Interesting thing denial…

Sometimes despite evidence to the contrary someone will try and try again to make out as though nothing is going on despite evidence to the contrary. Such is the case with Apple’s spanking new little toy, the story of the iPhone is a long and convoluted one that has led to more column inches being ground out of the Apple rumour mill than almost any other device in their history.

Despite evidence of Apple buying up large amounts of related technology up till now the Cupertino bunch have been tight lipped about their plans to release the long awaited iPhone. However now it would appear the iPhone is finally here.

A combination of phone kit, widescreen iPod, PDA style technology and a camera. All wrapped up in a sleek and sexy touchscreen design that you would come to expect from the likes of Apple. Imagine a multitasking device that can handle web browsing, desktop quality email and Google map compatibility. Bung in WiFi and Edge compatibility (Ooh bye bye Zune) and the ability to have a multitasking PDA in the palm of your hand with a Newton style rotating screen (for those of you who don’t know what a Newton is, look it up. It was a serious bit of kit from yesteryear).

Then of course there is the phone itself (which is why we are here after all). With its full touch screen the need for traditional buttons appears to have been rendered obsolete. You can sync your phone books with a PC or Macintosh, listen to your voicemail in any order you wish (like email) and SMS your contacts in a manner that comes on like a cross between iChat and Blackberry courtesy of the full screen display. Then of course courtesy of the 2 megapixel camera you can view your photos on the display and upload them to your computer of choice.

Ok these things might have been done before, but never quite in this way before now. So far it’s looking sleek and decidedly sexy and that’s before I get to the iPod functions. You can sync with your existing iTunes library and as is the case with existing iPods view the album artwork on the display. The device sports either 4Gb or 8Gb memory sizes so you get a respectable chunk of room for your music storage.

The actual phone runs on a scaled down version of Apple’s OS X system that has so far proven robust and reliable in its desktop incarnations. How this will function in this new miniaturised form is anyone’s guess but for now it looks impressive. The phone also sports Bluetooth capability making it as connected as anything else on the market and perhaps in some cases more. All this in a case of 2.4 by 4.5inches with a depth of 0.46 inches making this a seriously slender bit of kit. All this and a ‘multi touch’ input system which means no pens or other input devices to use and lose. You simply use your finger. Nice.

So there have you it, Apple raises the benchmark in the market once again. Firstly with the iMac, turning the beige CPU monstrosities of yesterday into the sleek and productive aesthetics of the modern computer. Then there was the iPod, revolutionising the way we listen to music (and watch movies) and taking the online music market by storm by way of its inherent relationship with iTunes. Now there is the iPhone, it’s too early to say whether this bold design will actually take root, but you can be sure the imitators are already cracking their knuckles…