iLove the iPhone

January 9, 2007

The iPhone is finally here. Well, the announcement is here, and the product pages are here, but the phone itself is only on display behind a glass case. So many years of speculation, so many bizarre fan made product mockups, and the real thing is years beyond our expectations. This is really what Apple's hardware/software combo is about. They can make a fixed function device better than Microsoft or Palm can throw their generic software at generic hardware makers.

What's really exciting is that this is the death knell for phone manufacturers. Motorola, Samsung, Palm... nobody's going to want their pieces of junk anymore. Of course, they won't have that much to worry about even when the iPhone launches in June. It's a seriously expensive toy, just like the iPod was back when it was introduced. But if Apple has learned one thing, it's how to aggressively cut costs to shut out competitors. Isn't that right, $250 neé $275 Zune? All it takes for them to win is time.

What I'm most excited about is the interface. With only one button ("Home"), I'm thrilled to death to see Apple pick up Tog's Starfire interface concept, even at a small scale. Multitouch ("multipass") is very exciting for all us human-computer interaction boys. I can't wait to scroll and zoom with my finger.

Or maybe I can wait. Apple makes shiny toys better than anyone, but my lovely ivory iPod is encased in a boring white enclosure because it's almost too fragile to be held by human hands. How on earth are we going to get along with something that's 100% touch? Will the Apple iPhone come with 30 Apple iWipes? Better buy stock in screen protector manufacturer companies while you can.

I'll admit that I was put off a little by the curves of this thing. The corners seemed a little too rounded, like a return of the Newton. But the more I look at it the more I like it. It seems like something from Star Trek. It knows if you're holding it in portrait or landscape mode? It has sensors that know when it's close to your face (and dims the screen)? It's a full computer that runs OSX in the palm of your hand? Oh, sign me up.

Speaking of which... T-Mobile? We're through.