
In a desperate attempt to acquire readership through cheap populism, The Age
reports today of a bug rendering iPhone alarm clocks useless during the beginning of 2011. Indeed, for a company like Apple that built its reputation on being better than Microsoft this incident exposes them for the naked kings they are; I, however, would like to point out a problem much more severe with the iPhone: the reliability of its apps. After all, Apple boasts the largest number of them, some several hundreds of thousands, as one of its biggest advantages over potential rivals.
I already
talked about the problem of iPhone apps doing things behind your back, such as the problem of the Facebook app uploading all of your phone's contacts to Facebook's servers, where they become Facebook intellectual property, without giving you much of a hint about it. Now I'd like to talk about another problem, a problem that hits your wallet directly: buggy apps.
During the recent round of Christmas holidays I used several apps on my iPhone to find my way around unfamiliar territories. I used the
BP Locator app to find gas stations around me and I used
CitySearch and
AroundMe to find businesses in my vicinity (e.g., supermarkets, places to eat). Then one evening I noticed something strange: according to my iPhone, that day - a day where I only used the above three apps - I have downloaded 4gb of data and uploaded 4gb of data more through my cellular 3G connection.
By Australian terms, my monthly iPhone data download/uploads allowance is a generous 300mb. Excess, however, is paid at a rate of 0.2c per kb, which means that these 8gb of data my iPhone said it downloaded would cost me a whopping $8000. Just like that!
There are several reasons for an iPhone to exchange data without you, its owner, to actively order it to do so. None, however, are as violent as this - not during one day! Having researched the issue over the web, the main plausible explanation for this charade is an app gone astray: like a location sensitive app that kept on running in the background (the iOS 4 operating system running on my iPhone allows for multi tasking in the shape of apps running in the background) and kept on asking for updates as I moved along and changed my location. Indeed, during that day we were on a long drive between NSW's coast to Canberra.
To be on the realistic side of things, it was immediately clear to me my iPhone could not have exchanged 8gb of data through its 3G connection in one day for a very simple reason: its battery is not strong enough to support so much data throughput on a single charge. Still, even if it downloaded a fraction of the amount it said it did my wallet still stands to lose thousands of dollars.
I immediately contacted my provider, Virgin Mobile, and told them of my unintentional problem. The next day I got a very laconic reply back from them, proving once again why mobile phone providers are topping the list of consumer affair complaints for several years now. Don't expect help to come from their side; I was given the Apple Australia phone number and told to discuss issues with my phone directly with them.
A few days later, after regularly checking my data consumption report with Virgin Mobile, it became clear the whole thing was a false alarm and my iPhone did not download the data it said it did. While there was relief to my wallet, the problem still remains:
- The iPhone app store is riddled with apps that are buggy, up to no good, and disregard basic consumer rights to the point of breaking the law.
- The iPhone itself is a buggy smartphone that can, under certain circumstances, hurt you bad.
What can be done about these problems assuming you are not going to return to the pre smartphone Stone Age? I can advise two measures:
- Be careful with the apps you install on your smartphone. Do not install anything that moves just because you've seen it somewhere or because it's free; install only apps from reputable suppliers.
At the moment this advice is hard to follow because there is no reputable source of advice concerning notorious apps. Just the other day the newspaper reported Apple being sued for letting apps that violate privacy into its app store. The list of apps doing that included seemingly reputable apps like Pandora, Dictionary.com and The Weather Channel. - Do not let apps run in the background. Terminate them properly!
On the iOS 4 iPhone the process of terminating apps is rather clumsy: you double click the Home button, which shows you a list of all active apps. Then you hold your finger on one of these apps for a few seconds until they all start jittering. Then you press the X sign on their top left to terminate them. Click the Home button again to cease the termination process.
Don't be lazy - terminate your apps immediately after you cease using them, or face the consequences of them doing nasty things to your phone, your phone battery, and your wallet!
Most importantly, do not trust the apps. Treat them like you treat your websites: do not access them in the first place if they appear dodgy, and close them the way you close your browser when you're finished using them. Personally, I would prefer a well designed website (like the Google mobile websites, e.g., Google Reader) over the majority of apps.