<p>ForverA - The flashing sounds odd. I would make a tech support appointment to have the genius bar look at it. It's under warranty so if anything's wrong they'll take care of it. As for the brightness, you have your brightness controls to the immediate left of the escape key in the top left of your keyboard. The Macbook's screen is very bright so if you feel it's dim something may be wrong. Again, have the genius bar look at it.</p>
<p>NaughtySanta - I think you're overlooking something key about the iPhone. There are several phones, especially in overseas markets that can hold their own with and at times surpass the iPhone. But something that Apple's competitors have never been able to understand is that features are only part of a product. Interface is key. This is why Apple holds 78% of the MP3 player market in competition with behemoths like Microsoft and creative, who think they can win market share by throwing a laundry list of features on the side of a display box. Nearly every task on an Apple Product is silky smooth and easy to accomplish. It's natural and doesn't require a lot of deliberate effort, and this is something that I have never seen another phone do, including the Nokia N Series. It seems that something about my position at the Apple Store compells nearly every middle aged male in the city to show off their latest gadgets during the course of the sales process. Consequently, I have seen many of the latest and greatest phones in recent months, especially with the subject of phones being such a hot topic in our store. Some of Nokia's new stuff is nice, but the interface and design are clunky. As for Sony Ericson I have never used a single phone of theirs that wasn't confusing, and I'm a relatively tech savvy individual.</p>
<p>Sure full HTML web browsing has been on some phones for years. But the interface is so awkward and clunky (i.e. PSP) that it is hardly usable on nearly every other phone I've tried. The newest blackberry seem to be closest to getting it right. On my iPhone, I never feel as if I'm sacrificing anything in the name of portability. The iPhone OS, though new also seems to be vastly more stable and less glitchy than it's established counterpart Windows Mobile. Companies like THC are making decent products, the clunky OS again holds it down. The best thing on the market so far has been the Symbian OS, but it's still nowhere near OS X mobile in terms of usability. </p>
<p>Sure, other phones have MP3 players, but do they have iTunes? Can you flick through your music library in three dimensions? </p>
<p>Sure, some phones have 3g, but those phones get less than half of the surfing time as the iPhone. 3g is a power hog. AT&T HAS 3G. Apple consciously chose NOT to use for this reason.</p>
<p>As for the typing, the error correction on the iPhone is one of it's most underspoken aspects. One can type so quickly and sloppily, yet still have nearly perfect results because the error correction is so good. I can do it without looking while driving and no tactile feedback and be almost 100% accurate. </p>
<p>As far as a typing test goes, I don't see how it not being from Apple has any basis in its legitimacy as a testing agent. Typing tests have been around since the earliest days of the computer and are a pretty straightforward process. Remember, the iPhone's keyboard is not like a normal QWERTY keyboard.</p>
<p>And finally, the iPhone has been in development since 2002. I assure you that no inspiration was drawn from the LG Chocolate, and anyone who has spent more than a few mintues with either of these devices would see that. About the only similarity is the inclusion of a decent MP3 player with the phone. The comparisons pretty much stop there.</p>
<p>Again, there is no other device that even comes close to the iPhone as a total package. Feel free to rebut this all you like, but at the end of the day, Apple's already sold nearly a million iPhones, so I think it's safe to say that the marketplace has spoken. There was a clear void in the phone market that has not been filled. Apple has filled it and is finally delivery consumers what they want. Why else would people be lining up to pay $600 for a phone?</p>
<p>But there are thing about the iPhone that are far from perfect and I'll be the first to admit it. There is no clipboard from which to copy/paste. The headphone jack is recessed, requiring the purchase of an adapter to connection normal headphones to it (so Un-Apple-like). MS Office files can only be viewed, not edited at this point. Custom ringtones cannot be added at the moment. Bust Steve Jobs has said that many of things will be addressed via free software updates, so I'm definitely anxious to see where things go. It's already the best phone on the market. It's only going to get better.</p>