I disagree entirely. I think the iPhone reviews overhyped the "fantastic and innovative" phone features of the iPhone. It is, hands down, the worst phone I've ever used.
Is it pretty? Yup
Is it gimmicky? You betcha...the little spinning graphic when you switch between the keypad and the phone features looks like something the geniuses at the Pontiac division of GM cooked up. All flash, no value.
But as a pure phone, there are far too many features missing from the device.
Things I miss when using my iPhone that I have become accustomed to on Bberries, HTC's, etc:
1) Easily recall a recently dialed/received number while on a call. With iPhone all you can do is look at your stored contacts while on a call.
2) Easily store a number someone gives you on a phone call, either as a new contact or in a scratchpad function....and I'm not even going to whine about lack of cut-and-paste here either.
3) The speed of just making a simple phone call is slower on the iPhone, requiring more button presses than on a "complicated" Bberry or many other PDA/Phone combo's. Example from a similar locked state on both the iPhone and my Pearl assuming both are returned from standby mode to main menu:
iPhone: 1: Slide, 2: enter passcode, 3: Touch phone icon, 4: Touch Keypad icon, 5: Dial number and hit Call (4 and 5 could also be hit Contacts then select contact and number but that's more steps). Minimum 5 steps to placing a call.
Bberry: 1: Enter passcode, 2: Dial number (smart enough to know you are dialing a phone number), 3: Hit Send key. 3 steps. Can also dial by contact in fewer than 5 steps.
Quite frankly, this was Apple's first attempt at creating a phone interface and their Computer-only experience shows. They made the iPhone resemble the UI more of a Skype or VOIP-based phone metaphor rather than really attempting to create a killer phone UI.
So as a pure phone that I use everyday (logged 2800 minutes last month on my iPhone) I find so many things missing, some big and some small. Then again, I'm not a phone neophyte. If this was my first phone or I just simply was a simpleton, maybe I'd not miss these features and think the phone really was "revolutionary." But at least in the VOICE feature department, the thing is at least 2-3 years behind the leading edge for features.
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