Late last week, I had a brainstorm: Why not set aside coverage of iPhone-related controversies for moment and ask iPhone users what they think of their phones? I launched a little survey on Friday morning, and would have been pleased if a couple of hundred people responded. Instead, more than 2150 iPhone owners took the time to to participate. And hundreds of them not only answered the multiple-choice questions, but used the open-ended question at the survey’s end to share praise, criticism, and ideas.

I’m finishing up our story reporting on the survey as we speak. [UPDATE: I’m done! Here are the results.] But until it’s up–soon, I promise–I thought you might like to see some of these verbatim comments. You’ll find ’em after the jump–divided into Fan Mail, Complaint Department, Feature Requests, and App Store Analysis.

Fan Mail

“This is absolutely the best product I have purchased. I don’t mean the best phone or gadget or piece of furniture; I mean the best product. I have used it all day every day for over a year and continue to be completely amazed.”

“Changed my life and my business. One of the best investestments ever”

” I will never user another phone. Period”

“remember it’s much more than a phone, it is my computer when I travel.”

“Despite any little glitches, because of the software (OS, basic apps, and development environment), the overall experience is 10 times better than any symbian. winMo, or other phone.”

” Jonathan Ive described his desire in designing as wanting, “to create products people could fall in love with & love using.” At least that’s what I remember of his description, & that sentiment has felt true on more than one occasion with the iPhone, infinitely more so than with any other phone I have owned. Times when it crashes or behaves oddly come as a much more keen annoyance because when it works well, it is so damn satisfying.”

“I was the first person in my city to buy the original iPhone, and I was anxious to get one because my then current Samsung phone sucked really, really hard. After using iPhone and iPhone 3G since each was introduced, I can honestly say if I couldn’t have an iPhone, I’d buy the cheapest, most stripped down voice only handeset available, because advanced features on other phones are always completely unusable. SMS using a Motorola? Not on your life. Internet on a Samsung? I’d rather have my eyeballs pulled out of my head. On second thought, I might consider a Blackberry Storm or one of the android smart phones after that market matures a little, but that’s a ‘might consider’, and then only if I couldn’t buy an iPhone. iPhone is that good.”

“I do not know how I would run my business without this phone. Having everything at my beck and call and blazingly fast makes the most of my packed days. The third party apps add amazing functionality from fitness and health to location specific help. The ereader and few games mean that it allows me to decompress even when waiting for my next meeting. I also seldom open my laptop at home any more as I love to read email and surf on this device. Oh yeah I am filling this out on my phone.”

” People need to realize what a technological leap this device has brought to the market. For all its quirks, it has a million features no other phone manufacturer could ever dream of addressing. The issues are being addressed by Apple in a very timely manner, considering the complexity of the device.”

“It’s so nice that syncing actually works well and easily compared with the last several Nokia phones i’ve had”

“The key point about the iPhone that everybody seems to miss is that it is NOT about features- it is about usability. The N95 can do everything that the iPhone can do so why is it not as popular? Because very few people use the features on the N95 because they are not as usable. From that point of view I prefer the original iPhone (and original iPhone firmware) to the iPhone 3G (and the new firmware). The original iPhone software had NO hint of any latency/lag in the UI anywhere. It was a delight to use. With the items added in the v2.0.x releases that has gone- there are frequent small pauses. Apple do seem to be working those back out of the software but to my mind less functionality and more usability still wins. Having said that the user experience with the 3G iPhone is still far superior to that of any other phone on the market. I should know as I have a cupboard of over 300 phones next to my desk and I have used them all.”

” As a dedicated early adopter of tech, and a reasonably affluent guy who has lots of toys, and can generally get anything I want, this is the single greatest piece of kit I have ever owned. It has made mobile internet a reality rather than a joke. The usability is far far greater than any phone i have ever used (and I’ve had a few of the latest and greatest). Sure the camera is not high res, but it delivers pictures of a high enough quality. The music/video playback features are unrivalled. Battery life is adequate, though more would (obviously) be nice. It’s not perfect, but it’s far closer to perfect than any other phone.”

“It’s not perfect, but it’s a decade ahead of everything else.”

“It’s not perfect, but it’s the most valuable device I ever owned. I depend on it every single day. All-in-all, apps from the App Store are excellent – very high quality and very useful.”

“My biggest surprise was that, after using the phone for a year, the software update allowing the installation of apps made it almost like getting a new phone. Software updates to enable features is a big bonus. Also surprising is how much I use the device. My old cell sat in the car for emergencies. I get a lot of pleasure from the iPhone’s many other features.”

“I thoroughly love my iPhone. It is so good to have the information I have on it with me no mater where I am. Especially maps. I’ve seen other phones that have maps, but the iPhone seems so much smoother and easier. And the large, and ever growing, choice of apps is such a treat. When I purchased the iPhone, I knew I would like it, but I never dreamed I would like and enjoy it this much.”

“It is definitely a game changer. I find it interesting that the incredible benefits of the iphone dramatically outweigh any difficulties. I love this thing and I am very willing to overlook its small failings.”

“I think it’s a revolutionary platform. I’m happy that everyone else is scrambling to “kill” it. The whole landscape will improve. I will however stick with Apple.”

“Even with some problems, it is still the best piece of consumer electronics ever!”

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