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Oh, you're going to get into trouble for this! :-)

I think Apple made a great multitouch experience with the iPhone. I have an iPod Touch since I'm on Alltel, but I couldn't imagine using an iPhone for my every day phone. I need a phone with physical tactile feedback, not haptic or, in the iPhone's case, nothing at all. Every single touch screen phone I've played with has features such as the haptic feedback to ease users into the touch screen experience, but they react too slow to be of any use. The iPhone wins because it is responsive yet elegant.

But maybe everyone is just stubborn in their ways, desiring something with a similar input mechanism as what they have right now. I know that's why I'm not going for Apple's new MacBook Pro's (that and I'm happy with my current MBP). Notice that younger people are adopting touch screens more than older generations, just like every other piece of technology in the history of mankind. Older generations favor familiarity while younger generations are more open to exploring and adjusting their habits to new things.

I feel the same way about the iPod Touch. I only had it a week before taking it back to Best Buy and getting a Classic. There's just something satisfying about getting a "click" when you press on something. I know lots more people who are purchasing the scroll wheel iPods because the storage is greater and they loathe smearing their grease-stained fingers across the screen on which they're also expected to select music from their library and watch movies. Most people have disgusting personal habits anyways.

“And yet today, there are still plenty of people who prefer a flip phone.”

That right there would be me.  I use my phone to talk on 90% of the time.

I have supported Exchange for year, since version 4.0.  My first blackberry was a non phone pager size device, then a bigger one with a bigger screen/keyboar (loved that device) then phone models, iPAQ, then various WinMO phones until now I use a iTouch and carry a razr for a phone.  I thought is was nifty to carry a PDA phone and I had all my Exchange data at my finger tips all the time.  That eventually got old and usually most of them are second rate phones.  I prefer a flip phone when open it is on my ear and near my mouth and I dont like blue tooth headsets.

My current Razr is beat up, I think I will get the Samsung Rugby next, flip phone will military specs, we shall see if it lives up to the test.

Dont get me wrong, love my Touch for all the cool things I can do with it, reviews.cnet.com/8301-13549_7-10076386-30.html  that is dam cool:)

I realize the idea that touch is a fad - when apple is so far ahead here - is attractive to the winzealot crowd.

But sorry guys.  Over time as prices drop, battery life improves, capabilities increase - the days of physical buttons are completely numbered.  If you can't see this one coming - you really have no business being a tech geek.

It is not a fad. It will be (or already is) the norm.

Its not a fad, but its FAR from the norm.  I mean the new Storm or whatever its called uses touch screen but it pushed down like a button, like the new Macbook/Macbook Pro.

Robetsjoe,

How can you say that touch screen devices are the norm? The vast majority of cell phones worldwide are flip phones. Camera phones didn't even hit 50% market penetration in the U.S. until April 2007.

www.intomobile.com/.../50-market-penetration-for-camera-phones-in-the-us.html

No one disagrees that smartphone penetration is increasing at a rapid rate, but the percentage of those phones that have touch screens is relatively low. I know that you want to evangelize for Apple, and that is fine, but it's a bit premature to declare that touch screens are "the norm" or that they ever will be. A lot of people like buttons, and I know tons of Mac users who avoid the iPhone for just that reason.

@agl82: You are right. They are not the norm. Let me try again - I think they will be the norm. And hence, Paul is wrong when he thinks that touch screens could be a fad. If that was the case, they certainly are a fad on big ass coffee tables.

Touch enables a big screen.  A big screen enables rich apps.  Rich apps enable productivity and fun.  

Touch is not a fad.  Touch is the future.

"Touch is not a fad.  Touch is the future."

On smartphones, I agree. On dumbphones, I highly doubt it. On desktop and laptop computers, no chance.

"On smartphones, I agree. On dumbphones, I highly doubt it. On desktop and laptop computers, no chance."

It all depends. Maybe smartphones will be the future. And I actually like Tablet PCs. I don't know how touch will be on a laptop, but I will reserve my judgment  until I see it. Unlike others, I cannot extend my arms in the air and pretend to use a touch enabled laptop.

A bit surprising that nobody has mentioned yet a huge advantage with having a touch screen on a phone - the ability to type in more than one language!

