iPhone: what it doesn't do...for now, anyway

It seems the iPhone is living up to the hype according to the tech reviewers. Pogue says it's dead simple to use, but more importantly, it's got buzz and juice. The buzz: 11,000 or more print articles anticipating it's release. The juice: the innovative software which opens up a whole new audience for an easy to use smartphone that does media very well.

The lack of a physical keyboard has been causing some concern, but Mossberg says that he can type as fast as he can on the Treo. Here's an Apple video to do some explaining about trusting the "intelligence of the keyboard."

Just for the record, here are some ways it's deficient. But realize, everything else is being reported to living up to the hype.

• Can't download music directly (over-the-air), must do side-loading (from your PC)
• The mobile OS X version takes up 700 MB
• No memory slot for adding storage
• No instant messaging
• No text copy and paste
• No MMS, iChat
• No video recording
• No wireless Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
• No GPS
• Streaming Web video only from certain sites
• Can't search through your contacts
• Call quality is average
• No home screen speed dial or voice recognition. Sometimes making a phone call can involve multiple steps
• Can't edit a Word or Excel document received as an attachment, but you can view them along with PDFs
• No 3G, but you can use Wi-Fi to make up for this
• Battery is sealed inside, so you have to send it back to Apple for a replacement. You can't carry a spare. Apple says the batts will lose capacity after 300-400 charges, therefore they're thinking batt life of about one year, unless you want to charge the phone more than once a day
• Safari browser doesn't support Java or Flash, so no embedded video support or Flash in the Safari browser

Some of the above can be fixed with the software upgrades that Jobs is promising.

But the problem is you're stuck with AT&T's EDGE service. You'll wind up paying about $60 a month for 450 talk minutes, 200 text messages, and unlimited Internet. Compare this with the $50 I pay to Sprint for 300 anytime minutes and  unlimited EVDO. So essentially, if I make the switch, I'm paying the extra $10 for a video player, and I can leave the iPod at home, if I stick to 4 GB of media.

I suspect there will be folks who buy the device and not purchase a plan. Then you have a sophisticated iPod with Wi-Fi for $500, as opposed to the extra $720 you'd have to pay for a year of questionable AT&T service with a 2-year commitment, and a $36 activation fee. You could always add the plan later, though. When you purchase the iPhone, you walk out of the store with the package, and then set up the connection plan at home.

UPDATE: No device replacement insurance from AT&T. You may return the device within 14 days at the same point of purchase, but with a 10% ($50 for low end version) restocking fee applied.

ANOTHER THOUGHT: There have been some rumors about Dell coming up with a broadband mobile device. This probably isn't a phone, but if it can run Skype, that would be interesting.