Last year, there was an iPod concept contest at Philoneist. Then, an Apple fan started an iPhone concept blog where the concepts were sent by Apple fans like him. After a year, here comes the Apple iPhone. The rumors were not really rumors at all. It will be out in the US in June 2007 and with the announcement made early this year, it looks like that Apple did an aggressive marketing job. However, it’s pretty bad for those who are from North America since they are tied up with one telecoms provider only (Cingular). This could be a drag for those who are eyeing the iPhone that are not subscribed to Cingular.

We, from the Asia Pacific, will have to wait for 2008. Europeans will also have to wait until later this year. Perhaps it’s going to be available in Europe around Q3 or Q4 of 2007.

Thinking about spending 500 USD on an Apple iPhone? IMO, the tag price seems to be worth it because of its technology. The iPhone sports a widescreen multitouch display. The multitouch technology was developed and patented by Apple. Because of this breakthrough, Apple was able to integrate an intelligent keyboard that does not require any keys but with the use of the display. The only downside that I can see here is that the screen is vulnerable and if it’s damaged the consumers would have to spend an extra dough for the repair and the part replacement.

Data can be transmitted via Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), EDGE or Bluetooth. Hmmm, you might think that it is bad that they missed 3G. Since they have a tie-up with Cingular, they should know the mobile market. 3G is not widely used unlike Wi-Fi and EDGE. This is what JDavies have pointed out in our discussion group.

iPhone’s battery life (talk/video/internet browsing) of five hours makes it not a practical choice for those who are always on the go. Apple should really work on this because the choice of the consumers does not rely only on its ability to play music and take pictures.

Other features of this phone are:

• MAC OSX
• Safari Browser
• e-mail
• Google Maps
• Widgets