The e-mail client on the iPhone seemed pretty impressive from the demo we were shown at Macworld. The iPhone boasts rich HTML e-mail which works with any IMAP or POP3 e-mail service. I have included a few screenshots from the keynote demo session that shows the e-mail client in action. The second screenshot shows a list of e-mails in the inbox. The next image shows an open e-mail with an attached inline photo. The final screenshot gives us a look at composing an e-mail using the virtual keyboard.
The e-mail client used on the Treo 700p is VersaMail, which supports up to eight accounts, including Yahoo!, AOL and Gmail and works with any IMAP or POP3 service as well. Here I have taken a few pictures of my inbox. The first image shows my inbox and some of the e-mails listed. The next image shows an opened message. There is an attachment with the e-mail, but it does not show up inline. You must view the attachment separately, which is what is shown in the next picture. The final image shows us what composing a new e-mail looks like.
The e-mail clients on both phones are packed full of features and are very similar in form and function. The iPhone version is a bit nicer looking and the inline images are convenient, but really the iPhone's e-mail capabilities are nothing substantial over the Treo's.
Next up we have text messaging. Jobs gave a quick demo of SMS text messaging and from what I could tell, there was nothing different with iPhone texting than with the 700p. The first two photos are of the iPhone's text messaging interface while the bottom two are from the 700p. Both phones use an instant messaging type interface which allows you to easily keep track of the conversation. Again, both phones are on the same playing field when it comes to text messaging.
Apple uses a very nice interface for their photos. Pictures can be sorted in albums for easy storage. To view a picture, simply click on it and it will fill the screen. You can rotate the image from portrait to landscape mode simply by turning the iPhone sideways. The built-in accelerometer automatically rotates the image for you. To scroll through images, simply "flick" the picture with your finger and the next image will slide into place. Another awesome feature is the ability to "pinch" the image to zoom in and out.
The Treo's photo center is a lot less advanced but still manages to accomplish the same tasks, for the most part. Like the iPhone, you can organize your photos into various albums. To view an image, just click on it. To go to the next image, click the directional button right or left to advance forward or reverse. You can rotate images on the Treo as well, but since the display is not widescreen, there really isn't any point.
The iPhone wins the "cool" factor in this category, hands down. Both units essentially are capable of doing the same thing - the iPhone simply does it much more gracefully! Next up, Google Maps and Widgets...
