Once again, everybody's talking about the iPhone. Reminds me of the way it was when Apple showed the first prototype and everyone went nuts. Now people are actually getting their hands on working models of the thing and everyone's going nuts again. And the praises - and complaints - are rolling in.

Here's a rundown of some initial observations:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/26/iphone-facts-from-the-first-reviews/

So now they're saying that it does support Exchange, "in some capacity." I perked up my ears at that. The reported lack of Exchange support was the number one deal-breaker for me. It still remains to be seen exactly what that "capacity" may be but it is cause for hope.

I do love the way it looks. That huge, gorgeous screen sorely tests my loyalty to Windows Mobile. And I don't really give a flip about some of the things that others are whining about, such as no text messaging and the inability to set MP3s as ringtones (although the latter feature would be nice). I could even live with the inability to copy and paste, I guess. I don't remember the last time I copied and pasted anything on my WM phone.

But ... after 300 or so charges, you have to send your phone back to Apple to get the battery replaced? And be without your cell phone for however long that takes? No way, José, not when I can buy a new battery for my Samsung i730, have multiple batteries and switch them out, etc. That is a huge drawback.

And that, along with Apple's decision to make AT&T the only provider for its phone, at least for now, is why I won't be buying an iPhone any time soon. Give me a removable battery and let me use it with Verizon's network and I'll plop down my $600 in a minute. Well, maybe. There's also the "lock in" factor. See http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/desktop_mobile/my_iphone_verdict.html for more on that.

I do suspect at least one of these problems (the battery) will be addressed in the next version. I can't imagine that people won't be screaming about having to send their entire phone in to get the battery replaced. Unless you just have to be on the cutting edge and you "need" to be an early adopter for the ego factor, I'd hold off on buying one. I suspect v2 will be both better and cheaper. Will I buy one then? We'll see.

Mainly, I'm hoping the makers of Windows Mobile devices will take a few hints from the iPhone and build me a WM phone with all the advantages (large touch screen, no physical keyboard, sleek form factor) and none of the disadvantages. Apple claims to have been first with the graphical PC interface and copied by everyone else (even though they actually "borrowed" it from Xerox/PARC before Microsoft "borrowed" it from them). They say the  Zune and other MP3 players were rip-offs of their iPod. Let's hope the copy-cat factor kicks in for this phone, too.

deb@shinder.net     www.debshinder.com
"Never enter a battle of wits unarmed."