[Deslock]

Originally Posted by Kris Kumar

Windows Mobile is like driving stick, and iPhone is like driving automatic.

I understand your metaphor, but as someone who hates automatics but enjoys using the iPhone, I'm gonna respond with a different perspective. For the most part, I can open the hood and tweak an iPhone just like I could PPC/WinMo devices. The difference is that with WinMo, I had to pull over every few miles not to tinker, but to repair.

Also, since you brought up cars here, the iPhone's steering is precise, it has a smooth short-throw 6MT, and throttle response is excellent. I can't add a roof rack, but I can fit a lot in the trunk. There are oodles of accessories and options available too. One of the downsides is that there are only a couple models available, though they're well designed

Originally Posted by Pony99CA

It's been taking lumps for a while now. However, it's not really at the bottom of the marketshare heap. With 20 million units shipped last year, I think they were only behind Nokia's Symbian and RIM's BlackBerry.

I've asked this before, but no one knew the answer. How many of the 20M WinMo units were touchscreen devices?

As far as the thread's initial question goes, the iPhone's most significant feature from beginning was one seldom mentioned: the capacitance touchscreen. Without it, Apple couldn't have implemented such an effective interface. It was clear two years ago that Microsoft would need to completely overhaul WinMo and ditch the resistive screen to compete in the consumer market, and with the introduction of Android and WebOS, that's even more obvious. I suspect that Microsoft will fix the interface (perhaps providing some sort of legacy support via a capacitance stylus while switching to a finger-centric approach), though I'm not sure how some of WinMo's other issues will be addressed (such as the current PITA processes for installing apps and restoring from backup).