Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

iPhone 'Makes Life Miserable'

'Anti-iPhone movement' inspired by range of technical frustrations

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 24, 2009 10:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – We’re supposed to be in awe of the iPhone, the device that “was supposed to be our savior.” But after owning four of the "smug, narcissistic little iPhones," Amanda Fortini is fed up. Amid reports that iPhones are overheating and blowing up, “I at last feel free to say it: The iPhone sucks. It makes life miserable. I loathe the iPhone,” she writes in Salon.

Many agree with her; in fact, “you might say an anti-iPhone movement is afoot,” spearheaded by sites like ihatemyiphone.com. Among its problems: poor battery life; voice mails that seem to collect, unnoticed, for hours or days before appearing; a fragility that’s caused them to break when dropped or just damp. And when something goes wrong, Apple gives “the distinct impression that if you have problems with the iPhone, it's not the phone that's at fault, it's you.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

iPhone fans share a light moment while waiting outside a Softbank office before the ceremonial event for the first day sales of iPhone 3G S in Tokyo, June 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

The new Apple iPhone 3G S is shown on display at the Apple store in San Francisco, Friday, June 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The phone is a high-maintenance techno-girlfriend whose demands are inscrutable and impossible to meet. - Amanda Fortini

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Apple Asks Outside Group to Inspect Plants

FLA to audit working conditions at Apple suppliers

(NEWSER) - Apple, facing worldwide protests over conditions for workers who make its gadgets, says it has opened up its supply chain to a level of scrutiny unprecedented in the electronics industry. An outside group, the Fair Labor Association in Washington, DC, has been asked to audit conditions at the plants where most Apple products are made, and to make its findings public starting next month. More»

iPad 3 to Be Unveiled March 7

New tablet to come in 4G LTE version

(NEWSER) - Apple's first major product launch since the death of Steve Jobs is set for March 7, sources tell iMore . The iPad 3 will be unveiled at an event in San Francisco, and the latest version of the company's tablet computer will be offered in models that run on AT&T and Verizon's speedy next-generation LTE technology, according to the Wall Street Journal . Rumors about the new tablet helped Apple shares soar above $500 for the first time yesterday. (In other Apple news, click to read about why Apple really should bring its jobs back to the US .) More»

Google Gets Europe's OK to Buy Motorola

But regulators in EU, United States will monitor for antitrust

(NEWSER) - Google's $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility Holdings, announced last August , finally cleared regulators in Europe and the United States yesterday, reports Reuters . But as Motorola owns so many patents that are vital to the telecommunications industry, regulators said they would monitor Google to ensure it continued to license that tech at fair prices. Google has said that a major reason for buying Motorola was to get its hands on Motorola's 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications. The deal is also Google's biggest venture into hardware yet. More»

Apple Can Bring Those Jobs Back

Like BMW and Boeing, Apple can afford to have US manufacturing jobs

(NEWSER) - Apple's claim that it can't bring manufacturing jobs back to America rings false to Dan Lyons at The Daily Beast . "Apple says no, but of course it can: American workers build BMWs and Boeings, and they certainly could build all of an iPad’s components," Lyons writes. He talks to Clyde Prestowitz, a top trade negotiator under President Reagan, who says Apple has long benefited from American influence—and has "some responsibilities to the United States." More»

Give Chipotle Same Respect as Apple

Matthew Yglesias: Steve Ells is to fast food what Steve Jobs was to tech

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs, meet Steve Ells. Both men founded companies that have revolutionized American culture: Chipotle is doing for fast food what Apple did for technology, writes Matthew Yglesias at Slate . First of all, "Chipotle’s growth since its 2006 IPO should be seen as a great American success story," especially in such a difficult economic climate. The firm added 67 new stores in the fourth quarter of last year alone, and its stock has soared 500% in five years. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

iPhone 'Makes Life Miserable'