I love Google News, but if there was ever a reason to consider a human over an algorithm in composing a news feed, this was it.

Instead, I’m going to give you an idea of why I’m learning to hate this phone. (Note: All of the colorful language that so frequently comes to mind when using this phone has been carefully edited out. This is a family show.)

Application Error
On several occasions, I have been greeted with the phone equivalent of “the application has quit unexpectedly,” a phrase that has always caused me amusement. If the app had quit according to my expectations, would I even need to be notified?

Give me Lithium, or Give me Death
Approximately ten months into owning this phone, I have already replaced the battery. Unfortunately, the phone is such flop in the marketplace that none of the retailers that used to sell the phone sell batteries. I bought two from a mail order place, figuring that the odds are good that the first replacement will fail before my two years is up on this phone.

The Missing Stylus
As I noted in my earlier review, the stylus on this phone is easy to lose. I know they all are, but with this phone, it was especially bad. The stylus used to “fly out” of the phone when I would walk with it in my hand. One day, with the headset in place, I didn’t hear the familiar sound of it hitting the floor/pavement, and then realized it was gone as soon as I needed to change to flight mode, or use the funky “target” icon that brings up the primary “Phone Settings” window.

Fortunately, the manufacturer realized that they had a bonehead working on the stylus retention system, so the gave you a spare. Sadly, both the original and the spare are completely unlike any of the dozens of other styli of other handheld devices, so when the spare makes its javelin-like departure from the slot, you’re left with nothing but fat fingers to manipulate icons that are less than .25″ square.

Someone needs to make a phone with a touch-screen designed for fingers, and ditch the stylus. Oh wait… they did.

Mysteriously in ‘Flight Mode’
By far the most annoying aspect of this phone is its willingness to suddenly go into “flight mode” (where the phone is on, but can’t make or receive calls) all by itself. A few moments ago, it performed this magic again, notably as I was putting the phone in its cradle to re-sync. If I’d had the ring set for “Vibrate,” which is normal for me, I’d have not heard the familiar “I’m about to go into flight mode, and turn myself into an electronic brick” warning tones.

In this case, I happened to spot it, and turned the phone back on. (This required quite a bit of “fingertip gymnastics,” because that particular mode can’t be easily set by using the physical buttons, including the trackpoint-style device.) In recent weeks, I’ve missed important calls, only to find out that my phone had been off when at the end of the day I tried to call home.

The Song Remains the Same
Naturally, all of my previous frustrations with the PPC-6700 remain: The screen still needs to be polarized; the built-in speakerphone is useful only as an amplifying device for regular calls (since the normal earpiece volume is so low); too many applications continue to run, even when you’ve closed all their windows; the touchscreen keypad is too small, and ActiveSync continues to give bogus errors, and is clumsy to update.

Strangely, neither Apple nor Microsoft officials could be reached for comment. (This is most likely because it was nearly midnight when I wrote this, but also had to do with me not trying to reach anyone at those companies for a comment.) Reportedly though, laughter could be heard from near Cupertino.

While discussing Apple’s recommendation, Andrew pointed out the following:

Tim – I believe Vista has been gold code since November when (as I recall) it was made available to system builders and MSDN subscribers – not beta, but gold, ie. the same as you can now buy in the stores. Don’t try and tell me that Apple don’t have the odd MSDN subscription…

He’s right, of course. Unfortunately, his comment applies to Microsoft’s developer’s too. You’d think that working in the same company, they’d get a few perks.

In an apparent attempt to match the stupidity of the National Football League, Microsoft is taking a… well, proactive approach to learning more about the Asian markets where the xBox is apparently not doing well.

Bluetooth headsets. They are extremely cool technology, and most of the time*, they work well, even for non-technical users.** It’s a bit “Star Trek-y.” Unfortunately, they are approaching iPods as the latest form of “technology masquerading as a fashion accessory.”

Blue Light Special
The flashing blue light. It used to be a sign that you were nearing a “special deal” at the local K-Mart. Now, it’s most likely a sign that you’re near someone who’s proudly displaying their geekishness by keeping their Bluetooth headset hooked on their ear.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I really like the fact that using a Bluetooth headset means I don’t have a wire attached to my ear for hands-free operation. It’s very convenient, and allows me to even connect the phone to the charging base while I’m talking. Bluetooth is a very cool thing from a usability standpoint.

Bluetooth is also nice from the standpoint of security and technology. Several former co-workers have gone to work for a company that does Bluetooth protocol stacks (the layer of software that handles communication for a Bluetooth device), and I’m starting to appreciate the technology from both a usable technology perspective (they’ve made partnering quite painless) and with regard to security (depending on your needs, you can configure a device to require a passphrase to establish a partnership).

Geek Chic or Geek Freak?
Lately, I’ve started to see more and more Bluetooth headsets “out in the wild.” The thing is, these headsets are so good at being “hands free” devices, it’s hard to tell if someone’s using one or not. In some cases, that’s probably the point, as I can be cruising around in my car, needing only to tap my ear to answer or hang up a call, adjust the volume, or redial the last call. (Supposedly, I can use it to voice dial as well, but I’ve not yet mastered that part of the user interface experience. I know. There goes what little “geek cred” that I may have established.)

