Would You Type Business Email On Your iPhone?
Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Apple, Mobile Devices | Posted on 28-02-2008
Several web sites today are reporting that Apple is gearing up for a business release of sorts for the iPhone and possibly competing with the RIM or Windows Mobile and direct push. So here is the question. Would you type business email on your iPhone?
I don’t own an iPhone but I have a good friend who has one and every time someone picks up my Blackjack II phone to admire it he suddenly jumps in and exclaims, “Baaaaa, you don’t need that low level brick! Get a real phone!”. He then whips out his iPhone (which actually weighs more than my phone) and continues into a rant about his iPhone. By the way, this same friend is also known to have a new disease I have identified as “Political Tourettes Syndrome”. Just the mention of a Republican candidate will drive him to insanity. He’ll start foaming at the mouth and start shouting anything he can think of. Anyway.
I propose this question today because I have played with his iPhone numerous times. I like gadgets just like the next geek but my problem with the iPhone is I can’t type on it. One day sitting in the bar we raced sending a text message. I finished way faster, basically he never even got off the starting line before I finished. I have never benchmarked myself typing on my phone but using the iPhone numerous times I feel I have to resort to chicken pecking.
If Apple is really trying to enter the market place with their iPhone will users adopt it that have to respond to email or will they keep their Blackberry or Windows Mobile device? I’m sure some will struggle through it regardless but will the real hard core power users who rely on email heavily be able to stand the non-existent non-feedback keyboard on the iPhone. What do you think?
I never used iphone but i did used my new Nokia N series phone to type emails.
Maybe something like the LG Voyager will be more of what the future looks like. A touch screen for where it makes sense (web browsing, short text messages, etc.) but when you really need to type a lot, crack it open and use the keyboard. I wouldn’t know, I’m still using a boring Motorola L6 with no data plan. Sigh… budgets are such a bummer.
Personally, I just switched to an iPhone (from an LG enV) last week, and I do tap out the occasional e-mail on it. I’m getting used to the soft keyboard, but it is definitely a bit slower.
I personally put up with that because I think it has just about the best mobile Internet experience you can get, but I know not everyone is going to agree with me. The trade-off is worth it for my needs, but YMMV. 😉