Readers really went off when I suggested on my blog that Apple comes across as smug. I know Apple projects a sunny California disposition and people generally enjoy its products. I think the company also has a cocky attitude that can rub people the wrong way and may keep them from buying iPhones. Some fans took that personally.

I discovered something else about the iPhone last week.

Not only is Apple's latest gadget a techie status symbol, it's also a great way to meet people. After I wrote about the iPhone, people from around town and all over the world wrote to share their opinions about the gadget, and me.

Some were helpful. Seattle guitarist and Mac developer Kevin Callahan pointed out that there is indeed a browser "stop" button on the iPhone, which he called "the best device we've ever owned."

Many others suggested that before I write about a device as great as the iPhone, I learn to differentiate my head from my rear end.

Smug? No Way!
They really went off when I suggested on my blog that Apple comes across as smug. I know Apple projects a sunny California disposition and people generally enjoy its products. I think the company also has a cocky attitude that can rub people the wrong way and may keep them from buying iPhones. Some fans took that personally.

Like Apple enthusiast "John," who wrote from Cambridge, Mass., to tell me that I'm "obviously too stupid to figure out their products."

"I agree that Apple is smug," he wrote. "I hope they get more smug, too. I hope they spit on people like you."

Writing from Louisiana, "Aardvaark arse" said I shouldn't talk about a company's attitude in a product review. "Whether or not the company is smug or not is neither here nor there ... reads like a cheapshot and sour grapes all wrapped into one," A.A. said.

The iPhone will prevail, according to "Andrew F." from Groovyville.com, which is Portland, Ore., judging from his Internet address:

"If the past is any indicator, every other cellphone is going to have an insipid, half-baked version of just about everything in the iPhone within about two years, and you'll have one of those instead because you think Apple's too smug for you. Ironically, you will think it's your high standards that got you there."

Someone with an MIT alumni e-mail  address said "you're just miffed because nothing this good could ever come from the Pacific Northwest."

'A Bimbo Phone'
"Harry Potter" noted the irony, in an e-mail sent from an AOL account in New York City.

"From all the backlash it looks like the assessment of smug is right on ... ," he wrote. A scant few of my new friends agreed Apple can come across as smug and they said the iPhone may be a bit over hyped.

From Springfield, Ill., "Alex" wrote to say "it's a bimbo phone for the Apple brainwashed crowd and a few others."

Locally, Dean Gibson wondered why no reviewers "appear even vaguely aware that all of the capabilities of the iPhone and more have been available from all of the USA wireless carriers for at least a year."

I don't think I panned the phone, but that's how "Dan" from Baton Rouge, La., took the coverage.

"Finally ... an article that is objective and really exposes the product and not the Jobs hype," he wrote. "I bought an iPhone ... it stinks!" More balanced was the comment from "Ethan," who said Apple has shown "it has the power to introduce a new device, keep a majority of the specs a secret, and people will still wait days in line to purchase it."

"Apple is not going away," he continued, "and the way they do their marketing is ingenious yet quite annoying to me at the same time. I just hope people will develop critical thinking skills and not swallow everything that Jobs will throw on the table."