NOTE - I just re-read this before posting - sorry in advance for the length but I hope it's all useful info for those of you who care
Here we go...
Some of you have been asking for a list of comparisons between the TP & the iPhone 3G. Well, I have been going back and forth for about a MONTH trying to make up my mind between these two phones (I'm currently on the TP), and I made a list a while ago that may help.
First off though, let me acknowledge that I probably qualify for official Apple fanboy status - I am a die hard Mac user. I started out as a PC guy but I have owned every Mac desktop & laptop for the last 15 years. I make my living staring at computers all day (I'm a film music composer) and as most of you know, the movie & music industries lean very heavily in the Mac direction. Naturally just about everyone I work with has an iPhone, and I've messed with them quite a bit.
You would think somebody like me would just line up to drink the iPhone cool aid out of blind devotion - but you'd be wrong. As much as I love the overall Mac aesthetic (and the iPhone has that in spades), there are just too many things that bug me about it which keep me from making a decision.
See, I like customizabilty, and I like options. This is why I was drawn to the Touch Pro. So far so good on those fronts - the TP does pretty much everything I want a smartphone to do at this point. It also lets me tweak it to death, in every way. Options out the wazoo - LOVE that.
However, when I pick up a friend's iPhone again, my gear lust kicks into overdrive. Uncle Steve & co. just plain know how to kick major booty in the UI department. Some have confused simplicity with being "toy-like" - and the iPhone is no toy. It just happens to be simple to use - elegantly so - and I can't imagine why that's a bad thing. There's simply no better user interface out there.
I've lived with the TP for almost a month now, and as much as I love it, I'm still debating whether to roll the dice and get an iPhone. Why? Well, the overall UI, the quality of the hardware (feels like a BMW in the palm of your hand; glass vs. plastic; no squeeks & creaks like the TP), the apps that are coming out every day, and the fact that this thing is legitimately becoming the next major computing platform. I just can't ignore where this is going, and I want to be onboard. That may be silly, I admit, but like it or not, the iPhone is a phenomenon that is only going to gather more steam.
OK, sorry for the long-windedness. Here's that list - hope it helps you make a decision - sadly it hasn't helped me as much I would have thought
TOUCH PRO ADVANTAGES (no particular order)
- Sprint's 3G network is 4x AT&Ts (but they will catch up I'm sure)
- removable battery
- create & edit MS Office documents on the device itself
- voice dialing & MS Voice Command (works amazingly well, but there's a new iPhone app called 'Say Who' that apparently does the same thing)
- easy custom MP3 ringtones & onboard MP3 clip editor
- small size (iPhone's a little thinner but wider - I like the TP form better)
- standard mini-USB cable for charging/sync vs. iPhone's 30-pin plug
- real slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard with dedicated number keys
- true turn-by-turn GPS
- expandable memory (microSD)
- USB/wifi tethering (iPhone will get it but for another $30 month!)
- browser supports Flash (lite)
- Opera automatically wraps text based on zoom level - no need to scroll left/right constantly just to read!
- COPY & PASTE!!!
- acts as USB storage device - easy drag/drop directly rather than having to use iTunes for everything
- transcriber (handwriting recognition) - works surprisingly well
- one of the best cameras I've ever seen on a phone, with advanced features (white balance, etc.)
- records video
- stereo bluetooth support
- true multitasking: you can run more than one app at a time
- stylus! it's nice not to need it, but it's equally nice to have it if you want it.
- fully & easily tweakable (custom ROMS, CAB files galore, you name it)
- KILLER high-res screen (double the vertical resolution of the iPhone) that's incredibly vivid & sharp - looks like a miniature HDTV. If only it were bigger!
- much cheaper plans with Sprint
TOUCH PRO BUMMERS
- feels cheap & "plastic" compared to iPhone; creaks & squeeks every time I touch it. The screen is plastic. To be fair, the iPhone is the only phone I know of with a tempered glass screen... but I sure like that! I don't want to put strips of tape or cloth under my battery cover to make a $300 phone feel solid!
- feels glitchy at times, and I end up doing quite a few soft resets. Again, to be fair, the iPhone is subject to this as well, but under everyday circumstances it just feels "right."
- no headphone out! Gotta use a dongle or cable adapter. It does have great audio quality, and it's so close to being an iPod competitor. The music player is pretty glitchy though, and nothing compares to the iPod UI...
- inconsistent UI. TF3D only masks WinBlows Mobile to an extent, and scrolling, zooming & panning are treated differently per app.
- gotta buy Missing Sync for advanced use with a Mac.
