The Phone that ends all phones

At 6pm today, the iPhone will be officially released for the American public. Yes, the long-awaited and much-hyped iPhone. And yes, damnit, I want one so bad! No, I'm not one of those gadget freaks who needs to get a hold of hot new contraptions the very second they're introduced in the stores. I think it's dumb to camp out for three days in front of Best Buy for the privilege to be the first to buy PlayStation 3; ditto for the iPhone. But still I want an iPhone, and my reason for wanting one: I've been a loyal Apple user for ages and I don't mind paying the premium price for its products. Take the iPod for instance. iPod was first released exclusively only for Mac users, and I was one of the hardcore Mac users--the enlightened five percenters, if you ask me--who bought the 1st Generation Mac-only iPods. People had seen the ultra-cool iPod commercials on TV then, but since 95 percent of the PCs in the world are run by Windows, hardly anybody had the chance to own an iPod. I was living in Washington, DC when the first iPod came out in 2001 and I bought one almost immediately. Playing my iPod on the Metro resulted in quite a few admiring stares, curious inquiries, and impromptu demonstrations. I saw it as my call of duty to shill for Apple products and lure PC users away from the Dark Side aka Micro$oft. Then Apple came out with the Windows version iPod, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, how can iPhone revolutionizes the cell phone world? Well, just take a good look at that damn thing and tell me it's not revolutionary. It has (almost) everything one will ever need in a cellphone and a bag of chips. It does, however, has an Achilles heel, several minor flaws, if you may. The iPhone, first of all, does not have video camera (but it does have a 2 MP camera). It's almost a travesty not to have a common feature that is found even in the crappiest Nokia phones. Considering the iPhone's other shining features such as ultra-high resolution screen and the ability for movie playback, it's almost mind-boggling for Apple to omit the video camera function. Other gripes include there is no support for Java and Flash. Unless if you're a hardcore cellphone gaming fan, Java-support is something one can certainly live without. As for Flash, the iPhone has a specific YouTube module, which plays all of YouTube's Flash videos, which then begs the question: what else do you need Flash for? Others bitch about iPhone's lack of 3G-support and tactile keyboard for SMS (or texting, as you Yanks call it). About 3G, it is not supported by any cellular carriers here in the US; hence its omission. When the iPhone comes to the European and Asian shores by early and mid next year I'm sure it'll be 3G-equipped. The non-tactile keyboard (it's touchscreen), unlike the ones found in Blackberry, Palm Treo or Nokia Sidekick, just needs a little getting used to, that's all. If given the choice, would one rather have a full-blown keyboard for the supposedly easy typing or a much larger screen with ultra-sharp resolutions that plays movies in widescreen format? Yes, I thought so!

Anyway, I desperately want an iPhone right now. If I'm not leaving for Indonesia next month I'll definitely get one. In order to buy an iPhone one has to sign to 2-year contract with ATT/Cingular, which is something I cannot do at this moment--not until August next year at least. I only wish that Apple would have released an unlocked version of the iPhone...