On the other hand, I’ve been standing behind someone in line at Starbucks who’s chatting away, appearing for all the world to be talking to himself. I sat next to a buddy in an evening service at church and noted “Phil, the side of your head is blinking.” At work, I’ve sat next to a co-worker, unsure if he was talking to me, to himself, or to someone on his phone. At least when someone has a phone planted to the side of their head, I have a bit of a social cue as to whether or not they’re on the phone! Here, I have no clue.

The Official Bluetooth Headset Rules
To deal with this social problem, here are my official Rules of Bluetooth Headsets:

1. Before you hook the headset to your ear, ask “Do I really need hands-free operation right now?” (If the answer is “No,” turn it off and put the headset in your pocket.)
2. If you do need hands-free operation, be aware that if you’re a social context where other people might think you’re talking to them, the absence of a “I’m on the phone” sign on your forehead may cause them to speak to you and expect an answer. Turn your back, face a wall, or otherwise appear to be a lunatic. That will give them a hint to leave you alone, even though you’ve put yourself in a public place, possibly inviting something really weird like… you know… conversation.
3. Recognize that even if you’re too rude to acknowledge social interaction while you’re on the phone, the possibility of someone talking to you might interfere with your current conversation with President Bush, or whoever it is that absolutely has to talk right now. Noise reduction technology has come a long way, but using a Bluetooth headset in a Starbucks, with the barista foaming milk and (if they don’t have the new automatic espresso machines) emptying the filter handle, is likely to make it hard for the other party to hear what you’re saying anyway.
4. To elaborate on the previous rule, don’t try to carry on a conversation with someone standing next to you and with someone on your phone. It’s annoying to both of them, and especially to all of us around you, who have to listen to you arbitrating between the conversations.
5. Recognize that you look like a dork when you wear the headset in public, no matter how cool or chic you think it may be. Yes, lots of people do this. Yes, they all look like dorks. If you have hands, use them to hold the phone.***

Yes, I love technology. Yes, I’ve been known to use technology is silly and unnecessary ways. (I have been guilty of sending instant messages to my sons to tell them dinner is ready, and a few times, have chatted with them electronically when we were sitting in the same room.) However, I draw the line at using technology devices as a statement of fashion.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hop in the S2000, pop my H700 Bluetooth headset in my ear, pull my PPC-6700 out of the leather case on my belt to check for text messages, fire up my favorite playlist on my iPod, and head to the mall. I need to see if they’ve got those Nike+ shoes that go with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Running season’s almost here, and my current setup just isn’t cool anymore.

* My experience with the Motorola H700 (pictured above) partnering with my PPC-6700 is that it may disassociate itself from the phone, and then become almost impossible to reconnect. Turning the headset off and back on is generally no help in that situation, and one time, I had to completely delete the partnership (Bluetooth terminology), and “rediscover” the device. The method that currently seems to get things working again is to turn off Bluetooth networking at the phone, turn off the headset, re-enable Bluetooth, and then turn the headset back on. More than once I have considered chucking both of them out of the window as I drove down the road, frantically screaming for the person who’s saying “hello? hello?” down at the phone to hold on until I can pull off and answer without the headset.

*** PPC-6700 users can be excused for breaking this rule in noisy environments because the volume of the built-in earpiece is so low that using the Bluetooth headset makes it much easier to hear. You still look like a dork though, so violate this rule only then the call is crucial enough that you’re willing to tolerate the ridicule of total strangers.

I think it’s interesting that there are assumptions about Vista from the “I already know Windows” perspective. By all accounts, Vista dramatically changes the way you use Windows (as it should, if it’s going to fix some of the many fundamentally broken things about the preceding versions).

Are You App to Move?
From that standpoint, the question becomes one of “Am I so tightly dependent on the behavior of the Windows applications that I use daily that I can’t change?” I think, for most people, this is a harder question than they realize. Even on something like MS Office, the OS X version is very different from the Windows counterpart. This is appropriate for the differences in the operating systems.

However, for some users (most likely home users), the core apps may be email, web browsing, and a handful of games. For that user, if Apple can provide a simple upgrade path, they may be able to make some inroads.

Here’s what that would have to look like:

1. Install Parallels
2. Install WinXP (from your PC setup disks)
3. Migrate data using XP’s Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
4. Apply license key from previous copy (using RockXP or something similar)

This is roughly what I did with my son’s Mac Mini before sending him off to school. As an added bonus, he’s got a copy of the Windows image stored safely away, so he can always “go back” to the state of install. (In that regard, he’s got a better Win XP environment than when it was running on a PC.) Because it’s a college campus, I’m prepared to have to “fix” his XP environment regularly, as I’ve done for several of his buddies who are running XP.

