iPhone - you can have it.

Ok, so another post that Justin will find extremely boring. Tough hop.

So 2 days from the widely anticipated launch of the Apple iPhone. Here's my take on it: Big Whoop!

Sure, it's pretty cool. But what about it is so new? Basically one thing. Multi-touch screen. Ever heard of a Treo? It can do pretty much anything the iPhone is touting it can do. It's not new stuff! Treo has been doing most of it for years. Let's run it down.

First off, let's start by pointing out the things iPhone and Treo (I'm comparing against the 700w (which of course runs Windows Mobile 5.0) have in common, and which one wins.
1. They are phones
-a phone is a phone is a phone in my book
2. They can store and play mp3s
-iPhone...has a built in 4/8 gig hard drive to store them. Requires iTunes(boo!)
-Treo...Runs windows media player. Stores music on a SD Memory card (up to 4 gig). No iTunes! (Yay!)
3. Built in camera
-a camera is a camera is a camera
-iPhone has more megapixels. Either way, probably won't replace your normal digital camera
4. Surf the web!
-Treo has internet explorer. Kudos.
5. Email
-iPhone - POP, IMAP
-Treo - POP, IMAP, Exchange.
6. Applications
-Treo has Microsoft Office. View/edit word, excel, powerpoint, etc. OUTLOOK! What you are used to, and syncs up fully. Write your own/buy 3rd party! Thousands of apps out there for it. Sweet!
-iPhone - all propriety Apple stuff. O/S isn't open to outside developers, so you will get what Apple says you get. Don't think about writing your own apps or buying 3rd party apps!
7. Battery (This one is kind of a big deal, believe it or not)
-Treo, rechargable, replaceable, swapable. Have extras for backup, or replace if the battery is faulty.
-iPhoen, rechargable...NOT replaceable. No extra's! When your iPhone's battery goes kaput, guess what. You have a fancy piece of nothing. Send it in for repair. Don't think you can just swap it out with a new battery. Lame.
8. Touchscreen
-Treo, has one. Single touch input.
-iPhone, has one. Multi touch input. Cool!
9. Keyboard
-Treo, has a physical keyboard. As well as a software keyboard.
-iPhone, software keyboard only.
10. Service providers
-Treo: Verizon, Sprint, Cingular/AT&T
-iPhone: Cingular/AT&T only for now
11. Tether to laptop as a modem
-Treo: Yup! PDANet. Works awesome!
-iPhone: nothing i've seen indicates this is do-able.
12. Ability to be run over by a car
-Treo: Heck yeah! Still working good as new (just banged up a lot)
-iPhone: If you buy one, try it and let me know the outcome.

Benefits of the iPHone over the Treo:

- More built in memory
- Faster processor, etc.
- Cool auto-sense landscape mode
- Fancy UI and interfaces...
- Looks less dorky than a Treo (cool factor)


Overall, I think it's a pretty cool product. Is it as cutting edge as people are trying to make it out to be? Not really. Just a new player in an already existing market. The fact that the O/S isn't open up for 3rd party development is a HUGE fallback. Most of the apps I use daily on my Treo are 3rd party applications. And let's not forget that the Treo is almost half the cost of the iPhone! Sure, the iPhone will come down soon enough. If/when they expand to allow use of it on additional networks, and if/when they open up the iPhone for 3rd party development, and if/when they get rid of it's dependency on iTunes, I'd consider buying one. Only if it ran Windows Mobile :) Sorry, I'm a Window's user. I jsut won't buy something that natively isn't the same as what I use for everything else. Seamless integration is key!

Anyway, that's my quick overview. Please correct me if i've misstated anything. If you buy an iPhone, lemme know as i'd love to check it out.