Was it just me or does Apple generally not tell new phone buyers that there is a manual?
My 3Gs died last week and so I bought a 4S. I would have preferred to wait for the 5. I am glad to have the 4S as it is much better. I have a complaint/suggestion. At no point was I told that a manual exists explaining how to use this phone. I discovered lots of You Tube videos that review the phone and give limited tips on who to uyse the phone and its software, but no actual manaul. The little piece of paper that comes with the phone is obviously NOT a manual. It is just advertising that hints at some of the capabilities. When I called iphone suppport to fsgure out a problem I was having, I asked the rep how come I had not seen anything explaining the particular problem. She directed me to the apple.com web site and then to Manuals, and then to the one for iphone. It runs 173 pages. So I printed it out and will now read it and mark it up.
I think there is a flaw in the process in that at no point did any one from Apple or any printed material from Apple inform me that there was a manual. Perhaps it was in the legal disclosures, but I have to say that is a dumb idea for communicating anything. That is just a way for Apple to shield itself against lawsuits.
If Apple thinks they are being "green" by not providing a manual, I have to say they probably cause more trees to be cut down because users will have to print it on their own paper and enough people will do that so that the total paper consumption will be more. I also believe that cutting down fewer trees does not help the environment in any appreciable way, but that is another issue.
What Apple is really doing it seems to me is shifting the cost of printing manuals to each user. I'm older than the average user and maybe everyone ereads off screens now, but can Apple prove that?
Where would I go to make a recommendaton to Apple that they make a printed manual available in their stores for those who request?
Did others get told about the manual or was my experience rare?
And why does it take 173 pages to explain the software and hardware?
I understand that Steve Jobs was big on simple, but Apple has taken that too far. Only one button so people will know what to do? Nice idea, but now the button does so many different things depending on the length of the press, the number of presses, and the context that the one-button design is actually less intuitive and harder to make sense of than multiple buttons. No manual? Creates a lot more phone calls to Apple support to get answers that could be more efficiently conveyed with a manual.
iOS 5