- no international roaming (but Skype and a hotspot would probably make that irrelevant)
Overall, the TP is an incredible phone. It's capable of just about anything, it's generally very responsive, can't beat that slide-out keyboard & high-res screen, etc. If it just felt a bit more solid - heck, I wish it were metal & glass - I think I'd forgive the relatively minor downsides...
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iPhone 3G BUMMERS
- fixed battery
- crappy battery life (unless you only enable 3G as needed)
- no text selection (let alone cut/copy/paste - WTF, Steve?!?!?)
- no MMS (I couldn't care less though - is everyone still in junior high or what?!? Maybe it's just me, but I don't get it...)
- crappy Bluetooth support (no stereo, no file exchange)
- fixed memory (where's the 32GB model already?)
- no support for use as a drive
- AT&T. 'nuff said.
- did I mention AT&T?
- tethering will be an add'l $30/month when it's available
- lots of folks have had the dreaded dropped call issue - nobody seems to know if that's fixable via software updates (geez it would suck if that were a hardware issue!). However, several friends who have recently bought 3G models have said they've had no such trouble....
- Safari is known to crash a bit often (very un-Mac like)
- not all apps multitask
- crappy camera (at least compared to Touch Pro)
- no native landscape keyboard (there are several free solutions though)
- no native voice dialing/command ("Say Who" app fixes this)
iPhone 3G ADVANTAGES:
- world's best UI, overall ease of use, and consistency - by a long shot. There's a reason EVERY smartphone is compared to the iPhone, like it or not.
- hardware quality. makes everything else feel like a toy. elegant simplicity. tempered glass screen. you don't need a scratch protector!
- the App Store. it's not the concept that's so cool (although the execution is brilliantly simple) - it's the CONTENT. Sure there's a lot of goofy, useless stuff (I will not pay $.99 for a virtual whoopie cushion), but there's a ton of potentially life-changing stuff as well. Seriously: GPS-aware to-do lists that remind you to buy milk when you drive near the grocery store?!? Apps that tell you what song is playing nearby (and then let you download it right to iTunes). Apps that use the accelerometer to automatically snap a picture when the camera is still. Voice-activated Google search (made specifically for iPhone). Google Earth. The list goes on and on - there's some mind-blowing stuff in there. Do a search for "must-have iPhone apps" and prepare to be wowed.
For all its flaws (and some are admittedly dealbreakers for many), The App Store alone makes the iPhone seriously hard to ignore. If you read any tech blogs/news, it's totally evident that this is the mobile platform to beat from here on out; there are articles every day about some new twist that give the iPhone yet another insurmountable lead. There was one the other day about airlines starting to implement iPhone-based "virtual boarding passes" - you just show 'em your phone at the gate. I mean c'mon...
- free AT&T wifi hotspot access (airports, Starbuck$, etc.)
- killer mobile browser experience (but I do love Opera's auto text wrap!)
- super slim form factor (prefer TP's narrower width though)
- perfect Mac integration (duh)
- works worldwide
- it's an iPod, for crying out loud
- big ol' screen (if only it had the TP's resolution though!)
- hardware mute (vibrate) switch
- standard 1/8" headphone jack - no adapters/dongle required
- accessories have become a standalone cottage industry
- 3rd party support (growing exponentially)
So, that's about all I can think of. Hope I come across as reasonably objective - I really am trying to provide a balanced perspective & be helpful.
Anyway, to end on a personal note... looking at the lists above, it would seem that the Touch Pro has so many significant advantages that it would be hard to pick the iPhone. Yet despite it all, I'm still leaning very heavily toward the iPhone. Why? I honestly don't know. I may be weird, but I place a LOT of value on the overall aesthetic of a device - the look, the feel, and the overall experience. Despite logic, I also can't ignore where things seem to be headed: the iPhone is king (talking in perceptions here), and the list of who's developing for it is growing by leaps and bounds. Then of course there are the apps - there are so many things there that I never would have even DREAMED of.
Maybe I really am nuts. Maybe if the Touch Pro was made of metal & glass and didn't sound like an old screen door when I handled it, I'd be off playing with it right now instead of typing a novel. Who knows. Incidentally, I am on my 3rd one - the first two had random QC issues and this one is doing some funny things too (flickering screen). Maybe I'm also afraid to leave Sprint after all these years - they've treated me great and they're certainly cheaper (but how long will they be around?)...
Unless someone smacks me upside the head, I'm gonna pick up an iPhone tomorrow morning. The "not knowing" is killing me - I can't wonder what life is like on the other side - I've gotta KNOW. Worst case, I can return it and come back to the Sprint/TP fold and finally get on with living
Either way, hope somebody was at least slightly informed (or entertained?) by my little diatribe here...
Thanks for listening!
Jim