Macworld 2007: Apple's iPhone A Stunner

By Mike McGann
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2007

I still remember watching the shocking introduction of the iMac, back in 1998. It touched a chord in me — both as a computer user and tech writer — and I knew two things: it would be successful beyond all expectation and that I needed to have one as soon as possible.

Of course, both those things came true. I picked up my Bondi Blue iMac the first day they were available and was able to retire my old PowerMac 6600 A/V and iMacs saved Apple, led to a total resurgence of the company, the creation of OS X and other breakthroughs such as the iPod, which have changed the nature of the technology world as we know it.

I had that feeling again, today, when the newly christened Apple, Inc. (Computer has been formally axed from the company name) showed off the iPhone. Due in June, priced at either $499 or $599, depending on the size of the hard drive you get on it, it is appears to be an amazing device.

In fact, the only flaw I can see in it is the name: iPhone. Notwithstanding the issues with Cisco over its device of the same name, my biggest issue is that it doesn’t fairly describe what it does. It is more than a PDA, more than a camera. It is a tiny Mac that happens to make phone calls. It is a video viewer. It is a portable web browser. An email device. Oh, and it’s a phone.

It puts my Palm Treo 650 to shame. Granted, I don’t really like the Treo so much, as it uses a very antiquated operating system, crashes constantly and is a pain to share data with. The last time I used it for anything beyond a phone call, it crashed three times. Because of this and its crappy user interface I barely use my Treo. Other than a bit of web surfing, I use it as little more than a phone, and even then, it’s so big, I often don’t carry it, defeating the entire purpose of owning it.

IPhone? A whole different animal. It would fit into my Mac workflow, allow me to surf at high speed in WiFi environments (like home) and I’m betting, even watch live streaming video over WiFi (and maybe over EDGE, which is sluggish at best as datastreams go). The possibilities are endless and amazing. Like the Mac, the iMac and the iPod, it’s not basic concept, which existed for a while, but rather the details.

Once again, Steve Jobs and his people have shown they get it — a million features are useless if people can’t easily use them. In one fell swoop, Apple has created not just a new device, but a new way of interacting with devices, one that is so simple that it seems obvious once they pointed it out. By running Mac OS X (or, I assume a “lite” version of the OS), it means third party developers and even users will be able to develop applications for the platform.

And if you think this doesn’t go beyond a phone, you’re likely mistaken. Once the infrastructure is in place, that is, software apps, how hard would it be to build a slightly beefier devices that could entirely replace your laptop, yet still fit in your pocket? To be honest, not a whole lot.

Maybe more importantly, it again changes the conversation at a thousand tech companies. Sure, it makes the Zune from Microsoft look like a an Atari computer, not just because of the lack of function, but the lack of elegance in its interface and design. Consider for a minute, how much Microsoft would suck if it weren’t for Apple, pushing them and prodding them into useable design.

Granted, I’m not thrilled that it’s going to work only on the Cingular network (and I say this as a Cingular subscriber), in part because the network is kind of shaky when it comes to data speeds — and clearly is an entire generation behind Verizon and Sprint/Nextel in terms of full 3G roll out. It will be interesting to see how difficult Cingular and Apple make it for people to buy this device and whether see improvements in the Cingular’s network, which speaking of name changes is expected to be renamed after newly merged parent company AT&T.

Like that day in 1998, we may look back at this day as another tech day that changed everything: how we relate to devices, how we use them and what we expect from them and the companies that sell them. Once again, Apple has carried the flag for simple, intuitive interface taken it where few people thought they could.