On my iPhone I can type in English, Japanese (using the qwerty layout but getting Japanese autocomplete suggestions) as well as using my finger to write Chinese characters. And you can switch keyboards with a single keypress.

While there are many times where I curse not having real keys for feedback, the advantages for using multiple languages and using the full device face as a display when you don't need a keyboard far outweigh the disadvantages.

On a normal 'phone-only' phone, of course it doesn't make sense to get rid of a normal keyboard, but on something that is effectively a mini computer, it's a brilliant solution. Far from being a fad, the stats in a few years will speak for themselves as more people realise the benefits.

@nutts: "A bit surprising that nobody has mentioned yet a huge advantage with having a touch screen on a phone - the ability to type in more than one language!"

Of course they don't. They have no imagination or vision. That's the norm for Microsoft and their fanboys (like Paul and Mike).

Not having a physical keyboard, allowing for more space on the device for a larger screen and component room inside the unit, is not something these drones understand. Apple does. That's why Microsoft and others are scrambling to copy.

From Snyder, last year:

“Features, reliability, two-handed operation, high cost and Apple’s supply-chain and manufacturing strategy will continue to limit unit sales and profits for the iPhone,” predicts principal Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder.

Though he didn't get anything right last year about the iPhone, that's no reason not to believe him today.

robertsjoe, I wonder how Aple made you ignore all facts and talk only rubbish anymore...

Actually  Microsoft has developed touchscreen phones YEARS before Apple!

Microsoft has been trying to sell touchscreen devices for years!

Microsoft already was convinced that touchscreens are the future more than 10 years ago!

Microsoft developead all kinds of touchscreen devices, whether with or without keyboard (PDAs, phones, convertibles, slates, Surface...).

Apple refused tu use those technologies for years, they did never realize that touchscreens are the future until they understood that they could make lots of money with their phone.

It's so sad how you fanboys twist the facts. Get back to reality, out of your closed iWorld...

It's the screen size. Bigger is better. Touch gives big screens. Older people with trouble seeing small print close up will need it. If you just want a small phone, a touch screen makes it's screen bigger, and thus easier to see icons, messages/text/print, numbers as well as the pictures that they take on their little wee phones. The Newton had some sort of touch screen [with stylus] didn't it?

One mo thing. I have gotten pretty darn good at typing on the iPhone  and I make fewer mistakes than on my Palm Treo little keys. I have big fingers. Sometimes I need to use my pinky in the corners because of my iPhone case, which is kinda thick.

I'm curious how many people turn their iPhone sideways to type with their thumbs.  I still see nearly everyone typing it with the phone verticle and using first finger to type.

I'm also curious if in Jan. 2009 the iPhone will be dropped in price by $100 like some of the Mac blog pages say.

My brother has hopped onto the iPhone bandwagon, but I just cannot for the life of me see what is so special about it other than a pretty, though responsive, interface. It's other features are standard fare on other phones and I actually prefer a proper qwerty keyboard over a touch-based version. Few people actually require multiple language input so the fact that it is possible on the iPhone is moot.

Touch may be becoming more prevalent, but in many situations it is a mode of input that is more time-consuming and difficult with which to accustomise oneself. This is particularly so for me, as being a fat-fingered person makes the elementary task of typing an SMS or email, a frustratingly heinous exercise on the iPhone. It is also a device that is impossible to use with one hand because it lacks any semblance of tactile feedback.

Furthermore, I interact with a lot of business people everyday, and none of them could live without their qwerty Blackberrys. Despite Mr Jobs' assertion that the new iPhone is designed for business, its business features are mediocre and this fact is compounded by the need to use crappy, buggy iTunes software to do anything useful with it. The fact that iTunes is at version 8, yet still runs like an absolute dog at the best of times on a Windows machine, makes the iPhone an absolute waste of time in the corporate sphere in which Windows is the dominant platform. This is notwithstanding its complete lack of enterprise features such as proper hotfixing (any update requires you to download the entire piece of software again - a nightmare for IT admins, not to mention the unnecessary waste of bandwidth at 70mb a piece.)

