Jim,

Virtually all of your "fixes" for issues to the iPhone require downloading and installing 3rd party apps. This is probably fine for geeks and tech-types, but think back to what you had to do to download just one of those apps and install them.

In my family, which includes several tech professionals, I'm probably the only one who would even consider it. The things you're calling virtues (3rd-party solutions to iPhone problems), I call vices. I suspect that's where we diverge on this kind of choice.

You can see the expansion of this idea in this thread on "Pardon the Interaction."

Thanks again,

Tim
 

Hi Tim:

I have been using the "fixes" for years on my Win Mobile devices, and similar fixes on Palm OS devices before that. For me, a plethora of available apps is a good thing. The built-in apps with the PPC-6700 are fine. The "fixes" meet my needs better; however I could get by without them. I do not want Mr. Jobs or anyone else telling me which apps I can, and cannot have.

I use my device more for data than voice. As indicated in my original post, I believe the native phone app on the PPC-6700 is better than what I saw in the MacWorld keynote. I do not have any third party phone apps.

I also like the real keyboard on the PPC-6700. I have used full screen virtual keyboards on 4" VGA devices, and did not like them for anything but short messages. Most of my data input into the PPC-6700 is not short.

Maybe I am too much of a geek, but I don't consider going to a site, entering keywords in the search box, downloading a trial app, ActiveSyncing (which I assume all users do for contacts, etc. anyway), and double clicking the downloaded file to be too difficult. If a person did not want to do that, they probably would not demand too much technically from their device, and be happy with the built-in apps on any device they use.

Jim
 

Jim,

A perfect example of one of the 6700's built-in apps that is NOT acceptable (to me) is the version of IE. Since you mentioned Safari, I've had horrible luck with IE on WM5, and have virtually stopped using it.

My other big complaint is that I lost the ability to easily send SMS messages to e-mail accounts. That was built-in on my Sany 8500. Similarly, I can find no way to use the built-in stuff to use Sprint PictureMail. Have you discovered a workaround? Today, I got a PictureMail message from a Verizon phone, and there is no way for me to send a picture back to that phone.

This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy. I do enough texting that, when I discovered T9 on my old phone, I could (almost) keep up with teenagers. The full-size keyboard was really cool the first couple of weeks after I bought the phone, but I've been more and more annoyed with it as time goes by.

Why back-light only the main characters? In the dark, how the heck can you type a question mark if you don't remember that it's [Alt][->]? It's worse for those keys you don't use often.

Again, these may or may not be addressed adequately by the iPhone. On the other hand, the fluidity of the interface alone beats anything I could hope to demo on my phone. Even if I manually shut down all the weird things that seem to keep running in the background, repainting of menus and windows frequently gets hung, which is a constant reminder (to me) that the processor isn't up to the task.

I think WM5 is a step forward (albeit a small one) from the other current options. If all Apple does is improve on the usability of the OS (meaning, icons you can use with your finger--unlike the tiny ones at the top of the 6700 contact list, a usable built-in browser, etc), it won't take much to eclipse the current market.

What's really comical to me is listening to the talking heads from the various smartphone companies talking about how they "get it" and Apple (or MS) aren't going to just "walk in and figure this stuff out." They act like the market is flooded with really usable devices.

It isn't.

I'll say here what I said on the other forum. The PPC-6700 may be the best smartphone on the market, but that's not much praise (in my opinion), and roughly equivalent to being the best belly dancer on the south pole. It's an honor, but not much of one, because the competition is NOT fierce.

Thanks for the (continuing) debate and insights. If nothing else, it makes me feel less dorky for choosing the 6700. ;-) - Tim
 

Hi Tim:

I enjoy the exchange of ideas, and discussing different perspectives, and user experiences. Since users' needs are different, their opinions of the same device will vary.

I purchased NetFront 3.3 awhile back, and although it is a great browser that can render just about any webpage, I still use IE 99% of the time. For my needs, it works fine.

I do use my PPC-6700 for data more than voice, so I am happy with the phone app. I use the phone for personal use, not business, so my main contacts are all assigned a speed dial key which is very easy to select with my finger. It would be nice to have the option for the contact alpha bar at the top of the contacts screen to be two rows, rather than one row; maybe a future version will include the option. Even though my fingers are getting old (no arthritis yet fortunately), I can select the correct button on the one row contact alpha bar without much difficulty. I agree it would be easier if the 3 letter groupings were larger.

Most of my data input is in lighted conditions (indoors, on a bus or trolley, in a restaurant, movie (before movie begins), etc), so the keyboard backlight is not an issue for me. I am very happy with the keyboard, and use it regularly.

It is probably a generational thing, but I don't text message, or SMS. Most of the people I contact via a phone, or data device would prefer to actually speak to the person, or use email. I know, I'm old. -;)

To be frankly honest with you, I was not that impressed when I saw the keynote via a Quicktime stream on the announcement day, and the next day at the local Macintosh user group meeting. It is slick, but not for me. In addition to the reasons included in my original post, I am not a fan of scrolling with a finger, and a touchscreen only interface. I respect the fact that some people like it, or think it is cool, but I was not impressed. I have used a third party virtual landscape keyboard that took up the whole screen except for one display line on a 4" VGA device. It got old very quickly. Anything over two sentences, and a lot of people will think a virtual keyboard is definitely not as cool as it looked at MacWorld. I am sure you noticed that all the messages Mr. Jobs struggled with were short. When I first saw the iPhone during the keynote, I thought Mr. Jobs was showing a Dell Axim X 50/51v Windows Mobile PDA.

Although I have used Apple products since the Apple II+, and liked most of them, I am immune to the reality distortion field. I have seen live, or via Quicktime, many keynotes given by the master of the reality distortion field. When I used the device, or software myself, it was a much different experience when you don't have multiple machines with staff standing by, and without items like iPhoto thumbnails cached on a separate demo machine, etc. In the earlier versions of iPhoto, you had time to have a couple of cigarettes while the thumbnails displayed, which is fine for the smoker, but a long time to wait for us non-smokers (quit the habit 23 years ago). Of course in the keynote, they were already cached on the machine being used, and displayed immediately.

I may see the iPhone when it is released, and drool, although I doubt it. I am very happy with the PPC-6700. Do I wish it was faster, had more memory, and a bigger screen? Of course, but I also wish my latest MacBook Pro did as well.

I have seen a lot of posts about the PPC-6700 and other devices being discounted because they are shaking in their boots with the debut of the best phone every made on earth (probably in the universe -;), the iPhone. I only paid $199 (after rebate) for my PPC-6700 in October, three months before the iPhone was introduced.