iPhone tastic

Apple has done it again. I haven't been this excited since the launch of the original iPod six years ago. This truly is innovation at it's very best. A big welcome everyone to the iPhone.

What is really interesting about this device is how it fills the gaping hole in the mobile device market. "What?" you say but we are totally saturated with phones with all kinds of capabilities. Phones can surf the net, get emails, take pictures, take notes. So what exactly is the iPhone bringing that is new to the market. Short answer NOTHING. But what it is doing is getting it right. This is the device that people have been calling out for. A fully syncable pod-like unit that pairs up with your desktop Mac thus keeping all your photos, music and video with you wherever you are. For me this is the amalgam of two devices I carry with me to work everyday. My iPod and my phone. Perfect.

The Apple iPhone does purport to take pictures and does so with a 2 mega-pixel camera. This is obviously not going to win anyone over who is a serious photographer but if they are using the same technology found in their laptops for iChat the quality will be great. We should note that Apple is not showcasing this feature on their iPhone site so obviously not the selling point. No, what this is meant to be is a storage device for all your personal media AND one that you can use to make phone calls with.

What is absolutely superb though is the user interface. This is the point where your jaw will literally drop open. You have seen nothing like this before. For one there are no buttons on this device. It looks like an elongated iPod but with a huge display and no click-wheel. Yes it looks like that revolutionary patent has been banished to the history books. Apple has now devised a user-interface whereby the iPhone can detect your finger movements without the need for a stylus. This is touch-screen done right. You can view your photos and videos by holding the device in either potrait or landscape. It will detect which way up it is and turn your media the right way up (check out the music and video demos here). What I found breathtaking is the way you can literally thumb through your album art.

The phone capability of the iPhone does exactly what you would expect it to but encased in a gorgeous and intuitive user-interface. You scroll through your contacts in much the same way you would your music library. As you place your finger on the device you flick up or down and the list rolls as though you were spinning a rolodex (check out the video here). One entirely unique feature here is the ability to view your voicemail messages and to select which one you would like to play in whatever order.

Added to all this is the ability to browse the net and send email. The iPhone sports a slimmed down version of Mac OSX and graphically it is stunning. Using the miniMail application feels exactly like the Mail program we all know and use. Browsing the net is like nothing I have ever seen on a mobile device. It loads the entire page giving you a large thumbnail of the page and you can zoom in on any section and click on the links. The way you zoom is by using two fingers and spreading them apart. (Intuitive). It has to be seen to be believed.

My only question is when is it available and will I be able to use all these features here in the UK.