I've found that the latest Blackberrys do everything an iPhone can do, but in a more practical, easy to use manner. Want to dial a number? Just start tying in the number. You don't need to dig around a touch interface to find the dialer app. What's more, blackberrys are purposely built for email and enterprise users, whereas Apple's device is decidedly consumer oriented. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I feel RIM has done a better of job of achieving the right balance between consumer and business focus. Apple's business focus is merely an afterthought, and a poor one at that.

DRWAM, I have an elderly aunt who decided to buy the iPhone under the pretence that it would be easier to use. A  month on, she hasn't the slightest idea how to operate it. Why? The primary task of a phone is to dial numbers. That task is the most difficult of all to complete on an iPhone, especially for inexperienced, elderly people.

This simple but essential task is just not intuitive with a completely touch-based interface. On any other phone you just press the appropriate digits and hit send. It's simple, it works, every time and you don't need to read the manual. Not so on the iPhone - there is not even a send or end button on the front fascia to easily direct users to the dialer app. The LG Prada got that bit correct - it has a full touch interface, but it doesn't make dialing a number a daunting task by including both send and end buttons.

Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but the fact of the matter is that Apple evangelists and iPhone zealots need to realise that the iPhone is not the best phone since sliced bread at all. It's probably one of the better PDAs, but as a phone it sucks.

Ah, a good old fashion future debate. Touch or buttons? Voice or gesture based? So many options for the future. However, the future is always difficult to predict.

I think touch will have part of a future. However, I've seen people struggle with a touchscreen Credit/Debit pad, and many don't even use their mobile phones upto their full potential yet. It goes back to Paul's previous article on Easy vs Simple.

I think with a few more decades of work, that voice combined with gesture based detection technology will be the true wave of the future. On future notebooks and desktops, I expect voice and gesture to dominate in the long term future. However, I do see a future for touch for the blind, deaf, or mute. Especially a touch device that does the braille system of non-linear language. That could be an multiple language supporting device that would give touch a future.

However, at least here in the United States, tactile response is a big thing with devices. Even Research In Motion figured that one out, with the Blackberry Storm's SurePress. I figure with mobile devices, that ingrained cultural need for tactile response will not go away. If its like the Storm with a tactile response feedback option for American consumers, touch will definitely be around for a longtime.

RobertC: Few people actually require multiple language input so the fact that it is possible on the iPhone is moot."

You're missing the bigger picture.

Of course only a minority require multiple languages, but the main benefit is...being able to sell the *exact same* hardware in as many countries as you want! No more having to change the keyboard for each one, just create a new virtual keyboard in the software, and companies can add even more to the software later. Cuts down on manufacturing costs somewhat I would think.

A good example is that finally Apple with the latest OS version added an 'emoji' keyboard for Japanese users. So a simple download and there it is.

As I said in my post above, touch screens are not for everybody, and I can't see them outselling normal button-operated phones on a global-basis ever, or at least not in any reasonable future, as it's just not practical. But for anybody wanting to use a mobile device for anything *more* than just dialing numbers (lets call it a 'smart' phone) I think in 5 years you will no longer be able to buy a smartphone without it using a touch screen keyboard.

So Robert, your elderly aunt wanted a phone and bought a smartphone that requires $30/month for internet service that she would not use?  Why would she do that? Also, she can't touch the phone icon at the bottom of the [every] screen and start touching the HUGE number key pad that is as big as the size of a RAZR? I find your post a little hard to believe that she bought an iPhone. Why would an elderly person with little tech experience even want one. Actually, my 8 yr old can use it. She saw the phone icon [at the bottom of any screen BTW] pressed it, dialed the numbered, and started talking to her friend. So no one showed your aunty how to dial?  But she made her way to the ATT or Apple store, saw the phone, and paid $200 and upgraded her contracted another $30/month? Sure she did.

The lack of tactile feedback prevents me from using an iPhone the way I've used every other phone I've ever used - without looking at it. Until I have that, touchscreens are useless to me for a phone/texting/emailing device.

Sorry Robert, I forgot that the first iPhone contract was only $10 more for EDGE, which is believable. I apologize. Still, I think it's easier to use the iphone to make a call, than to drive a car to the store. Yep, I'm a doofus.

"DRWAM, I have an elderly aunt who decided to buy the iPhone under the pretence that it would be easier to use. A  month on, she hasn't the slightest idea how to operate it. Why? The primary task of a phone is to dial numbers. That task is the most difficult of all to complete on an iPhone, especially for inexperienced, elderly people."

