Joe,

I know there will be nay-sayers knocking your experiences, but thank you for posting them anyway.

You touch on some of things that I've experienced with the iPhone too—effortless synching, effortless access to features which on other phones were always a hassle to use. Needless to say, I'm more connected and productive than I ever thought possible before (and, as a developer, my laptop is everywhere with me).

It seems the iPhone aggregates a set of features (some big, some small) which add up to a revelatory experience. (I also appreciate the USB charging which finally dispenses with proprietary adaptors.)

This has got to get better. Only time will tell.

Joe-
I'll buy your Nokia N95!

The iPhone is the best device I've ever owned. I actually use it more as a replacement for my laptop (Web and Email) than the phone and iPod features. Web apps are starting to appear that are truly useful and overall I am satisfied with EDGE speeds. My Blackberry supplied by work offers EVDO, but the web experience is so crippled that actually using it to read articles is an exercise in frustration.
Synching has been great; all my latest Podcast episodes come over automatically. That's the best part of the experience, I don't have to troubleshoot it or look up KB articles, it just works and I'm on to more important things.

I don't think its within Microsoft's DNA to ever engineer a device with this level of elegance. With them, it's always diving into Event Logs and Googling 0x* errors to overcome failures in basic functionality.

iPhone is worth every penny because my time is worth more than that.

Interesting, you never talked about the virtual keyboard, but you mentioned tactile feedback which you said is "personal". I don't understand that. I know it features a touch sensitive sensitive screen that cannot work with a traditional stylus because it uses a electromagnetic shock to respond to an action when you touch something on it using your finger. Its cool though, wouldn't mind owning one, but I live in Jamaica, so Cable and Wireless or Digicel probably won't support it until version 3.

Interesting, you never talked about the virtual keyboard, but you mentioned tactile feedback which you said is "personal". I don't understand that. I know it features a touch sensitive sensitive screen that cannot work with a traditional stylus because it uses a electromagnetic shock to respond to an action when you touch something on it using your finger. Its cool though, wouldn't mind owning one, but I live in Jamaica, so Cable and Wireless or Digicel probably won't support it until version 3.

What is certain is that when an MP3 player enjoys a 78 percent market share in the United States, a plethora of products and content spring up just to serve its users.

www.ipodconverter.com

Maybe. But this overhyped phone is from a company with a mere 2% worldwide desktop marketshare. Sure, Apple will just blanket us with an ad campaign, but soon Microsoft and others will come up with similar and better phones and game will be over for Apple, perhaps with a tiny share for the fanboys. The darn thing doesn't even have a real keyboard.

My European carrier offers syncing and a web interface for most phones. I don't have to keep my desktop running, and my contacts and calendar are backed up and accessible from any web browser. For configuration, as soon as I put a SIM card into the phone, I get over-the-air configuration information via an SMS that installs with a single click (in addition, phone manufacturers also send you OTA configuration messages for each carrier if your carrier doesn't do it or you want a different configuration).

So, in Europe, I basically get the functionality of an iPhone on any carrier I choose, with any OS I choose, and any form factor I choose. I also get 3G connectivity, podcasting, real-time video delivery, blogging, and lots of other installable software.

I think Apple's desktop syncing model is about a decade out of date. And while the iPhone is pretty and has a nice UI, its functionality is limited and it is very expensive compared to more functional alternatives.

Maybe the popularity of the iPhone is more an indication of the poor state of the US cellular phone system than any real technological advance.

After some time bigger companies out in the market will copy iphone in almost all possible respects and they can cover larger areas than iphone as Anona said.

I have not got iphone yet,i have seen iphone demo videos.Thanks to apple for bringingout such a great product

Anona said "Maybe. ... Microsoft and others will come up with similar and better phones and game will be over for Apple, perhaps with a tiny share for the fanboys. The darn thing doesn't even have a real keyboard."

Just like they came up with a "better" OS, Vista, a better game console, XB360, and a better DMP, Zune? Apple's products succeed because they really are better. Microsoft whips out lame copies that on the surface appear similar, but a few minutes of use reveals they are mostly the same spaghetti code with patches Ballmer and the boys have been flogging for 20 years. The hardware side has been a total disaster with $billions in losses from failed initiatives like Zune and defective products like XBox360.

If I'm wrong about any of these, please educate me on the real successes of Microsoft outside of its legacy OS licensing and server products.

It's still far too expensive for me.

@Anona and Lokesh

The 2% argument is dumb, each company has it's strengths. Microsoft's is holding onto its IBM mantle. Apple's is innovation.

