iPhone Voice Plans, Reviews

The iPhone is almost out and there are reviews and new information coming out everyday. Of note is the recent voice plans which are about what was expected. Engadget has posted a nice little summary of what the overall cost of the iPhone will be over the course of the two year agreement compared with other smart phones and blackberries. They offer a series of breakdowns that can help the fence sitters decide if the phone is really worth the purchase.

Basically it comes down neck and neck in cost. However there are sacrifices. With the iPhone you get the features of the iPod, pretty interface, and better web experience (but no flash support). With the blackberry you can actually use it for business. Of course the thing is most people are not using it for business, but for personal use and on that I guess it depends on need.

As for some of the review, its comes down to being a pretty good phone. Mossburg writes "Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions."

Another point of interest though is "The iPhone is missing some features common on some competitors. There's no instant messaging, only standard text messaging. While its two megapixel camera took excellent pictures in our tests, it can't record video. Its otherwise excellent Web browser can't fully utilize some Web sites, because it doesn't yet support Adobe's Flash technology. Although the phone contains a complete iPod, you can't use your songs as ringtones. There aren't any games, nor is there any way to directly access Apple's iTunes Music Store."

At this point, the cost of the phone over two years (about $2500) combines with its limitations (flash, personal music as ringtones, etc) makes this a huge pass for me.