[AJ @ Jul 5th 2007 12:26PM]

Prepare for a bit of rant. I post this here because most others probably wont get read any, longer.
First off to keep relevant to this post. I think the non standard ... standard jack is good and bad. Good as it protects the jack end a bit better for less a chance to rip the end off during an accidental bump/drop/ect.
Bad only because very few fit the jack. (unless you get the adapter that can double as an antenna look alike.

*Off Earbud Topic, but continuing about the iPhone and other whiners*

I find it quite funny how people complain about different points of the iPhone.
First off let me say I am no fanboy. I am a religious PC user and if try to use a mac, can hardly find anything that is Not on a desktop of a mac.
I bought my wife a creative mp3 player, Not an iPod not to long ago.

Continuing...

People complain about how the battery needs to be replaced every two years or so (depending on variable use). Most phones act in this manner. The only gotcha is the rental phone price which I don't agree with personally. At the same time though most will want to upgrade by then.

Second, how can anyone complain about "They get you for $500 or $600 and then you have to pay $80+ per month for x service.
Let me say I pay $87 per month with a sprint "Mobile" phone NOT a Smartphone. The features I have are - free incoming minutes, picture messaging, mobile web access, and early nights and weekends, 300 anytime minutes.
Seeing as I could spend that much or a little less for the iPhone plan that would blow that away (accept for picture messaging which I rarely use) is saying a lot. So what is the point of complaining about the iPhone and its data plan when most equivalent Smartphone plans are about the same along with Just as expensive blackberry/treo/xxxsmartphone's of your choice? (the only price difference is when you throw in mail in rebates for the other phones, but the blackberry 8800 = $600 dollars before rebates for example. So there are many other just as expensive phones out there that are in their 3rd or later generations JUST getting newer and better features than their predecessors)

Which leads me into my next topic. Phone options/features. Tell me....when was the last time there was a older treo that could not do something your newer model does (oh the one you upgraded from?) exactly. People whine about how they are locked in for a 2 year ripoff plan or Apple will get you for more money when they release a new iPhone model with better features.....
Being its been said 3g can be implimented with a software upgrade... that arguement stands until that happens (hence no phone upgrade...no extra money). Alot of software issues, things that arent included can be fixed by software upgrades. And even when they DO put out another replacement model for $xxx it wont be any different from Palm when they released the Treo 700w/p to replace the 650, or the 750 to replace the 700...see a pattern of technology here? I do.

I agree the iPhone is far from perfect. But what phone IS perfect? Different users favor different options more than others. For it being the first phone Apple has made I don't think they did to bad a job at all. And like I said before I am far from an Apple fanboy but.. 1. I will be getting one when my sprint contract is up next month. 2. If your going to whine and cry about the phone, at least have a valid argument and think about how other phones have evolved overtime to include features they did not have in their first gen/previous models.

Your point is better taken from a non crying perspective.