Well gee, as long as we're talking anecdotally here, let me tell you about a guy I know who can barely walk upright. He's tried half a dozen phones, and bought an iPhone on the pretense that it would be easier to use (yes, he has the disposable income to do this). Guess what? He evangelizes the heII out of the thing, because he says it's the easiest phone he's ever used, and he's used a lot of them. He's elderly, hates technology, but loves (yes, loves) his iPhone.

I wouldn't own one. Too limited for what I need, no video recording, no SMS, and AT&T offers no unlimited texting, which is a big drawback. For me, my touchscreen Centro is a good, if somewhat compromised, solution (the web browser is "usable", and that's being kind). But I "get" the draw. Touchscreens in and of themselves are not the draw, a good usable interface is. A touchscreen gives you that flexibility, if you know how to use it which (let's be honest) many, if not most, don't. Apple took an existing idea and made it better, which is their genius. Good for them.

The new Google Mobile iPhone app has speech recognition, which works pretty well. But it still just a Google search. The search on my friend's Motorola Q [2 or Pro or something], which I believe is WinMO [correct me if wrong], seemed to have some better features, IMO. BUt the touch screen definitely takes a little practice to get used to it. It took me many tries to set up Exchange on my iPhone, due to my errors using touch. Now I can setup any of my partners' iPhones in about two minutes. I guess that I'm just as bad a typist on a regular keyboard:), but at least I'm at the same level of competence as with my old Treo 650 [buggy unreliable POS]

How big is the screen if that new Blackberry thingy compared to an iPhone? Is it the Storm?

>> [...] Actually  Microsoft has developed touchscreen phones YEARS before Apple! [...] Apple refused tu use those technologies for years, they did never realize that touchscreens are the future until they understood that they could make lots of money with their phone. [...] <<

I guess you've never heard about the Newton Messagepad...

Yeh, I forgot that the phone cost $400 or $500 for the first generation with Edge. So some old lady walked into a store, dished out $400 for a highly technical piece of equipment instead of a free flip phone, only to use it as a phone. It does sound kinda fishy. But I guess anything is possible. Two of my oartners would not buy the iPhone, or any internet contract phone as they would almost never use the internet. They were not willing to pay the extra $30/month charge, and they make 6 figures. One makes a 7 figure salary [el cheapo]. I am a wee bit skeptical again.

>> The lack of tactile feedback prevents me from using an iPhone the way I've used every other phone I've ever used - without looking at it. Until I have that, touchscreens are useless to me for a phone/texting/emailing device. <<

How do you find contacts without looking at the screen? How do you read SMSs and emails? How do you browse the internet?

I really don't see touch screen phones as being a fad, however I don't think that the majority of phones will ever be a pure touch screen as is the iPhone.  I own a Palm Treo and simply love that phone, one reason for that is it has both a touch screen as well as a physical keyboard.  Looking at a number of other smart phones (such as the G1) physical keyboards are there as well as the touch screen.  I think that this is the best as when typing out an email or web address or something like that, a physical keyboard will ALWAYS be better and faster.  However it is nice to have the functionality of a touch screen as well.

I mean, look at the new Blackberry that is coming out.  It is touch screen, but they make it "click" when you hit a key because they want to try to emulate the feel of a real keyboard.

The other big point is that at least now, most people have no need for a smart phone.  Hell, a lot of people with camera phones still don't know how to take a picture.  I know that saying that most people don't want or need a smart phone may sound funny, but that's the truth.  The bottom line is that many, if not most, people aren't tech savvy enough to use a phone with capabilities like this.  You got to look at the bigger picture and realize that we (on this site) read and comment on a tech blog and so we tend to be a bit biased on these issues.  Most people don't really care.

However, just because people don't want or need one now, doesn't mean they won't in the future.  I think over time (years and years) phones with touch screens (but not without physical keyboards) will become the norm.

"Still, I think it's easier to use the iphone to make a call, than to drive a car to the store. "

It is, if you assume she had never driven a car before or gone to a store. That's quite a big assumption there, no?

And what all this discussion really comes down to is that there are places and times and uses where a touch screen is the best choice. And there are places and times and uses where a hardware keyboard is the best choice.And there are places and times and uses where a non-touch software keyboard is the best choice.

