"rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp.org" wrote:
>
> All this discussion seems a little too self-congratulatory.
>

Uh, no. I *wanted* an iPhone from its first announcement.

I can't blame myself because it cannot edit Office docs, can't be used as a
modem, doesn't have a dedicated to-do list, and can't sync Notes.

Moreover, I went to a store to buy one. Played around with one for over an
hour. Still didn't buy it.

In addition to the items I already knew it didn't have I was shocked to find
out the on-screen keyboard has no punctuation keys. Good Lord I couldn't
believe it. I wasn't expecting it to work as good as my Treo with KeyCaps
installed, but certainly the ability to enter an apostrophe without
switching keyboards.

Figured the preliminary reviews had to be wrong about no games at all. But
alas there isn't a single one. (Yes I expect that to change, but without
buttons or a stylus they might be limited.)

In addition, way too many steps for my liking to do simple things.

And don't dismiss the no-button thing as petty. Simple things like ending a
call, if you've changed screens, requires bringing the phone screen back up
to end the call.


> However...
>
> There are definitely some very good and cool things about the iPhone. The
> web browser appears to be MUCH better.

Besides the vivid display that's about the only thing I liked about it, and
even then its value diminishes greatly when not using WiFi. And I found
little things that I couldn't believe were not present (as basic as
cut-and-paste).


>
> And the user interface sure appears to be much cleaner (albeit less
> efficient in a few cases).

Have you used one? Try it and then see how efficient it is for just making
phone calls (compared to the Treo, or most any cellphone for that matter).


>
> There's no need for sour grapes. It's a different phone, that's all. It
> has good points and bad ones.

For me far more bad points than good. If some of the deficiencies are
addressed I might feel differently. Though to be frank, the iPhone seems to
be getting a free pass as far as deficiencies go. Many reviews seem to gloss
over them, often speculating that a future version will address them (that
actually makes me less inclined to buy _this_ version).

And I don't have sour grapes. I have a 2+ year-old Treo 650 that I'm looking
to replace. I had hoped that replacement would be an iPhone. Right now that
replacement looks like it will be a Treo 755, a Blackberry, or--bringing up
the rear--a Winmob phone (Winmob Treo is out since I am not going with a
240x240 display). I'd like that replacement to have BT A2DP profile so that
I can use a stereo headset (another thing I just assumed the iPhone would
support).

There is also one negative iPhone point, that I've read in most reviews,
that I disagree with: the recessed headset jack. I think that was a *great*
idea. I believe this was done to take stress off of the plug/jack, which on
some phones is a weak point (like on my Treo).

If I had to guess I'd say the best market for the iPhone--besides the early
adopters and SJ fans that will buy anything with an Apple or Pixar logo on
it--might be the bought-a-smart-phone-but-don't-really-know-how-to-use-it
crowd. I've run into a bunch of Treo owners like this: haven't synced it,
haven't installed any apps on it, but love the full keyboard!


--
Mike