I’ve waited quite a while before I could fully endorse the iPhone as a complete mobile platform, but the latest ‘improvements’ have pushed me over the fence in favor.

When others had asked me how I liked it, I usually would state that Apple warps people into believing products are great – and their users tend to overlook any problems.
Here’s some problems I’ve run into:
* Safari crashed quite a bit – with the two updates, it’s better.
* My iPhone crashes/locks up more than my Palm Treo 650 did.
* The 802.11 wireless will cause lockups when connecting to some access points.
* The ATT Edge network is slower than alltel’s.
* Mail app is crap – I can’t manage all the email I follow without threaded conversations (perhaps there’s a setting).
* Price reduction hit me, but I didn’t really care that much.
* Stupid headphone jack size.
* No disk use – come on Apple?
* Notes don’t sync anywhere!

Some benefits:
* My wife has a phone she’s happy with.
* iPod & phone in one!
* Slimmer than my Treo, and any other phone I’ve had.
* Battery life is awesome.
* Camera capability works with Linux.
* http://jailbreakme.com/ and the Installer unlock everything.
** IRC on my phone!
** iFlickr uploads photos to my flickr account.
** Tetris – nuf said.?
** The ultimate geek tools: bsd utils, ssh, and a terminal.

Jailbreakme was the turning point. Custom applications make this mobile phone the best I’ve had yet, and for what I use it for extended the life of my desktop at home for at least another year or two. I use my desktop at home for development, email, and web… and it’s turning 5 years old this Christmas. I would be purchasing a new computer this year, except the utility of my iPhone has given me no reason to buy a new PC – everything I need is now in my pocket.

The iPhone is a very slick mobile platform.