I love my iPhone, unlike so many devices I’ve had in the past, it just simply works. I do have some nit-picky things about the iPhone that annoy me, but overall it’s been the best mobile experience I’ve ever had.
However, resent submissions by AT&T to the US Intellectual Properly Czar, and email from Apple head Steve Jobs make me very uneasy doing business with the two companies.
In the case of AT&T, they have now come out in public support of censoring the internet, creating a massive US firewall to block websites, and the creation of special courts to expedite the disconnection of households from the Internet who are accused of violating copyright.
In the case Apple, Steve Jobs, never the most tactful individual, has publicly stated that he supports using US IP law to stifle competition by suing open source projects and the companies that use open source. (specific to video codecs in this case)
Both of these positions are quite frankly deal killers in my mind. However these companies together provide me with items that are essential to my business. Ergo simply discontinuing my association with them is difficult. There is also a complete “eco system” around the iPhone. I have bed side chargers, docks, cables, and applications all that work only with the iPhone.
I’m even looking into the purchase of a new car, and one of the considerations for that purchase is wether or not the factory radio works with the iPhone.
Verizon and Google’s Android are the only current viable competitors to AT&T and Apple’s iPhone. But at present, they only get to about 90% of what I want. But I am continuing to take a hard look at switching.
In terms of the other Apple products I use, namely Macintosh, I am less worried about this. I do not buy Apple products new, therefor none of my money is going to support Apple.
One possible solution is the iPad. For those tasks I require that cannot be replicated on Android, buying a used iPad would give me a window into that functionality.