Will Vista Open Windows to OS X?
It remains to be seen whether or not Apple will seize the opportunity and suggest such a path, or if Microsoft will make upgrading to Vista easier than it has made the move for previous versions. If the pain is similar, Apple has an opportunity. If not, then things will largely remain as they are, with Apple gaining only a minor amount of market.

For Apple, this opportunity may never come again.

However, that’s where the similarities end. Here, I’m going to recap some of the complaints that I’ve seen related to the iPhone, point out some things that are seriously wrong with the 6700, and then compare the lists.

The Complaints
After the initial “shock and awe” of the iPhone demo, Apple immediately began taking flak from various critics over the features of the iPhone. Among them were:

• Apple has come out stating that there will be “no 3rd-party apps” going into the iPhone, citing stability concerns as the primary reason
• The phone supports POP3/SMTP & IMAP mail servers, but not Exchange
• The most important feature of the included browser (Safari) seems to be that it zooms in and out, but many phones have browsers, so this is not a big deal
• Steve Jobs waxed philosophically about the iPhone not needing a stylus, in sharp contrast to virtually every other smartphone [Note: Click that link! It is hysterical!]
• The design places too much emphasis on the product as a phone, and not enough on PDA features (entering new contacts or appointments), iPod features (not enough memory), or data connectivity (EDGE instead of a true 3G network?)
• Unknown or unclear costs for hi-speed data connections
• An overly tight integration deal with Cingular, the provider

What’s Broken in the 6700?
Having now used the PPC-6700 for a couple of months of daily use, including some serious travel, I had already started to feel the familiar sting of an incomplete product. Unfortunately, this product has been on the market for close to a year, and the operating system is (supposedly) very mature. In spite of these things, I’ve already been frustrated with the following:

• The operating system has locked up several times, even with no 3rd party apps installed, and in spite of me updating the firmware image with the “latest updates” from Microsoft
• The phone syncs well with Microsoft Exchange Server, but only when you’re not using a security certificate (which is unlikely, because any company that wants you to connect using a device like this has most likely set up Exchange Web Access, which should not be set up without a security certificate)
• The included browser, Internet Explorer 4.0, is basically useless unless you’re visiting a site built with extremely narrow screens or mobile users in mind (no support for Java or scripting)
• The stylus comes out too easily (they ship it with two), and is therefore easy to lose (the last flew out as I was walking with the phone in my hand)
• When the operating system locks up, it doesn’t always behave the way you’d expect, since phone functions may work (I was in the middle of a call during the last lockup), but some features (my Bluetooth headset, the Today menu, and the hot buttons quit working) may not
• High costs for hi-speed data
• Very poor integration with Sprint (my service provider), particularly Picture Mail (which doesn’t work) and SMS-to-Email gateway behavior (which doesn’t work without embedding the e-mail address as the first line of the message, and sending to a specific “short number”)

Is the iPhone a Phone? iPod? PDA?
Currently, my biggest gripes with the 6700 are not with the PDA capabilities. It’s a great PDA. Given the storage capacity, it’s clear that it wasn’t intended to be used as a serious media device (you’re limited to whatever storage is available in the mini SD expansion card format), so I can’t really complain that it’s not a suitable replacement for my iPod. Lastly, after staring in shock at a $135 “data access” charge for the month of December (for regular, but not ridiculous Internet use), I’m wishing that this phone would either be dramatically better at Internet communication, or try harder at being a phone.

Unfortunately, the primary purpose of this device is to be a… phone. In that regard, it’s not a very good phone. Look back over the list of my complaints. I have ordered them intentionally. While reading the littany of complaints about the iPhone, I started to realize that every complaint corresponded to areas where the 6700 was going a different direction, and was broken. In some cases, it’s seriously broken.

To that end, if the iPhone is a mediocre PDA and only a so-so iPod, I could live with that. What I really need is what the iPhone seems to be designed for.

Mercedes is famous for describing its cars with the slogan: “Form follows function.” However, anyone who’s looked at any Mercedes for more than a moment would realize that these cars embody a certain style as well. Does this minimalist approach extend elsewhere? Is it ridiculous to expect style and substance to co-exist, or does the very presence of style suggest that there is no substance?

No Frills, All Thrills?
Before Windows, who was using computers? Those of us who are comfortable with plain, unvarnished technology. After the toaster-Mac and Windows 3.0 era began, we started to see more and more non-geeks sitting down to use computers. In part, this was the “user friendliness” of the technology, but I suspect it was also because the environment was something the user could modify into a style that was within their comfort zone.

Those of us who are tech-heads seem to have a no-frills, performance first bias. In contrast, as you look at the rest of the population, and sample the less and less geeky among us, you’ll find less interest about pure performance, and more and more interest about style.

What? Geeks Without Style?
Now, before anyone comes slamming down on me as an anti-Mac command-line snob, realize that I find myself in that portion of humanity that DOES care about style issues, and am generally not willing to go for pure performance at the expense of appearance. This doesn’t mean that seeing me walking down the street will suggest that I regularly read GQ. It simply means that there are times when I will sacrifice some performance for ease-of-use or style concerns.

