OTHER TECH

APPLE

iPhone October '07, Web

When did I first realize how attached I'd become to my iPhone? Maybe it was when I was waiting on a line at Starbucks, checking out Bruce Springsteen's Magic via wireless connection to the iTunes Music Store. Or maybe while spreading my fingers on the 3.5-inch screen to enlarge an aerial view of an unfamiliar part of Brooklyn Heights, and then switching to a street-map view. Or taking pictures like a tourist and e-mailing them to relatives. Or watching a certain politician act wacky in the palm of my hand via YouTube. Or flowing through the covers of a few hundred of my favorite CDs, deciding whether to tap Coltrane or Coleman. These are a few of my favorite things about the iPhone ($399 plus a 2-year activation agreement with AT&T), an all-purpose digital companion that lives up to the hype. And yes, the next-gen iPhone will probably be faster - and yes, many people are pleased with the phone-less iPod Touch. But the original iPhone brought a remarkably easy-to-use multitouch interface to the masses, and now every cellphone and portable-media-player manufacturer in the world is playing catch-up. apple.com -Michael Antonoff