I haven’t tried it, but there is apparently an update to the 6700 that will provide it with an iPhone-like UI. Given the various issues, I’m leaning toward de-integrating my devices, moving toward a simpler phone for phone calls (and maybe text messaging) and an iPod Touch for everything else. – Tim

You can get picture mail without launching the web browser and opening up a EVDO or WiFi connection? If so, then you have a better PPC 6700 than any of the others I’ve seen. MMS isn’t supported by the base firmware, so you have an exceptional unit! I’ve played with the iPhones too. I’m not sure what part of the experience you’re calling “horrible.” For me, it’s no worse (as a phone) than the 6700, and in most other respects, the iPhone is better. However, I’m still not happy enough with the current iPhone feature set to go out and buy one. – Tim

I agree completely. It remains to be seen if the fascination with touch-screens and gestures will be a flash-in-the-pan or a sea change.

siol2k,

I agree with the “different strokes for different folks,” but that’s a far cry (for me) from “The iPhone is not worth the hype, its a toy.” It strikes me as odd that there seem to be two camps, both saying opposing things.

The Apple camp (fanbois and “mactards”) says that the low market share of the Mac doesn’t equate to its quality, because the “masses are just sheep.” However, when the iPod dominates the market, or the iPhone launch causes Wall Street types to wonder about Apple “owning” consumer electronics, those same people toss out sales figures and state how clearly this demonstrates the superior Apple experience.

Likewise, the anti-Apple camp points to low market share of the Mac and dismisses it as “irrelevant.” These same people look at the shipping quantities of Windows Mobile or Windows Media Center and proclaim that these devices appeal to “power users.”

My take on this is that the PPC-6700 was an outstanding phone… at the time it came out. For a certain class of user, it is probably superior to an iPhone… for now. For a completely different class of user, the 6700 would have never been acceptable, and the iPhone has greater appeal. Time will tell if the ~700,000 units Apple has supposedly shipped of the iPhone signify a larger market than the one that the 6700 appealed to.

For me, a business-oriented person, the 6700 is virtually worthless. Even if it worked as advertised, it’s limitations as a phone would drive me crazy. The iPhone has shortcomings too, but for my usage patterns, it might be a better solution.

Thanks to both for posting. – Tim

The computing power needed is nearly zilch. It’s just recently that handhelds had the _graphics_ power to make it look smooth. And of course, it takes a boss who lets you leave in the fun stuff

The wall that the Windows Mobile UI is backed against, is that plain smart phones save money by having just keys and no touch. The iPhone’s programmers could safely ignore this scenario.