For this reason, I have no interest in the Subaru WRX Sti, and prefer the Honda S2000 (style and performance over pure performance). On the other side of the coin, the S2000 is definitely a minimalist sports car, and obviously has made trade-offs of luxury in exchange for better performance.

What Price Beauty?
Now, some will argue that if there is no function beneath a form, then you have nothing more than a facade. Or, you might be concerned about the overhead of style, such as the increase in bandwidth for an HTML-format mail message instead of straight ASCII text. Here are some arguments that I’ve heard:

There has to be function before form, else you have just a facade. The arguments against HTML mail, are more than just aesthetics. It consumes time and bandwidth without adding much to the message. As for the list, why gussy something up that has the lifespan of a fruit fly? And of course the PC is for most of us hidden “out of sight, out of mind. Besides computers are headed toward pervasiveness, and subsequently becoming invisible.

Why then, does art exist? If, in Mercedes Benz fashion, I always suggest that “form follows function,” that’s a perfectly valid view. That doesn’t suggest that form has to be completely utilitarian to still be functional.

I know many people that make nice, bulleted to-do lists in word. Nobody else sees it. I have no idea why they do this, any more than why they insist on storing their grocery list on a PDA instead of writing it on a scrap of paper.

As for the arguments against HTML mail, the person using the pretty fonts and formatting is more concerned with the presentation of the information than you are! To them, it’s worth the expenditure of the extra CPU cycles and message length to create a different impression. There are reasons for using something other than Courier in your resume! I would posit that when the cost of cosmetic improvement falls to a low enough point, all of us will make adjustments for appearance. The difference being that this point lies at different levels for each of us, so one man’s frill is another’s necessity.

For those who remember our pre-windows history, computers were used by both geeks, and businesses that needed a tool to get the job done. Businesses have never really been about “pretty”, preferring function, for “pretty” has never been perceived as adding to the bottom line. The same however can not be said for those goods and services that were directed toward the consumer.

This is somewhat true. The business users of computers were few and far between, and generally relied on data processing centers rather than interacting with the systems themselves. Only with the advent of Lotus 123 and Visicalc did non-techies really get with it, and then, they used the computers in very restricted specific ways.

I agree, business has never been focused on pretty. However, as your company’s dress code probably attests, businesses also frequently care about the appearance of things that just don’t make a difference. My company’s “business casual” policy requires that I wear socks. Why do they care? Nobody knows, but my boss points it out whenever I wear deck shoes to the office.

Go figure.

There is one aspect of HTML e-mail that I will admit is a huge issue: security. Unfortunately, someone can send you an HTML that embeds some nasty stuff in it. Whether it’s a tiny GIF (like the smiley face that you’ll see on every WordPress page) to track the number of page hits, or something more sinister and privacy invading, HTML e-mail allows the sender to do things that most of us are not going to be comfortable with. (Fortunately, most modern e-mail apps can block graphics embedded in a message, but still allow you to read the content and decide if you want to then view the graphics.)

Love Your Reader, As Yourself
Years ago, I learned that for a writer, there is no substitute for “caring about the reader,” but unfortunately, most technical people don’t have the time (or want to expend the time) to learn how to explain themselves to a non-technical audience. More specifically, we (techies) don’t feel that the audience is worth this expenditure of time.

As a project manager, one of the most valuable skills I learned was to communicate effectively with the technical people (TP) on my team, and then turn around and explain to the non-technical people (NTP) in our organization what the heck the TP were talking about, and why it’s important. I learned to do this, in large part, because I have respect for people on both sides of the equation, and take the time to understand what they’re saying, and communicate in their terms.

Unfortunately, there is traditionally very little respect from either of these camps, going either way. As long as we TP assume that we’re talking to PHB’s, Boneheads, and Golden Parachute Weenies(tm), it’s going to show in the way we write. If instead, we presume NTP to be intelligent, but with a different (but still valuable) skillset, and keep that mindset at the forefront, our consideration for their intelligence will come through and so will our message.

Testing: Lotus 123
Here’s a test. Take your last technical proposal, and consider how you would structure and word it for (insert name of close, non-technical relative such as Mom, Dad, etc.). Then, write it that way, but without the analogies to Mom’s wonderful cooking, or Dad’s “Viagra incident.” I guarantee that if you respect the audience, and don’t talk down to them, you will improve your writing and communication.

vs

Until June, few outside of Apple, Cingular, and the FCC will have any “real world” experience with the iPhone, but in watching the presentation yesterday, I noted several ways that this product addresses serious shortcomings in the PPC-6700, my current phone. Since much of the “so what… big deal” talk that’s coming out in response to the iPhone surrounds some of the touch-screen features, and since many of the “oohhhh… ahhhh” features of the iPhone were prime selling points for the PPC-6700, it seems reasonable to compare these two devices directly, far more than any other “smart phone” that I’ve seen on the market.

