I think an interesting turn of events would be if the Microsoft juggernaut would buy Palm and make it dissappear. They have a track reacord of buying up companies who make a competing product and *poof*, gone. It would make a certain amount of good business sense to buy Palm, retire the PalmOS and it's devices, and leave WM, BB and Symbian on the playing field.

A bit off topic rivviepop, but, that is what had many in the Linux community in an uproar when MS and Novell signed their 'cooperation agreement' It upset me even more because as you know, Novell is the developer of my beloved openSuse....

A bit off topic but in agreement with your above statement....

gasp future tros would suck even more if moterola bought out palm
the plmzr or th twzer
I could live with nokia buying them out

With all due respect, and this is not directed at you, just a comment about the iPhone.

I'm sure the iPhone will have it's merits, and very nice style. However that's about it, at least until the second generation. Having friends in the inner sanctum of Apple, they are STILL hiring engineers to help with this project! It seems quite interesting that they embark on this project, hype it to the max at their MacWorld convention during which they are still in the early stages of development. Much less at a time when they do not have a stable reliable running pre-production prototype.

I will give Apple this, they are the marketing geniuses. No other company would be able to get away with promoting vaporware and having the journalists and public speak of it, as thought it's already a done deal, tested and demonstrated to the world.

Converseley they are going to find out (although I'm sure they already know, but are in denial) that Samsung is the Giant that is emerging here in the US with better and better phones by the month. What will become of this, simply it's a model that's done, tested, proven and rolling out for sale now.

Meet the Samsung F700. Every bit (just my opinion) as elegant as the iPhone. Smaller, lighter, and a real slide out qwerty keyboard that is roomy and extremely easy to use. Connectivity across the board, 3G, Edge, GSM. No Wifi as they are smart and know that the largest carrier in the North American market is not interested in WiFi, that would be Cingular.

I personally welcome this model, and it's also important for you to know that I use a MacBook Pro, Video iPod, New Nano iPod, etc. So I'm certainly an Apple supporter, except whenever they pull one of these overhyped dog and pony shows.

Cheers.....

I'll buy it when T-Mobile releases it. Whenever that may be.

These are very good and IMO valid points. I too am a Mac, video iPod, Shuffle and dot Mac user so I am ready to roll with the iPhone.

When it was announced I was all giddy with anticipation of the beautiful device that it is. With that said, I need to see the proof in the pudding with regard to screen durability, email capability, how the tactile-less keyboard will work and "feel?". Also, can you say battery life? Will I be dragging a USB charger with me everywhere I go?

I was all jacked about getting an iPhone when they came out but the more I use my 8800 and the more I realize how much I enjoy the email, text, IM experience on a BB, the harder that decision gets. If the experience is all they say it is, I may be up for considering it but I have yet to see a REAL push email solution (without me having to find hosting, computer left on, Exchange, etc, etc) that can rival the BB.

My experience is that multi-purpose devices are less stable and nearly always a bad experience. I've tried Treo, Windows Mobile, etc. They all do one thing pretty well but really are awful when you try to use them as multi-purpose devices like mp3 players.

I think the early adopters will grab the iphone but I bet what we see is a very very small supply out in the marketplace to build word of mouth and prevent a problem if they still have kinks to work out of it.

Here's how I look at it, now that the BlackBerry has become my communications center.

Having many years experience with Apple products, I believe that the first version of the iPhone is going to have anywhere from a few "bugs" to many. In addition, since this device is clearly coming from the Apple / iPod entertainment focus, I cannot imagine a good experience without 3G. Also Apple is entering an arena (cell phones) that is very, very competitive and populated by very experienced players. Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Nokia et al, are not small players.

From my perspective the first generation iPhone will be snapped up my Hollywood types and their hangers on. That will be one source of sales, then perhaps an even larger contingent will be the "Mac Faithful" that will buy anything that comes from the Cupertino based company. Then depending on how it sells and if it survives, I think there is a very good chance that Apple will revamp it, include 3 or even 3.5G, all within months of it's initial sales. At that point I will re-evaluate my position.

