Last month Steve Jobs unveiled the much rumored and extremely secretive iPhone. What can i say but simply, COOL! I don't want to get stuck in the propaganda or marketing machine; but this phone does do some cool things that no phone has done or at least done well so far.
If you haven't heard about it yet, which means you must have been in the deep rain forest, then you are in for treat. Once you are done reading this entry, head on over to the Apple Website to read more about it and see a few demos. Suffice it to say though, that the iPhone is 1/3 Phone, 1/3 Mobile Internet Device and 1/3 Wide Screen iPod Video. Each of these has been long rumored to be in development at Apple and each has been eagerly awaited; but none probably more than the Wide Screen iPod Video. What's really cool though, is that when you rotate the iPhone the screen rotates; making the best use of the screen. It also means that you can look at your photos in either landscape or portrait positions.
The phone and internet communicator are equally cool and allow you more control over your mobile telephony and mobile internet experience than ever before. Those features are very new and i can't even begin to imagine how they will actually work. I've seen the demos; but I will actually have to see it in use before I can make any judgments. Never-the-less I strongly encourage you to check out this very cool new product from Apple. it isn't slated for release until June, so you can't see one just yet. Owning one though isn't just a matter of waiting, it's also one of dollars and "sense." It will cost $499 for a 4 gig model and $599 for an 8 gig model; yep, 4 gigs and 8 gigs. That's in line with the most popular ipod, the Nano; but far from the capacity of the traditional iPod that also plays video but in a 4:3 ratio. Another draw back is that this new iPod does not have a 16:9 screen ratio; but it is closer and bigger than any current model or competitor.
Is it worth getting? I can't answer that yet. The price is high and you have to use Cingular; which isn't a problem for my family as we use Cingular, but could be a problem for some. The price is also set, the contract you sign will not reduce the price; although there are rumors the data plan will be cheaper. We do know that Apple has signed a deal with Yahoo to give users "push" e-mail making the iPhone more Blackberry like and there are hints from Cingular and Apple that there are more as-of-yet un-announced features that will single out the iPhone even more.
Stay tuned...... the iPhone could be the biggest thing to hit the mobile phone market since the Blackberry.