And the real message is that having the flexibility to choose the interface that makes the most sense for the user and their situation is the real best choice.

And the problem with the "single interface" vendors like Apple and Google is that they've decided which choice you'll take.

Shark, how was this aunt smart enough to connect the iPhone to a computer and activate through iTunes, but not smart enough to touch the phone icon, which is bigger than any physical button that I have seen on any cell phone, as well as the keypad? My assumption holds a lot water than a post with Apple bashing attached to it.

tristanh, the buttons on the iPhone click too, by default, but you can disable the click sound.

Mike but WinMo phones just seem to offer much more computer like features than the iPhone, and thus more capability than other platforms has  although may not have as many of the 'fun' stuff, which I will not use anyway. Also, the diversity of choice for features is greater, such as shapes and sizes as well as other physical attributes. WinMo phones can better serve more diversity without a lockin to one store [although jailbreaking opens up quite a bit of iPhone apps]. For example, I found the Moto Q2 or Pro to have a small screen, but very easy to view even navigation/GPS screens. I'm just glad that I did not make the choice for my phone, or else I would still be undecided. I am also glad that a guy, MikeG, took the time to help get the features of my phone working the way I need them. Otherwise you could have caught my phone flying through the air from Jersey to the west coast.

@mikegalos - "And the problem with the "single interface" vendors like Apple and Google is that they've decided which choice you'll take. "

Actually, what they have done is chosen which choice that they will currently provide. I have seen prototype Android based phones with a hardware QWERTY keypad...one of which is discussed here - www.infoworld.com/.../HTC-names-Google-phone-Dream_1.html

--tayme

Of course, just as anyone who like Macs or Apple is a "fanatic" to Paul, the title of this post attempts to remake a general question about user interface into a debate on whether the iPhone is a "fad".

Is is clear to everyone that this is a general user interface question, not iPhone specific? So, now that we've gotten past the usual Thurrott flame bait....

There are strengths and weaknesses to a touch (or multi-touch) based interface, and strengths and weaknesses to hard-wired buttons.

Touch is:

1. Versastile. The interface can be reconfigured in many ways.

2. Gestures work. If it is multi-touch.

3. Useful when the device is too small for a touch-typable QWERTY keyboard.

4. Not tactile. You have to look at the device (or sometimes listen) to determine if the UI element you hit really responded.

5. Entirely visual. You can't operate the gadget by feel, in your pocket, in the dark, or in a car (safely), because you have to look at the thing.

5. Annoying if you have bad vision. I have presbyopia (young guys, look it up, you'll know all about it some day, I promise) and can't use my iPhone without glasses. This is annoying.

6. Slower. The price for versatility is slowness due to making context switches as you change apps and interfaces. The interface itself is also slower than hard wired buttons.

7. Somewhat unpredictable. UI guidelines for how touch and multi-touch should work are still being figured out. Developers are trying lots of things, and some of them are not so good.

8. Hard to operate single handed.

Hard-wired interface is:

1. Fast. Tactile. Responsive.

2. Inflexible. Not reconfigurable, except through things like modes and modifier keys.

3. Works without looking at the device. Works in the dark. How well this works is a function of user experience and device complextiy, but it is always better than a touch interface.

4. QWERTY works poorly when the device is too small to touch type. This may be controversial, but my main objection to Blackberries and all similar gadgets is that abomination they call a keyboard. A QWERTY keyboard is an odd beast to begin with, and the answer to the UI in a small device is NOT to shrink a QWERTY keyboard down to the device size. I'm not entirely sure what the right answer to text entry on a small gadget is, but a teeny tiny QWERTY keyboard is NOT it.

5. Can often be operated with one hand.

You might summarize all this by saying that a single purpose device (phone, calculator) with buttons will always be somewhat faster, easier and better for that single purpose compared with a touch interface. However, as soon as you try to change what the gadget does, extend it, or add new things, touch interfaces come into their own.

In the end, no, touch screens on pocket sized devices are not a fad. I think they are here to stay.

