product or new functionality. Just watch one of the videos on this website. You will see it. Anyway, this gives him tons of future opportunity to introduce a new function to the iPhone. I think the ability to choose something from the iPhones music library as a ringtone, will be one of his biggest announcments in the future, and he will surely bask in that applause he gets from it. He loves that almost as much as he loves life itself. So don't worry, our phones are headed for better days,... after all, they have the ability to receive software updates from Apple. So you know that means added functinality. Be sure to leave feedback in the appropriate section on this website, listing all of your iPhone upgrade wishes. The more they get, the better the chance it gets updated quicker.

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is the iPhone release simple by design??

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