You know, I think I ought to repeat something here, for the benefit of everyone:

It costs $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model
WITH 2-YEAR CONTRACT.

EDIT: darn it, in the time it took to format this and send it over an EDGE connection (I'm looking at you Apple; exclusivity deal with Cingular and you don't even bother putting in 3G...scandalous), someone else restated the price.

EDIT2:
I think it's coming out of the battery life, enlarged as it is (did you see how freakin' huge it is? I don't think it's going into anyone's pockets), so they could put in a more powerful processor; my MDA Vario with its miniscule battery does 12 hours or more of music easily, or around 9 hours of talk time. And honestly, only five hours running full-tilt? This is supposed to be a phone.

I'd be curious about battery life, but this sounds like a toy I'll have to get.

Really? The mail application on BBerrys is probably the ugliest interface I've ever seen.

Nothing on Cingular's web site on (pre)ordering.

Edit: I take that back. I originally searched iPhone and got nothing; searching for "Apple" found this page, which is nothing more than a "sign up for more information" page.

I called the retail store down the street and the lady asked me "the eye what?" Of course, it sounded more like "the ah whut?" cuz I live in the south.

Cingular is teh suck.

Try typing your replies on the non-tactile keyboard on the iphone (or any other screen for that matter). The UI will be the least of your concerns.

Won't be released until June, according to Apple.

As a mac guy, I'm quite happy with my Palm 700p and Missing Sync. Maybe once I'm done with Verizon, I'll think about switching, but for now, Verizon and Palm with my old unlocked GSM phone and SIM cards for travel.

16 hours audio-only (screen off, all wireless off [airplane mode]); 5 hours talk OR video. Blah.

I don't think the price is that bad... how much was the Titan or Trinity when it first came out without contract? I know I'd paid somewhere in the 600s for the N80 and N73 when it was out

If you take the cost of all the gadgets that this unit can replace (ie mp3 player) out it's a pretty decent price. Also, some can even use this as a replacement for their laptops...

I gotta wait for the unbranded and unlocked version from APAC or Europe... can't stand the crap that Cingular puts into their phones.

Where's the 3G???? Also Vonage should be all over this

while its not quite everything I'd hoped for...its pretty slick and I know we'll (either Mrs. SpaceBass or I) will end up with one...

I would like push email, a sip client and a video camera...but maybe all that will come...
the price is high, but its no higher than a blackberry and a nano combined...

Spacey like!

Here is a nice photo...
http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...5/newsletter03

Hopefully they release soon it in other countries besides just the US. I'll buy one in SIN if I can.

Regarding the touch screen...

Steve Jobs announced the "iPhone" today, yes, he's going to call it that. The device is also an "Internet communicator" and a wide-screen video iPod all rolled into one. The iPhone will run on OS X, on Cingular's network, and have no keypad or buttons, just a large touch screen. As Jobs said "Let's not use a stylus, we're going to use the best pointing device in the world--our fingers. We have invented a new technology called multi-touch. It works like magic, you don't need a stylus, far more accurate than any interface ever shipped, it ignores touches, multi-finger gestures, and BOY have we patented it!"

The patents mean that this phone will cost a bundle. The Cingular price is with a 2-year contract, right? What will the phone cost retail?

lots of screenshots

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/the-apple-iphone/

$800-$900 wouldn't shock me. If battery life is good, I'll go for it, especially if I can run VOIP on it through wi-fi without much issue.

My Pearl was about $450 without a contract. Granted, the biggest microSD card with now is 2Gb, but your looking at a shade over $500 for a Pearl with no contract. No way the iphone will come close.

D'oh x2 (two separate links)

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...gginstocks.jpg

Oh yeah, the founder of Palm sold his stock on Monday. As my friends would say, LOL.