So I finally got a chance to sit down and watch the entire 2007 Macworld Keynote, doled out by Steve Jobs while prowling the stage like a panther, knowing he had a killer demo that would send companies like Nokia, Palm, and RIM scrambling to figure out what the heck they’ve been working on these past months. The Apple iPhone is so awesome that Steve Jobs didn’t even need to mention Macs, iLife, or demonstrate the next version of OS X to satisfy the usually over-expectant and rumor-hyped Macworld crowd. He can save all the other stuff for future “Apple Special Events,” where he’ll dole out the goods here and there, launching salvos just to keep everyone else on their toes.

(Here are some photos from the keynote, featuring the Apple iPhone, at Engadget, and here’s a TIME magazine article)

The hardware of the iPhone is pretty obvious stuff. But in an odd way, and something noted by Rex Hammock’s Weblog, the phone aspects of the iPhone are almost besides the point. It would be a killer product even if it didn’t make phone calls.

Where the iPhone kicks serious tail is the software. All of Apple’s expertise in user interface design and ease-of-use from developing OS X and its various applications, plus years of developing Mac and iPod software make this phone work how it always should have: it will let you make phone calls and access media in an easy, fun way. Who knows how often I’ve stared, slack-jawed at a cell phone trying to remember how to do something so basic as listen to messages. All the cruft and layers of add-ons (email, web browsing, music playing) that plagues current cell phones have been obliterated.

With the iPhone, Apple has basically united several product lines: The iPod (MP3 player), cellphone, and PDA (videos, all the web browsing aspects), in a manner that other companies are going to have a difficult time emulating. This is why Apple will stay far ahead of the competition for some time to come: It’s actually far easier for Apple to add cellphone capability to what is basically a pocket computer than it will be for any cell phone company to add pocket computer functionality to one of their phones.

The iPhone is so kick-ass I’m wondering how it could influence the Macintosh line. I’d love to have Multi-Touch on a future Apple monitor. But that will have to be reserved for a Steve-note to come.

[tags]Apple, Macworld, iPhone, Steve Jobs[/tags]

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

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