In a research note today from Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura Securities, blame was laid at the feet of the chip. "We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain Infineon is the 3G supplier," he wrote in a note that's been picked up all over the Internet, as he's confirmed what many people have suspected for some time now.

He added that because the problems are likely to be embedded in the low-level software and the chipset, so a firmware upgrade from Apple is unlikely to fix the problems. That's bad news. 3G was the selling point of this phone, and now they tell us it's defective? Will there be a recall? Mass replacement? Apple would be forced to eat a small fortune in replacement costs, and we know what that can do to an otherwise good quarterly report.

There are other problems as well. The all-plastic back casing of the iPhone are cracking after less than one month of use. Again, this looks like a design defect that should fall under the iPhone warranty, which is for one year. If these phones are starting to splinter after a few weeks, what will they look like in six months?

These design defects might have been caught with a wider beta program, but with Apple's obsession with secrecy and behaving like the Hermit Kingdom, that's just not possible. As such, we have not heard any word from the company on these two design defects, either.


From there, the problems only worsen. Jobs recently confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that there is indeed a kill switch in the iPhone, so if you install applications unapproved by Apple, the app will be removed as soon as you plug it in to synch and recharge. This has some privacy advocates hopping mad, but incredibly, there's not that much anger. I keep asking myself, what would happen if Microsoft did this?

Even angrier are iPhone developers, who find that developing for the iPhone is too restrictive and Apple is too uncooperative (I feel your pain). The non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for iPhone developers is so restrictive, they cannot share programming tips, discuss code or asking questions of one another in forums or via e-mail. That's insane. Programmers have been sharing ideas since the first Hello, World program.

In response, one developer created a Web site that cannot be named here (very NSFW title) that has become a clearing house for developer frustration with Apple. Looking at the gripes, you have to wonder, will any of these people stay iPhone developers for very long? This should make for great conversations at the Intel Developer Forum next week.

I'd have to think that when you infuriate your customer base this much you seal your doom, but then again I still play EverQuest and can't for the life of me say why, considering how badly Sony Online Entertainment has mismanaged the game and infuriated its player base.

There is a mystery problem on my end, however. It seems that when I plug in the phone to the computer to recharge, it crashes the system. I mean, instantly. As soon as the connector goes 'click', the screen goes black and the computer is unresponsive. It has to be restarted with a hard reset. But it's too soon to blame the iPhone as the computer as crashed other times, when no iPhone was attached.

For now, it's just sit back and watch and see what happens, and whether the Silicon Valley Hermit Kingdom's wall of silence can be maintained in spite of mounting frustration. They will never be taken seriously as an enterprise play when they stonewall consumers and vex developers. How Apple manages these problems will be a portent of its wider acceptance beyond the niche it currently enjoys.

There's still no other choice for me. This is the phone I want. All things considered, I'd probably trade in my 3G phone for the 1.0 model now if I could. At least the back is solid and I lose nothing for ditching 3G. The iPod is another matter. At this point, I'll buy a Zune if they add a no-repeat option to random play.

Story courtesy of the internetnews.com Blog.