Lastly, since the price-points are very close ($499-599), the iPhone is clearly aiming at the same market. Instead of posting in the usual way, where I’ll work on an article for several days (a few minutes at a time, I’m writing and editing this as I go. I’ll break this apart using the feature sets that Jobs used yesterday during the keynote, and then close out with what I feel truly sets the iPhone apart.

Before the Fun Begins…
Consider this quote that I just found from Palm CEO Ed Colligan:

Responding to questions from New York Times correspondent John Markoff at a Churchill Club breakfast gathering Thursday morning, Colligan laughed off the idea that any company — including the wildly popular Apple Computer — could easily win customers in the finicky smart-phone sector.

“We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,” he said. “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.”

Interestingly, Palm’s stock closed yesterday at $13.92 U.S., down 84¢. [9:16am]

A Media Player
It’s not hard to imagine using the PPC-6700 as a music player, given that it ships with Windows Media Player [WMP] for Windows Mobile. As you would expect, it’s fully capable of playing videos and music files compatible with the WMP formats. Unfortunately, it’s not clear where Microsoft is going with music, given that the Zune has abandoned the “Plays for Sure” format. At this point, it doesn’t look like the PPC-6700 will be compatible with Zune tunes, specifically because of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technicalities..

Now if you decided to use the 6700 as an media player anyway, the amazing lack of built-in memory (43.5 MB of storage memory… max) forces you to consider upgrading with a mini-SD card. Considering that those are running $60-80 for 2GB card, upgrading the $400 phone doesn’t make nearly as much sense as buying one of the smaller MP3 players (particularly since you can get something like the iPod Shuffle, which is tiny and clips onto your clothes, for $79). It’s true that devices in that price range aren’t going to play movies, but a 2GB card isn’t going to provide enough storage for the 6700 do store anything substantial either.

In sharp contrast, the iPhone appears to be quite capable as a MP3 player, with the 4GB and 8GB versions more suited to music than video (unless you’re talking about loading up a movie or two for a plane flight). And while I’m on the fence about using a touch-screen for iPod-like interaction (I rarely look at my 30GB iPod to adjust volume, skip tracks, or pause the music, since I can feel the ridge of the touchwheel), it is simply not possible for the user interface of WMP to be any less appropriate for a mobile device. Regardless of tactile issues, the touchscreen UI of the iPhone appears superior to the 6700 for music, even if it is unclear if this is a step backward compared to the UI of the current generation iPods.

As a media device, the iPhone is (at least) on par with any other MP3/video player (even the screen is now at a size & resolution that compares well), including the Zune, and is far superior to most. Compared to the 6700… well, at least the 6700 is a phone… right? [10:00am]

A Cell Phone
As a cell phone, the PPC-6700 is… average, based on the following “phone tasks”: Initiating a call (to new, previously dialed, or saved numbers), answering a call, using the speakerphone, and using a headset (wired or Bluetooth). Instead of running through each of these scenarios, and then considering the iPhone alternatives, I’m going to intersperse the two.

First, let’s look at how you initiate a call. Out of the box, I turned on the 6700, pressed the “phone button” (lower left of the joystick), and started punching the touchscreen keys. I mis-dialed the first number. Watching the keynote yesterday, I saw Jobs looking at the screen the whole time, just as I’m forced to do when I dial numbers with the keypad. This is very annoying on my phone, so the “multi-touch” technology of the iPhone would have to do something to make this more usable than a traditional keypad.

Speed-dialing (touching one number and holding it) is even worse. Now, to be fair, there is a work-around for this problem with the 6700: you slide open the keyboard and press/hold the key that corresponds to that particular number. Unfortunately, the keys for the numbers are in a straight line (top row) and there is no tactile feedback there either. As a result, you have to practice a lot to figure out which key corresponds to which number. I have almost given up using speed-dialing on this phone as a result, and would expect the iPhone to have the same issue, though without the keyboard work-around.

Voice dialing is what I need to do instead of speed-dialing. It works very well on the 6700, and even works through my H700 BT headset. I strongly suspect that the iPhone would have similar functionality, but that wasn’t demonstrated. What I would really like to see is context-sensitive speech recognition for dialing numbers. While speech recognition in general has a poor track record, many Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have proven that if you restrict the possible values to single-digit numbers, the error rate for recognition goes way down. Sadly, the 6700 doesn’t provide this (the processor is not nearly powerful enough), and I saw no demonstration of that in the iPhone.

Looking up a number from an existing contact, or from a recent call is where I see the iPhone and the 6700 separating dramatically. With the 6700, a contact list is assumed, as are multiple numbers, but I find the contact list to be cumbersome in real-world settings, possibly because of the number of clicks necessary to get to a number. Watching Jobs scrolling through the contact list with his thumb, selecting the name with a finger or thumb, and then choosing a number to call… that made me want the iPhone, right there.

Answering a call is pretty straightforward on the 6700, and seems similar to what the iPhone does. The big difference (that I can see) is the “in call” menu for the 6700 is somewhat clunky to manage, and presumes that you’re going to use the navigation buttons at the bottom of the device, instead of using the touchscreen (which would be more intuitive). In sharp contrast, the iPhone puts the context-appropriate options right in the middle of the screen.

