10 Things that "Absolutely rock" about the iPhone. (no I don't have one)

[mikec#IM]

I'd almost say that isn't an issue since the battery life is pretty good on the device. When I would normally expect someone to need the phone off I'd also expect them to need the wifi off, ie. on a plane. But options are good, being able turn both off individually could help extend your battery when you are running low and can't charge it.

Would you get SMS' via wifi if the phone were off though? Maybe that's why they are tied, so you have to use SMS via ATT, or Apple doesn't want it to look like limited functionality is available if you turn off the phone.

What if I am home, surfing the web/listening to music, and don't want phones calls/SMS to interrupt me? It would be nice to turn off the GSM phone part (Maybe there is a silent/no pop-up mode; owners can comment).

(I can't beleive you can't turn them off independently, but surely someone here who has one can confirm.)

 

[mikec#IM]

You cannot turn WI-FI on when you are in airplane mode. A message will pop-up claiming if your continue, Airplane mode will be turned off. Can't see this as a very big issue though.

As I just posted, this could be an issue when you want the functions but don't want the GSM stuff.

 

[mikec#IM]

Ok...braj said to keep this as the strengths...

The screen...people have said this before, but it is a really good one.

I'm not into watching videos on a small screen, but this one could make me change my mind.

 

[marcol]

As far this 'catchup' or 'leading' thing, everyone involved in the smartphone biz knows where it's heading: large, smooth touch screens, touch friendly, etc. MS has been working on it for "Photon" for about 2 years now, POSII is the same with large touchable icons. In other words, this was a natural trend/evolution of the industry. True, Apple sort of "got their first" but just about everyone was headed in that direction anyways.

Have you seen Photon? Although several people have reported that they have (and they all seem to like what they've seen) there seem to be almost no details. This is the most I've come across:

Photon

Microsoft is being so secretive about the next really major update to Windows Mobile it won't even give its code name, though most people have been calling it Photon for some time. For convenience sake, I'm going to keep calling it that. A good guess on the final name is Windows Mobile 6.0, though Microsoft won't confirm that, of course.

As I said before, all I can give you on this upcoming version is my impressions, not any details. I wasn't even allowed to take notes during the presentation.

With Photon, Microsoft's developers have made great improvements in ease of use. Imagine being able to control every facet of your device from one screen, with one hand. You'll be able to do that with Photon.

Microsoft isn't completely pitching out the user interface we've all become accustomed to on our handhelds and smartphones; It's just refining it, and making it much easier to use.

Really, I think just about everyone came out of the briefing wishing handhelds and smartphones running Photon were available now. But they aren't and they won't be for a long time, as Microsoft is now saying that this upgraded version of Windows Mobile won't be out until 2008.

At this point, I wouldn't expect devices running Photon until about two years from now. With Crossbow not being released until the second half of 2007, I'd be very surprised if Photon was available before late 2008. That's a long time to wait for something that's going to be this good.

http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=12490

There's more than one way to skin the cat and "being able to control every facet of your device from one screen, with one hand" doesn't necessarily imply that they're moving more towards a "touch friendly" UI. Current S60 devices for instance are completely workable one-handed and none have a touchscreen. Note also the comment "Microsoft isn't completely pitching out the user interface". Seems to me the main UI change in going from PPC2003 to WM5 was the addition of the two menus coupled to two physical buttons; evolution in that direction doesn't get you to an iPhone-like UI.

Not saying you're wrong, just wondering where you get your info (and what that info is).

 

[braj]

Timely updates make the iPhone ROCK!

 

[cmaier]

Apparently the update solves the "polka dot" problem (for those who had it).

Also added some actual new features, though none of the biggies.

I suspect there will be another update two weeks from today, and this time there will be some surprises.

 

[braj]

What were the new features?

 

[cmaier]

some changes to settings. mail now has "bcc myself" instead of "cc myself." The autolock has more choices for time delay. Someone said there was some change to phone favorites to allow more, but i am not aware of a limit so i'm not sure what he was talking about. Couple more scattered reports of small changes which i can't confirm.