The larger companies which are going to take the wind out of the iPhone happen to include Apple (whose market cap will soon to equal HP's). Apple will cannibalize the iPhone before anyone else can approach it. So when you get your cheaper 'core competence' device, don't be surprised that Apple will be selling it to you.

This is *MSFT* Watch, right?

Yes, Paul, it's Microsoft Watch. We're all watching for signs of life from the executive suite, boardroom and "R&D" labs in Redmond, but it appears the occupants are all brain dead zombies.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/synccenter.mspx

This is no the "Apple Watch", ok?
Nobody cares what you think about iPhone.

You guys don't give MS enough credit... They have achieved a lot of market penetration with windows mobile and have a lot of partners/carriers and third party software that supports it. I think microsofts need to satisfy its partners, kills some of it's ability to control the design and features of any phone. So like with the PC MS depends so much on its partners, that they don�t have control of the total experience.

Micrsoft only recently has gotten some design religion.

They seem to have "somewhat" learned their lesson with the xbox360 and the zune. The zune ui is nice, it's just too big and a little too late, but maybe zune 2.0 will impress me.

@Cervances:

Um, I care what Joe thinks about the iPhone. Your remark is just plain stupid.

@Anona:

Just likes with penises, size isn't everything. So what if many more people use Windows than Mac? Their PC experience is generally mediocre. Mac users really enjoy their computers.

Others, like Toshiba, *have* come out with MP3 players that are better than the iPod. But the iPod market still rocks. Trust me, Apple will rule the market with iPhone long after competitors come out with "better" phones.

"Yes, Paul, it's Microsoft Watch. We're all watching for signs of life from the executive suite, boardroom and "R&D" labs in Redmond, but it appears the occupants are all brain dead zombies."

That in itself is a topic and worthy of discussion on *MSFT* Watch. Fawning iPhone reviews, at least imo, aren't. If Joe loves the iPhone and all things Apple, great. Start up Apple Watch. Otherwise, stick to MSFT and competitive developments as they *directly* relate. JMHO.

I have to agree with another commenter that my smartphone experience is as good as your iPhone experience if not better (I'm using an HTC Universal shipped as an Orange SPV M5000). Again it is perhaps because I am European. No configuration required to set up, just insert the SIM card and call the network provider to enable the account. Internet access was configured out of the box. Synchronization with the PC is easy through Active Sync and pulls over Outlook information and files. Yahoo delivers my email straight to my inbox via POP3 (though as for you it is unfiltered so my spam hits my in-box), but I'm getting it over a 3G connection, along with my web access, so its faster.

I can touch my screen, or use the stylus, but I also have a built in keyboard courtesy of the clamshell design, which makes it easier to send texts and emails. Of course I have productivity apps like Pocket editions of Word, which means I can take notes in meetings and just transfer them over to my PC. In addition I can download and install 3rd-party software, which means, for example I can hook it up to a GPS device, install map software and use it for navigation. Let's see you do that with your iPhone!

My only issue is battery life, my battery has given up after about 12 months and needs replacing.

I'm looking forward to HTC's next generation of phones for my next purchase, not Apple.

Either the US really is that backward in mobile technology, or you really haven't explored what the smartphone platform can do for you.

I love my iPhone. All of the "Not for business" talk is stupid. Apple didn't make the iPhone for people who want to do work on their phone, they made it for people like me. I love being able to use it like a video iPod, check my email, make phone calls, check out YouTube, and find sushi. The iPhone is meant for people who want a "Smart phone" but don't need all of the extra crap that comes along with it. I don't need or want to edit Office documents outside of the office, I want to read joke emails my friends send to me and plan trips to the beach.

Bottom line: The iPhone is fun and easy to use.

I love my iPhone. I was first frustrated with the keyboard but now type on it faster than my Treo (which I used...alot and was quite happy to put to sleep).

It's not perfect (I wish it had an SDK, GPS, Video, 3G, and better Camera)...just better than every phone I've used or even touched.

Within a week, I had a hard time thinking about what it was like not to have...

Love my iPhone... Yes, there are some little things that need a second look (no speaker icons on the sliders) and I'm sure that Apple will have some interesting new/modified features as we go along. Sync is a big thing (and could use a little fixing, my family has the tradition of giving children the same names as some of the adults and this causes problems - not sure if it's Apple's sync or the vCard standard, but cards with the same first & last names can get merged into one). I've had photos in my Apple Address Book for years and was always frustrated that they wouldn't sync to my RAZR, now they do on the iPhone...

