Apple's iPhone: The ‘Holy Grail of Hacks’

On the eve of a media spectacle… the release of Apple’s next killer device

Undoubtedly, every tech blog will today be espousing the virtues or condemning the hype of Apple’s iPhone (a word which I’ve just added to my dictionary, thanks to the settlement with CISCO). Mailing lists are going mad with tension and contentions: What’s the substance behind the 3.5-inch widescreen multitouch shiny surface? The New York Times’ David Pogue has seemingly done a good job of summarising the delights for those waiting in the queue, examining the features, functionality and connectivity of the device. However… shockingly for some, there’s little Bluetooth or wireless syncing. And did someone mention the ‘craptastic’ AT&T network? Yes, indeed – that would be Wired’s Compiler blog. Unlocking the true potential of the device through Cupertino’s backdoor (standing slightly ajar?) will be the ‘holy grail of hacks’. No SDK for 3P applications? Fear not, there’s a flurry of office applications in the making: check out the iPhone Applications List and Read/Write’s updates. Why the iPhone is simply ‘wrong, wrong, wrong’ is taxonomised by Computerworld’s George Jones, although much of this critique is mere (probable?) speculation. Either way, if you’re standing in line for a good cause, as is Johnny Vulcan who plans to sell the first iPhone bought at Apple’s Soho store on eBay for AIDS charity Keep a Child Alive, you’re onto a good thing.

Well, my exposure to the iPhone will be soon after 10th July when I touch down in NYC. I won’t be able to purchase one, given that it’s tied to a network provider and I believe you need to have a SSN to do so. Whether I would want to? Well, Nokia is upping the stakes by the day for us photo- and video-graphers with their N-series releases. Current discussions in Australia as to the Telco-most-likely are on-going.