Okay. I'll be brutally honest. I really didn't understand what all of the hype surrounding the uber-rumored Apple iPhone was all about. Okay -- a combination iPod and cell phone sounds neat, but so what? I have an iPod; I have a cell phone. How beneficial could the combination be? It really was not very appealing to me.
Oh me of little faith. Steve Jobs unveiled the real Apple iPhone today, and oh... my... gosh... It is probably the coolest device I have ever seen, and yes, I am including the iPod, and the PDA. It has almost no buttons (only a small "home" button), and the controls are done entirely by touchscreen, a feature they call "Multi-touch" for the way they have revolutionized it. It combines a full, widescreen iPod with a cell phone (with Cingular as carrier), which makes calls, teleconferences, and integrates web features so seamlessly that it leaves preexisting devices in the dust. It also includes a FULL web browser and HTML email, two features drastically missing from smartphones of today. It also includes Google Maps. To get the full effect of the iPhone, I think you really need to watch Steve's keynote address at MacWorld 2007. He describes and completely demonstrates the incredible innovations and jaw-dropping features that they included. (You can watch the whole keynote or just the iPhone introduction.)
Of course, I'll be watching the major tech sites for their on-hands review to see if it really measures up to what we saw in the keynote. Ultimately, however, I think this will revolutionize the cell phone industry. It's already driven Apple's stock price way up and made the stock prices of Palm and RIM (makers of the Blackberry) way down. Of course the major cries are about the price: $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for the 5GB version. Talk about a premium. That's expensive. Expensive enough that I don't see myself getting one for a few years at least, desipte the copious amounts of drool. But that was the same knock against the iPod when it debuted in 2001. Now, it has left all other media players in the dust. I am fairly confident that the same may happen with the iPhone. I only wish I could get my hands on one.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Oh... My... Gosh...
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I'll be waiting for the 30G version and I probably won't get another for a few of years anyway, seeing as that in the last year I've bought a Palm, iPod (okay 3 of them) and a phone. But that was my plan anyway. I figured this would be out soon, and by the time I'm ready for a new phone, this will definitely be my choice. So, I'll have to switch to Cingular. Aeh.
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