The iPhone Isn't A Great Phone

Burlingame, Calif. -

Apple's iPhone could be the most awesome 4.7 ounces of gadget on the planet.

It surfs the Web. It plays music. It plays games. It can download new applications on the fly.

It is not, however, the world's greatest mobile phone. There, we said it. Yes, despite Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Jobs' maniacal attention to detail, the iPhone isn't perfect.

Just ask telecommunications consultant Gregory Gorman. He loves his iPhone and takes it everywhere with him.

Yet when he wants to actually, you know, call someone, he grabs his Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) N95.

"It's not consistent enough an experience from a voice perspective that I'm willing to go to that phone exclusively," Gorman says. "There are dropped calls, the call quality isn't great and sometimes you just get disconnected."

He's not alone. While consultant Andy Seybold says the iPhone has "changed the game forever," he doesn't use one.

Instead, he carries a BlackBerry for e-mail and a Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) 750 flip phone for placing calls.

"The only real combination product that ever sold well is a clock radio; everything else is a compromise," Seybold says.

Not that there's anything wrong with the iPhone.

Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, says the iPhone uses many of the same parts used by other phones around the world. That means in terms of call quality it's no better, or worse, than many of its competitors.

However, Apple has struggled to adapt to 3G, releasing new software last month to help smooth things out.

That's common, Strauss and Seybold say. Most phone companies struggle to adapt to the new high-speed networks.

However, it's just a matter of time, experts say, before Apple makes the software tweaks needed to overcome that.

Another problem is that AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ), iPhone's service provider, is still building out its high-speed network. That means high-speed data service isn't available in many areas.

The real problem for Apple is that it's tough to build a smart phone that can compete with the ease of use of a simple flip phone equipped with buttons.

"Steve Jobs is trying to cast the iPhone as a great corporate phone and a great small business phone and a great game device, and it can't be all of these things," Seybold says. "The iPhone is not all things to all people; the BlackBerry is not all things to all people."

Of course, this doesn't make the iPhone any less irresistible. Strauss says he knows at least two engineers at Motorola who carry them. "They love them and think they're great," Strauss says.