The fad in touch screen computing is on notebooks and desktops. This is something that has come and gone multiple times in the past, and will be trendy for a while and disappear again. Reasons: A larger device has room for a real pointing device, and these are superior to using a finger. In addition, just try doing the gyrations shown in the movie "Minority Report" and see how you feel after 20 minutes. If you find the Wii fitness stuff a workout, then you can see why touch screens as a general purpose interface on desktops have never caught on.

Good points Chuck. Many years ago, around 1990, there was equipment, specifically MRI from GE, that used a touched screen to set up and scan a patient. They were probably Windows based. Although they worked well, a few years later, they were gone. The big screens did get a little smudged, but I think that set up parameters may have become too complicated to continue to use them as I heard almost no com plaints from users [MRI technologist]. You still would type some keyboard commands with them, but the fad actually did die.

Very well said, Chuck.

--tayme

"I guess you've never heard about the Newton Messagepad..."

Nobody has.

"Gestures work. If it is multi-touch."

You've obviously never used Graffiti on Palm OS.  I prefer Transcriber on Windows Mobile, but Windows Mobile supports Graffiti gestures too.

"This may be controversial, but my main objection to Blackberries and all similar gadgets is that abomination they call a keyboard....I'm not entirely sure what the right answer to text entry on a small gadget is, but a teeny tiny QWERTY keyboard is NOT it."

On that, we can agree.  I absolutely hate the Blackberry combined keypad on the phone models.  I tried setting up someones BIS account one day and from one field to the next, it would *sometimes* let me do the double-tap to get to the second character on a key, and sometimes wouldn't, depending on which field I was in.  It was an exercise in frustration.  On my Touch Diamond, the onscreen "Compressed Keyboard" works with double-tap EVERY TIME.  I do prefer the larger button keyboards compared to these Tic-Tac-style things that they have on Blackberries and Palms though, but only if the buttons are domed (like my previous HTC/UT Starcom PPC6700), or have a space in between.  Not separating them makes it require that you look at the keys while typing.

So far, I've used devices with and without touch screens, and with and without physical keyboards.  For better email work, a physical keyboard is necessary, although I can break out my stylus and use the onscreen default (extra-small) Windows Mobile keyboard faster than any touch screen option.  That takes a lot of practise, but I can "type" about 20 WPM with it.  Having the stylus, and using handwriting recognition is better than any onscreen touch keyboard too....except for maybe the odd doctor....

I don't have an iPhone but I do own the new iPod Touch and one of the main reasons why I bought were the touch capabilities. Obviously I don't know what its like to use the iPhone everyday as a phone or email device but I think I have a good idea of what t would be like. Typing isn't as easy as Apple would have you think and I often have typos. For everything else the touch screen works great.

When I use other players with tactile controls it feels foreign. The touch screen, at least for "niche" purposes, is here to stay and I'm thankful.

"And the problem with the "single interface" vendors like Apple and Google is that they've decided which choice you'll take."

Yeah, like BMW who have decided that you have to have a car. They should also manufacture tv's, soap and poetry books.

@GabeR: "How do you find contacts without looking at the screen? How do you read SMSs and emails? How do you browse the internet?"

I didn't mean that I literally never look at the thing. But the bulk of my time "interacting" with my phone is spent typing something:

To call someone, I type their name and hit dial. Without looking.

To send an SMS, I type the message. Without looking. Sure I read the message first, but that's not really any different between the iPhone and the Pearl - swipe finger downward. Repeat.

To send an email: See "To send an SMS".

To read webpages: Yes I have to look at the phone to read the thing, but again, that's not any different between the devices. Typing in the web address I can do without looking, however.

I guess maybe I'm unique, but I am very rarely just sitting down when I use my phone. I'm usually walking to or from a client's office or my car. I can hold the Pearl in one hand and send a long email all without walking into light posts.

Mum

"Yeah, like BMW who have decided that you have to have a car. They should also manufacture tv's, soap and poetry books."

No. More like when BMW decided that every function in the car should be controlled by iDrive.

But, speaking of BMW, it's being reported at news.cnet.com/8301-17912_3-10110131-72.html that BMW is going to use Microsoft Surface in their dealerships to let customers pick out options for their new cars.

