I recently walked into my local AT&T wireless store fully intending to upgrade my three-year-old mobile phone with a Windows Mobile phone/pda device. Like, I assume, many others, I walked out with an iPhone instead.

For the same price I was going to pay for the Windows Mobile phone I had my eye on, I could get the revolutionary iPhone. For the original price of $599, I wasn’t even going to consider it. Nice as it is, I’m too poor for that. But, once the price was dropped to striking range of the competition, things changed. After playing with the iPhone in the store, I decided to give it a go.

Here’s my video review. As whiz-bang, high-tech, sci-fi as the iPhone is, there are just some basic things that keep it from living up to what it really could be - the phone of the future now.

Some things to consider before choosing an iPhone over a Windows Mobile phone:

1. Oily fingers make the phone a mess.
2. The on-screen keypad is difficult.
3. Can’t do VOIP like Skype.
4. Internet access is slow
5. Due to #4, connecting to iTunes requires WiFi.
6. Forget custom ringtones unless you buy from iTunes.
7. Can’t share web connection with laptop.
8. Audio connection requires an adapter.
9. No manual. (See iPhone: The Missing Manual by David Pogue.)

Don’t get me wrong. The iPhone is fantastic! I love it, but, yes, I miss some of the very basic things I could do with a Windows Mobile phone.

Watch the video review for more. Just click on the image above or play it right on this blog on the video page.

By the way, this blog looks great on an iPhone. See The Web Optimist on iPhone.