PVR Wire

If you haven't already heard about the iPhone, then you're not the gadget-obsessed geek I thought you were. But here's my take.

First off, this lays to rest all the rumors that Apple was working on a table PC (it was, kind of), a PDA (ditto), a touch-screen iPod (again with the ditto), and a phone (see above). From a video standpoint, this thing is miles ahead of the iPod with video. We're talking a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 screen in a case that's just 11.6 millimeters thick. The touch screen could (but we won't say "will" until we try it) be easier to navigate than the iPod's traditional click wheel.

The only real downside here is that it comes in much smaller capacities than the iPod, with 4GB or 8GB of storage, and unlike many other phones and portable media players out there, there's no expandable storage. But this is Apple, they don't do thinks the way everyone else does. On the one hand, that's great because it means their products work exactly the way they're supposed to. There's no way to cram incompatible parts in there and cause a mess. But it also means there's no real expandability.

And so while I won't say this is the iPhone's downfall, I think the biggest disappointment is that while this thing will actually run Mac OS X, allowing you to run Widgets, Google Maps, Safari, and iTunes, you can't just throw your own programs on it willy nilly. It doesn't support your favorite video codec? Tough.

What else doesn't it do? No G3, no downloading iTunes purchases over the air or WiFi and syncing to your computer, no removable battery, and no support for Exchange or Office. Again, not deal breakers for most people, but all reasons why I'll be sticking with my Dell Axim X50v and Nokia cell phone combo for now.

The 4GB iPhone will st you back $499 with a two year contract from Cingular. The 8GB variety will cost $599, and both will be available in June.