[backbeat]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

Verizon passing on the iPhone was just one of a big box of evidence out there that the iPhone is all hype and will be a dud.

Based upon what evidence not based in fantasy? Please provide Verizon sources on the record.

Some BBF members labeled our negative comments about the iPhone as lies, unfounded speculation, stupidity, diatribe, [and some other highfalutin jabs or insults].

Want some sassafras with your highfalutin?

Although I do not know any of the details...

Say it isn't so ... again!

And it seems to me that Apple then had to "beg" Cingular to take it. Cingular said OK, but got ridiculous concessions from Apple, such as pricing, contract term, etc. [most of which will change as the units do not fly off the shelf].

What Cingular evidence exists to support this fantasy? Your conclusion is premature. Sound familiar?

And as I said in the Pearl section, with so much criticism about the iPhone, as compared to praise, I don't think that bodes well for sales in June. In a sense the iPhone will be DOA.

Unaccountable, anonymous internet forum posts are your standard? Duly noted!

Fact is, consumers don't like touch screens.

So that's why Microsoft is such a dismal failure. Got it!

They don't work that well [did you see the Prada demo and how many errors he made when trying to use the touchscreen]. If there is going to be a touch screen interface the device should also have a keyboard. This combination has been better received by consumers [e.g., the iPaq and other PDAs with keyboards and touchscreen interfaces]. Touchscreen only = flop. Simply put, touch screens are crap for doing any kind of typing. So unless one wants the iPhone strictly as a "fun multi-media device," it is doomed as a phone for texting or e-mails.

Your assessment is the equivalent of comparing the Blackberry OS to the Microsoft Mobile - Smartphone Edition. Thanks for the apples and oranges!

And who is going to want to clean their phones every hour because the panel will be nothing but a big grease trap.

If this 'argument' had any validity, it would apply to any phone with a screen of any kind that has the potential of coming into contact with human skin. Greaseballs shouldn't blame their fate on external forces. Enjoying your argumentative joyride?

On the battery, I think it's a misguided move to sell a multi-media device that also doubles as a phone, with a battery that cannot be removed for charging and another put in its place.

Again, your assessment is conjecture due to the fact that the OS is the biggest factor in the cycle lifespan of a battery. More baseless conjecture.

But if the battery goes out on a cell phone and one cannot insert another, that's serious if the phone cannot be used. I just think that will cause all kinds of problems, especially in emergencies.

Guess I'd just have to wave down one of the many motorists making illegal lane-changes around me to borrow the cell they're on in the case of such dire emergencies.

I guess some BBF members can continue to believe the iPhone is so innovative that it will [or has] caused other manufacturers to freak out and go back to the drawing board. But it seems to me that such Members are in the extreme minority considering that most reviews, discussions and comments about the iPhone are negative. And such comments and reviews are not from bashers of anything Apple, but from respected people in the industry.

No one who has not had the opportunity to have this device in-hand can objectively judge the iPhone since it hasn't been born yet. Those who have, differ with you by 180 degrees.

Should its birth be allowed or should it be continued to be treated like the birth of the antichrist by the self-serving?

Good thing for American jurisprudence that you only play judge, jury, and executioner on the internet.