I've helped others set up their email accounts on other Smart Phones (Treos) mainly and what a frustrating experience. Having the iPhone pull the setup information from the computers made the iPhone instantly usable.

Apple got so many things right and it is a 1.0 product... Reading some of the rants about Exchange support and using the phone while traveling in other countries (which in my opinion is an AT&T problem more than an Apple problem) is really kind of frustrating... They seem to be missing the ease at which the iPhone handles most things. It really is fun to use!

My biggest frustration personally has to do with the accuracy of the information coming from Google in the Google Maps application. How does one report inaccurate information? Can't find any place on Google itself, so I reported it to a store whose store locations weren't accurate... 10 days after reporting it, the information is still inaccurate (I did get a response from the store indicating that they would forward it to the appropriate department). Any other suggestions as to how to report inaccurate information?

I love my iPhone. Google maps and google local search on the map are the killer apps for me. I have used it so much on my drives outside the city. EDGE was slow in remote area but it still worked. It was invaluable for me to find hotels on the fly to stay and restaurant to eat.
On the drive, i check out the weather at mycast.com with full radar maps. It has been an great tool for me. This is really information at your fingertips anywhere.
Initially, I was skeptic about the $600 price tag. But now i feel it is even worth more.
Nowdays, i do not carry my laptop inside my home unless i am going to do some serious work. For all the casual browsing, i use my iPhone. My laptop stays in the car.
Just like you, this is the first phone, i added picture to the contacts.

I had several occasions on the road, while i was in a conference call, i was checking directions simultaneously on the iPhone ( may be cached before on the maps app).

My complaints: Calendar does not sync all the text in the subject line. I normally receive the dial-in information for conference calls on the subject line/Location.I think iPhone cuts out after some 20 characters and i miss the conference number. On calls,I had some echo issue inside a buildings. The volume on the iPhone is not good enough. It is even worser in speaker phone mode.( I donot use bluetooth headset). The screen is rugged enough for my day to day use on my pocket without any screen protection.

Overall, i love this device and it is worth every penny.

To Mr. Cooper and the other europeans who've been so gracious as to comment on the iPhone from the perspective of their superior sophistication in smartphones: As the iPhone has not been introduced anywhere in Europe or outside of the United States, it seems that your comparisons are between your actual experience of your superior europeans phones and your fanciful preconceptions and prejudices regarding the iPhone, rather than any comparison between your smartphones and any actual iPhone. When comparing your fantasies of the iPhone's capabilities and features to your experience of your actual smartphones, you've confidently concluded that the iPhone of your fancy can't begin to compare to your europeans smartphones, and it is only the ignorance of we American rubes, with our primitive phones and networks, that could be so impressed with the iPhone.

Well, not having the benefit of your european sophistication, Mr. Wilcox of the instant publication, Mr. Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pogue of the New York Times, and the other leading American technology journalist have had to resort to actual comparing the iPhone to other smartphones, such as Nokia's N95, the HTC, various BlackBerries, BlackJacks, Samsungs, et al, on a variety of networks, including the latest 3G networks. It is that experience of actual comparison, combined with years of experience with smartphones and covering their technology beat, that informed their strongly positive reviews of the iPhone. While those American journalists' extensive experience with technology, which in some case includes experience with european smartphones and networks, and their actual comparisons of the iPhone with its competing smartphones may seem a poor substitute for your europeans sophistication, we primitive Americans prefer experience, especially our own, to prejudice, even where that prejudice is supported by the strong foundation of the most smug pretensions of sophistication, because we know that experience almost always makes a fool of prejudice and that, at best, prejudice only confirms what experience teaches.

Thus, until Europeans, especially you European who are sophisticated beyond the need for experience, have the benefits of actual comparing the iPhone to your smartphones on networks in Europe, the only informed comment that you can make is silence.

http://brianjudah.com/iphonebugsflawsandwishlist.htm

Don't give up on your $300 Bose headphones. I posted a "How-to" on a small snip to make it work great w/ your iPhone here:

http://www.lessonportal.com/wordpress/?p=15

I hope it helps someone!

@ Cervances :
This is no the "Apple Watch", ok?
Nobody cares what you think about iPhone.

That's the attitude you want. Maybe if Microsoft wasn't thinking that way when the original iPod came out, they wouldn't have missed the boat.