The speakerphone on the 6700 is not good. I wish I could put it differently, but I can’t. It’s not loud enough to use in anything other than a very quiet room. For the size of this device, I find that very frustrating (following the logic of “a bigger thing ought to get louder”). During the keynote yesterday, Jobs put the iPhone on speaker, and it was loud enough to be heard, even over the echo of the sound system, and the sounds from the audience.

Finally, the headset that comes with the 6700 seems to suggest that they expect you to use this as a media device, because it’s basically a pair of earbuds with an attached microphone (very similar to what Apple showed yesterday for the iPhone). One benefit to this is that phone calls seem to go on “inside your head” instead of in just one ear. This also compensates (somewhat) for the lack of volume in the headset. Using my Bluetooth headset, volume has never been a problem. The integration between the 6700 and the headset is very good, and I haven’t found any issues there (yet). I would expect the integration between the iPhone and Bluetooth devices to be similar, since current Mac products have handled Bluetooth reliably for years.

As a phone, the iPhone seems equal or better than the 6700. When you consider simpler navigation, and thoughtful touches like the display/touchscreen turning off when you put the phone to your ear, it’s hard for me to come to any other conclusion. [1:04pm]

An Internet Communicator
As an Internet communications device, the connectivity specs of the 6700 are very good: 802.11b WiFi, Bluetooth 1.2, IrDA Infrared, and 1X/EV-DO options. Likewise, it boasts a built-in browser (Internet Explorer), Pocket MSN (for chatting), Pocket Outlook (stripped down version of MS Office Outlook, not Outlook Express), SMS messaging, and SMTP/POP3/IMAP4/Exchange support. At first glance, it has it all.

What it doesn’t have (at least in the Sprint configuration) is integration with Sprint Picture Mail and Email/SMS messaging flexibility. With every other Sprint phone I’ve owned, I could send text messages to e-mail addresses, and Sprint’s SMS/Email gateway would automatically forward them. The 6700 doesn’t even give me that option. Likewise, there is no way to send Sprint Picture Mail. Why do I have a “Sprint Vision” account, when the primary purpose (sending/receiving camera-phone images) doesn’t work?

The only way for me to send pictures from my phone is to first connect to the Internet (using either the WiFi or EV-DO), and then connect to an SMTP server (Sprint’s works fine for this). Unfortunately, responses to one of those accounts don’t automatically notify you, so you have to periodically check those accounts, or embed a note in your message that says:

P.S. I’m sorry, but my lame geek phone won’t notify me that you’re responding to this message. Accordingly, if you respond, please CC my phone at 5555555555@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Likewise, while it’s technically possible to synchronize Pocket Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server, making that happen when you’re using a security certificate at the Exchange Server (for web access security) is an unbelievable pain. Similarly, much ballyhoo is made of Microsoft ActiveSync, which manages all of the file and data synchronization for Windows Mobile devices. What they haven’t told you is that the error codes you see (and you will see them) are cryptic, and frequently inaccurate.

There is no way to know, without hands-on use, whether the iPhone will be better or worse (in terms of execution) when it comes to connectivity. What we do know is that many of the same features were demonstrated, though the implementation was through Cingular, and therefore different front Sprint. [Updated 10:00 pm]

However, it’s clear that the iPhone intends to support SMTP/POP/IMAP4 mail systems, and given the collaborations with Yahoo (email) and Google (mapping), Apple has two partners that have both been pushing the edge of web service technology. Without question, Yahoo and Google are looking for ways to standardize things like calendars, exchangeable document formats, and so on.

In comparing the connectivity specifications, some obvious pros and cons appear. While the iPhone supports Bluetooth 2.0 (instead of 1.2), it’s cellular data connection is Cingular’s EDGE technology, which is much slower than the CDMA EV-DO networks, and does not have the extensive that Sprint has (for example). While both phones support 802.11b, the iPhone also supports 802.11g, and the correspondingly higher data rate, which becomes significant for the transfer of large files. As far as specs go, it’s a bit of a wash. While the iPhone gets high marks for GSM and SIM card functionality (great for international users)

User Interface
One of my biggest annoyances with the 6700 is one of the key features that the iPhone attempts to address: the stylus-based user interface. First and foremost, I expected a stylus with a smart phone. My old Palm Pilot used one, and I fully expected it. However, in watching the demo, and the videos that Apple has posted, I can see where I might actually use the contact list somewhere other than at my desk.

Several things force me to use a stylus with the 6700. The first is the size of the icons, menus, and interface elements. For example, the contact list is just what you would expect: a simple scrolling list. Unfortunately, scrolling requires you to use the joystick button at the bottom of the phone (rather like an IBM Trackpoint button) or a stylus manipulating a traditional scrollbar. When you look at it, it’s obvious that it was designed by someone quite accustomed to scrolling list boxes on a Windows or Mac UI.

