New Competition in the Smart Phone Arena

Well today as everyone expected, Apple officially release the iPhone at Macworld 2007.  I spend some time on the Apple site earlier taking a look at all of the features that it will offer and I must say that I am extremely impressed at this time.  So far from what I have seen it offers all the appeal of the hugely successful iPod combined with phone, web browsing, several other easy to use features.  In addition to that the iPhone will also feature a 3.5 inch screen to watch movies or view photos that you have stored on the device.

I think one of the things that I find really cool so far is that there is no stylus, and everything on the iPhone is done via touch screen.  I think over time it will be interesting to see how the durability of the touch screen holds up on the device under everyday wear and tear.

One potential drawback I see at this time is the price at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model, the iPhone is somewhat expensive..  In addtion it looks as though the wireless service will be offered exclusively by Cingular Wireless at this time, so I guess I won’t plan on getting one anytime soon since I am a Verizon Wireless customer.

Ultimately I think it may take Apple somewhat longer to be successful in this market due to price and limited wireless providers.  However if the iPhone turns out to be an early hit, this will be huge for Apple and the competition in the smart phone arena had better watch out.