I got my iPhone July 6th. Ten days hence and I can not imagine being without it. Today while driving I needed an address and some directions. I pulled over to call my office to get this info. While looking at the iPhone, it dawned on me: my iPhone was the solution. Contacts provided the address and Google Maps gave me the rest. I did NOT have North or South indicated in my Contacts. A quick Safari search confirmed it was South. The iPhone responded faster and it eliminated an interruption to the office staff. Our businesses productivity improved because I had an iPhone. (As a small business owner, I like that!)

With one product release Apple once again has redefined an entire industry. Your readers should keep "watching" and those who are bitching about you being off subject will finally get it.

This is a watershed moment. Microsoft WILL be impacted by this product as much or more than it has been by the Mac. The GUI as we knew it just took a huge step forward. And as Apple refines the experience with software and hardware upgrades it WILL get better. I am excited as I wonder what other markets Apple is planning to enter... moving map displays? No doubt they would do a much better job than the POS mounted on my Honda Ridgeline dashboard.

Ok, I am a dual citizen and travel to Europe a lot. Yes, the cell providers there are much better than those we have in the US. And the sync is nice. However, none of them sync music, videos, contacts, etc in total as well. The interfaces are also not very user friendly. And, try using the keyboard before you knock it.

WHY ALL THE HATERS? I like both MS and Apple products. Can't there be room for both? Why do all the MS fans get so upset when something comes out that works well, and try to deny it. Yea, there is a lot of hype...but it pretty much came though...unlike some other products. And if you are in Europe and haven't even touched an iPhone, how valid is your assessment of it?!?!?!

Stand by ladies and gentlemen, I have sold at least 10 of these devices by just showing it to others. This is the smartphone for the rest of us.I don't care who makes it, it is a compelling device.

The iPhone's fantastic- best gadget I've ever owned. Like Dave, I can't imagine being without it now. Strange, but true.

Just to give an idea of how cool it is: I was on the Stairmaster last week, surfing the web on the iPhone, while listening to one of its iPod playlists. I hear the "new message" tone, and pick up the iPhone, and with a couple taps I'm reading new email from my nephew. While still exercising, I tap out a brief reply (really just for the novelty) and finish exercising.

Walking home a few minutes later, I look at his email again. For any email associated with a contact, the person's name becomes a button. I press his name button, and go straight to his contact page, with a list of his phone #s. I tap on his "mobile" number. The music I'm listening to automatically fades out, and in a few seconds we're talking.

I put the iPhone back in my pocket, because the earbuds have a built-in microphone on the cord -- it's so small that you have to look for it to see it. We talk for a few minutes, and when we're done, I pinch the microphone, which is also a switch. This hangs up the call, and automatically, my music fades up right where it stopped. Seamless. Cool.

The iPhone is more than the sum of its parts. It's a new way to be connected & entertained.

@ Orlando Smith
Couldn't have put it better.

@ Orlando Smith: you rock.

Why doesn't anyone realize...in particular the posts from our friends across the pond...that the iPhone is not about what it does, but HOW it does it! Blah, blah, blah all you want about "my Nokia does this, and my Ericcson does that..." They are yesterday. This interface and elegance is a revolution. Welcome to the future Nokia, Motorola and Samsung....ye know not what hit thee.

I love my iPhone, its one of the best devices i have ever purchased. I was going to buy a macbook, now i don't need one. Between my mac mini at home, and my iPhone with me all the time, I can get all my work accomplish and show off my phone anywhere.

I bought an iPhone too and it absolutely rocks! I think its worth reviewing it here because it gives us all something to think about. Competition is good - without it any company will stagnate. Microsoft will come up with an answer, and Apple will probably come up with more innovation. This is good for us, the consumer. I've never owned a Mac, but this iPhone is a beautiful device to use. I don't subscribe to this fanboy crap - Microsoft owns the desktop right now through marketing, product innovation and strategy. Apple had their chance a long time ago and missed the boat on that one. Apple owns the MP3 space right now and is going to definitely make in-roads with the iphone.

@ Orlando Smith

Excellent post. (However, I am afraid to do or say anything that will make Europeans hate America more than they already do. - We have so few remaining allies these days)

I have an iPhone and love it. I have not used my iPhone excessively and have also drained it to dead on 2 occassions and under 15% on the others. But I bought my phone a week ago late Saturday and it is now late Monday (just over a week) and I have charged my phone (once initially out of the box) and now 4 more times since then. It is still 75% charged the fourth. so I found the 3 times in 2 weeks claim great, but not my experience. I have not made too many calls, maybe 3 hours total, and not used the web that much or the iPod either. I certainly played with it as first, but since then it's just my phone, and the web and email when I need/want them. I'm worried that when I do use it more that I won't get optimal battery performance. It hasn't been bad, just not what you claim, and I now as I think about it, it may indeed be poor. I know some units have had issues, so I suppose tracking mine and taking it in if necessary for replacement in a month is always a viable option. Especially since I intend to use a Bluetooth headset and know that my talk and standby times will decrease with the BT in use or simply enabled.

