Craptastic! CNET UK names iPhone worst phone in the world

by Steve Ragan - Nov 9 2009, 16:00

There are millions of iPhones in the world. As a device, no matter what you may think, the iPhone has changed the Smartphone market for life. However, not everyone likes it. CNET UK, who hailed it as the Editor’s Choice in June, now calls it the worst phone in the world.

“It may be the highest-rated mobile phone on CNET UK, rocking the pockets of half of our crack editorial team…But as an actual call-making phone, it's rubbish, and we aim to prove it,” wrote Flora Graham on the CRAVE section of CNET’s UK site.

Calling the microphone “craptastic”, the CRAVE report blasted the iPhone for “pathetic” call quality, blaming the tiny speaker for some of the lackluster performance. In all honesty, lackluster is a word we used. Graham said that, “It has to be aligned with your ear canal with the accuracy of a laser-guided ninja doing cataract surgery, or else the volume cuts down to nothing as the sound waves bounce uselessly around your ear shells,” when talking about the tiny speaker.

If the microphone and speaker thought they were being singled out, well, Graham’s rant wasn’t finished. She offered up this comical line with regards to actual calls.

“If, like Will Smith in Enemy of the State, you're trying to avoid the eagle eye of Big Brother, the iPhone could be for you. It drops calls, fails to connect and doesn't even ring sometimes -- not for everyone, but more often than any other phone we're currently using.”

It shouldn’t come as a shock that “where voice is bad, data is often worse, and cries of ‘no network’ are a familiar sound for some iPhoners,” she wrote.

“For iPhone users, there are no straight answers about where the problems come from. As usual, Apple sticks to, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," and has kept its mouth shut about the issues.”

The complaints, especially with regard to call quality and data services are familiar to iPhone users in the U.S. However, from this geek’s perspective, this is the first time such a rant has led with the headline “The iPhone is the worst phone in the world.”

Other complaints including the short battery life, and discomfort from actually pressing the flat surface to your face for extended conversations. Despite the rant, which is a must read for anyone who wants to see a full head of steam explode into a HTML formatted page, Graham called the iPhone the “best handheld computer there is,” despite it being the worst phone in the world.

“For all these features that make smart phones live up to their names, the iPhone does a bang-up job. Just don't try to actually make a phone call on one.”

Seriously, take a few minutes and read it. You can head over to CRAVE by clicking here.

 

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