iPhone

A couple of years ago I was talking to Kumaran about what I thought the ultimate portable media player would be. I described an iPod with a full body touch screen that could be used to play music and watch videos. Apple has finally realized that vision (which I think many shared with me).

A little while ago Apple announced its iPhone. Not only does the gadget boast a full media player but also incorporates the function of a cell phone and PDA. The phone is expected to see US markets in June under Cingular and will be unveiled in Europe by the end of the year.

I am expecting the first model to have plenty of bugs. I suspect scratching and dirt to accumulate on the touch screen. Also, I bet the web/email features to be worse than PDAs. It will also fail as a cell phone, because I doubt the battery life will be any descent.

However, the important thing is Apple is getting into the cell phone market under its own name now, This means two things for us consumers. First we might see competitors try to bring more useful user-friendly handsets in hopes of beating Apple at their game. Second (after they realize option A is futile) I expect more and more companies to start creating lots of feature-free ultra-low-costs handsets (which means an expanded market as more and more 3^rd world countries become able to afford cell phones).