iPhone in depth: The Ars review

Some think that the hype surrounding the Apple iPhone started in January of 2007, but that's not true. The hype started many years ago, perhaps before creating such a device was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. After so many years of rumors about the mythical iPhone, so many fake (or scrapped?) mockups, so many fake (or scrapped) names, and a brief experiment with the now-failed Motorola ROKR, Apple finally went ahead and launched the device that Apple fans have been craving since the beginning of time—or at least since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and killed off the Newton.

SPECS AT A GLANCE: iPhone
MANUFACTURER	Apple (product page)
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS	Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later, USB 2.0 port, iTunes 7.3; Windows PC running Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2, USB 2.0 port, iTunes 7.3
PRICE	US$499 (4GB), US$599 (8GB)

And of course, to do something simultaneously predictable and shocking, the company called the device by its long-rumored, but never-quite-accepted nickname, the "iPhone."

The iPhone is now out and promises to revolutionize the way we use our phones forever. You don't have to love it; you don't even have to like it. You will, however, be witness to a great upheaval in the mobile communications business because of it.

Steve Jobs recently declared during an internal company meeting that he believes all phones will, some day, work the same way as the iPhone and that those who worked at Apple during the iPhone launch will be able to tell their grandchildren about it. It appears as if Jobs truly believes in this product as a long-term revolutionary device, even if he does acknowledge that it does come with various flaws today.

Our iPhone review is rather large because we unleashed three (and a half) reviewers on it, all coming from different backgrounds. We pooled our thoughts together, had a few fistfights and a squabble or two ("Keyboard sucks!" "Does not!"), and now present to you our full review. Check out the outline beforehand, or just jump on in.