Posted on 03 July 2009, at 12:36 pm, by Dan Cohen

As a quiet holiday weekend begins, it leaves more time than ever for random, mindless musings like this… what exactly IS the iPhone?
Sure it is usually lumped into the mix as a “smartphone” but it does so much more that I’m not sure the label actually fits.
I mean, think about it, what other smartphone can be used as a multi-track mixer?

What smartphone can take, trim and post video in seconds?
What smartphone can take a series of images and, within seconds, create a panorama like this right on the device itself?
What other smartphone can serve as your phone, GPS, video recorder/editor/viewer, mobile blogging platform, VOiP phone, internet radio, portable gaming device, mobile TV (via Slingplayer), email reader (via TalkMail Pro), DRV/Apple TV/keynote remote, photo editor, and the list goes on and on.
If the iPhone is a smartphone, then the entire category needs to be rethought.
OR, we can take the path of Pop Cap games and call the iPhone what it really is…
Related posts:
The iPhone Is A…:
As a quiet holiday weekend begins, it leaves more time than ever for random, mindless musings.. http://ping.fm/92VuQ
The iPhone Is A… | Gear Diary: What other smartphone can serve as your phone, GPS, video recorder/editor/viewer,.. http://tinyurl.com/kk4ymr
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July 3rd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Dan it’s really weird that you wrote this post because I flew to San Diego on Sunday for a quick business meeting and while I couldn’t use my MacBook Pro on the plane due to some sweaty bald guy reclining his seat to my groin – I was able to use my iPhone. I wrote up a ton of notes in MindMaker, watched a movie in iTunes, played Missile Command and then listened to a PodCast before reading the news stored in my NY Times, WSJ and AP News.
All the while I’m thinking to myself — we’re damned close to this phone being a desktop replacement.
Ok – well not totally a replacement but close.
And after really thinking that the iPhone OS 3 did nothing but slow down my 3G (it did) – I’m really glad I upgraded to the 3GS for no other reason than I love the video and the lack of lag time. The 3GS upgrade also sped up my news apps (NY Times, AP News) by about a factor of 3x.
July 4th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I agree with you guys. If I can only do programming on my iPhone/iPod Touch I would have sold my Macbook already. That’s the only thing I can’t do on these devices!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I remember hoping for PDA’s such as the Psion EPOC-based systems and Windows CE handhelds like the HP Jornada 72x to beef up just a bit to be able to replace many laptop functions. I still think that there was an intentional limiting of functionality based on paranoia …
I, too, love all of the non-music functionality of my iPod Touch and hope they make the next version even more robust. I love the thought of the Touch as a ‘non-phone iPhone’ …