iPhone Rockin' the World

I'm right now spending my lunch break watching the live Macworld Keynote blogging at Engadget, chatting with my good pal Michael Ashby about the iPhone. We are both in shock (in a good way).

The iPhone is a smartphone running some version of Mac OS X, complete with a full web browser (Safari) what look like Widgets, and apps on the device far beyond any mobile phone apps out there.

Watching the Steve Jobs keynote unfold, we both agree that this announcement of the iPhone is big — really big. So big that it could impact nearly every aspect the tech world — mobile phones, smartphones, phone service carriers, PDAs, MP3 players, computers, Mac software developers, and web-based software developers... and probably others I haven't thought of.

From the Engadget live blog:

We've been pushing the state of the art in every facet of this design. We've got the multi-touch screen, miniaturization, OS X in a mobile device, precision enclosures, three advanced sensors, desktop class applications, and the widescreen video iPod. We filed for over 200 patents for all the inventions in iPhone and we intend to protect them."

This is the kind of device I would be compelled to carry, and I've more or less stepped off the PDA bandwagon last year. It's looking that cool and useful.

This is going to be very, very big.

Amazing! Conan O'Brien gives us a sneak peek of everything the iPhone can do! :-)

Related Links:
The Ultimate iPhone FAQ (David Pogue, NYT)
Cingular's iPhone Signup Page
Apple Unveils iPhone (Macworld)
iPhone a 'wake-up call' for the industry (Macworld)
Does the iPhone hit the spot? (CNET)
Investors dump RIM as Apple launches iPhone (Washington Post)
First iPhone Pics (engadget)
Raw commentary on the iPhone announcement (Michael Mace)
Apple's iPhone: That isn't a phone, it's a PDA done right (Michael Mace)
Impact of the Apple iPhone (Michael Mace)
Apple aims to shake up cell phone industry (San Jose Mercury News)
Top 5 Worst Things About The iPhone (Wired Gadget Lab)
iPhone: The Newton's Revenge (Wired Cult of Mac)
The Apple iPhone (Kottke.org)
Apple's New Calling: The iPhone (Time)
iPhone: The Most Revolutionary Device Since 1984 (JeffCroft.com)
iPhone Not Touchy Feely (37signals)
iPhone and the End of PC Era (Om Malik)
The iWipe
You could call iPhone perfect (Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times)

Image via Apple.

Comments

[Scott]

I spent way too long watching this morning as well. Going to have to break my T-Mobile contract, but I really want one!!

[Mike Rohde]

Incredibly tempting, eh Scott? Well you have 6 months to figure out your T-Mobile contract breakage. :-)

[Damon Hoxworth]

Just got off of the email w/ my T-mobile rep, and states that as long as it can be unlocked, should be able to get full functionality using T-Mobile's sevice. Although I love my Pearl, I want one too.

[Mike Rohde]

Good question about unlocking... I thought surely Apple would go GSM unlocked but it seems this one is exclusive to Cingular. Should be interesting to see if as time goes on, an unlocked version might emerge.

[macfixer]

Mike, you got that right -- this is going to change *EVERYTHING* about Apple's implied position as just "those iPod folks"

People slept on the iPod when it first came out (Google it on Slashdot if you don't believe me). People ain't sleeping no more.

//k

[Neal Dench]

You might be right Mike, I _hope_ you're right, because this looks like a fantastic device. But don't forget that, unlike with the iPod, Apple is taking on an already mature market here, so it probably won't be the no-brainer that getting an iPod was. For a start, the price is going to put a lot of people off. That said, I think that two or three years down the line, when the early adopters have ironed out the creases, and Apple have released a few more versions, we might all be carrying one. In 2001, no-one carried an iPod, today, everyone does.

[Mike Rohde]

Neal, good points. I do think Jobs and Apple realize what area they're in right now � in his keynote, Steve talked about aiming at 1% of the market initially (which is 10 million iPhones).

I do think there is going to be a progression here of releasing to the high-end and then bringing those advances to the rest of the line. We shouldn't be surprised that in 2-3 years, every iPod will have phone capabilities included, run OS X and use Multi-Touch.

Looking at how the iPod built itself over time, this is the way Apple I suspect plans to work it � though it will be a little different throwing carriers/operators into the mix.

It's going to be a very interesting year. :-)

[Neal Dench]

What I hope is that Apple realise the international differences in the phone market. For example, there are several aspects to the specs of the iPhone that, frankly, leave me cold, and make me doubt his "five years ahead of the competition" claim, but I suspect that's just because I'm from the UK, which, compared to the US, is rather spoilt when it comes to phones, partly thanks to the competition in different providers. For example, the iPhone camera is 2MB. I've just started a new contract (in the UK) which gave me (for free) a Sony Ericsson with 3.2MB, auto-focus, Xenon flash camera. The iPhone isn't 3G -- mine is. And Sony Ericsson have a 4G hard disk phone for heavy music users. And I don't remember hearing anything about J2ME support.

What's great about the announcement is Mac OS X, the touch screen, the overall form factor, and the Apple "wow" factor, but I don't think that's enough just yet.

[John Topley]

What's great about the announcement is Mac OS X, the touch screen, the overall form factor, and the Apple "wow" factor, but I don't think that's enough just yet.

The iPhone doesn't run Mac OS X, it runs OS X. Apple are distinguishing between the two from this point forward. OS X is the embedded version. That's about all we know for now.

[Phil]

"It will hold over 2 billion songs"

(from SNL)

[Pete Prodoehl]

I hope this kicks Nokia in to high gear to comes out with some similar devices. Except they should be more open that Apple's, and supporting of open-source, like Nokia's other efforts. :)

[Mike Rohde]

Neal, good points. I think iPhone v1 is aimed at the US market and to "entertainment" minded people rather than more business-minded folks who would prefer a Blackberry, Treo or Noka E95 for instance. There may (or may not) be other iPhones (v1.1, 1.2...) all adapted to other markets. Since Europe and Asia are hardcore SMS cultures, there would have to be some changes, or else aiming the device at a smaller niche for sure.

John, good point on OS X vs. Mac OS X. Daring Fireball has a good article on this, based on what Apple omitted.

http://daringfireball.net/2007/01/os_x

One advantage Apple has with this vague announcement is, they can change thins between now and June without being held to many details.

Pete, I think the iPhone is going to be great for everyone because it will force others to start catching up � so for those who like Nokia, etc. I think this will mean more cool devices to fit many niches. That's partly why I've thought this is a big deal. :-)

And here's commentary from Andy Inhatko, on the iPhone:

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/215441,CST-FIN-Andy18.article