I’ve used the impressive iPhone 4 for some months now and I have to admit that I truly enjoy the integrative features.  But because it was an Apple product, there was only one reason, however, that I bought the iPhone 4 over other products and that is because Logos Software has an “App” that works with it, and that gives me access to an extensive theological library.  But here are my beefs with Apple, things that make the beefs that people had with Microsoft pale by comparison, at least at the retail level where I live.

(1) The iTunes store is monopolistic.  It is a real time monopoly on the sale of applications and no other retailers are allowed to sell.   I shudder to think of what I would do if I wanted to resell an app.  I’ve only ever purchased a single app at $2.99 and iTunes so bungled the sale that I would never ever buy an app from them again.  Here is what happened.  They quoted a US price.  So I used my TD US Visa.  Then, iTunes charged my card in Canadian $$ and my credit card charged me in US dollars. So I was charged three times for the exchange rate (once by iTunes, by Visa, and by my bank when I went to pay).  I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANY THING EVER AGAIN FROM THE ITUNES STORE.  A $2.99 app cost me $3.49 CDN.  I don’t know how many laws they break every day at the iTunes store, but I will not allow myself to be treated like this ever again.

(2) The people who make the iPhone must be democrats.  You know the kind that don’t believe that want to ban the incandenscent light bulb.  I cannot delete a song from the iPhone itself.  I cannot delete it from iTunes on my computer either.  Why?  Because a few weeks ago I gave away my old computer to which the iPhone was “synced”.  I’ve become physically ill trying to get this damn thing just to delete a song from the iPhone.  I never had a problem like this with an MP3 player, and I’ve own several.  You can change things on MP3 players from any computer–most store the songs as a universal USB storage device.  Even the Creative Zen allowed you to sync with more than one computer.  I don’t know what kind of sick Nazi control-freak mentality goes into restricting clients from deleting songs from the iPhone, but this is something that I just can’t live with.

When this iPhone dies, I won’t be buying another unless Apple fixes these problems.  But then I don’t hold out any hope at all.  But by the time this phone dies, Logos software will be available on other smart phones.  I honestly don’t understand the Apple craze.  Sure the product itself is nice and reliable.  But I can’t be treated this way.  Yet millions of people who are repeat customers are like lemmings walking into the sea, compliant customers who allow a company to mistreat them.

Au revoir Apple.