As I made my way back west on my way home from the iPhone debutâ€â€and at the same time that west coasters were getting their first chance to touch, play, and buyâ€â€I took the opportunity to think about what I’d just seen. And, frankly, I’m still amazed.
I am not a cell phone lover. In fact, when it comes to being tethered to a telephone 24/7 I consider myself a technologist with a Luddite’s heart. Just ask my wife who on more than one occasion has been frustrated by the fact that my cell phone was MIA. (All you shrinks can stop with the passive aggressive banter.) But today I somehow feel my heart strangely twisted.
The iPhone, like most things Macintosh, offers you a little something more. An intangible WOW! that makes you want to use it. After 40 minutes with an iPhone in my hands I’m convinced: it’s a device that I’ll use and that I’ll be more than happyâ€â€dare I say proud?â€â€to keep with me. No electronic device is a panacea, but Apple has created something that is truly different from any other similar device on the market. It’s a phone that you feel. It’s the web, email, photos, and music at your fingertips. It’s… an experience. And I don’t think I’ll ever look at a cell phone in the same way again.