The comments of my fellow Europeans completely miss the point on the iPhone: The real iPhone innovation is the interaction with its user, and not with the provider. It is the paradigm shift in the user experience, similar to the introduction of the GUI for PCs by Apple 24 years ago, that counts. It'll take MS at least a year to catch up with a similar OS interface, and cellphone companies another year to develop the hardware. The real question then is: Will history repeat itself??

Nice article.

It's unfortunate that I won't own an iPhone for a while simply because it's locked to ATT.

Otherwise, please fix the tiny typho on the fifth line of the second paragraph under the section "The iPhone's Major Benefit #2: Mobile Web". I beleieve you meant to say smart phones not smart hones.

Ehi Mr Cooper,

I think your position about iPhone is weak just because you never used an iPhone (and maybe an iPod). I'm from Italy and have to travel a lot across the World. You're right when you say that European telcos are quite more advanced than American ones. We have low cost, flat fee data services up to 3.6 Mbit/s in upload and 1.2 Mbit/s in download; we have remote synch services based on SynchML an quite all operators do configure your phone via SMS OTA messages.
But... there are several "buts" in your suggested superiority of your phone (whatever it is). I've a NokiaN95 and tried almost EVERY phone in the market, due to my job position at one of the biggest 3G companies in the world. You can synch your phone via SynchML provided you synch-ed every account and service of your PC with your provider. And this is not at all OS independent (MacOS is quite never supported in Europe), is not even compatible with all applications (if your company still uses Lotus Notes you can't synch with Vodafone, Three and T-Mobile nor with TIM and O2... just to mention some of the big operators). You can't synch videos and music or buy them with a single, integrated interface. You have to buy them from the phone (interfaces and complexity varies) or from a plethora of different services via the Web. Trabsferring data from the PC to the NokiaN95 is a real pain the ass, being so ssssslow! For sure it works. I have a N95 as my personal phone and I download my preferred podcasts while on the go. I can browse the Internet (to some extent) and play games. All this through a non consistent-interface (interaction method changes from application to application, so the behaviour of the operating system... sometimes you can close an app by pressing the back button, some other times you have to pass via the main menu even if the secondary quick button says "Exit"). You can do all of this for four hours (at best)... when the videos are not H.264, when the videos are not too much complex, when... And this is the case for several other devices.

All these oddities are part of the game: the perfect device isn't out there, yet. And you cannot give lessons to our American friends because these devices are available also in the US. It's not matter of integration with the telco to be able to evaluate two different phones. In the same market, with the same technical scenario the iPhone is far better than the others in most features. The same will be here for a while.

The you can say that FOR YOU, fighting to have all of your address books, mail accounts, calendars, videos, music synch-ed via slow SynchML servers hosted at your telco provider premises is the best solution. Because you're lucky and you company servers and private servers are compatible with the system and YOU'LL NEVER CHANGE OPERATOR. In the other case... good luck, my friend!

There seem to be two kinds of post here: those positive about the iPhone, and those negative, much as one would expect. Interestingly though, all of the posters who've actually used an iPhone are exceedingly positive, while all the negativity comes from people who haven't used it. Sounds like to use it is to love it. For those who haven't used it, remember the words of Wittgenstein: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."

Using the iPhone's touchscreen will make you a better lover.

To everyone and particularly our friends in Europe: I apologize to anyone, European or otherwise, who felt insulted, because they believe that my earlier post was an insult directed at Europeans. My target was not Europeans or any nationality, but prejudice that was masquerading as valid comparison of the iPhone with other smartphones and networks, where the writer wasn't speaking from his personal experience of the iPhone. I believe and hope I behave in a manner that respects anyone's opinion about the any topic that is given in a civil and respectful manner and that is based on reason and experience.

Prejudice is a vice, but vices and virtues are distributed among us equally, irrespective of nationality, and I did not mean, in my earlier post, to suggest otherwise. I welcome and look forward to the thoughtful and valid comments of everyone, including our European brothers and sisters.

Lithium ion batteries last longer if regularly topped off, rather than running them dry.

