The Apple iPhone is not revolutionary, but it will change everything

  The new iPhone @ MacWorld 
  Originally uploaded by Global X.

So Apple has finally released its Jesus phone, and hosannas are being sung far and wide-- along with the expected chorus of haters.

But the folks out there complaining about the price and battery life and Cingular should not be so short-sighted as to see the iPhone as a mere product. Rather, they should realize it's a harbinger of a beautiful future.

The iPhone's mojo is not in its features, most of which are available on current smart phones, but rather its integration between them, and its interface. The interface is so user-friendly and intelligent, bolstered as it is by myriad little sensors, that the iPhone seems less like a gadget than a robot sidekick.

Here are three things to keep in mind when you decide to dismiss the iPhone as the new Cube:

1. This technology is going to filter down to even the cheapest iPods. Remember how expensive the iPod Photo was when it came out? Now photo capabilities are standard on every iPod with a screen. I bet that within a couple of months, Apple will release an iPod Widescreen that is basically an iPhone with a hard drive and all the communications and internet tech removed, and it'll cost the same as a regular high-end iPod does today. Also, in a couple of years, Nanos will be sporting the multi-touch interface.

2. In two years, the iPhone will cost one-third as much and be three times as cool. Think how far the iPod has come since its introduction.

3. As goes the iPhone, so goes the cell-phone industry. Just as everyone is trying to mimic iPods now, everyone is going to come out with their own iPhone knockoffs. In a couple of years, not having visual voicemail is going to seem hopelessly outdated.

So yes, the current iPhone is prohibitively expensive, and only die-hards who are willing to switch to Cingular are going to get them, and it's easy to scoff. But in five years, we'll all be talking on iPhones, whether they're Apple or not, and whether we realize it or not.

Some thoughts on the iPhone design in the next post.

Comments

[Josh]

I think you're right on track. It's almost everything I'd need, but there are still some things I'd need. Like Photoshop Mobile, for one! It would be nice to be able to at least color correct your photos before uploading them to Flickr, that's for sure.

I'd certainly like to see good 3rd party application support (iPhoto is an iJoke, I'm sure it'll be just as bad on the iPhone).

I'd also like to see a compact flash slot and mini SD slot so that I can upload my photos from my Digital SLR while on the road. I currently have a Dell X50v as my PDA (though the use of PocketMac, I can sync it to my mail/ical on my G5) and it's great to look at photos I just shot on a nice camera on a nice screen (xVGA).

I definitely think I'll be waiting for the second or third version of this, but it's still pretty impressive.

[Attila Csordas]

From a "coolness" point of view, I was really not sure about the Jobs keynote's music. Yes we all know that Jobs is a boomer, but emphasizing it with the music (Beatles, Stones,...) was a little bit out of time in that case. Something with the revolution maybe, but the PC era began only in the 70s. I don't know what the Apple folks are thinking about the iPhone's main reference group, but I have serious doubts whether it will be only for the rich boomers and Valley veterans.