*Strokes n95* My baby.
I have a mate at work who insisted upon getting an iphone, but he's gone and bought an unlocked one and runs it on the virgin network so I will let him off.
Don't get me wrong it's a fairly nice phone, but it's so unnecessary and I would never ever trade one for my n95. I got my n95 free on an o2 contract, billions of texts, minutes and mbs of data to waste as I please and the support for the symbian os is simply amazing.

On another note, nuts to the fact the iphone can rotate it's screen 90*. My n95 has an accelerometer too and I can do more with it. :)

Linkys:

http://thenokiablog.com/2007/10/31/video-nokia-n95-accelerometer-demonstration/

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3bvyf_rotateme-on-n95_tech

Stuck in a contract so bought one & unlocked thinking I would use video / ipod. Have MDA vario II with 3G etc. Now unsure where that has gone. 

I agree it has lots of shortcomings on paper but I have just used it more than I ever did the vario. Forget 3G, the recessed jack is the most annoying bit, that and waiting for unlocked updates...

Agree that GPS / 3G / 5MP cam would be great but then my battery life wouldn't and I just use this too much. I hate to say it but a 3G version would probably snare me now my contract is nearing its end.

By the way unlocking the iphone was quicker than syncing the vario... seriously, I was surprised. Bad apple, should make it much harder. Maybe I should get a mac if it is all this easy?

Anyhoo,

Despite the fact that it's flawed, it's still an embarrassment 190.000 lost soules bought the gizmo.

Apple messed it up - fair and square (and O2 should be supermiffed about it). I would estimate that there is 2x the amount of iPhones sold in the UK currently. Just the unlocked, cheaper, available earlier ones from USA.
Not like that in the circles of the target market there is a huge problem to find someone who would be hopping over to USA just for a meeting or a shoot or smth...

I have an LG Viewty and while the interface isn't as elegant as the iPhone's I've had iPhone owners drooling over it's video and camera capabilities. They (several iPhone owners) also agree unanimously that the Viewty is far more visually appealing and they're shocked to find that it too runs Google Maps - who'd have thought?!

A lot of the iPhone's appeal is down to the naivety of potential buyers not know what else is out there.

The LG Viewty is THE phone to have at the moment (in my opinion) and I did a lot of research prior to buying my latest phone.

My only hope is that LG support it via continued firmware upgrades and companies such as Google, and other companies who write applications for the mobile market, pay it the attention is deserves.

2 mega-pixel camera phones are soooo 2004 and the 6fps video recording isn't even worth mentioning (and even that's only achievable via a third-party application). Who'd have thought a company that appears to focus so much on multimedia editing and creation would provide a device with such embarrassing specs in two key areas - photography and video.

I'm not going to lie, when the second revision (possibly the third) arrives I may fall victim and buy myself an iPhone but for the time being I'd pick my Viewty any day of the week.

...because people in the UK know whats good for them. We all know about 3G, and we also know that the iphone isn't. Most of us already have mp3 players of some sort and we aren't used to paying for our mobiles. This is the first phone in a few years that you can't get for free on some sort of contract.

Most importantly, its because we're not dumb Jobs-worshipping sheep. At least i'm not, i judge a piece of kit on its worthiness, and im sorry, but the iphone doesnt give me anything my walkman phone doesn't already thats worth several hundred pounds over what i pay now.

The Brits buy Nokia, which in turn Germans don't (anymore).

It is a matter of fact that IPhone is a marketing hype. Thats why Iphone success is so amazing in countries like USA and perhaps Deutschland. You just have to say it is good without proving it and crowds will buy it.

Handset variety as well as contract variety is far more varied in the "rest of the world". It's ironic just how backwards the U.S. cellular market is. I'd rather have some of the uber-geekfest-featured phones from the japanese market at far less cost than an iPhone myself. As long as the carrier situation maintains it's status-quo in the U.S. we'll see cellular manufacturers innovating everywhere else but here. 

Apple's success with the iPhone in the states is two-fold. First, it's Apple. Second, the U.S. cellular market is desperate for innovation and features. These issues matter far less everywhere else.