So, the hype actually made sense. Copying pogue : it has everything people are saying, but looking at Pogue’s video and reading his words the device is worth having for those that really enjoy a good experience with products.

Back to the main matter : the UI (this blog is more about this than anything else) is really incredible. after reading Pogues comments on the fact that you can easily use you thumb for one hand operations, that the scrolling is really effective and that the sensibility is great I really don’t have a doubt that even with all the problems will be a blast. Of course it will not ruin anybody, bring down any giant’s leadership on the market, but this will give Apple fuel. Fuel to run a second GP on making a even greater iphone in the second generation, and then evolving to a real more compeling device just like they did with the iPod.

So is history repeating itselft? Maybe. Has apple managed to create one of the most impressive user experiences ever? Yes. Not only the UI, but the fact that you don’t even need to go to the carrier’s store to activate the phone along with great convergence makes this little device a milestone.

The much nicer big keyboard. Unfortunately only on the browser :/

It does lack a lot of features, and is really really less feature powered then most phones out there (sorry but that’s true) but the care for the user experience is so much that makes this a small detail.

The question now must be on the other CEO’s mouth ? How to beat that? If there was an easy way every single manufacturer would be doing it. The point is : I really don’t think any big manufacturer needs to beat Apple. They need only to learn from them the respect to the user centered product design, more than the engineer’s centered product design. They need to think how to really please the user, and to really give value to things that they for sure believed was not that important. Icons, transitions, non-window based metaphor.

So, good luck for those who will buy one tomorrow, and I know that I will delight myself in a lot of reviews, videos, complains but also a lot of “omg this is incredible”s.

For us here in Brazil (and also other continents) even the iPod features a locked without activation, so even buying to bring one to Brazil is useless, at least for now, of course hackers will try to hack this device as fast as it hit’s the market. But until then no iphone for the rest of us.

If the iPhone really stands up to it’s challenge in the US (even with AT&T) there’s no doubt a lot of carriers around the world will fight to have it. Today I imagine that most of the carriers are felling mad about Apple’s requests about the iPhone, but if the thing really sells like it promises, Apple could even demand more freedom.

So, one carrier gave a manufacturer power to do a lot with the service. They came up for now only with visual voice mail (truly nice) and with home-itunes-based activation (incredible) but for sure they must have a lot of ideas, and with operator support + itunes based updates (easier than any other phone’s syn / update) they really have a long and not so tortuous road ahead on improving even more the device. A new era for mobile phone is arriving, and after setting a lot of critics agains the phone lack of features, I must recognized that they did a revolutionary product because of these things. They will make carriers kneel, they will force leaders to re-think they User centered design values, and they will force the WHOLE market to evolve.

Good for us consumers. Lot’s of incredible products to come in a near future.

UPDATE: 2 last things :
Link to pogue’s answers to iPhone FAQ.
And the important to notice from the UI point of view is the fact that it can take up to 6 touches to start dialing someone. This is somehow disappointing, maybe holding the home button on the home could activate the dialpad. : p