Contrast this with the “touch and flick” method shown in the iPhone demos. Apparently, they’re doing some kind of gesture recognition to distinguish between a flick and a press. I’ve watched and rewatched Jobs do this in the demos, and it’s very slick. Part of my frustration with anyone comparing the iPhone to an existing touchscreen is that there is clearly technology behind this kind of real-time input analysis that we’ve never seen used on a phone, and is most likely similar to what the Apple trackpad (and Synaptics touchpad), but taken a step further. You can see some of this in a brief patent description.

In total, when Jobs described someone as saying “you had me at scrolling,” he really did hit what I think sets the iPhone apart from my PPC-6700, and every other phone, smart or not. Will the magic of “multi-point” make touchscreens usable for keypad data entry? I don’t know, but I can imagine the possibilities. When I first saw the iPod’s clickwheel, it was tough to understand why people were so hyped about it. Then I tried it, and understood. That said, until we can put a couple of fingers on this, we won’t know for certain.

Last but not least, let me state that there is no reason to think that the iPhone’s touchscreen would be any less usable with a protective film over it, just like the one I’ve put on my 6700. All functions work as designed (if not as expected), and when the current film gets too scratched up, I’ve got a dozen more in the package.

Some Will Get It, Some Won’t
From reading various blogs, it’s easy to see that some people would not consider the iPhone, regardless of price or features. The simple fact that so many people like it forces some people toward a contrarian stance. For this group, the battery life will be too short (in spite of the fact that resynching quite naturally suggests docking the device, as I do now with my 6700… which also charges it), the form factor will be wrong (“it’s got to be a flip phone” or “anything other than a slide-out is lame”), or the touchscreen will be a deal breaker (regardless of whether they’ve ever touched it for themselves).

On the other hand, some will flock to the iPhone simply because it’s within Jobs “reality distortion field,” and they refuse to think for themselves. This position is just as bogus as the first, and will be wearing an iPhone on their hip for all the world to see, just as they make sure that their Bluetooth headset is flashing when it’s on (and they refuse to take it off, making everyone else in line at Starbucks wonder who they’re talking to), and just as they choose which car to buy based on iPod connectivity.

Finally, the remainder will look at the features, price, and functionality, and will decide for themselves. This is where I fall. Though I have no way of knowing the worldwide shipping numbers for the 6700, I think it’s safe to say that my current phone has lost a significant amount of its value, even though it seemed a great value at the beginning of December.

Whether or not the iPhone itself is successful, it seems quite certain that, like the Apple Newton (hardly a commercial success), every device that comes after it will be different because of it. That’s good news, no matter what phone you buy.

Why the huge difference? Why are my co-workers and friends swimming in the stuff, and I go through the day relatively spam-free? Here are the three things that I do. What differentiates me from my co-workers and friends, is that they do only one or two of these things. The key is to do all three.

1. Protect Your Address
When I first started using the Internet, my e-mail was through CompuServe. At first, I could only send messages to other CompuServe users, but eventually, they opened up a gateway, and I could (with some difficulty) send messages to AOL users, and eventually, to every other major messaging provider.

Back then, I published my e-mail address everywhere. I wanted people to send me messages because it was so… well, geeky and cool. I could see, within minutes, messages from across the country. As I moved into a role that required me to have more communication with the general public, and my e-mail address (at that point, no longer CompuServe, but hosted by a regular Internet Service Provider, or ISP) became more broadly known, and I started getting a lot of e-mail, but virtually all of it was generated by humans that just wanted to communicate with me.

That was then. This is now. At the present time, publishing an e-mail address on any web page in the canonical form of address@provider.com is just a bad idea. Automated programs crawl the web, constantly searching for any potentially valid e-mail address, throw those addresses into a list, and sell the list to people who want to engage in mass mailings. (I’ll skip the part where these people are sentenced to Hell in the afterlife, where they are required to respond, individually, to every copy of every e-mail they ever sent, or had sent by a proxy.)

As of this writing, none of these automated programs have ever discovered my primary work e-mail address. I never, ever, ever publish that address in any public place. If I am asked for an e-mail address, I give another address (more on that in a second). Interestingly, they’ve never discovered my primary home e-mail address either, for the same reason.

“What?” you may ask, “You have two e-mail addresses?”

Well, no. Actually, I have (I had to stop here and count them) seven. Why? That’s strategy number two.

Before I get to the details of that, I can imagine you’re saying, “But Tim, that won’t work for me. I have to put my e-mail address on my company’s web page so customers can contact me.”

Really? Is it absolutely necessary? If for some reason the answer is “yes,” then you can deal the automated “mail sniffers” by making your address readable to a human, but very difficult for a machine. For example, I could put:

Bob Smith
Director of Intergalactic Sales
(555) 555-5555 Cell Number
(555) 555-1212 Information Number
(666) 666-6666 Number of the Beast
bob.smith at bigcompany dot com

(replace “at” with “@” and “dot” with “.”)

As you can imagine, there are lots of variations of this. If you can’t use this approach, then you can either resign yourself to dealing with a huge amount of spam, or you can move to strategy number two.

