[goober]

i have been a nokia person and tried other crappy phones, the blackberry is like an OHOS. I dont want emails sent to me via a phone. My N70 had been thru the wars and still works great, the N95 might be the next update. My fear with iphone is that like the ipod issues could be how one drops it and bingo send it back to snapple. Ipods albeit good units have issues of cross linkage. Try to get an ipod to sync with itunes of u change your computer, itunes will ask for the entire contents to be erased..........great if you have nothing better to do but put all songs back to your favourite category.....NOT

[psw]

I didn't really think I needed the email either, but just the other day I was waiting at the doctor with one of my kids and in comes an important response to an email I had sent from my office laptop the day before, I was able to send a response with an attachment that couldn't be handled with a phone call, all of a sudden it made the email capability a bonus. Another time I am sitting in a waiting room waiting for a meeting where client is going to be very late, so I decide to jump onto safari and kill some time reading fchat and AE. You would never choose to use your iphone browser over your computer but for these occasional times it is great and the screen is huge for a phone when turned on its side.

Dropping I guess is a valid fear, that said I have dropped my iphone once and it survived OK, interesting you have had troubles with ipods and computer changes sounds like a pain, I have changed my laptop twice over last few years with no issues to my itunes storage, albeit they are Apple, maybe this makes a difference?

Give one a go like Mark suggests, it won't be that expensive, if you don't like it flick it on to someone else, I don't know anyone that has got one and hasn't raved about it.

[AshSimmonds]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23908338-5014108,00.html

The seven biggest iPhone disappointments

APPLE'S new iPhone 3G promises to be 133 grams of awesome.

It will do everything the iPhone does well — surf the web, serve up music and movies, and let you flick through your voicemail messages with a fingertip — only faster and cheaper.

Yet imperfections still lurk, in spite of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs's maniacal attention to detail. Even before its release, there are some niggling issues — some minor, others major — that make the iPhone a mere gadget, just like any other.

Here are the seven biggest iPhone disappointments, as noted by bloggers.

The cost

Those crafty phone companies! In the US, the new "$199" iPhone is about $US300 ($314.69) cheaper up-front than the original. It is not, however, less expensive to own because US mobile carrier AT&T has a pricier data plan to subsidise the up-front cost.

The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to pay" but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers".

In Australia, confirmed iPhone carriers Optus and Vodafone have not revealed the local pricing, but both will offer it on a no-contract prepaid plan.

No Flash

The iPhone is a surprisingly capable web device. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile web surfing from a chore into a pleasure.

The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits.

While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath.

No replaceable batteries

Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop.

By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers.

And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel.

Video recording

Apple's computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony.

Despite the iPhone's built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple didn't include video capabilities, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" have.

No cut-and-paste

The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.

No multimedia messaging service

This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. The lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is one of the most maddening iPhone flaws.

Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.

Bonus — no voice dialing

No blogger seems to have complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone have already died in fiery auto wrecks because of this problem.

The iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally — the one feature that makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road.

[Aircon]

those two things make it an instant no go for me. i've lived with that before....and never again!

No cut-and-paste

The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.

No multimedia messaging service

This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. The lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is one of the most maddening iPhone flaws.

Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.

[goober]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23908338-5014108,00.html

so one is it think that u buy an iphone...........to look the part, forget about simple features like mms

[jim501]

I was pretty much under the impression that 3G was all about video calling and mms and it has neither of these. I've got the n95, and whilst I have had some minor problems, it does all that I need and has the GPS so I don't see the point in swapping.

[goober]

I was pretty much under the impression that 3G was all about video calling and mms and it has neither of these. I've got the n95, and whilst I have had some minor problems, it does all that I need and has the GPS so I don't see the point in swapping.

that is gonna be my next phone.................whats the N95 like?

[jim501]

Really good, the black 8Gb phone solved all of the software problems the original had alledgely. So my phone has had the software updated and is all good. Very resilent unless you take a sharp object to the screen (pool table corner). Bluetooth is great, also the ability to remove the mini SD card (normal SD card adaptor comes with the phone) is fantastic as it makes transferring between the computer and phone easy if your computer doesn't have bluetooth. Have used the GPS and maps a few times, although the network does take a while to find you (i don't think they have worked out how to charge you for this yet so all free). Very easy and simple to use. Nothing to fancy really, I had had enough with touch screen and stuff like that so very nice to use.

[goober]

Really good, the black 8Gb phone solved all of the software problems the original had alledgely. So my phone has had the software updated and is all good. Very resilent unless you take a sharp object to the screen (pool table corner). Bluetooth is great, also the ability to remove the mini SD card (normal SD card adaptor comes with the phone) is fantastic as it makes transferring between the computer and phone easy if your computer doesn't have bluetooth. Have used the GPS and maps a few times, although the network does take a while to find you (i don't think they have worked out how to charge you for this yet so all free). Very easy and simple to use. Nothing to fancy really, I had had enough with touch screen and stuff like that so very nice to use.

agree on the touchscreen, gimme a button, if touch screen is so good why do we still use channel changers for our TV's, i could see people going up to their plasmas and stick their fingers all over the sceen to change from big brother to PP V Scunt on Fox news

[Aircon]

for me, touch screen is a must. once again. i've been without and don't like it.

i'm a fairly heavy user, though.