got an iPhone for my wife

[Dyvim]

I have been a longtime user of, fan of, and developer for Windows Mobile devices (since before there was Windows Mobile or even Pocket PC). I have a number of Windows Mobile phone devices, including my latest: the HTC Advantage x7501.

This past weekend I bought an iPhone as a surprise anniversary present for my wife. I've been setting it up over the past few days, so that it is all configured for her: setting up Weather, Maps, Stocks, e-mail, Contacts, bookmarks, photos, music, and video, so I've become pretty familiar with the capabilities and uses of the iPhone. I must say that I am extremely impressed. I think Apple really hit a home run with this one. IMO, they did far better with v1 of their iPhone than MS has been able to do with v6 of their Windows Mobile platform. The UI is sleek and sexy (like the best of Vista UI- or Mac OS X for you Mac fans) without any lag. And in a word it is usable. Extremely usable. This is where Windows Mobile has always been lacking.

It's also quite affordable. $399 for a quadband phone with 3.5" 480x320 widescreen, 8 GB flash storage, WiFi and BT. Most of the HTC devices we discuss around here range from $600-$900, so $399 seems quite affordable to me. And did I mention that it's slim? And has a gorgeous glass front screen, not plastic? I know technically it can't do as much as these $600-$900 WM phones (which often include GPS and more BT profiles), but this is $200-$500 less and none of those more expensive phones has 8 GB flash storage built in. (The Advantage ($850) has 8 GB storage but it's a microdrive.) And it's easy and fun to use. And it works. Without hassles.

Probably the #1 complaint against the iPhone from WM fans is the inability to use 3rd party apps (although this may be changing by Feb of next year). Point taken. But what 3rd party apps do I use on my WM devices?
TCPMP or CorePlayer: because WMP sucks
Opera or NetFront: because PIE sucks
PIM apps: because built-in Contacts, Tasks, and Messaging apps suck.
Resco File & Photo viewing utilities: because built-in File Explorer and Photo Viewer suck
Task switcher: because WM handles memory management poorly and the stupid X button won't close apps (except on the HTC Advantage where HTC built that in, no thanks to MS)
See a pattern here? Really the reason I need 3rd party apps on WM is because the built-in apps frankly suck. Or more politely put are inadequate for my needs.

But the iPhone has a great media player, the best web browser by far I've ever seen on any mobile device, great photo app, good contacts and mail apps, etc. And the OS correctly manages memory, so that I don't have to worry about it. Plus bonus stuff like Weather, Stocks, Google Maps (which is excellent, a real time-saver), etc. So I think most people won't ever need 3rd party apps.

The #2 (or maybe #3) complaint from WM fans is that the iPhone doesn't have 3G but only EDGE. True. But where I live EDGE is as fast as it gets and 3G is only a dream, so the iPhone works just fine for now.

The #3 (or maybe #2) complaint is AT&T. True, but the only other GSM option in the U.S. is T-Mobile and their coverage is bad in my area. On a 5-bar scale, AT&T is consistently 2-3 bars better than T-Mobile around town. If the iPhone were on Verizon or Sprint, it wouldn't work abroad, so in that respect the iPhone is no different from any other quadband GSM world phone that we lust after on PPT.

I'll still be a Windows Mobile fan, as long as there is development work for me in that field. And as long as I still have eBooks to read (I love reading eBooks in bed on the Advantage's 5" VGA screen). But I must say that I see an iPhone for myself in my future. Maybe my wife will get the hint and get one for me for Xmas! :D

[hamishmacdonald]

Why an iPhone wouldn't work for me, in a word: TextMaker. I'm writing my fourth novel on my TyTN II using TextMaker and a Bluetooth keyboard.

I do download documents, web pages, and messages with my device, but I also use it to create. It's ironic that Apple, so long the favourite platform for creative types, should be making devices that can only be used to consume.

[Cybrid]

IMO, they did far better with v1 of their iPhone than MS has been able to do with v6 of their Windows Mobile platform.

Probably the #1 complaint against the iPhone from WM fans is the inability to use 3rd party apps (although this may be changing by Feb of next year). Point taken. Apple Newton was V1. :) I don't think that V1 vs V6 comparison is fair. I have no doubt Apple investigated the market. Looked a WM Vx. and said "how do we improve upon that?" This was no double blind closed box development.

I also think that lack of 3rd party apps...isn't a simple single point.

E.g. GPS/Mapping. Google Maps is fantastic but what about when you are out of cell tower range? The fact that I would need to have a data plan and coverage to access maps...The cost of data plan vs outright purchase/ ownership of map?

E.G. Ability to open a word document without a web app. See above.

As HamishMcDonald said "a device meant to consume..."

The money you saved on the device goes right back into the data plan. And Yeah. I know it has WiFi...

[hamishmacdonald]

(*thinks back to his Newton and sighs*)

But, oh, if they'd continued from there. But they didn't, so I moved to the OS that best supported mobile computing. Yes, I'm the other sort of switcher, the kind they don't talk about.

[Dyvim]

The money you saved on the device goes right back into the data plan.
I see your point if you weren't going to use a data plan anyway with your WM device. But many people need a data plan so that they can have access to internet, email, etc. when out of WiFi range, so the data plan isn't necessarily an extra cost for us. My HTC Advantage needs a data plan too if it is going to be truly useful to me. $20/mo. isn't unreasonable for an unlimited data plan. I know there are ways of lying to the cell companies about which device you really have in order to get a cheaper plan that you hope they don't track your use on and terminate you, but straight up PDA data plans run $20/mo in addition to a voice plan or $30-$40/mo without.

So the money we saved on the device doesn't in fact go right back into the data plan, since we were already paying for one on a crappier phone.

[Dyvim]

I don't think that V1 vs V6 comparison is fair.
Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly fair, but MS has been in this market for a long time. Over 10 years now, and their usability is still really lacking. They've had more than enough time to get it right, and each iteration brings only minor improvements.

I dismissed the iPhone too for most of the reasons PPC and SP fans espouse on this site and SPT, but I've been playing with one now for a few days and for me there's no comparison: it just completely blows the Windows Mobile experience away. But as with all things YMMV.

[oldan]

Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly fair, but MS has been in this market for a long time. Over 10 years now, and their usability is still really lacking. They've had more than enough time to get it right, and each iteration brings only minor improvements.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I've got to tell ya... I have Sprint because my daughter works there. When the Touch was announced, I thought - great! I can get back into the Windows Mobile racket (I used a simple samsung while "in between jobs") *and* get my touch screen.

I've been a little disappointed. I have to pull out that little stylus w-a-a-y too often to make it a _touch_ device. Yes, I've found the PocketCM keyboard and the TouchPal keyboard. But (perhaps because) I started on a Palm Pilot, my ability to whip out graffiti just kills any keyboard (even those on the Blackberry devices I was forced to use at my last job).

But by and large, I think I'll keep the touch and look forward to the next version of the iPhone which will - even if it is just an incremental upgrade - be more fun to use.

- Oldan