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BACKGROUND:

So my Motorola RAZR is 2 years old, which means the carefully designed in obsolescence has kicked in. The battery sorely needs replacement, and the outside screen no longer works.

Of course, I went to the amazing dot com place to see about ordering a new battery. Plenty of such batteries for $5-$10, but apparently they are all counterfeits. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. IIRC the Cingular- ah, uh, err- the AT&T store online "might" have it available for a price a bit over $40. I think Motorola no longer has such batteries available. Other places online showed "unavailable" or had no listing.

I went to a local AT&T store. Not a franchise shop, a real, corporate operated AT&T store.

Side note: For a couple years, I carried around an iPAQ 3850 PDA. Stopped because it was too bulky & I looked ridiculous with a phone and a PDA on my belt.


THE iPHONE

I looked over a few phones there, as the place was a little crowded. When my chance at a sales critter arose, I took it. I told the guy I wanted a PDA phone, since I really missed some PDA functions. I forget exactly why, but we quickly narrowed down to the iPhone 3G.

I was looking for something that would sync with my Outlook calendar. I also wanted something that could at least read a small Excel spreadsheet, and preferably allow some editing (adding a line comprised of 3 or 4 columns). Some minimal word processing was assumed. I wasn't too interested in music, or much online stuff (although I admitted if I had it, I would use it). The only way I'd hit email on it would be via web mail. The calculator I saw was fine. Being able to read some news, perhaps via RSS subs, would be nice. Reading an e-book or magazine was desired but not an absolute requirement. A bookmarkable audio book would be nice.

I'm on a 3 phone family plan, paying just over $100 per month. Sales Critter said I'd pay an additional $30 per month, no more, for unlimited service, including internet and all data services.

I walked out of the store with an 8GB iPhone. He set up my BT headset for me.


THE DREAM SOURS

I later learned he thought spreadsheets were a part of Outlook. Ungood.

I discovered, much to my shock, that the iPhone does not support voice dialing. My Motorolas and Nokias do. Or, did. Well, that is a VERY BIG drawback for me, but, maybe I could do without.

I couldn't find anything supporting spreadsheets.

No real word processing, just a very minimalist "Notes." Might be good enough for a grocery list.

Called the store with questions and went thru a voicemail system that eventually hung up on me. Drove over. Asked questions. Ungood answers. Had me call, in store (I think they wanted to know the answers too) to Customer Service. CS Verified no SS support (although maybe something about reading an email attachment) and no known 3rd party product for that. No voice dialing feature, and there will never be a 3rd party solution because the phone simply cannot support it.

The idiot guide online is of almost no use. The PDF is better, but not great- at least of what I've seen of it so far. Mapping is slow and I'm not too sure how useful it would be, but frankly that's not what I was looking for, so any functionality in that area is lagniappe.

Camera seems nice enough, overall interface is nice. The "App Store" seems to connect about half the time, although I'm in a strong signal area.

Can't move over my "Riverdance" ring tone from my Motorola. It seems I must go to the iTunes store, buy some music, and they'll convert it into a ring tone for me. DK if they have Riverdance, but I doubt it. And I must do this from a PC!

iTunes button doesn't work except on wifi. I assume it will dl music and little else.

Still need to reset weather to local area. Weather and time default to Cupertino.

I did visit SatGuys using it, and learned to double tap to make the print just large enough to read, with reading glasses on top of my bifocal contact lenses. PDA mode helped.

Actually, I was expecting too much from the store- they sell the product but are not experts on it. I was referred to certain Apple Stores in the area. Where I should call and schedule an appointment in order to be ushered in to their august presence, and where I might get some answers. You'd think I was asking for an appointment with Bill Gates.


THE QUESTIONS

Those of you familiar with the iPhone or any "smart" phone- does what I'm looking for exist? Too much to expect?

Is there any way to at least read a small Excel SS on the iPhone?

Is the sync with Outlook truly functional, to where I can read, and dare I say it, "add" or "edit" calendar entries?

Just how useful is the "Notes" function?

Any knowledge about eBooks or audio books?


I can return it for a 10% restocking fee. But then I'd still need a phone, since the RAZR is dying and it's battery is almost dead (& I may or may not be able to buy a genuine replacement). If I should return it, is there a phone that will do what I need, or is it back to a phone and a separate PDA? Maybe a new, smaller, PDA?