Unfortunately the info you were given about map availability in Europe was flat-out wrong. We used Google maps on the iPhone 3G in France, and that was a year ago. Yes, we’d bought a chunk of international data, and yes we kept our eyes on usage. But in fact those maps are surprisingly compact in data download terms. And there’s all kinds of 3G coverage, even in rural France.

However there’s now an even better option in the form of available nav apps such MobileNavigator Europe from Navigon and others (from the iTMS). For under $100 you get maps locally stored on the iPhone that only need a GPS signal, with no ongoing roaming data downloads.

> Based on the quote, the only option they have is to NEVER talk about WinMobile, because blind cheerleading is the only option, when your company is incapable of producing quality software.

I’ve had WinMo phones since before the iPhone came out, and mostly like them. I wouldn’t say it’s low quality, just that the interface is antequated. They didn’t do a good job rethinking the workflow when it shifted from being the OS for non-phone Pocket PCs to the OS for phones.

Most WinMo veterans install an enhanced UI anyway, though they vary widely from iPhone-like systems made up of app icons to heavy-duty contact management oriented systems for hardcore users.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with the delayed version 7 when it finally sees the light of day next year. Whatever the case, I doubt it will be a threat to Apple’s market share for the foreseeable future.

Wouldn’t that be the most embarrassing proposal in the history of the wireless industry, though? “We’re not capable of building out our network properly. Will you do it for us?”

All the fire Apple is taking is just what’s to be expected. The newness factor has worn off, and they’ve settled into position as the market leader in smartphones. When you’re the market leader, someone can love 99% of everything they use your product, but if there’s one thing that bugs them, that’s all they’ll talk about. The AT&T network, issues, the inability to use an alternate carrier, the multitasking thing, the app store censorship outcry — all of this is just people chafing because they feel like they’re completely locked in to the system and that they don’t have any choices.

This is aided and abetted by the fact that Apple has lined up nearly all of the industry’s players as enemies. The OS vendors have to be opposed to them. They only sell it on their own hardware, so every existing handset maker is forced to cast about for other operating systems to license to enter the market. They have an exclusive deal with one carrier, so all the other carriers, including #1 Verizon, are forced to try to take down the iPhone and support an alternate platform.

Are systems like the Palm Pre iPhone ripoffs? Umm, duh. Apple has basically forced the entire industry to underwrite ripoffs of the iPhone. When Blackberry was the hot phone, all the carriers just cut deals to offer their own Blackberries, problem solved on the carrier end; not so with the iPhone.

So unless Apple decides to be a little more flexible, don’t be surprised in a few years when Android — or whoever — ends up being the dominant platform in the industry. Sure, the iPhone came first, and it was better, but it likely won’t matter because Apple seemingly has no interest in taking the steps necessary to hold onto the dominant share if it means reducing their margins on the units they do sell.

It just so happens that where I live and where I travel frequently, i.e., where I use my phone almost all the time, AT&T coverage is outstanding. So, STFU.