Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008    Text size: 

In the first shot fired across Apple's bow, a Birmingham, Ala., resident has filed a lawsuit against the company, complaining about the device's reliability.

“Immediately after purchase, Plaintiff soon noticed that her Internet connection, receipt and sending of email, text messages and other data transfers were slower than expected and advertised,” the lawsuit reads.

Apple's driving pitch for the new iPhone is "twice as fast at half the price." The lawsuit, brought by Birmingham's Jessica Alena Smith, roundly disputes the first claim. According to Apple, the new iPhone should connect to AT&T's superior 3G network.

To be fair, Apple notes that iPhones will connect to whatever service is available, but Smith's lawsuit argues that her phone only connects to a far slower network called EDGE. In addition, Smith says her iPhone bungles websurfing and e-mailing when it's not dropping her phone calls.

Tech analyst Farhad Manjoo of Slate.com offered anecdotal evidence supporting Smith's case.

"I've had the same problem with my iPhone 3G in cell-tower-rich San Francisco — more dropped calls than I've ever had on a cell phone (including on the original iPhone) and terribly spotty 3G service," he said.

So, how does the adult industry like its iPhones?

An informal survey of adult industry professionals indicated that despite its popularity, the iPhone can't be found in the pocket of every industry member, and that reviews for the device include about as many positive responses as negative.

JayManCash owner Tom told XBIZ that he owns both the old and the new versions of the iPhone. Unlike Jessica Alena Smith, he described the new iPhone as "much faster."

Brazzers corporate strategy consultant Sammy agreed. He told XBIZ that he has no complaints with his 3G iPhone.

MadisonAvenue.com founder and CEO Marc Womack had the biggest complaints about the phone, though he's still using the old version.

"It's a great media player [but a] shitty phone," he told XBIZ.

Webmaster Central Content VP of Operations Joel Kapp had a more pragmatic perspective. He told XBIZ he liked his iPhone but added that because his company offers iPhone-ready content, he likes using the device to monitor his product.

Adult performer Tommy Gunn hasn't picked up the new iPhone yet, but he told XBIZ that his only major complaint with the device is its difficult-to-use touch-screen keyboard. He said it makes for tricky texting.