Skippy posted about how his boss may get his department iPhones, and he wrote about how he thinks he may decline the offer for several good reasons.

I too, am impressed at first glance by the interface of the iPhone, but I think it's like the iPod - Apple's sheen veneer on a device that could stand a touch more practicality.

Some of the basic features are interesting. I would really like to have a MP3 and DivX player built into my phone with space to hold a decent amount of stuff (using a hard drive, not just flash). But there are way too many downsides to the iPhone:

• Apple's DRM policies. When I buy a license to listen to music, I want to be able to listen to it wherever I please from whatever medium I choose. This is not the case with most iTunes Music Store purchases, the primary supposed source for iPod/iPhone music.
• The proprietary hardware connector. Maybe it seems silly, but perhaps you do not have the array of hardware I have. Finding the special connector for a device when it becomes misplaced is a real pain. If everything used USB, my world would be much, much simpler.
• iTunes. There are many practical dislike I have for iTunes, but I'll choose to say that it's the chrome on the window (the Mac-like skin) that really pisses me off. Let's not waste all my CPU cycles to display a completely unnecessary window border, please.
• Lack of format support (OGG, DivX). I've got a lot of DivX movies. Can I play them?
• Lack of developer support for hardware. I enjoy a thriving developer environment with my Treo. In fact, I have even written my own software for the Palm using OrbWorks. All I can do for the iPhone is write web pages? Maybe a developer API will come out eventually, but Apple hardware isn't well known for its development tools.
• Locked into one of the lousiest cell networks for two years. I used to have Cellular One, which through a series of many mergers eventually became Cingular/AT&T. They sucked. And although it's the oldest cell network in this area, it's the oldest cell network in this area. So long reliability!

And no DUN profile for bluetooth? That's a complete deal-breaker for me and likely for anyone serious about mobile connectivity. On my list of things that my next phone must be able to do, this one is in the top three. It's the primary reason I don't already have a Helio Ocean. Seriously, $600 for a phone with missing and crippled features? I don't think so.

The touchscreen-only operation of the iPhone seems pretty neat, but from the point of view of someone who owned one of the early Pronto remotes that was entirely touchscreen, I can tell you that it's not all that. I really like the tactile response. I'm not sure why people never seem to get over the cool factor of the inductive scroll wheel on the iPod. I can only think it's a matter of time before people catch on that the emporer has no clothes, yet I'm shocked that people haven't caught on to the iPod ruse by now. It's got to be a byproduct of Apple worship.

My subscription period for my Verizon phone has come to an end. I've had my Treo for 2 years and it has served me well, but I'm wondering what I'm going to do next.

I've been paying Verizon the extra money for unlimited broadband access. The sad part is that my Treo is only a 650, and can't take advantage of the high speed access that I'm paying way too much for. It's gotten me thinking about what I'm really getting out of my cell phone and phone service.

What do I really use my phone for besides making calls? Well, I do use it as a contact database. I have all of my phone numbers and addresses in the Palm's address book. (Actually, I use Agendus, but same difference.) I use it as a calculator. I play games on it when I've got time to kill and nothing else to do. I watch movies on it using TCPMP, since Treos can't do VCast or any of that fancy network-provided stuff. I use the phone to get movie times via the built-in web browser, and send SMS to Google to get local addresses.

What would I like the phone to do that it doesn't already? I would like the phone to take better pictures so I could go on impromptu weekend excursions without having to remember the camera. I do use the internet access, but I really wish it was faster. Having GPS features would alleviate that infrequent but periodic need to know where I'm going when I don't know where I am. I would really like to have internal, iPod-like storage.

Finally, the network pricetag for the services I'm using is outrageous. Other networks are much cheaper, and just as prevalent in this area.

I could wait for the iPhone, but I won't. It's a long story, but to summarize: I have a work project that involves video podcasts, so I've been loaned a video iPod. I can't get the blasted thing to work the way it's supposed to -- it constantly needs reset. If the performance of the iPod translates into iPhone performance (something I can't afford to not have working right) then I have no interest.

Berta seems pretty attached to her Palm-based phone. I don't know that she'd want to switch to something else, but I'm considering it.

The Helio Ocean, which isn't out yet, looks like a really nice phone. I haven't been able to determine if the Bluetooth it has includes a Dial-up Networking profile, but if it does, then I think it fulfills many of my requirements. What's particularly nice is that it would be a 3G phone on an unlimited high-speed network for about $60 monthly. I would be able to be online via my notebook wherever I had phone service, which is basically Sprint's coverage area.

The phone itself looks pretty slick, too, from the reviews I've read: 2.0 megapixel camera with flash. A full slide-out keyboard. Connects with many instant messaging systems. Plays movies from miniSD memory.

This whole phone/network search is frustrating. It's as if the industry knows exactly what I want and is doing their best to dance around those specific features.

We'll probably just renew with Verizon, but spending $300 to upgrade to a phone that makes use of a service that we pay an extra $50/month for seems like a good catalyst for switching to a service that charges a flat monthly rate of $60 for unlimited internet and whose phones can be had for less than $295.