iPhone 4 - a very good device, but not perfect

Copy of a comment I posted in re:
Today In IOS blog
http://tii.libsyn.com/wtf-is-wrong-with-the-ny-times

I had iPhone 3 & now iPhone 4. I feel it's an upgrade, particularly in *speed* (main flaw of iPhone 3), but I wouldn't harsh the commentary (news article) so extremely.
My first corp smartphone was a b/w blackberry w/great email. Battery lasted 7 days w/heavy use. My iPhone battery may last 1 day w/o recharging. My gf's iPhone 3 (I gave her mine) may last 2 bc she's a light user.
iPhone is my fav smartphone so far (had Treo, Blackberry, & Android 1.0). But it is not perfect by any means.
I chuckle w/people's hatred of AT&T & love of Verizon: all phone co's are bloated bureaucracies w/little reason not to overbill & under-service. (Another testimony to capitalism's myth of competition generating 'best of breed'.) my 3-4 yes w/Verizon included regular incorrect bills, a mischarge of $250 for texts, and a far higher rate than AT&T's monthly bill -- for a Treo w/far lower internet usability than my iPhone now.
So, while I tell folks that iPhone 4 is *the slickest computer* I've ever owned, it is not perfect.
Main flaws IMO include:
AppStore 'iron grip' over apps, locked down OS (so I can't disable or modify dictionary for flawed autocorrect -- why does 'me' get replaced w/'mr'?!?!), no simple option to have a small keyboard w/buttons instead of LCD KB (on Blackberry my touch-typing rate was fast. On iPhone, I can't type OK finally -- but not comparable speed.), 'sandboxing' of apps blocks a lot of basic info-sharing (music, files, etc) & requires redundancy or copying, and IMO a major flaw: app purchases w/o previews, very hard to get refunds, & general Appstore navigation *sucks*. Actually, if I'm going to point out flaws, let me rip iTunes a new one: iTunes acting as a 'gateway' for iPhone interaction reminds me of AOL being a gateway to Internet. As a Mac & Windows user, I was surprised when I was *required* to install a bloated iTunes on my PC to sync, that iTunes always has components running in the background, always attempts to re-do my file structures, and often will not let me sync the phone until I update iTunes (& recently required me to update QuickTime & overwrite my purchased QuickTime Pro). So I'd like Apple to open iPhone file structure and not require me to use iTunes for anything.
But to re-state: this is an amazing smartphone. W/a few essential apps (for me incl Dropbox, Evernote, Filer, TapForms, QuickOffice, AppShopper, Tune-In Radio, NetFlicks, CraigsPro+, etc) + awesome built-ins like email, safari, & calendar, it is the best I've used so far.
+ thanks to Google, my contacts stay sync'd wirelessly & my Calendar stays sync'd. Wireless sync (w/o the insult of a 'MobileMe' extra fee) seems essential. And I'm sure glad I got an iPhone *after* copy/paste was implemented & I'm glad Apple added multitasking as well (altho if u donthave iPhone 4 u r screwed there -- which is another frequent apple flaw IMO; screwing early buyers).
I am a fan -- but I'm not a brainwashed 'Apple-nationalist' like so many folks.
rekzkarz.com