Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software, Features, Internet Tools, iPhone
Paul Thurrott amazes again, turns iPhone's Yahoo! synching feature into a complaint
Uh oh, famed purveyor of the SuperSite for Windows and spinster extraordinaire Paul Thurrott is at it again with a third installment of his iPhone review that focuses on the iPhone's performance as an actual phone. Never faltering in his ability to spin a genuinely innovative feature into a mark against a product, Thurrott found a way to blast the iPhone's ability to sync contacts with Yahoo!'s address book for being the only web-based service that made the cut: First and most obviously, Yahoo! is the only Web-based email/contacts store supported: If you use Hotmail, Gmail, AOL, or any other Web-based email service, you cannot sync between contacts stored there and the iPhone. This is a glaring functional lapse that the early Mac-using iPhone reviewers neatly skipped over
Boy, iPhone users sure are screwed, especially since, outside the Helio Ocean (whose site isn't clear on whether it actually syncs with Yahoo!), I can't think of another mobile phone OS - including Windows Mobile and BlackBerry - that syncs with a web-based email or contact service out of the box (note: sync - not simply 'allow access with some custom UI'). At least, not a significant or even publicized phone from any of the big players like Nokia, Motorola or Samsung. The simple fact is that most mobile phone OS developers haven't made that leap yet, primarily because the web-based services like Gmail and AOL haven't opened themselves up through an API (Application Programming Interface) like Yahoo! has for the iPhone. This is probably because, in the past, it hasn't been worth the effort. Most users who want to sync their contacts with a mobile phone are either power or business users, and they're already using desktop software like Outlook, Entourage or Apple's Address Book that is primed and ready for synching. Apple likely took a chance and opened this partnership to sync with Yahoo! because the iPhone is arguably the first consumer-friendly phone to bring the concept of synching to the general user. For those still wondering why Apple chose Yahoo!, it's likely because they are the leading worldwide webmail provider by a landslide; as of April 2007, Yahoo! Mail's market share doubles Hotmail's and, believe it or not, Gmail trails in an incredibly distant 3rd with 1/13th the traffic of Yahoo!.
Thurrott continues, however, with a mixed bag:
If you happen to use one of the few supported sync partners, you're in luck. If you don't, you're screwed, and even more so when you realize that because Apple won't allow third party developers to extend the iPhone's capabilities in any way, there's no way that anyone outside Apple can ever add this support.
He's right that it's a bummer that Apple hasn't allowed outside developers into the iPhone, but opening up synching to comparatively obscure 3rd party services and apps like Thunderbird or Facebook has never been the strong point of any other mobile phone OS in the position to do so. Microsoft's ActiveSync platform is certainly open to 3rd parties who are willing and able to built support for compatible apps, but Thurrott is making it sound like the iPhone is the first phone to not sync with these other services out of the box, and that simply isn't true. Apple, Microsoft and BlackBerry can broaden the scope and power of their mobile phone OSes only so far before extra features and compatibility begin to drag down reliability, security and the overall experience of a device. With something as complex as a mobile phone, you simply can't have everything just yet.
To his credit, Thurrott is pretty positive throughout the rest of this segment of the review series. He praises the iPhone's abilities as a phone and pats Apple on the back for truly innovating some of the fundamental grievances the iPhone solves, such as Visual Voicemail and the generally refreshing phone UI. While I agree with his and everyone else's gripes about the lack of 3rd party app support, beating that particular drum is already getting old. By now I would imagine that Apple has at least some idea that, oh I dunno, maybe a few of us would like to see 3rd party apps sooner or later, but skewing innovative features into a ding against the iPhone isn't the way to get Apple to open it up.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
z said 8:48AM on 8-03-2007
hes right .. it needs some work .. if it worked 100% of the time i would actually pay for it .. as it is i have my email go to google which pushes to yahoo then back to my iPhone .. works that way and i get NO spam.
