The Party Line — Phone Buzz of the Day
Here are some of today’s phone conversations I enjoyed reading or viewing on the web, along with some brief thoughts:
HTC HD2 hitting UK next week (T-Mobile) — Thanks to Phil in our Cornwall bureau, I see that the highly anticipated HD2 arrives on November 9. In fact, it’s so anticipated that T-Mo goofed on the ad. We know this is one of the premier, upcoming Windows Mobile handsets. But the product page has this quote: “Choose from loads of applications to download from Android Market.” 
iDon’t do Exchange for free (InfoWorld) — It’s all well and good that the Droid with Android 2.0 offers native Microsoft Exchange, but might it cost you? $15 a month could be the price tag. If true, I suggest Verizon change the Droid commercials to include the line “iDon’t get it.”
Daylight Savings Time bites the Pre (PreCentral) — It’s only fair I mention this, since I dissed Windows Mobile about DST last week. Turns out the Palm Pre had a few issues too, but only for an hour. I was sleeping during the exact time change, so I missed the hoo-ha. Issues were minor ranging from inaccurate alarms to calendars thinking it was December 1. Come to think of it, so do the retail stores in my area — I’m hearing reports of Christmas tunes already.
If Big Red does end up charging $15/mo just for the MS Outlook Exchange, that’s like giving a huge middle-finger to its own customers… but honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Not that I really cared about the Droid to begin with. Same old story. Sorry Verizon, you will fail again, just like you failed with the Blackberry Storm. Just like the Pre will fail in the near-future. But unlike the Pre, which has a nice aesthetic design, the Droid is a pretty ugly device… and the whole glowing red eye/robot thing? Tacky.
Nobody can top Apple, they truly have the best DEVICE out there… the only thing I can think of that will cause the iPhone’s demise is Apple themselves, with their exclusive contracting to AT&T (terrible SERVICE) and the limitations they set both on hardware (really, the screen resolution is too low for my tastes) and in the software (mandatory iTunes syncing?? yuck I’ll pass, also ridiculous App screening/censoring). If Apple is smart enough to devise a strategic plan and evolve their product just a little bit more, then this whole “iDont” campaign will be even more of a farce than it is now, and I, for once, might just wind up getting a new phone afterall (I’ve used the most basic type of “dumb”phone you can think of for 8+ years now, but contemplated leaving Big Red for the iPhone).