Speaking of touchpads, Many of the election boards were said to be Surface as well. The school has a large screen Touchscreen that the kids used for PowerPoint presentations. It was first graders and it was a large Microsoft screen. So easy that a first grader can use it. However, Robert's aunt probably could not. Either way Surface was just incredible to give us election news as well as other news. I'm think it was used at CNN by Mr. King. Yes, it's what I want for my living room coffee table. I actually got a chill thinking about owning it. Another ultimate geek toy, but with a lot of purpose for the entire family. I wish it were here. So is this a fad or the future. I think the future. Obviously so does Steve and Steve. Can you imagine showing a patient all their info and imaging studies as well as treatment choices with this tool? Pretty cool, IMO.

"Of course they don't. They have no imagination or vision. That's the norm for Microsoft and their fanboys (like Paul and Mike).

Not having a physical keyboard, allowing for more space on the device for a larger screen and component room inside the unit, is not something these drones understand. Apple does. That's why Microsoft and others are scrambling to copy."

Robertsjoe, Apple did NOT have the first touchscreen phone. Please get your facts straight.

Also, Apple did not have the first GUI, Apple did not have the first MP3 player, and Apple did not have the first all-in-one PC. What Apple does have is an excellent marketing team. I understand that your role as resident Apple troll is to spread lies and propaganda, but please provide some supporting documents when you make insipid claims like that. This is not AppleInsider.

Most iPhone users are Americans who do not require multilingual phones, so who cares? There are already smartphones in China, Japan and other countries that provide for regional customization including symbol entry. I'm not saying that what the iPhone does isn't terrific, but it's not the market leader by a long shot.

And, by the way, I like a physical keyboard! Oh, and here's a reminder for you Apple guys:

www.youtube.com/watch

agl82

I hadn't seen that clip in a while. It's interesting to listen to the Mac loyalists boo all the things that saved their company. (And to see Steve Jobs not wearing a black turtleneck)

Touch screens clearly aren't applicable in every use case and there's always going to be people that prefer a physical keyboard.  Some people just want a simple, single-use device.

But, like so much talk of the thoughtless talk of the iphone's success, this article ridiculously refers to the touchscreen as a form-factor unto itself without any regard for the software.  Touchscreen isn't an interface without delving into software below the glass.  Flip phones all work exactly the same.  The software interfaces on each of these touchscreens makes for radically different experiences.

That is where the iPhone is succeeding and all the wannbe's (including the BB Storm and all WinMo phones) are failing badly.

Also, what this is all overlooking is the emerging market jump where the mobile phone is actually outright REPLACING the computer.  For that kind of rich experience, the iPhone seems to strike a very good balance with it's screen size and software richness vs. the ultra-simple and static plastic keyboard or flip-phone.

Alternative headline:

"Will the iPhone Become the Next Pet Rock?"

@maati: Wow! That was the most factually incorrect rant I think I've ever read. Even more so than the posts on this blog or the ramblings of @mikegalos.

@agl82: "Robertsjoe, Apple did NOT have the first touchscreen phone. Please get your facts straight."

I never said they did. If I did, show me where. Please don't say I said something I didn't.

@mikegalos: "Hotmail has well over a quarter of a BILLION users.

That's a lot of zealots."

That's a lot of people that don't know any better. AOL has a lot of users too. And look at the reputation AOL users have.

"The numbers really don't match your experience. Hotmail is BY FAR more popular than GMail."

Popularity means nothing. Look at Windows. The most popular but clearly not the best operating system. People have been conned in to using it now and are paying a high Microsoft tax.

"iPhone soars to 16.6% of smartphone market" article has some interesting facts about other brands.

www.electronista.com/.../needham.on.iphone.share

"what this is all overlooking is the emerging market jump where the mobile phone is actually outright REPLACING the computer.  For that kind of rich experience, the iPhone seems to strike a very good balance with it's screen size and software richness vs. the ultra-simple and static plastic keyboard or flip-phone."

It's already happened in China and Japan.  In China, the iPhone isn't even sold, and they do well without it.  In Japan, the iPhone isn't even making a blip on the radar.

BTW:  You, sir, are a LIAR!

You just keep coming back for a beating, don't you?

@mike:

I like Jobs' line from that video:  "Since we believe in *CHOICE*...."

That's one for the blooper reel.

Here's another one:

www.youtube.com/watch

"We're going to honour our existing licenses.  Apple's a very honourable company....We love to license software.  [You just need to pay us more]."

