Monday, March 3,2008 @ 11:20am
Wozniak criticizes iPhone at Sydney event
The iPhone is still a flawed device in spite of achievements, according to Steve Wozniak. The Apple co-founder made his comments at the Broadband and Beyond conference in Sydney, Australia, where he specifically took his former company to task for not incorporating 3G broadband into the iPhone at launch. The device instead uses EDGE technology, often described as "2.5G" or "2.75G," and even by Apple CEO Steve Jobs as too slow.
"To tell you the truth, I was disappointed," says Wozniak, noting that "half the phones in the AT&T store were 3G already." He further argued at the conference that without access to AT&T's HSDPA network, using data functions on the iPhone can be irritating. "I sufficed with it [the iPhone] in a lot of cases...but when things are going too slowly, I'll get frustrated and I'll do it on my laptop later."
Jobs has blamed the lack of 3G on a need for better battery life, but Wozniak remains skeptical, citing personal evidence. "I get as much life on my 3G phones as I get on my non-3G phones. I don't think it's just a battery issue," he said in Sydney.
Wozniak added though that the iPhone's interface is vastly superior to that of other smartphones, particularly in terms of web browsing. "Not one of them made me feel good about accessing the Internet, browser-style until the iPhone," said Wozniak. Regarding other phones he commented, "I'm learning to use their menus, it's awkward. I feel like a slave and less important than the technology."
Wozniak is particularly enthusiastic about the iPhone SDK, but claims that the iPhone is ironically not best at what it should be, which is calling. "For voice, I still want another phone," he says.