To those suggesting that I cannot comment:

I was responding to specific points raised in the original article:

Quality of the Synchronization Process
Availability of Mobile Email
Availability of Mobile Web

And commenting that none of those seemed to be compelling features. At least one of those concerned the service provider, and my comment on the deficiencies of US telcos stems from Tom's comment to that effect that it may be limitations of those telcos which are causing the deficient user experience.

Please note that I did not comment on the touch UI, but other specific advantages raised by the article.

I also pointed to concerns over smartphone features that I have now, which are not available on the IPhone, particularly PDA functionality.

I also commented that my existing smartphone had battery life issues.

Oh and yes, I have seen an IPhone. They have reached this side of the pond in the hands of those who have purchased them in the US.

For those who say I can't have a comment because I did not buy it.

Does that mean I have to buy every LCD tv, a Plasama TV, a DLP tv. In order to give an honest opion?

Could I not make a decision and comment on my decision with out buying everying?

Look iPhone does the samething as a SmartPhone just differently. Is this difference better and we should all go get one, no. They both do the same things and based on reviews or technical specs from the manufactures I can make a decision.

A iPhone gets email a smarthpone gets email.
A iPhone surfs the web a smartphone surgs the web.
A iphone make phones calls a smartphone makes phone calls.

At the end of the day what matters is that you get the email, the web works, and you can make a phone call.

Do I have to buy a sedan, a coupe, a SUV, an 18 wheeler, or a truck in order to give an honest opion?

What if people just do not like touch screens, am I to buy this because it is new and inovative just like all the others in the past with touch screen. But no this is different Apple made it. Then once I realize I don't like the touch screen when I knew that to begin with. Can I make that opinion even though I have not used an iPhone? I know I would hate to drive an 18 wheeler but do I have to drive one in order to make that statement. Even after Peter Built manufactures the Ultra Automatic iTruck Go Anywher do Anything with 18 Wheels?

I just don't like 18 Wheelers and no matter what will not drive one, but I will drive my SUV or Small truck. I guess I don't like touch screens on a small device where my fingures are bigger and therefore will not buy one. The tactil feel of a real keyboard is better even if it is small. At least the earser on the pencil does not slide around.

My son dropped my iPhone -- from dinning table to marble floor and as it fell I thought my iPhone was finished and would be in pieces. BUT, NOTHING HAPPENED. It performs perfectly well. It only has a very tiny dent on the upper right corner of the case, so tiny that no one will ever notice it unless I tell them and even then few can't still tell.

"The GUI is just a toy."

said they guy who says

"Multi-touch is just not for me."

No, I don't own one, but will some day, I'm sure.

Dear Mr. Cooper and Mr. Computer Guy (Mr. Guy): The answer to whether you have a right to comment about the iPhone is yes. However, if the question is whether you can make a valid or even useful comment about the iPhone or compare it with competing smartphones without using it on a network enhanced to support its features, the answer is no. Mr. Cooper the very terms of your latest post show why your comments about the iPhone are invalid and useless. You state that your are commenting, not about the iPhone, but Mr. Wilcox's article. But from Mr. Wilcox's article--not from any experience with the iPhone--you conclude that the iPhone features aren't compelling, because the smartphones of your experience also have those features. That's a comparison of Mr. Wilcox's writing about the iPhone with your experience of other smartphones. That, of course, is useless for anyone who wants to know about iPhone. Mr. Wilcox's writing, after all, whatever its virtues as prose, undoubtedly makes both a poor smartphone and, at best, an inadequate proxy for the iPhone. However, it is encouraging that you have at least seen an iPhone.

To begin, the iPhone has some unique and new features, for example its use of a multi-touch GUI on a smartphone, which can only be judge, reviewed, and compared by experiencing them. Then there are all the features that the iPhone shares with other smartphones. You make the mistake of assuming that, because the iPhone shares those features, email or making phone calls for example, there is an equivalence of those features on the iPhone and other smartphones. Yet, one thing that almost all the reviewers and the users posting here and elsewhere have uniformly acclaimed: That Apple has executed many of the iPhone's standard features with such superior elegance, integration, and design that they are of a different and superior quality than those same features on other smartphones. Commenting on whether you think that is true requires experience with using the iPhone on a network that is designed for it. Merely commenting on others' comments won't enlighten either you or Mr. Guy about the features of the iPhone, and it certainly won't provide those reading your posts with any useful information about your experience of the iPhone, because you don't have any.