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Rob M. said 8:42AM on 8-03-2007
One thing to remember about Paul Thurrott is that he dings Microsoft just as often as he dings Apple. If you listent to his podcasts, you'll hear that.
I can't help but agree with some of his statements about the iPhone. FWIW, I love mine, but there are some definite "WTF?" experiences with using it. The lack of 3rd party support, the lack of cut-n-paste, no custom ringtone support, and yes, limited access to online mail contacts (I'm a GMail user) still make me scratch my head in wonder. Hopefully, we'll see some of this added in near-future updates.
In the end, though, I think users need to be realistic about the iPhone and drop the fanboy attitudes / basher attitudes and look at the device for what it really is. It's the most amazing cell phone I've ever used, the best iPod Apple has ever designed, and a smartphone with a lot of unrealized potential. I have no doubt that Apple is going to continue to improve upon the platform through software and hardware revisions. The hardest part, however, is getting users to be patient enough to wait for it.
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dukrous said 8:53AM on 8-03-2007
The weakest point of the iPhone is the absolute bottom of the barrel mail implementation. I've talked people out of buying an iPhone because they needed robust email support. Apple had no excuse for using the solution for mail they have and need to seriously get onboard the Google train like everyone else has. Who the hell uses Y! for contacts or mail anyways?
For all of the pluses the iPhone has (and I love mine), the biggest and absolutely inexcusable fault is the mail app. This needs to be Apple's first overhaul if they have any hopes of broadening outside of the power user community.
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Stephen Antonucci said 10:13AM on 8-07-2007
I could not agree more with you. I am a bit tired of the so-called experts trying their best to spin complaints that have no relevance. I doubt you will find a negative review from Paul Thurrott for the crapware that is Windows Mobile. I have owned so many so-called smart phones, except for the iPhone, none are all that smart. And some even point out that the iPhone is NOT a "real" smart phone. I say THANK GOD!
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MJK said 8:59AM on 8-03-2007
Pointing out how bad other phones suck does not make his comment invalid or change the facts. Paul is just stating a fact and some how Mr. David Chartier feels offended by it. I understand syncing with Yahoo is a feature but is it wrong to say it would be better if.... Your article title slams Paul for no reason. It seems 2/3 of your article agrees with him. I can only assume you either have a personal vendetta against Paul or you are using this headline to drive traffic.
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J. Scott Anderson said 9:23AM on 8-03-2007
I guess few people realize that AT&T and Yahoo (because of Southwestern Bell, who purchased AT&T and kept the name) have a relationship? In fact, Yahoo is the preferred e-mail handler for most of the consumer e-mail traffic that comes with your AT&T internet service account. That might also have something to do with the iPhone/Yahoo syncing, since AT&T had to guess that their biggest source of initial buyers for the iPhone might probably be customers already and thus have Yahoo address books to sync.
What they didn't count on was the huge numbers of people switching to AT&T from their current service. Those people will have address books that are not yet on AT&T's system.
With that said, I'll be that Google integration is coming soon. Probably we will see more than just address book and e-mail integration there. I'm willing to bet that you will see the Google productivity suite on the iPhone soon.
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a ham sandwich said 9:03AM on 8-03-2007
jeez great post title tuaw. i agree with #1. i value thurrott's comments. i find that both his comments on his blog and his comments on his podcast on twit are very balanced. he complains when things need complaining, but praises things when they should be praised. he's as fair to apple as he is to microsoft and i think tuaw should lighten up a bit.
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Richard H. said 9:25AM on 8-03-2007
Stephen,
Well in the course of praising Vista's new Mobile Device Center (used for synching smart phones), Paul always gets a dig in at Microsoft's old Active Sync utility which he says was just awful. If you read and listened to Paul on a regular basis, you would see that he is an equal opportunity critic.
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Alfredo Padilla said 9:47AM on 8-03-2007
Just an FYI, Windows Mobile 6 phones do Sync with Windows Live. Doesn't make Paul's complaint any more legitimate, but your counter argument is wrong.
