Update on iPhone/iPod Touch consideration

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Pitman

I'm positive that DS's DD is extremely happy with her Touch.

She is. Now my wife wants one, too.

An iPhone would not have met her needs (or budget). Neither would a Blackberry. Nothing wrong with any of the devices but they don't all do the same thing and don't all appeal to the same customers.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Does the Touch have a microphone built in or do you need to connect a headset to it?

It does not.... You will need a headset with a mic on it.

I have a Touch as well, by the way. That's how I keep track of my personal finances.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by Pitman

You obviously removed my whole post, where I mentioned sending over 150 text messages to prove your point, but in doing so, you just proved mine stronger.

I removed most of your post to cut down on the reply length, and limit the scrolling needed to view the thread . . . not as part of an agenda about the discussion.

Originally Posted by Pitman

your whole post solidifies what I mentioned in my post; Blackberry is for the business man, iPhone is for the gadget nut.

I was right there with you on this point a couple months ago, especially before the enterprise functionality of the iPhone was added. I figured IT departments were too familiar with Blackberry to justify changing. I don't disagree that Blackberry will remain the device of choice among business users for at least a little while longer, but I don't think it has a ton to do with the functionality of either phone.

Yesterday the guy next to me on the plane was wearing a very expensive suit, a $5k watch, and using the touchscreen blackberry . . . which is essentially an iPhone minus the application availability. He didnt seem to struggle to fire off emails on the touchscreen until the last possible second. Last night I watched a friend fire of 20 texts while waiting for a table for dinner. So, I have a hard time buying that a touchscreen makes it substantially tougher to type after the first day or so.

Having only one carrier available is probably the biggest downfall for business use of an iPhone. It essentially removes all ability to get multiple bids for a corporate contract.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by red92s

touchscreen blackberry . . . which is essentially an iPhone minus the application availability.

I wonder if businesses prefer the blackberry for just this reason. One can easily waste hours upon hours of valuable time playing with iPhone applications. Productivity could drop off if the staff was armed with iPhones.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I wonder if businesses prefer the blackberry for just this reason. One can easily waste hours upon hours of valuable time playing with iPhone applications. Productivity could drop off if the staff was armed with iPhones.

I think enterprise clients can somehow selectively allow/disallow particular applications and the ability to download applications from the App Store. If you give an employee the phone, then they buy some apps, then you take the phone away . . . they loose their applicatiosn. Just messy.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think it's because blackberry is easier to use to type emails. Honestly how fact can you touch an email typed out? Versus a mini keyboard, which I see people doing super fast!

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

I think it's because blackberry is easier to use to type emails. Honestly how fact can you touch an email typed out? Versus a mini keyboard, which I see people doing super fast!

I've talked to others who insist that it's a matter of preference, but for me, I typed a whole lot faster with a physical thumb keyboard than I ever can with the iTouch/iPhone keyboard. I was also more accurate with real thumb keyboards as well.

The thumb keyboard is my one major reservation and disappointment that I've had to live with since the transition.

At the very least, I wish Apple would make the larger landscape virtual keyboard a standard for all applications. Perhaps it's some kind of library that's already accessible to all 3rd party developers, but at the very least, I think all default iApps should be programmed with that option....

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I haven't met anyone yet who has both (typically crackberry for work) and iphone for personal use who said the iphone is easier for typing emails. Most tell me it's fun applications, fun to use. But the crackberry is like crack for emails.

It's a lot easier to quickly check emails and respond back. Like liquid crack. You get addicted.

But the iphone is for fun stuff like looking cool, surfing the net, etc.

[Phenomenal Woman]

As someone who depends on texting and emails from the phones as the main method of communications, I strongly prefer the QWERTY thumb keyboard over the touch screen for the purpose of typing.
On the blackberry, Treo, and etc., I am able to type with one hand and I can finish typing what I need to say without having to look at the screen 100% of the time. I had the option of using the touch screen keys on the Treo and the PPC but rarely ever use it.
Though I loved the touch screen function of the Treo's which makes me want to inquire the iPhones. I wish the iPhones had an option of having a QWERTY thumb keyboard that can be attached to it somehow and then it will be an “all in one” phone for me.

I am torn between phones that are out there because there are pro’s and con’s to each every one of them and not one phone that has everything I want.

[Broken Arrow]

There is a new kind of hybrid coming out that offers both touch-screen interface as well as a physical thumb keyboard. Palm Pre is sort of leading the way in that respect, and I believe Blackberry has one in their pipeline that they will introduce in the near future as well. Apple, with their war on buttons... I don't know.

Although the hybrid concept isn't new at all, what sets these new hybrids apart from the past is that they are designed to be used without a stylus, but instead, rely purely with your thumbs.

I think it's an evolutionary step in the right direction....

[disneynutt]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

I think it's because blackberry is easier to use to type emails. Honestly how fact can you touch an email typed out? Versus a mini keyboard, which I see people doing super fast!

I've had both, and I can type far faster with my iPhone than I ever could on a QWERTY keypad. In fact, I've become quite stunted with my ability to use the QWERTY pads because I've gotten so use to the auto-correct on the phone (it finishes a word for you as applicable).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

disneynutt, can you do it with one hand?

[disneynutt]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

disneynutt, can you do it with one hand?

Yes - it takes some getting used to, but it's doable. The auto-correct helps a lot; if you start typing a word and it thinks it knows what you want to say, you can accept the suggestion (or X it out if it's not applicable).

[Shane Watson]

I got the best deal for iPhone the other day. I got some really cool apps for iPhone. This site called objectdevcorp got load of apps, but the interesting part for me is, I asked them to make me some apps and I am still amazed.