---
title: "Boom! iPhone Rocks Tech World"
date: 2007-01-09
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2007"
    url: "/tag/2007.md"
---

# Boom! iPhone Rocks Tech World

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246im_/http://rww.readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com/images/iphone_jan07.jpg)At the Steve Jobs keynote speech at Macworld this morning PST, [he announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246/http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/live-from-macworld-2007-steve-jobs-keynote/) “three revolutionary new products”. An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator. But turns out it’s all **one device**: the fabled iPhone!

We’ll have extended analysis about this later today, but for now let’s review the news. Here’s the feature list:

- Instead of a standard keypad, the iPhone uses a patented Apple technology called “multi-touch”. It doesn’t use a stylus, has “multi-finger gestures” and claims to ignore unintended touches. Jobs compared it to two other revolutionary Apple UIs – the mouse on the Macintosh and the click wheel on the iPod.
- 3.5 inch touchscreen with a virtual keyboard.
- iPhone runs OS X, Apple’s standard operating system; according to [Engadget’s superb coverage](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246/http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/live-from-macworld-2007-steve-jobs-keynote/): “It let us create desktop class applications and networking, not the cripled stuff you find on most phones, these are real desktop applications.”
- Syncs with iTunes: “iTunes is going to sync all your media to your iPhone — but also a ton of data. Contacts, calendars, photos, notes, bookmarks, email accounts…”
- Apple’s design chops is all over the iPhone: “3.5-inch screen, highest resolution screen we’ve ever shipped, 160ppi. There’s only one button, the “home” button \[…\] thinner than any smartphone…”
- 2 megapixel camera built in
- Outstanding media features – scroll through your music, widescreen video, album art, built-in speaker…
- Sync your iPhone with your PC or Mac (for contacts etc)
- Standard phone features – SMS, calendar, photos, etc. With photos there is a motion sensor that rotates photos when you turn the phone.
- Visual voicemail
- Rich HTML emails – works with any IMAP or POP3 email service. This spells trouble for Blackberry!
- The Safari browser runs on iPhone – “it’s the first fully-usable browser on a cellphone.” Jobs shows the NYT running in the iPhone – the actual website, not a puny WAP version.
- Google Maps
- Widgets that connect to Internet seamlessly (via WiFi and EDGE)
- Free “push” IMAP email from Yahoo

In terms of phone dimensions, iPhone is a quad-band GSM + EDGE phone (no 3G, notes Engadget). It has WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0.

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246im_/http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/351979666_a74a2b0e6e.jpg?v=0)## Apple + Google + Yahoo

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246im_/http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/351981800_b8f410aca4_m.jpg)Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang both made an appearance in Steve Jobs’ keynote. Schmidt is an Apple board member and had this to say:

> “From a google perspective we’ve pushed very hard to partner with Apple and working with many many different data service — Steve showed a little bit. It comes together seamlessly. This is the first of a whole new generation…”

Jerry Yang then said:

> “One of the things we’re going to be doing is launching some of our new services , Yahoo Go and One Search on this phone. Mail is a killer app on the phone, Yahoo is trying to redesign the web and email experience on mobile devices.”

## Summary

Steve Jobs said about the iPhone: “it’s the internet in your pocket for the first time ever.” He also called it “the ultimate digital device”. A 4GB model will cost $499 and an 8GB model will retail for $599. It will be available in June in the US (on the Cingular network), Europe in the 4th quarter, Asia in 2008.

With a desktop-like UI and partnerships with two of the Big 3 Internet companies (Google and Yahoo), Apple is really upping the ante in the Mobile Web market. I think this will finally propel mobile Internet into the mainstream. Maybe 2007 will be [the year of the Mobile Web](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/biggest_web_trend_2007.php) after all!

iPhone pics: [Shht!](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246/http://www.flickr.com/photos/shht/351979666/) (second image) and [mika li](https://web.archive.org/web/20111020181246/http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikali/351981800/) (third).

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_macworld07_keynote.php))*