It was only a matter of time before the WSJ (Katherine Boehret, in this case) got their hands around Sprint's still-not-official Touch Diamond, and we can't say that the conclusion she drew is at all shocking. As Mossberg and his partners so often do, Katherine mentions Apple's darling just as much as the topic of the review itself, and while she seemed impressed with the hardware, it was the software that suffered the brunt of her attacks. She proclaimed that "despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons, the device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for [her] taste." Beyond that, she also found room to gripe about the "cramped" keyboard, which she felt was "next to impossible" to use with just her fingertips. On the plus side, she did give the browser a decent amount of praise, but if you were looking for support from this critic before picking up the forthcoming handset, you'll be sorely disappointed.

[Via phonescoop]

Well this was bound to happen. Ahead of schedule, Walt Mossberg has turned his official review of the new iPhone 3G, and we've got the recap. On the whole, Walt stays mostly positive about the device; he likes the form factor (which he wants to stress really hasn't changed much), says the 3G speeds are a big improvement over EDGE (no kidding?), and informs us that the audio quality and phone reception are -- thankfully -- improved all around. Downsides? There are plenty. Mossberg takes issue with AT&T's new pricing policy, which he finds steep, says he barely squeezed 4 hours and 27 minutes of talk time out of the battery, and gripes that you can only sync Exchange or personal calendars and contacts -- not both. If you're like us, you'll probably want to just read the whole thing. Too lazy? Check the video after the break.

Update: David Pogue of the New York Times has also turned in a kinda-sorta review of the iPhone 3G, though it reads more like an overview of its features than a honest-to-goodness critique. He also makes passing reference to the GPS antenna being "too small" to function as a proper GPS, which makes roughly zero sense to us. Feel free to figure it out on your own.

Update 2: Can't forget Ed Baig of USA Today, who says the new model is "worth the wait" (not to say we have any option at this point anyway, seeing how hard it is to find an original anywhere). He seemed to have trouble picking up 3G service in some locations, though it's not clear whether that can be chalked up to technical issues with the handset or a lack of coverage where he was testing. Like the others, Baig discovered a noticeable improvement in audio quality and a noticeable hit in battery life when hooked up to the 3G network. Gotta pay to play, we guess.

It's a given that Mr. Mossberg has a thing for Apple's gear. In his opinion, it's simply a better choice for his mainstream readership. It's also obvious that Sprint and Samsung are intent on besting the capabilities of the first generation iPhone with their new Instinct. Still, we can't help but to giggle like Japanese school girls when his review of Samsung's Instinct turns into a preview of the iPhone 3G. By our quick count, he mentions "iPhone" 31 times to just 19 mentions of "Instinct." His bottom line as you'd expect is that the "ok" Instinct simply can't compete with the iPhone. Then again, the iPhone 3G can't be used on Sprint's network... or anywhere else until July 11th.

Oh Unkie Walt, you toy with us so. Just a couple days after promising that the 3G iPhone would be out within 60 days, the Moss-man is saying that he was simply making a prediction based on the same data as the rest of us: price cuts, dried-up inventory, and all kinds of rumors. That's not at all what it seems like on the tape, but sure. Walt also thinks that a little meta-media-analysis is due here, asking Silicon Alley Insider, "If I knew when this date was, why would I announce it in the middle of a sentence at the Finnish embassy, rather than report it in the Wall Street Journal?" Excellent point, but you might want to be a little more careful the next time you flatly declare "The iPhone will be 3G in 60 days" with no caveats and the cameras running, okay?

While talking up web as a video delivery medium at a Beet.TV executive summit, Walt Mossberg casually yet confidently mentioned that the iPhone will be going 3G in 60 days. Of course, it doesn't take an illustrious position as tech pundit to the masses to figure out a 3G iPhone is just around the corner: price cuts, stock shortages and word from Ralph de la Vega himself have rapidly narrowed down the launch window, but a semi-guarantee from Uncle Walt is certainly icing on the cake. The video snippet is after the break, or hit up the read link for the whole thing.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac; thanks, TedB]

Walt Mossberg -- arguably consumer electronics' single most feared and influential tech pundit -- just unleashed poetic fury on the carrier/government cartel which has made the US "the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world." In a glorious rant dubbed "Free My Phone," Walt compares carrier tactics to those of the old Soviet Ministry while pummeling the "shortsighted and often just plain stupid" federal government for allowing itself to be "bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators." He draws further comparison to the innovation-stifling days of clumsy, black rotary phones locked to the monopolistic AT&T wires which once strangled our homes. Then, government interaction was required to break the hold; something Walt believes might be required today in lieu of a disruptive innovation. Now hit that read link and let the revolution begin!

We know, we've all been clamoring for Flash support on the iPhone since before the thing even launched, and while we've seen subtle hints here and there suggesting that it would indeed come to fruition, now we've got someone to blame if our hopes are deflated. In a recent Q&A session, Walt Mossberg himself addressed the issue, and didn't make any bones about sharing Apple's future plans. Speaking directly about Adobe's Flash technology, Walt stated that "Apple says it plans to add that plug-in through an early software update," which he surmises "will occur within the next couple of months." Sadly, there was no elaboration beyond the aforementioned bit, but he certainly sounds confident about the iPhone eventually playing nice with Flash, no?

[Via MacRumors]

In parallel to his iPhone review, Uncle Walt also published an email conversation he had with Steve Jobs. While most of Jobsie's "we don't talk about future products" responses could have been foretold, one response is worth noting. When asked about the lack of instant messaging, video recording, and real-time GPS navigation, Steve responded with the following: "I will say that the iPhone is the most sophisticated software platform ever created for a mobile device, and that we think software features are where the action will be in the coming years. Stay tuned." Right, software. Remember Apple's promise of free software updates that will "surprise and delight" both Apple TV and iPhone customers? Well, they've already delivered a v1.1 YouTube update for Apple TV and certainly the most notable of missing features -- MMS, iChat, A2DP, text copy and paste, video recording, MP3 (or AAC in the case of Apple) ringtones -- are all software related. Sure, you can't download a 3G or GPS radio, but there's certainly hope of filling the gaps on the software side.

Update: Page 31 of the AT&T iPhone Launch Training Participant Guide says that "MMS and IM messages are included in the iPhone Data Plan." So go ahead Apple, flip the switch, what are you waiting for?

Catching a collective "Ugh!" from tech media everywhere (except maybe David Pogue), the inimitable Walt Mossberg already has his review iPhone as of this morning, which he apparently wasn't under embargo to discuss since he blurted as much out during The Chronicle's Presidents Forum. Apparently Walt "[doesn't] know whether [he'll] give it a good review or not," but is rarin' to go in testing its touchscreen keyboard, stating, "I can tell you that in the first hour it works a little better than I thought, but I'm still not sure it works as well as a regular keyboard -- and the first hour is not a very fair test, so I'm going to keep going at it." Ok Walt, you keep on keepin' on with that device; you know how to reach your less privileged pals at Engadget if you want to let us hold the mythic machine for a moment, yeah?