2. Use Different Addresses
As noted above, I have seven different e-mail addresses. Why seven?

The first is my home e-mail, where I communicate with friends and family. I may share this with a bank or other institution, but only if I have a high degree of confidence that their privacy policy is solid (you do read those, don’t you?) and that they can be trusted with that type of information. In general, I don’t give my home e-mail address to anyone I wouldn’t trust with my social security number. (And based on news stories of laptops being stolen and lost with thousands of S.S. numbers, the number of people I trust with this data is going down quickly.) This address contains my real name, which is one of the reasons that I don’t publish my last name on this site. (The other is the plausible deniability that it gives to my sons when I tell stories about them.)

Before I go on, I should point out that I get nasty when people CC me on “please send this on to everyone on your list” e-mails. It doesn’t matter to me what the cause is, how heart-wrenching the plea, or how noble the theology, I won’t send chain letters. They do nothing to glorify God, waste bandwith, and waste my time. Even more annoying, these messages are almost always rooted in urban legends. Lastly, there’s no telling where my e-mail address goes when someone tosses it into a CC list along with “dozens of their closest friends.”

The second address is my work e-mail, where I communicate with business associates. I protect this address using the techniques as stated above. Recently, we changed the hosting of my company’s e-mail. Suddenly, everyone else started getting spam. Well, everyone but me. My inbox remained completely spam-free. Zero. Nada. My co-workers were seeing spam that had previously been blocked by our ISP. With the change in hosting, we lost the previous filtering, and viola’, spam returneth.

Recently, the flood of spam stopped hitting my co-workers inboxes. I’m testing, but I believe we have put a “validated senders only” filter in place. This is a solution, of course, but a draconian one. If a new customer tries to contact us, their e-mail will hopefully bounce. (I said “hopefully” because it remains to be seen if we will bounce them back a “You are not an authenticated sender” message, but that runs the risk of validating the address to a spam-sending program, which will likely result in even more mail hitting this address, making the flood even bigger than before.)

The third and fourth e-mail addresses are my all-purpose, send-it-anywhere, don’t-care-who-sees-it, don’t-care-if-its-on-the-web address. These addresses are hosted by Yahoo. This is related to strategy number three.

Address number five is hosted by my home ISP, is not my real name (it’s a nickname), and uses the same prefix as one of my Yahoo addresses. It’s not hard to guess what this nickname is.

This fifth address is what I use when I want to allow someone to contact me, or need to validate who I am, but don’t yet trust the other party. For example, if I want to download a trial version of an application, I’ll use this address. As with my home e-mail, number five is not published anywhere. Interestingly, I get almost no spam to this address either, in spite of me submitting it in various forms, use it with Ticketmaster, and other online services.

Address number six and seven are tied to my cell phone. If you think I’m paranoid about my home e-mail address, you should try to get one of my cell phone e-mail addresses. I protect this the same way I protect my cell phone number, which is to say that I very rarely give this out. Work contacts may receive my number via e-mail, but they are definitely not going to get this by looking it up on a web page. Fortunately, only one of the e-mail addresses (the one for text messaging) is easy to discern from knowing my number. The other, is kind of munged from parts of my name. Regardless, I don’t want spam on my phone, so I protect them

3. Let Someone Else Deal with It
Yahoo spends lots of time figuring out how to filter spam. It’s important to their business. Their business is, in part, e-mail hosting and communication services. They are going to be pretty good at this, arguably much better at it than I could hope to be. (One of the reasons my company e-mail didn’t see much in the way of spam before is that we used Yahoo’s business services to host our e-mail, and interfaced to it via POP3 and SMTP. We moved away from this for various reasons, but I was not part of that decision.)

By now, you’ve probably figured out how to send the message to my Yahoo address. That’s ok. That’s not my problem… it’s Yahoo’s. By using a Yahoo-hosted account, I have handed off responsibility for dealing with spam to someone who is much better at it, has more resources to deal with it, and has the capacity to get hit with massive floods of e-mails that would cripple a small or medium-sized ISP. (I don’t want to even think about self-hosted e-mail accounts having to deal with what is effectively a denial-of-service attack when a barrage of spam hits one or more accounts.)

Using Yahoo (or MSN, or GMail) is an effective way to balance the need for having a public e-mail address, but not having to deal with the spam problem that goes along with it. Used in concert with the previous strategies, you too can remain spam-free.

By the Way…
One last thing. If you absolutely have to host POP3 and SMTP servers at your business, consider filtering out (as far upstream as possible) all HTML-formatted e-mail. There is a strong correlation between HTML e-mail and spam, for a number of geeky technical reasons. Suffice it to say that most of the time, HTML e-mail is superfulous, and asking your friends and co-workers to send plain text e-mail isn’t that much of an inconvenience. (Steve Gibson of GRC, filters his e-mail accounts this way, and bounces back a “please use plain text” message as an auto-response.)

Oh, and one more thing. I lied. I’ve got a GMail address too.