It was MacWorld, not CES that captured the imagination of the technophiles this week, looking for the hottest consumer electronic gadgets. In a much anticipated announcement, Steve Jobs, sometimes called the PT Barnum of the digital era, introduced the "iPhone" (a name inconveniently trademarked by Cisco Systems) with the promise of a true music-video-phone convergence that will "reinvent the phone" according to Jobs.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor
Projection Monthly

In true to form Apple industrial design, the 11.6mm thin device is equal to or better than the popular trend setting Motorola Q and Samsung BlackJack. The face of the device is dominated by a 3.5-inch QVGA display - better suited for mobile viewing of full-length films or TV clips than the 2.5-inch screen on the Video iPod (gen. 5 version) introduced by the company last year.

Additionally, along with its Cingular mobile service the phone is Wi-Fi capable, going beyond cell capabilities by automatically switching from a mobile network to Wi-Fi if it detects a "HotSpot" or Wi-Fi network in the home.

Powered by a version of Mac OS X, the phone offers some rich graphics applications including support for Google search and mapping services, and "visual voicemail" touted by Jobs in his MacWorld keynote as a favorite feature. The iPhone allows users to skip right to the message they want, offering a view of all incoming messages for easy selection. No more deleting messages to get to the one cued up at the end of the list. Nice touch.

Standard phone features include a 2.0-megapixel camera, conference calling, a speakerphone, and text and multimedia messaging. It offers side-based controls, a single "home" button, stereo Bluetooth, POP3 and IMAP4 email, and a Safari Web browser. There’s also a built-in mic for audio recordings. And unlike most mobile phones, the iPhone offers a standard 3.5mm audio jack, which will work with all mainstream stereo headphones.

Oh, and in case you’re interested, Apple said a 4GB model will sell for $499 with a 2-year Cingular contract and $599 for the 8GB model. Enough said, put me on the list…

More details on this story will appear in the January issue of Mobile Display Report.