Some quick iPhone thoughts

I have played a little more with an iPhone (actually helping a friend to 'liberate' one) and what surprised me at first was the total play for 'desire' against anything else that could matter (like actual use). I have to admit that there was a part of me saying 'I must have one' from the very first moment I saw it ... yet in the end the rational part won :)

So what problems did the rational part see? Many actually, here are just a few:

- the price is now almost OK in US, but not so much in the rest of the world; it is however visible that the next generation (probably January-February) will probably have at the same price twice the storage and many other important features!

- the 'screen keyboard' is just AWFUL no matter what Apple is trying to convince you (actually I might be a LOT faster using Palm Graffiti);

- as designed by Apple the way you will use the iPhone is strictly limited to stuff that will make Apple rich - you will pay huge amounts of money to co-monopolists like AT&T, you will only have applications that Apple wants, and most of them will be restricted in ways that will bring more money to Apple (for instance almost everything will only work with an internet connection, so that 'poor telecoms' will be able to make more money for Apple); and don't even get me started on the idea of ringtones, wallpapers, games and so on ... Apple just loves when you buy the same stuff from them over and over again :)

- the iPhone can be somehow 'liberated' - but that will just meet increasing opposition from Apple and I just don't care for a device that I have to crack every two months or so even if I LEGALLY OWN THE DEVICE !!!

In the end I will certainly not buy for myself the first generation iPhone, and if Apple insists on keeping the second version locked that will also be a niche product just for Mac-fans ... and the only good result after the iPhone will go the same way as the Newton will be that it has 'pushed' WinCE and most important Linux in the right direction!