I have several devices that I depend on every day: my MacBook Pro, my Garmin StreetPilot 3270 GPS, my iPod. And while I can think of ways all these devices could be improved, there is only one device that I would gladly chuck into the ocean and never touch again, if not for the one vital job it does marginally well.

That device is my cell phone.

So when Apple introduced the iPhone, I had a geek-gasm right on the spot. Finally, my prayers had been answered: a handheld device that’ll connect me to people by phone, mail, IM, and to the Internet like a computer; and to my music and videos like an iPod.

Finally, a smartphone that’s actually smart.

Powerhouse. Yes, this is my fantasy cell phone. The device is just 0.46 inches thick, yet packed to bursting with capabilities no other cell phone can boast. The front of the unit is practically all screen: a 3.5-inch, 16:9 aspect-ratio display that can display 320 x 480 pixels at 160 pixels-per-inch. It’s touch sensitive, which forever removes the challenge of big fingers and tiny keys that plague many smartphones. The iPhone uses a new type of touch-sensitive interface called Multi-Touch that uses gestures and hand movements to control the interface. Multi-Touch also sports a full-QWERTY “soft” keyboard for input. Apple claims Multi-Touch is incredibly intuitive and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that, at least until I can try one out for myself.

Behind that screen is up to 8 GB of RAM for storage, which, unfortunately, can’t be expanded. Oh, Apple, why do you hate expansion slots do much? But, I forgive you, because the phone also offers a Quad-Band GSM and EDGE transceiver for cell connections and a Wi-Fi transceiver for short-range, but much faster and cheaper, internet connections.

The iPhone features three special sensors that do things like dim the screen and turn off touch sensitivity when you raise the device to your face to speak, one that adjusts screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions, and a accelerometer that adjusts the screen’s orientation, based on how you’re holding it at the time.

Lastly, there’s Bluetooth, which will connect you both to your computer and a headset, including a slick little optional Bluetooth headset Apple itself is making.

WidePod. All that RAM isn’t just for storing your phone numbers, no indeed. The iPhone is also a fully functional, widescreen, touch-sensitive iPod complete with an iPod connector on the bottom. Using iTunes, you can load music, podcasts, games and – yes! – videos on to your iPhone.

And, of course, with Wi-Fi and GSM/EDGE support, your iPhone will be able to connect directly to the iTunes music store anytime you want to download fresh content.

Combining an iPod and cell phone into one device has been tried before, but this is by far the most elegant effort to date. And all indications are there will be no compromising either function in the iPhone.

The i-Phone-Pod-Mac. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of Apple’s new mobile communicator is that, in reality, it isn’t a phone. Not in the traditional sense. It’s actually a very small, handheld computer with a touch-sensitive interface, right down to its operating system: Mac OS X. I mean, we’re talking a fully multitasking, UNIX-based operating system on your phone.

This means the iPhone’s applications, especially its Web and e-mail applications, aren’t the Playskool versions you see on other mobile communicators. They’re real, full-blown versions of Apple’s e-mail (POP3 and IMAP) client and Web browser (Safari), and deliver no-compromise functionality in both of these critical apps (imagine, for example, being able to display a full-sized Web page on your cell phone without scrolling.) Same goes for the AOL Instant Messenger-compatible iChat client, and iPhoto for managing your pictures, which you can transfer to your iPhone from your computer or take with the built-in 2-megapixel camera.

You can even load Apple Widgets onto your iPhone, a powerful but vastly underused technology in OS X that lets you run small, single-function applets that are always at your fingertips. Widgets can load maps, track stocks, convert currency, do calculations. Pretty much anything you can imagine, there’s a widget that’ll do it.

The iPhone is literally a Mac that fits in your pocket. And that means, among other things, the most user-friendly interface around. It also means software that’s rock-solid and practically crash-proof.

Imagine that: a cell phone that’s simple, reliable and does everything you need it to. They must be having snowball fights in hell right about now.

iPhonetics. Of course, before we can declare victory for Apple, we’ll need to actually get an iPhone and run it through its paces. Will Multi-Touch be as “intuitive” as Apple claims? We’ll have to see. And will Cingular’s network (the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. cell carrier) give this device the kind of coverage it needs to fulfill its promise? Because an iPhone without great connectivity will be the world’s most expensive hockey puck.

And speaking of price, technology this high comes with an equally high pricetag: $499 for the 4Gb model and $599 for the 8GB version, and that’s with a 2-year commitment to Cingular.

But even with these unknowns, I can’t help but to feel that we are on the verge (if June, when the iPhone starts shipping, can be considered a “verge”) of something big here.

It’s clear to me that the iPhone has the potential to revolutionize mobile communications. But, it may also have the effect of opening up an entire segment of the population to the power and simplicity of the Macintosh. According to Apple, 50 percent of new Macs are selling to people who previously haven’t owned a Mac. That’s represents a huge and critical shift as Apple moves away from being dependent on its installed base to maintain its business.

Who knows? If the iPhone is really everything Apple promises, in years to come it may be Windows, and not OS X, that will describe its market share in single digits.

Don’t agree? Okay. Come this June, if you want to argue that point, just call me on my iPhone.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 5:43 pm and is filed under HOME, TECH, IPOD, PMP, CELL PHONES, TELEPHONY, MAC, LIFESTYLE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.