Fast forward 11 years, and Apple lied about honouring licenses, the "ecosystem" is in the sh!tter, and licensees are gone.

One only has to go to a mall or a movie theater to see what is more popular.

People under 25 maybe even under 30 prefer buttons, because for the love of GOD all they do is text.  Going to the movies anymore is not fun in the glow of texting children during the movie.

Like I said I love my touch be typing a even a short message on it is painful.

"Going to the movies anymore is not fun in the glow of texting children during the movie."

I complain, get them booted, and make a big enough "stink" to get a free movie pass out of it.

At least I don't watch movies on a 3" screen....that's where it just gets pathetic.

"Also, what this is all overlooking is the emerging market jump where the mobile phone is actually outright REPLACING the computer."

Yeah, good luck with that. I just love surfing the internet with a 3.5 inch screen. And I'm sure people can't wait to type term papers with their thumbs, manipulate images the size of a postage stamp with finger gestures, and watch full-length movies with their families huddled around the iPhone! Smartphones are extensions of desktop/laptop computers, not something that will replace them.

"Touchscreen isn't an interface without delving into software below the glass. "

Yep.

Look at these. Blew my mind. This sure makes the point on versatility. This thing is going in directions that no one anticipated. I don't see a "Blackberry" doing anything like this.

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

I particularly like the young man playing "Amazing Grace" because, well, I like the song, and he looks so into it.

The iPhone is gonna eat Blackberry for lunch in the business world AND create apps like this, at the same time. Gotta love disruptive change.

"Look at these. Blew my mind. This sure makes the point on versatility. This thing is going in directions that no one anticipated. I don't see a "Blackberry" doing anything like this."

Why in the world would a corporate executive want to use an Ocarina emulator on their Blackberry? Does something like that do anything to increase office productivity or does it just make you look like an absolute tool when you're blowing into the dock connector?

@Roberts,

Windows won relatively fair and square.  Apple squandered it's advantage in the OS by going for pure margin in the extreme and failing to continue innovation after Jobs left.  Microsoft did inherit the IBM monopoly (remember when PC's were called "IBM-compatible"?), but they also had a better business model for that time. Windows provided common

Now we're seeing the reverse, with Apple's integrated business model better positioned to deliver the kind of appliance-like quality of experience that people expect from devices like phones and increasingly their computers.

@johnpapola: "Windows won relatively fair and square."

If by relatively you mean illegally, then you're right. They are convicted monopolists after all.

"Now we're seeing the reverse, with Apple's integrated business model better positioned to deliver the kind of appliance-like quality of experience that people expect from devices like phones and increasingly their computers."

I agree, partially. That's why Microsoft is trying to better integrate the Windows experience with their hardware partners like Sony. We'll see how successful they are in that endeavor. However, I think that Netbook adoption is personally more interesting than that of smartphones or traditional desktop/laptop computers.

Linux has a chance to break into the mainstream (especially with companies like HP designing their own front end for the HP Mini 1000), which might end up making relative dinosaurs like Microsoft and Apple obsolete going forward. Hardware manufacturers can cut costs by huge margins by using Linux as a base on which to build their own customized GUIs.

I'm not advocating open source, since I like my HP laptop with Vista and my brand new iPod Classic quite a bit!

"Why in the world would a corporate executive want to use an Ocarina emulator on their Blackberry? Does something like that do anything to increase office productivity or does it just make you look like an absolute tool when you're blowing into the dock connector?"

Is that a parody of an unimaginative Windows drone, or for real?

Once, corporate executives couldn't type. Even now, some don't know how to use the internet. When Macs were first introduced, there was a lot of huffing and puffing about how "real men" use a command line and a keyboard and that a mouse was for wimps.

Times change. Those that don't keep up tend not to survive.

The Ocarina application is just one example of what the iPhone can do, and a good example of the versatility of the device. If you think that you just need a Blackberry with that ridiculous "keyboard", feel free.

BTW, the iPhone is now the second best selling smart phone, so I guess there a lot of "tools" out there who disagree with your assessment of the utility of the device.

Just possibly, you could be wrong....

"If by relatively you mean illegally, then you're right. They are convicted monopolists after all."

Fair enough. Microsoft abused its monopoly to become a monopoly... wait... wha???

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