Maybe I’m alone here, but every now and again an application running on my iPhone 3G (with its fancy 2.0 firmware) crashes. It usually occurs at the precise moment when I need that particular application to be doing what it’s supposed to do. I mean, seriously: Twitter updates are vital when I’m mobile, right?
Well, whether or not you think Twitteriffic is important (or any other app for that matter), the underlying fact still remains; apps crash on the iPhone. I’ve seen lots of ire raised on this particular issue, and thought that I might throw in a couple pennies. To clarify, though, I’m not talking about applications that crash the phone – that’s a completely separate distinction that I want to make upfront. I’m talking about applications that just bomb on the iPhone for no apparent reason other than the inherent decision by the app to prematurely give up the ghost.
Most of the frustration that I’ve read about has been directed at developers for releasing not-ready-for-market applications OR at Apple for releasing an appliance that can’t stand the heat, so it sits firmly in the fire. And me, I say “meh.”
Pretty arrogant, huh?
Now before I have peeps storming the gates of Macgasm, let me explain. At the core of all that is beautiful, fun, delicious, and orgasmic about the iPhone, it’s still A PHONE. That’s the whole reason that we all had to sign our lives away to whatever carrier is supporting it for us. I repeat, it’s A PHONE.
Any application or process that prevents the iPhone from fulfilling its prime directive is violating the original intent of the device – to be a phone. When an application crashes on the iPhone, it’s a signal to you that the app was utilizing an excess of resources that would violate the prime directive. Whether that’s RAM or processor cycles or whatever, the iPhone OS has certain requirements that have to be present for it to function according to spec.
This shows one thing about Apple that you MUST appreciate: it will defend the intended purpose of one of its appliances, even in the face of possibly taking it on the chin (MobileMe, anyone?). A crashed application on your iPhone is symbolic of this very principle.
That said, break out the tamales and the tequilla – and say a hearty “Gracias!” for the crashy apps.
