Comments on: The inevitability of the iPhone

I thought I could evade the iPhone. I was wrong.

[David Kelson]

I bought an iPhone, really liked it, but I returned it for a few reasons. IT DOESN'T VOICE DIAL. THE EARPIECE SOUND QUALITY IS POOR AND IT DOESN"T GET LOUD ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE AMBIENCE IN NOISY SITUATIONS. Hopefully, this will be corrected in the next iteration. Then I'll buy another one.
Regards, David

[mjtomlin]

Honestly, who cares what someone else uses as long as it works best for their needs. People are going to have different experiences. Some think the physical keys are better than typing on a touch screen because of the tactile feedback you get from actually pushing the buttons. Some people can't stand them because the buttons are way too small for their fingers.

I switched from my cheap, free phone to the iPhone because... (1) the touch interface and interaction just blew me away. Very easy and intuitive to use. (2) it would allow me to replace three devices with one; my cell phone, my ipod, and my laptop. It obviously doesn't completely replace my laptop, but for surfing the web, checking email, etc., it works great. (And don't feed me the Flash argument, I don't even have Flash installed in my browser on my desktop computer.) (3) I'll be able to write applications for it in an environment I'm already familiar with, Xcode and Objective-C.

[JNGowan]

It's funny that as I grow older, I find myself leaving the Nintendo vs. Sega arguments and heading straight into Mac vs. Win, iPod vs. Nomad and now iPhone vs. Blackberry/Everyone else. Basically, if everyone's having fun, what does it matter?

However, as iPhone user, I have to say, I'm very impressed that Apple could not only enter a market, but ultimately begin to change how EVERYONE considers cellphones these days. I'm reminded of just a couple of years ago when MS brought in the Zune and it was lacking in just about all the departments and they're attitude was "this is a work in progress and maybe we'll catch up in 4-5 years". They're stockholders should've raised holy hell about this (as well as their money-losing XBox) ... every other company has to work and work hard to enter a market and shoot for number. MS has enough money that they can just play around and that's ok for them.

Apple is different in the fact that they ask all of the questions and has all of the parts in place (on the hardware AND software fronts) to come in and be the one to watch and the one to beat.

2.0 married with the next iteration of hardware is going to put iPhone in a place that the competition can't touch. Prices are going to drop and we're going to see these things everywhere. Unlike the BB and other phones with stationary keyboards, Apple will eventually be able to offer the user the ability to choose settings to match their handsize -- eliminating a one-size-fits-all situation.

Also, with Apple's 200+ patents they have on the phone, the competition is going to have a very hard time duplicating the touch efforts on their knockoffs. It's gonna be fun to see them all TRY to catch up.

[rubberry]

The iPhone is a great device, have had many chances to play with it, but I do have to make the following dig about the feedback on the syncing. As a blackberry user for a few years, I have never had to actually connect my blackberry to a computer, it is 100% wireless as it should be. In addition to that, if I ever loose my device and need a replacement, I "kill" the missing one, get a new one, have my data restored, all wireless. I'm not sure I can consider the ability to desktop sync with a MAC a selling feature that surpasses a blackberry.

[alawaiblowfish]

I agree with the author that it Is faster to type on an iPhone.

As a fun jab to BB users, I like to challenge them to a text off. I'll usually pick a fun sentence such as "the brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". I always seem to win with lots of time to spare. This is even if I have to make edits. I've always won to a blackberry.

[ehcanada]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackberry_PIN#BlackBerry_PIN