iPhone reflections

So as Chris mentioned, I totally got an iPhone. I have to say... I had been anticipating it for 5 years ever since the first rumors hit the net in 2002. I kept my T610 for 2 years over contract on T-mobile just so I would be free to switch to Cingular the day it came out. And I did. I got my iPhone at the 24 hour apple store in NYC. Turns out that by 2:00 am, the line that had been waiting all week long line, had all got their iPhones and gone home. But unlike other product debuts (Wii, PS3) their were plenty of iPhones left, and NO lines at ALL! So having purchased my iPhone I was on my way. (not sure if this says more about Apples ability to purposely exceed demand and not have people fighting in parking lots or.. just them being over ambitious about sales figures)

I have to say.. the iPhone is truly the most satisfying piece of consumer electronics I have ever owned. and on a number of levels...
1) Physical design. looking at the iPhone, you see a shinny piece of black glass, a stainless steel bezel, and beautiful chunk of natural aluminum, and a simple section of black plastic. And thats it. It looks more like a piece of jewelry then a gadget. And for this reason alone.. all other cell phones are dead to me. There is something very honest about the approach to materials here. No paint, no plating, no pad printing. Even the logo on the aluminum is laser etched.
2) All in one device... Just as i had held onto my T610 for an extra 3 years, I also held on to my old ipod, my old camera, and avoided getting a GPS unit for my car, and... bought a iMac, rather then a laptop when it came time to replace my aging ibook. Convergence devices arguabley attempt to do all, but fail at doing each. But this is not the case with this device. It is not the best device out there for each of these functions, but it does perform all of them with completely satisfaction.
ipod.. best ever indeed.
camera.. good enough for flickr (which is how I share photos).
GPS unit ... not really, but The Google maps application allows me to get a good map, get directions, find stores, and have traffic updates (I don't need live turn by turn directions).
Laptop... honestly, this iPhone is more powerful then the ibook that put me through grad school a few years ago (620GHz vrs 500GHz 8GBs vrs 6GBs). And with the web browser and email, I have 90% of the applications I would ever use on the go with a laptop.
3)MAGIC.. I still (6 months later) take this thing out of my pocket and 'slide to unlock' and just stare at how magical it is, I might not even have a reason to use it. (I feel kind silly for this one, but its all emotion). I love that there are no buttons. I think of the iPhone as one giant blank canvas. The entire face is both display and input at the same time. on a call? the entire face is one giant phone key pad (all input). Watching a movie? the entire face is all movie (all display). The entire device is perfectly arranged for whatever application it is running. And because there is no hardware excess (no surrounding buttons), the device essentially becomes that application. The way it almost transcends its physical form is beautiful. I've seen other devices that are going touch screen, but that alone is not the magic. It as Chris would say, "you are only done when there is nothing left to take away."

4) Limitless future.. This potentially is the most interesting. The ability to craft and upload entirely new applications, and entirely change the user experience is amazing. Being a seasoned apple owner.. I can't tell you how exited I get when my Apple tells me there is a software update. Over the course of owning an apple the software continues to remain fresh and current. My Blue and White G3 that sits under my desk originally loaded on OS9, but today loads up in Tiger and looks nearly identical to my new iMac that sits beside it! (Have you seen OS9 lately? wow) In this same way, the iPhone too will continue to update and remain current. My T610 was a relic locked in 2003 when I retired it earlier this year.