Microsoft won't launch iPhone rival

Of course MS doesn't want to make the hardware - what they want is a repeat of their PC business. They wanted that for portable media players, too. This is their normal modus operandi. Now, MS knows it didn't work out so well for media players. And they knew it wouldn't work for game consoles, so they didn't try it. But they probably figure that handheld computers (which is what smartphones really are) are more like PCs, so the PC model should work. Also, they probably think they can have their way here, at least in the corporate sector. Because they have that sector heavily tied to Exchange and Office. Anyways, MS isn't capable right now of producing an iPhone competitor. So there's no point in saying you're going to come with one. Better to point to what you're selling right now - windows mobile phones.

"Anyways, MS isn't capable right now of producing an iPhone competitor" Any why is that? Microsoft is on a roll right now, and if it was smart to try and compete with yesterday's news (which it isnt) they would be poised to do so. The windows mobile platform is all microsoft needs in the mobile market right now, and trying to introduce another hardware device, when it has all the manufacturing partners it could ever want to do so, is not good business. Does this mean that a microsoft-built smartphone would fail, probably not. Most likely it would be like all of microsoft's (and its partners') other hardware devices as compared to Apple's: less flash and more functionality. The two gripes I have with my iPhone are the fact that it doesnt run Windows Mobile and the obvious hardware shortcommings that show up in all Apple-made devices. Dont get me wrong, the phone's revolutionary UI is great, and I will keep the phone until a WM phone is released with as good or better UI tech, but running essentially OSX mobile 1.0 is maddening at times. WM is way more mature and ready for the real world, where as a device like the iphone isnt even supported at most major corporations due to its sub-part firmware. Microsoft wont release a ZunePhone or whatever it may have been called for good reason, but with the huge boom in WM devices spurring competition within the WM marketplace, I am excited to see what WM devices emerge this year.

I meant MS said plans for a virtual keyboard were not coming until winmobile 8.

First lets get other thing straight, the iphone is trying to compete with the windows mobile platform, not the other way around. WM and a couple others (blackberry and such) control the real smart phone market: business. The iPhone controls the hip soccer mom market. Furthermore, the lack of virtual keyboard tech on the table for the next windows mobile means nothing. Saying that because WM isnt going to mirror the iPhone exactly and therefore puts microsoft out of position to produce some kind of iPhone competitor is rediculous. Like I said, the iPhone was Apples attempt to compete with Microsoft and WM. Why would MS want to have a virtual keyboard on one of its devices? The device would be more streamlined for sure, but less functional. Its Apple's job to put items like that on the market.

In addition, the potential market for consumer smartphones is much larger than the market for business "smartphones" Every consumer would like to have (at the right price) a handheld portable device that communicates, entertains and organizes. Companies will not buy smartphones for every employee. Eventually, when everyone buys a smartphone for their personal use, companies will find it unnecessary to buy them for employees and instead they will use industry standard email. This is inevitable.

Potentially, but not by the time WM7 or even WM8 arrives. There is no way that in a short 3-4 years from now that your average consumer base is going to be weilding the latest and greatest smartphone and anyone with "half a brain" would say the same. Again, just because Apple decided to bring a virtual keyboard to the market doesnt mean that a virtual keyboard is the future. Granted more and more virtual keyboards will show up now that the tech is there, but more hardware keyboards will remain. The iPhones form factor is nice, but the keyboard is only satisfactory in landscape mode which works in a total of 1 application... rediculous. The only way a virtual keyboard will take off will be when a devices form factor allows for it to be as useable as the hardware keyboards are today, and that form factor is not the iphone. In fact the way we think of a virtual keyboard (or at least the way Apple has us looking at it) may not be the answer either. It could end up looking more like some of the UMPC's virtual boards.

Well as of right now there is so little virtual keyboard infiltration that there is really nothing to base peoples preferences on. That said, there is no way to know how the general public will respond to virtual keyboards (and it will be a while until we will know). My theory is that, yes, the virtual keyboard will allow for smaller form factors which is a good thing, however thw way the virtual keyboard is implemented in the iPhone (from first hand experience with my own) is not the answer. Of course the problems could have been eased a lot if Apple would have had enough foresight to allow the landscape mode keyboard in all text apps...duh

@cesjr: "I think we can all see that just getting the iPhone out was a major accomplishment, or at least one can say very difficult." Which makes it easier for you to praise the iPhone? Well, apply the same logic to Vista, and count your blessings from there. At least it didn't become another Neptune or Cairo.