While I’m not a Mac zealot and I don’t think Steve Jobs is divine, I have to admit that the new Apple iPhone is sweet. It seems like it’s really well thought out and well designed. It’s basically a:
- widescreen video iPod with touchscreen controls
- Quad-band GSM cell phone
- PDA/Internet Communicator (running OS X) with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth
All this functionality is accessed through a sweet touchscreen user interface that doesn’t need a stylus. It even has a 2MP camera built in. Not bad.
In my mind, the major drawback to the iPhone is that it’s a phone. I don’t need a fancy-schmancy phone and a 2-year contract with Cingular. This is not saying that I couldn’t use such a phone or that I wouldn’t like having such a phone; I’m only saying that I don’t want to pay for it. My wife and I have used a prepaid plan for the last 4 years and it has worked out well for us. I’m sure I would love the level of integration the iPhone would bring to my email, contacts, calendar, etc., but I just can’t justify spending the money on it. So, Steve Jobs, if you’re listening, make me an iPhone without the phone and I’m all over it.
[Insert Witty Title Here] 
So you’re looking for an iPalm? (Sorry, an iPDA)
Yeah, that sounds about right. I’ve toyed with getting the Palm TX for awhile, but just never could justify spending the money. I have an old Sony Clie, which is decent, but I’d like a larger screen, better battery life, WiFi, a web browser and an email client. The iPhone covers all of those. However, the one reservation I have with the iPhone is the text input. In order for me to want to use it, it needs to be easy to enter text. I’m not convinced that the touch-sensitive on-screen keyboard will be that easy to use. It seems like it might be about as easy to use as the on-screen keyboard on my Wii, which is to say, not very. If Apple came out with a bluetooth keyboard or something such, then I’d be more interested.
We’ll make a zealot out of you yet! As far as comments about my divinity and a iNoPhone, that’s Macworld 2008. Stay tuned.
Right, with a half decent pricetag…
Steve, welcome to my blog. Thanks for your input. Well, I guess all I can say is I’m looking forward to MacWorld 2008.
That’s not really Steve Jobs, I checked. But fun!