[Betsy]

I will have to try this. I currently use HandyShopper on my Palm, but when it dies (and I think the battery is going), I doubt that I'll replace it with another Palm.

I'm hoping that by that time the iPhone or iTouch will be a replacement. :D

[MEP]

Originally Posted by Betsy

I will have to try this. I currently use HandyShopper on my Palm, but when it dies (and I think the battery is going), I doubt that I'll replace it with another Palm.

I'm hoping that by that time the iPhone or iTouch will be a replacement. :D

It's funny, but when I read "when it dies" -- before I got to the parenthetical statement -- I immediately assumed you were referring to Palm the company. Just goes to show how easy it is to lose your position in the marketplace when you rest on your laurels (reminds me of Quark too).

[pvonk]

Originally Posted by Betsy

I'm hoping that by that time the iPhone or iTouch will be a replacement. :D

I spent quite some time on the web, reading about the iTouch and finally realized that it is an "entertainment" device (music, video, limited web use with one emphasis on YouTube). It doesn't support editing, doesn't have a to-do component with its calendar, and (an example of limited web use) does not support the viewing of pdf files via its browser or a stand-along app. The more I looked at it, the more it became obvious that it will not replace a PDA. I think the iPhone has many similar feature faults.

So don't "accidentally" drop your Palm, not quite yet at least!

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by pvonk

I think the iPhone has many similar feature faults.

As I understand it, the iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone. So that would be "the same feature faults".

[Betsy]

That's what I had thought, Curt, but I think Pierre is right. We must have been reading the same blogs. :)

It sounds like they're not giving all the non-phone features to the touch to differentiate it from the iPhone. For example, there's no mail feature on the touch.

The article I read talked about Apple avoiding some mistakes they made years ago when they had many varieties of the same gizmo. I never had anything Apple until this year, so the examples meant nothing to me.

[MEP]

I wouldn't worry too much about the limitations of the iPhone/Touch. There's already been a substantial amount of activity involving application development without the benefit of a licensed SDK, and a lot of the already extant web apps aimed for the iPhone are getting pretty impressive (I'd like to see the ability to sync up OF with Google Calendar followed quickly by an iPhone-optimized Google Calendar skin with great todo support).

I strongly believe that some degree of third party software support will appear on the iPhone platform at some date, but that it will likely be extremely limited and require Apple approval for release (like the games you can get for the iPod which can only be acquired through iTunes). I already know that there's some promising developments being made with regards to non-Apple approved software support, so I think one way or the other, the iPhone/iPod will become a PDA platform worth owning.

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by Betsy

That's what I had thought, Curt, but I think Pierre is right. We must have been reading the same blogs. :)

It sounds like they're not giving all the non-phone features to the touch to differentiate it from the iPhone. For example, there's no mail feature on the touch.

Just a difference of perspective. I was lumping mail and messaging in with phone functionality. I assume people will develop (if they haven't already) webmail interfaces that work well on the Touch.

That said, I'm not ready to jump yet. It's still not enough of a PDA. I'll probably switch to whatever the current iPhone is when my newish Razr bites the dust.