That is why--to answer Mr. Guy's question: "Does that mean I have to buy every LCD tv, a Plasama TV, a DLP tv. In order to give an honest opion?"--all reviewers are obliged by their editors to either buy or receive a testing copy of the device or product that they are going to review and also to have sufficient experience to make a valid comparisons among competing products. Readers want to know what you personally know about the devices that you are commenting on or are comparing. Without that personal experience, you're simply speculating or simply giving a review of a comment. Your comments may be honest, but they are also ignorant. And there seems to be a general consensus that ignorant reviewers aren't worthy of attention.

Whether it is true that the iPhone is breakthrough smartphone is something that the market will decide, and the early signs for the iPhone are encouraging. But whatever the market decides, it is clear that neither you Mr. Cooper, Mr. Guy, or others, who haven't used an iPhone on a network enhanced to support it features, can contribute any valid statement about the iPhone. Though Mr. Wilcox may be saddened to heat that neither you or Mr. Guy find his writing persuasive.

"A iPhone surfs the web a smartphone surgs the web."

I have had a cingular (now AT&T) 8125 Windows Mobile smart phone for about a year now, and early on I used it to look at some web pages. Now I finally know what to call the experience: "surg" -- which is how you say "surf" when you're throwing up a little in your mouth.

Orlando Smith :
So all smartphone are the same and are inferior to the iPhone?

They all have feature A. Would some smartphones with feature A be better than an other smartphone with feature A and maybe better than the iPhone or maybe not? Don't clump all smartphones in one basket.

How could I have gotten a hold a review copy of the iPhone when they wanted to keep it such a secret. Or even editors who could not get it. Which leads to could all of the so called bugs be adverted if there was a preview of the device, a presale, a consure review, an editors review?

But again that would mean that I can't comment on DLP TV becuase I have not sat in front of it for X hours and viewed Y movies and played Z amount of games. I have reviewed but not used many smarthpones can I comment on all of the other smarthpones even though I did not PURCHASE them? Again how much time does one need to spend in order to be able to give a "valid" opinion?
What are the criteria before one could give an honest opion? Call it what you want Multi GUI iTouch thingy. It is still a touch screen? I'm waiting for the 3D version where the keys pop off the screen and I can push them like real button. They have force feed back. Would that be the iPhone v5? Until they make that improvement touch screen with tactil feedback I will still have questions about using a QWERTY virtual keyboard.

My point is that no one can give it a bad review with or with out trying it. Then to build a criteria for those who have not tried it. This criteria goes way beyond what is normally done when a consumer reviews a TV or a Car or a computer. Then if they comment on that which they have not tried are then considered to be ignorant, come on. I'm human your human in the end of the day we have nothing.

Ok, I will go down to an Apple store how long do you want me to use the devie before I'm qualified? One hour, will they let me do that in the Apple Store? I make calls on it and test it out email, video, music. And based on your idea if it requires more time how could I review it with out buying it? Could you image the cost one would have if they needed to buy everything to give an opion? That buying is more important than experience and knowledge which is worthless. I will entertain your idea but if you say I need a week. Where can I go and get an iPhone and use it for a week. And why would I need to do this with an iPhone and not the HD-DVD when it came out, or DVD, or HDtv when those *new* technologies came out. Why is that only the iPone I must hold and use for weeks on end before I can give an opinion or a comparison based on features. Dear I say those feature that are also comparable to a smartphone making them not so *new* of technology just a *new* way to use it.

Oh I'm missing the point it is about the experience not the features. And talking on any phone while hanging upside down from a tall building is exllerating. Who cares just give me web, email, music, video. If I want to change the experience I will jump off a building (I'm sure you like that) while I'm talking on the phone and I guess if I did that while I have an iPhone in my hand it will be even more exciting. Oh wait I'll ride an 18 Wheeler off a cliff while on the iPhone with a parachute and jump out at the last minute watching a video and sending email. NO, wati I'll capture the video while I'm falling!!!! What I can't do that on an iPhone? It does not have that feature, ohhh no it can't be the iPhone does not have a featrue ohh no where is my video capturing. Oh wait I take that back, I can't say anything bad about the iPhone I have yet to try one for a week. Then and only then can I say it does not have video capture. I'll get back to you in a week.

So what kind of protoplasm did they use that no one else in the world has again that makes it sooooo different? Ohhh ya that multi-touch gui thingy. got it.

Alose from what I have read here on this thread I think your supper dupper network is in Europe not the US.

