Friday February 02, 2007

When the iPhone was announced, my jaw dropped as much as that of any other geek. The iPhone is definitely a game-changer. Let's face it, the iPhone is just frickin' cool. However, there are some things mission that I want.

• No Java. How can Steve Jobs say that Java is not worth building in to the phone? Others agree. There is plenty of content. The stability of PalmOS (Ahem - Garnet) has nothing to do with Java and everything to do with the aging OS, name change notwithstanding. No Java? No John.
  
• Faster data throughput available on networks other than Cingular. And I'm not afraid to use it.
• Tools I really like that may or may not have equivalent on iPhone
• Backupbuddy.net. Used it again today to restore my Treo. Yeah, it had to do with Treo instability. If things get out of whack, I wipe the Treo, and use BackupBuddy.net to restore over the air. Takes about 30 minutes and does not require a PC/Mac. I have used it to restore bits for other reasons than stability. Really handy. I bet .Mac ties in to the iPhone, but I'm not sure it will restore a phone from scratch.
• Kinoma 4 and TCPMP. I can listen to pretty much any radio station on the 'Net. Also has handy links to view traffic cams. Of course, I also roll my own content. Then there is mOcean3 for downloading and/or streaming podcasts . I even have access to YouTube content. Then there is access to live video content.
  
• GMail mobile (Java)
  
• There's more, and I'll add them as I need them.
• DRM. Everyone's rights but mine are protected. I've stopped buying content from the iTunes store and will only be out roughly $25. I mostly listen to podcasts these days anyway, or streaming music from XM.
  
• 8GB storage limitation. I already have 11GB of SD cards filled with content for when I travel and for when my daughter travels.
• Internal Battery. I carry around a spare for my Treo. I've only used it once, but let me tell you, I *really* needed it.
• Can't do everything with one hand. When I have my Grande Mocha in one hand, how do I navigate my phone? Heck, my knees are already doing the steering. Yeah, I'm kidding. Mostly.
  
• Price. I can buy a laptop and use a webcam and Skype for less, although not nearly as sexy. Plus, I'll have to buy new pants with bigger pockets. Much bigger.
• Last, but not least, I'm locked in to a 2 year plan with my current provider thanks to my Treo 700p. It has it's issues, but so do I. It's an empathy thing.
  

I have a feeling many of these issues will get worked out by Apple, although I don't think business users are their first target. Since I have almost 2 years to go, I have time for Apple to address these. The one that worries me the most is 3rd party application support on the iPhone. On the Treo, 3rd party apps fill the gaps. Who will fill the gaps on the iPhone.

One thing's for sure, and that's that others are not going to stand still and let the iPhone steal all the thunder. And that is good for the little guy.