It MAY be a status phone? lol

With respect but there are cheaper phones on the market that do more and come with 3G. Sorry but this is yet another fine example of Steve “I can market ice cubes to Eskimos” Jobs' marketing power. He has created a brand and is not afraid to use it. If At&t didn't really need this phone (i.e. had controlling market share) do you really think steve would have as much power and control? Nope. I actually think Motorola will be hurt the most by this phone given their weakening market presence.

I know you're a big fan of Apple et al but this soooo reminds me of when they made the switch from ppc to x86.

“Our systems will now be up to 5x faster then our old units.” translation - We've been selling you systems which limit your HW and SW choices for more money then x86 systems and pawning them off as “fast”. Better yet the press never called SJ on the carpet for this little marketing “issue.”

Like I've said before, you have to admire SJ for the marketing job he has done for Apple. He is now to a point where no matter what he says, be it true or not, is accepted as “gospel”.

check out the link to see that I am not the only one who from afar sees the same thing. http-slash-slash-colon-wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/wpnan/2007/06/21/

As you might expect, I don't want one. I want less phone, not more. Let's see: connect to the cell network, let me call, receive calls, let me ignore calls — that covers it. Everything else is wasted electrons and materials.

Mark: it is an overpriced cell phone, but competitive if you compare it with Nokia and Sony internet tablets, which are much closer in web browsing functionality to this device. It's a very nice cell phone, but it is perhaps more intriguing for its other capabilities, which are driven by Wi-Fi (if AT&T is smart, they will announce soon that all AT&T Hotspots can be used for free or cheap by iPhone customers, just as they can be by AT&T Yahoo DSL customers).

I don't see AT&T as terribly afraid about their marketshare, but there is no doubt that they see it as a powerful tool to draw customers and enhance loyalty.

Consider this: many people without corporate networks pay $30-$35/month (or more) for a Blackberry because they want push e-mail. Here you get a much better web browsing/multimedia device, and $10-$15/month cheaper internet access. That makes it somewhat less pricey looking over the 24 months of a normal cellular contract.

A big thing is ease of use. The early reviews seem to indicate the UI is what everyone hoped — and while Mossberg is pretty much an Apple guy, the reviews coming from other respectable tech columnists in major publications seem to echo the sentiment that it is much more enjoyable to use than, say, a Blackberry or a Treo. Like many things tech, in a phone, it isn't just about the features but also the ease of using those features…

Ed: Ok, yes, I did expect that of you. But, I should reiterate, I find a lot of its interest in its abilities outside of being a cellphone. That it takes care of that too is great.

I am looking forward to seeing one in person. It is very cool from what I have read and seen. I want one, now even more with the rate plans that I have seen.

Whoa Whoa whoa hold on one minute. You are comparing a phone, to a tablet?? Again I must disagree. If you are going to compare keep it in line. My podcasting buddy uses the Nokia E61 and it does all the things the new iphone will do. Except he's had one for quite some time now and he got it for about 200 pounds cheaper.

Since you brought up ease of use, I cannot see how a touch screen is going to work on a cell. Half the people who use phones do it while driving. They do alot tactile which is something that becomes very difficult with nothing to “feel.”

Like Ed I have no need for anything that does more then make calls, and store a few numbers. The thing is either in my bike bag or in a pocket in the off position. Beyond that I have my pda which gets alot of usage because the battery lasts for what feels like for ever and is one of the thinest ever made. Yes, I still have my Handspring Edge with the Al case. What a tank, what a pda.

I am with you Timothy, but I am sure that no one is surprised by that. The only thing that was holding me back was the cost of the service. I have to say I was surprised. I was expecting 100 bucks or more. The 450 minute plan is only something like 10 more than what I am currently paying.

So I imagine I will be looking at them sometime in December, more likely January when my current contract runs out. Maybe they will have a second gen out by then.

Mark: Well, it has a bigger, better screen than most phones and it has Wi-Fi, and multimedia features, so it seems to me it is in competition partly with the Nokia 770 and Sony mylo. I hope it makes it hard to call while driving. I have a penchant against those who endanger me on the roads by dialing and talking on cell phones. Hrmf. At any rate, I've been using my phone as my PDA for some time. I simply don't remember to carry around multiple devices!

Christopher: Yes, I was expecting the same thing on the plans. I suspect the 2nd generation would be a good time to buy… (oh, and yes, I am not surprised!).

from a stock advisor:

Despite the hype, I'm not buying an iPhone until we get the second iteration that allows you to use AT&T's 3G data network. Plus, I want to be able to get all of my e-mail, because the details have not been cleared up for business users who are accustomed to devices like the BlackBerry for mobile mail access.

So mostly civilians will be the first buyers — the road warriors like myself are hanging out and waiting for the next version.

But that's not the whole story here.

Now that the new iPhone franchise looks like a $40-per-share addition, it's going to be a $10 billion business. I'm not concerned about that.

The excitement is inside the research we've gotten during the last couple of weeks about the key Apple component suppliers and mostly about the Mac.

The real shocker will be the huge amount of market share that Macintosh computers are ready to take, starting in October when Apple's new Leopard operating system comes out. That's one reason I'm raising our 12- to 18-month price target to $200.

I am now forecasting up to $50 a share from Mac computer sales. Most people don't realize the additional revenue and earnings power for the Apple franchise worldwide that will come from Mac desktop and laptop sales.

Now, I can't wait for my Apple laptop. Remember, this is going to work with the new Leopard system that will run both my Vista and Mac stuff. I won't care because it is going to be the really cool product out there.

We were the first research group to call Apple at $150 a share and now I think we're the first to come out with $200 a share. This is coming out of Gateway and it's coming out of Dell because this market share is going to be astronomical.