However no matter how good, I will not replace my BlackBerry's with the iPhone. It would be (for me) just another phone to "play with" as are the others in my inventory now. I would be remiss if I did not say that I'm quite interested in the innovations that may be present on the iPhone. If Steve Jobs would have demonstrated a working production model, then made them available the next day, I would have found credibilitiy that is thus far lacking. I too "wanted" to get excited over something revolutionary, but knew based on past experience having attended most every MacWorld Convention held in SF, that the smoke and mirrors routine would prevail. I say that as my take, not positive, nor negative. It's what the man does. It's the reason he got Apple back on track..... great marketing hype. Followed by unknown ability or willingness to actually back it up. Long time Apple users like myself will understand this statement immediatley. Using myself as an example. I buy as many laptops as I do mobile phones. I have purchased less than half the PowerBooks (in the past) as I was ready to purchase. Why? They were introduced at MacWorld, then Apple failed to deliver on time, with waits that at some intervals were longer than one would believe. So I bought something else, every time. I've purchased at least one of nearly every brand of laptop made. Not once did I have to wait the 6 months or longer I did for certain PowerBooks before throwing in the towel.

I have purchased seven or eight new phones this year that are non-BlackBerry phones that are fun to try on the weekends etc. And yet that said my desire for "other phones" is waning as the BlackBerry product line becomes even more contemporary with enhanced features.

Finally there is nothing (for me) than beats the incredible reliability, stability and speed of the BlackBerry. The reliability alone makes up for any slight speed disadvantage when compared to other phones. On the BlackBerry you do it once and it's done.......Priceless.

Cheers.....

you don't happen to go on any sports forum sites, do you? you do the same purposely misspelling words gimmick this one guy does.

you think those mistakes are done on purpose? terrible gimmick

archer,
While I agree with many of your points and will most likely have an iPhone one day in addition to my BB I think the main reason that the iPhone was not exhibited as a working and tested model is that it had yet to begin the FCC process and Jobs wanted to announce the iPhone to the world instead of some FCC employee posting on engadget.com.

Regardless of this, it would seem that some more functionality could have been displayed but he did show a bit of it that day.

Cheers.

You have a very good point that I had not considered, regarding the FCC.

I must admit that I tend to be very passionate about all things in the tech sector. And having a very large company myself I understand sales and marketing quite well. This combined with my being a "borderline" Apple fanatic, I tend to have this like / dislike relationship with Apple.

I have have watched them squander so many terrific opportunities for success beyond what they have already created. All because of a blend of ego centric behavior and elitest attitude. Then witnessing the corporate culture first hand, it's amazing that they shoot themselves in the foot so often. Then again it's not.

One area that I find them to be very good at, and very consistent with is the design of their products. The elegant design and exemplary packaging, is a perfect example of what they are capable of when they focus on an area with a clearly defined plan.

One thing I know that will happen, and that is , it will be very interesting to watch this play out. I do wish them success, as after all, it's the best for our free enterprise society and the more competition the better. Personally despite my vascillating feelings about the company, I would certainly enjoy seeing them improve the quality and consistency of the laptop lineup. Then a successful launch of the iPhone and subsequent next generation model with the needed improvements would be very welcome.

Finally regarding the performance of Mr. Jobs, following the business sector as closely as I do, has been very interesting as well. After he left Apple and formed NEXT Computer Inc. There was a distinct and very noticeable amount of floundering around in absense of "being the center of public admiration". A lot of money was thrown at that project with very little in the way of results. Despite a huge staff of engineers and related support people, not much occured for quite a number of years. This is clearly a man that belongs "on stage". A great promoter, that once the spotlight dims, somehow tends to get lost in the shuffle. This is not to discredit his ability to put deals together like the present one with Disney. With the cash resources, personal connections et al. One would expect much more success than has been the norm in the past and to a certain extent the present.

Cheers...

well suposedly tmo gets a treo next month my friend wants to dump his perl for it cause he likes th touch screen