I agree it's not really a smartphone. But Steve Jobs thinks it is
Why do so many people have an obsession with labels ? It is what it is. Who's definition of smart phone are we using. Are we to have 23 different labels for each possible combination of features ?
Here's the first definition I hit on a yahoo search.
"A generic name for voice centric mobile phones with information capability. The Ericsson R380 Smartphone is an example of such a Symbian OS phone."
www.polyphonic-ringtones-ring-tones.co.uk/glossary.html
here's the second......notice the use of the word "often as in "not always"
"A smartphone is generally considered any handheld device that integrates personal information management and mobile phone capabilities in the same device.
Often, this includes adding phone functions to already capable PDAs or putting "smart" capabilities, such as PDA functions, into a mobile phone."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone
It simply is what it is and what it does. it's like arguing that the iCar isn't a vehicle cause it doesn't have: (pick 1 or any combination)
-4 wheel drive
-Seating capacity for 7
-Automatic transmission
If it gets you from where you are to where you wanna be, using a man made device that moves it's a vehicle. Why was the Crackberry accepted as smartphone when they just combined e-mail and phone. ? If it combines voice, e-mail and internet access, that's smart enough for 99% of the population. The 0.5% of gadget geeks and 0.5% who actually need and efficiently use all these other "required to maintain life on the planet" features should be confident enough in their choice not to invest substantial portions of their time to denigrate other people for not buying what they don't need and buying the best device for what serves their personal needs.
For all the alleged time saved with these wonderful devices, most waste more than that learning how to use them, spending hours tweaking them and trolling forums to denigrate anyone else who has made a different choice. The iPhone has outsold any other device on the planet in a weekend. There's no big rush to return them and their users are overwhelmingly satisfied, get over it already.
I wouldn't use one because it doesn't fit my particular needs. Music on a handheld, like IM, is something I never quite understood nor had a desire for, so one of it's biggest strengths is something I would never use. But I feel no compulsion to trash a device just because it doesn't fit my particular needs. As long a there is choice in the market, I have nothing to complain about.