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Jacob said 10:06AM on 8-03-2007
"To his credit, Thurrott is pretty positive throughout the rest of this segment of the review series."
So, as long as his review is positive, it's ok. But not if he lists some shortcomings. This implies being positive about the iphone is the only justified review you can give it.
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Johnny Thrash said 10:10AM on 8-03-2007
I get my personal domain email, my gmail email, my .mac account email and my yahoo email on my iphone and haven't had any problems with any of them.
Don't know where the complaints are coming from.
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Anthony said 10:17AM on 8-03-2007
this might be the last post on here I ever read. is this guy serious?? its posts like this that give apple users a bad name...some of them just really are pretentious aholes...
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Quix said 10:24AM on 8-03-2007
"Apple had no excuse for using the solution for mail they have and need to seriously get onboard the Google train like everyone else has. Who the hell uses Y! for contacts or mail anyways?"
Looks like *someone* didn't read the original post.
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buddsbrains said 10:57AM on 8-03-2007
So you complain that Thurrott singles out a minor issue with the iPhone amongst all its pluses, by singling out a minor complaint in an overall "pretty positive" review? Duplicitous much?
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David Chartier said 10:32AM on 8-03-2007
#10: I've been plenty critical of various aspects of the iPhone both in the past and in this post. I merely wanted to give Thurrott credit for the rest of the interview to avoid painting him as nothing but a critic of the iPhone.
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Fred said 10:38AM on 8-03-2007
I actually think the guy had a pretty even handed approach, and I think he did a pretty glowing review. The thing I hated? The backhanded "war in Iraq" comment. I'm so tired of this. Look, it's an unpopular war we get it. I don't like it, you don't like it. Keep it out of my gadget reviews!
One other thing, the whole "you give Apple users a bad name, "pretentious blah blah blah" Look, you give love a bad name, ok? There are pretentious Windows users too. And hey what about those Amiga douchbags? Everybody is snooty about their choice, it's human nature, give it a rest.
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Will said 10:18AM on 8-06-2007
I pretty much agree. If you're going to work with one of the major services you should try to work with them all. I love my iPhone but at least once a day I still wish I had my Treo with gmail app. GMail isn't gmail on the iPhone.
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David said 10:54AM on 8-03-2007
Wonderful job with the flame bait, guys. This was a piss poor jab at someone simply because their site focuses around Microsoft.
Not only is Gmail not Gmail on your iPhone, its a god awful implementation since all your sent messages appear in the inbox as well. You'd think with all the Google partnerships inside the iPhone already that something could have been done about the iPhone.
Which gets to Paul Thurrott's point. There's a poor implementation of syncing contacts and e-mail, especially in comparison to the wide range of options elsewhere.
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webmacster87 said 10:59AM on 8-03-2007
You know, I reviewed the iPhone on my blog, and I made exactly the same point. Syncing of Yahoo!'s data and Yahoo! having "push" IMAP e-mail should put the other services, especially Gmail, to shame. Why don't any of the other clients offer it for the iPhone? Don't say that Paul Thurrott is crazy for claiming that, that is a very valid point that I totally agree with.
To be honest, I think it's good to see someone actually criticizing the iPhone. EVERYONE that's reviewed it (particularly this blog) has been so deep in Apple's fanboy pocket that they can't be objective enough to criticize things in the iPhone (except for maybe the developer's not having access to stuff).
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David Chartier said 11:14AM on 8-03-2007
I'll try to summarize my post to see if it makes more sense:
Paul Thurrott is complaining that Yahoo! is the only web service Apple designed the iPhone to sync with, as if Apple had the option to sync with other web services like AOL or Gmail. The problem is, Apple doesn't have this option - AOL and Gmail haven't opened themselves up for synching with any services or devices, Apple or otherwise.
I believe he's misrepresenting the situation, either by accident or intention - it doesn't matter. I felt it was important to clear the air because the choice of Yahoo! *is* at the heart of some debates over the iPhone.
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