In view of its several and severe disadvantages (high price, lack of voice dialing, limited battery life, resriction to Cingular-A&T, small amount of memory for music & video), what the iPhone truly needs to succeed is a "killer app," that is, an application so revolutionary that it opens the object to a new market---which the spreadsheet did for business usages for the PC, for example.

For the iPhone, such a "killer app" could well be DICTATION SOFTWARE, since the device already has a rudimentary operating system that links to its existing microphone. Such software could let a user dictate an Email, or dictate text directly to a rudimentary word processor, like Apple's TEXTEDIT, that could then be transferred to a computer or printer.

Now that would be a big step up for a cell phone!

Al Feldzamen

This is just Apple hype about Apple hype...

Perhaps what Apple is worried about is that folks will figure out that the iPhone differs from other non-Apple products only in its clever marketing and exterior styling.

Such as the tilt multimedia function that reads the directional orientation of the screen and turns it on and off and changes functions based on that. It's the kind of bleeding edge 'interface' stuff that many people have been clamoring for years for.

< Perhaps what Apple is worried about is that folks will figure out that the iPhone differs from other non-Apple products only in its clever marketing and exterior styling.>

No disrespect, but I'm always amazed how some of us can't extrapolate further than two weeks away. The iPhone is the first device to run Leopard - OS X 10.5. It runs CoreAnimation, CoreImage and CoreVideo. That's a full blown OS on a pocket-sized device. It's a lot more than a "cute" phone. We're getting a glimpse at real world multi-touch use for the first time in a consumer product. Remember how Apple introduced the mouse to the world? remember how funny "serious" geeks thought that was? well, welcome to the 21st century.

I guess it's easy to dismiss Apple products when you're a bystander and haven't really used any of them. But there's a reason for the fandom. It's not the shiny exterior. It's the power inside. Let's talk again in a year's time...

My point wasn't that the iphone isn't more than a phone, but rather that its capabilities aren't unique. There are lots of handheld devices out there that run a "full blown OS." How is the iphone any different from those devices?

I've used Apples in the past, mainly for a job where the boss was an Apple-maniac. I found their user interface too cutsey and the OS impossible to sort out when it crashes. They are also expensive. Sorry, I gave it a try, but was unable to drink the kool-aid.

Sigh... I really don't want this to devolve into the classic Mac vs PC discussion. But Mike, you do realize the Mac OS is a Unix variant now right? with all the available tools this involves. Saying the interface is "too cutsey" means you haven't even bothered to scratch the surface. Or you're talking from very old experience. There's a reason ubergeeks are switching to these machines. And it's not about "cutesiness".

Now back to the topic at hand. When I say "full-blown OS" what I mean is a desktop grade rich-media OS. Not a mobile variant. Not some pieced together distro. And can you really, honestly say that the iPhone's interface is the same as everything out there? c'mon - put aside the anti-mac thing for a second or two. You can't buy anything like this anywhere. Period. The multi-touch implementation and fluid interface is straight out of sci-fi. And yes, you're right it is a lot of flash. But it's flash that ADDS to the functionality of the device. The interface becomes part of the experience instead of the usual roadblock we get from phones today.

Anyway I'm sure I won't change your mind anymore than you'll change mine. We'll just have to see what happens and make a date in a year's time I guess ;-)

P.S can we please stop with the cultish vocabulary - maniac, kool-aid and such? I use these systems to make a living and have fun doing it. I don't think that's so crazy do you?

The point of my comments isn't really to bring up the Mac vs. PC thing. I said I've used Apples because you said I didn't. Apple users tend to think that non-Apple users just haven't tried the a Mac yet, that they are just ignorant of the supposed advantages of the Mac. In my case, its not true.

The point I'm trying to make is the iPhone doesn't do anything that other devices do. There are other multi-task devices that have been on the market for years (Blackberry, Palm, etc)and that have loyal followings. Granted, the interface on the iPhone is different, but the functions that all these devices perform are not.

I will say that I do own an iPod. When it was released, it was unique in both its function and interface. Others rushed to make their own digital music players, but Apple led the industry (and still does). I just don't see the iPhone being in the same position and being as groundbreaking as the iPod.

A year or two from now, Mac users will own iPhones. Everyone else will not. That's my prediction.

Also, the current Mac interface looks like it was designed by Pixar. :P

"Granted, the interface on the iPhone is different, but the functions that all these devices perform are not."

Except none of these devices have a new iPod built-in either, do they?

"A year or two from now, Mac users will own iPhones. Everyone else will not. That's my prediction."

As I said, it's a date ;-)

No hard feelings.