iPhone Oddities: 10 Quirky Ways that Apple Builds, Sells Its Iconic Handset - eWeek

iPhone Oddities: 10 Quirky Ways that Apple Builds, Sells Its Iconic Handset
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Apple’s iPhone is officially the world’s most popular smartphone. Tens of millions of units of the device are sold to customers around the world each quarter and there is currently no product on store shelves today that can come even close to matching that figure. The iPhone is the benchmark by which all other smartphones are judged, and it’s widely viewed among reviewers and consumers alike as a device that deserves that crown.

But that doesn’t mean that the iPhone is perfect. As noted before, the iPhone has some flaws, including a less-than-desirable camera and lack of 4G, that doesn’t make it ideal for everyone. In addition, the device is surrounded by some rather surprising market and feature quirks that raise questions about how Apple made some of its decisions. From its choice to ignore T-Mobile to its old debate over not offering Flash support, Apple has made some odd decisions over the last several years.

Read on to find out what sort of oddities are surrounding Apple’s iPhone, and why, at least in some cases, they’ll never end:

1. No friend to T-Mobile

Apple has always offered the iPhone on AT&T’s network and last year brought the device to Verizon and Sprint. This year, it has made a serious push into the regional carriers. Along the way, however, Apple has turned its back on T-Mobile. It’s an odd decision, considering T-Mobile is a major carrier and has more customers than any of the smaller regional carriers. Why is Apple ignoring T-Mobile? And more importantly, when will it stop?

2. Apple’s no-4G stance

Although Apple has brought 4G LTE to the iPad, the company has yet to give the same treatment to its iPhone. It’s an odd decision, considering so many competitors have already introduced 4G smartphones. Hopefully Apple will support the ultra-high-speed network when the iPhone 5 launches later this year.

3. High subsidies: take it or leave it

In the vast majority of cases in the mobile space, smartphone makers aren’t so willing to charge carriers an exorbitant amount of cash to carry their products. In fact, they usually come to some sort of agreement to make it easier for carriers to want to sell their devices. But with Apple, everything is different. For years now, the company has been selling the iPhone for $600 or more to carriers, and Apple has given no indication it’ll budge from those prices.

4. Touch...to a point

Apple might have been the first company to truly popularize touch screens in the mobile space.  But to call its iPhone a fully touch-enabled device would be incorrect. Since it was released, the iPhone has come with a home button and in order to quickly change volume settings, set the phone to vibrate, or turn off the screen, physical buttons are required. When will Apple finally go all-touch?