At the AT&T store I used the Samsung Blackjack, Blackberry 8300, Treo 750 and iPhone to look up some information on Wikipedia. Only the iPhone could render the pages correctly, the others made an attempt and others like the Samsung failed. My current Treo 650 also has a hard time with websites like Wikipedia and it's frustrating trying to use a smartphone on a dumb down WAP sites. The iPhone gives you the freedom to surf a page rendered correctly. That's one point many reviewers and people who write in overlook or don't appreciate.

As for a PDA, I like the scroll fly wheel of iPhone calendar. However, if I wanted to jump by month or year I have to keep scrolling to the right date. The fly wheel scrolling is cooler and easier to use, but the Treos have a slight better functionality in terms of jumping by month or year. Plus on the Palm system you can see the month view when choosing the right date.

e.g. I want to set up a reminder to renew a domain name 3 years from now a month before it expires. It took me a while to get there on an iPhone.

Another example would be I want to remind myself to renew my passport 2 years from now before it expires.

On the other hand the Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Q with a feature reduced Windows Mobile 5 have unusable calendars. They are just awful compared to any calendar I have used, the Windows Mobile 5 based Treo 750 is better than the Samsung and Motorola versions. People forget to factor these practical things when pricing out smartphones.

One last thing. My Handspring Treo 180 used a program called Datebook instead of Calendar. It was a program licensed by Handspring and sadly not by Palm to show all your events very nicely in a weekview. The current weekview in Palm for the Treo 650 and successive generations has never equalled the functionality of the Treo 180�s Datebook.

My 2 cents on smartphone calendars and the webbrowser.
Enjoy your phone.
-DS

If the web pages for the PDA meant for the PDA as far as size and performance? I think it is nice to have a desktop version of the web site on my PDA. But the version of the same site for a PDA and designed for a PDA is much quicker and the experience is better? I have seen sites that look great on a desktop but have a different verison for a PDA and if that is viewed on the PDA it is better than the desktop version no zoom in zoom out or scrolling left and right?

I just hope when I see a demo it changes my mind. I believe that the scolling and zooming will be much esier. Web pages regardless of the look on a PDA it is the navigation. IMHO i think to eliminate the unessacery navigation, scrolling and zooming could only be accomplished by the web designer and making the web site work for the device it is rendered on and not up to the device to accomplish this by way of zooming and scolling. In the past I have see that Deep Fish for smartphones does anyone know when that comes out how it will compare to the iPhone? The big difference and I bet is better on the iPhone is doing that scooling and zooming by touching the screen and not using a keys to do it not that it is hard to do a smarthpone from what I hear.

That is cool that even if the calendar was not so greate you could get another program for the smartphone. That was Handago you got it at? Is there add-ons for the iPhone too? I will have to ask the apple guy when I see them and take that in to consideration.

I have the N95 too and I am typing this comment from my Treo 700WX. After reading through you post I don't find anything good enough reason to replace my N95 w/ iphone. don't get it why you are so excited when your N95 can do all the stuffs you mentioned, maybe better. I know iphone 's UI is better for sure. anyway, it seems cooler just own one regardless. or, I just do need get one to play with.

Computer Guy: you really need to stop comparing feature lists. Compare the feature lists of a Mac to any other PC, iPod to any other MP3 player or iPhone to any other phone and odds are the other non Apple item will have more features. They'll all have core features A, B and C but the non Apple items will also have extra features X, Y and Z. The fact is that Apple does those core features A, B and C far better than the competition. Yes you can browse the web on your phone, but it sucks. Yes you can get email on your phone, but it sucks. Apple hardly ever invents something new. What they do is take what is already out there and puts it together to make is easy and fun to use.

From these comments: "It doesn't even have a 'real' Keyboard."

Yes, you are right, and THANKFULLY so -- this virtual keyboard is far superior to those on my former Blackberry Curve and Treo 700. I am far faster and more accurate typing with it. The best part is being able to set the phone on a desk or table and using the keyboard like a desktop keyboard. You can't do this with a small tactile keyboard due to the key pressure involved: the phone moves around.

The iPhone is the Real Deal. The sync is amazing. The Phone is JOY to use. I'm keeping it and selling the Treo for sure.

Enough white flag.

http://mac.blorge.com/2007/07/18/enough-already-with-the-iphone/

Geat a life people they are just phones with some gadgets, does anyone remember the patry line. or how about this for a phone.

http://www.amradios.com/pictures/phone-conn-wall.htm

DS

That's what the sync facility is for.

you do not need to set those future dates, because ( assuming they were important enough for you to have already created them ) they are transferred the first time you sunc the iPhone