how many fields does it support? pocket outlook does over 141.
It supports around 2 dozen but I'll check when I get home. It's great that Pocket Outlook supports 141, however with features like that the number of users who actually find that to be useful, let alone practical, are insignificant. People are not drawn to devices like the iPhone or the Treo because of the number of fields the contact manager can hold. If 141 fields of contact information were so important to Treo users the introduction of the iPhone would not have undermined the Treo user base as it has. Is it nice that this feature exists? Certainly, to the handful of users who actually benefit from it. It seems that most find 8 gigabytes of storage and a large hi res screen more appealing.
Additionally, simply because an application is more configurable or because there are a greater number of applications for a given function isn't necessarily a virtue. There may be, as you suggested in a previous post, many media players available for Palm or Windows Mobile, but the reason that such a number of players exist is because they are trying to address a drawback of that particular platform. Variety doesn't necessarily translate to quality. Media players for Palm and Windows Mobile are a dime a dozen and most of them try, unsuccessfully, to emulate the simplicity and elegance of what Apple has done with the iPod and now the iPhone. The most important characteristic of any platform isn't the diversity or configurability of its applications, but the quality and usability of the applications, which is no doubt that the iPhone has been so appealing.
There has been a pent up desire for this type of product for years, a desire other companies have failed to address despite a substantial head start. Treo users should be angry. But they shouldn't be angry at Apple. And they shouldn't be angry at iPhone users. They should be angry at Palm, at Microsoft, at Symbian, at Nokia, and Motorola, for failing to produce what consumers wanted and needed.
