[Zyphlin]

The reaction people are doing to the iPhone isn't surprising.

I've been around the PPC community since my old Win CE Compaq Aero, and this entire debate is just a rehash of the Palm Vs CE argument.

Its actually kind of funny, becuase early on it was the "productivity" giant Palm against the "entertainment niche" CE devices. Then it became the "User Friendly" Palm vs the "Customizable" PPC.

People have their horse in the race and it makes most people a bit blinded.

I went from the Aero 2100, to the 1500, to the Jornada 545, to the Toshiba 740, e310, ipaq 1900, ipaq 2215, HTC 6700, HTC Mogul, HTC Touch, and now the HTC Diamond.

And each and every one of them had some things I loved. All of them could do a ton of things. However they all shared a few things in common.

Most of my non-gadget loving friends could not pick them up and start using them pretty simply without any instruction. All of them were never customized as much as I invisioned because while the possability was there I just never ended up taking the time. And every one of them had programs put on them hoping to find a better GUI for launching applications and never really getting it.

The closest were the Toshiba's which had a "palm - like" interface that was a step in the right direction. The Touch with its touch cube once we were able to actually edit it was getting closer. The Diamond is still near it. But nothings really touched that issue.

There is a reason why, since the EARLIEST days of Windows CE there was a massive attempt at finding a good, economical, stylish, easy to use launcher for Windows Mobile. Because no version ever really had one.

It was one of Palm's strong points, and its one of the iPhone's strong points.

Windows Mobile is an amazingly platform, great for productivity, great for customization, good for entertainment and media, and relatively poor for "ease of use". For those that want full control of their phone, for those that want to use it almost like a mini-computer, for those that are business oriented or just want a phone that can do a plethora of things...its a great, great system.

The iPhone IS different, but not in the backhanded insulting way that many of the people here have listed. Yes, its for entertainment. Its GREAT for entertainment. The included in box media player for the iPhone trounces Windows Media Player, pours lighter fluid on it, and set it aflame (more on the importance of this later). Even with some of the "better" players, like TCPMP, I'd still take the iPhone's interface over it.

It is not JUST for entertainment though. One poster laughed off another poster listing things that can be done productivity and/or non-entertainment wise on the iPhone because other phones can do it. Do you not realize you can laugh off the PPC being able to do these things FOR THE SAME REASON? So what if other phones can do it, that doesn't change hte fact its erronious to say that the iPhone CAN'T.

I'm currently trying out a iPod Touch to see if I want to get an iPhone on it. For me, I primarily use my phone (outside of phone functions) as an entertainment type thing. Its my MP3 player, its my quick puzzle game player, my TV viewer, my web browser, my IM machine, along with being my organizer. On my touch, just on the first few free apps I went and looked for, I do have some non "entertainment" things.

I've got an app for calculating calorie intake, and tracking food and exercise over a period of time that is better than anything free I've seen on WM. I've got a bank account tracker that is better than MS Money or any free wallet application I've seen on WM. A drink database on par with functionality with the ones I've seen on WM, but far snappier and easier use. An AOL Radio Player to be able to listen to the local FM Talk station that I love. Not to mention quirky things like the urban spoon, a translator, a level, google earth, etc.

Yes, it has lots of "entertainment" things, but to write it off as "only entertainment is foolish".

The iPhone does entertainment great, and does other things like PIM, productivity, etc good, and custimization poorly. (ignore jailbreaking)

Windows Mobile does productivity great, does custimization great but difficult, does PIM a bit above average (But its always been a sore point of WM), does entertainment good.

But here's the point where the iPhone kills Windows Mobile, and the reason why its selling so great.

The iPhone is EASY.

Interface wise, it is so much simpler than Windows Mobile. Its very easy for ANYONE to pick up and instantly figure out how to use it. Its really taken the core beliefs of Palm when they first started making their Pilots and gave it a beautiful new design.

On top of that, its extremely snappy, and it has little things about it that give it a feel of being even snappier. Things load amazingly quick compared to Windows Mobile to my eyes. This is actually helped with the loading animations, that trick the mind into thinking its going even faster. Just in a few days of using it I go back to my diamond and it just feels like it creeps by.

Its also MEANT for touch. God love the Diamond, its an amazing device, but you can only put so much makeup onto the pig. Windows Mobile is not made for being finger friendly and until such a point that Windows 7 comes out focused towards being finger friendly, its just not the same. The responsiveness of the screen, and the size of it, for the iPhone just can't really be compared. This allows for people who are new to these devices to get into the device, using it, and more comfortable MUCH faster than the diamond.

Lets move to the computer if you actually want to find programs for it.

You have one, simple, easy to use repository for everything you could want as an average user for the iPhone. Its all on the App Store, and its all easy find and grab. Is it HARD to find it for Windows Mobile? No (and god its not near as difficult as the day of miphs, arm, etc). But its not really "simple" either. And for the hardcore user like you and I, that's not a big deal...but its huge to the average user.

Same thing with getting things ON the device. I was amazed how much easier it was dealing with iTunes than Activesync is despite it being ages that Activesync has been out. Everything works just simply, and intelligently with it.

Is the iPhone without flaws? Oh hell no. I could go down a list of a dozen of them in a second. It has some serious ones.

But so does Windows Mobile. And the thing that REALLLLLLY bugs me about Windows Mobile is some of those flaws have been there since back when "PocketPC" wasn't even a known name yet.

The problem PPC users have had for so long, be it Palm of iPhone, is they're so self-consious and defensive of their devices that they can't accept that the competition does some things very well and instead of condemning it, we should embrace it.

The iPhone is more than just an "entertainment" machine. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone that really wants a lot of control on their device, or likes gadgets as a hobby and will tweak, play, and mess with it. Who will go and research ROMs and wants to flash their device and download 3 different programs to get every inch of the device to their specifications...

...but if its someone that wants a phone that can do PIM functions, some games, really good media, and is simple to use. That doesn't care so much about a lot of customization and will just want to put on a few programs (or maybe more than a few if its easy to find them) than the iPhone is easily as good a choice, if not a better choice, than Windows Mobile.