Reaction to KeyNote 2007

Ok, so the iPhone and appletv have been announced but what impact will they have?

Well, I think the short answer is alot for the first and limited for the second.

The iPhone looks damn impressive - I have just checked out the Apple website and it's features do look very cool. However, it is not without caveats. The iPhone has, on paper, everything needed to kick the ass off of everything on the market. It has a touch screen, bluetooth, wi-fi, an iPod and OS X. Wicked? Well it is, but I am worried as to whether Apple will be able to make the European deals with providers to make this gadget affordable. I like the idea of an OS X phone but is it actually a streamlined UNIX distribution? This will be important because much of the third-part apps that could make this phone king will benefit greatly from an actual distro of Darwin. Think of it - a machine in your pocket capable of running all your fav OS X progs. If not, it could mean that you will be limited (for a while, at least) to what Apple has provided. 'That isn't a problem?' you say? Well, it isn't for a lot of things. Apple make darn good software and I'm sure this phone will be able to provide a better musical interface to anything else on the market. Equally, I imagine the iPhoto functions will be grand too. The basic phone functionality looks very sexy but I want to know whether I will be able to run TomTom? I use a Pocket PC for just about everything except for music (my 60gb iPod handles that) and I will need to be able to use an iPhone as a GPS navigator as well. In relatino to my iPod, I won't be replacing it for an iPhone - it is too small. I like having my record collection in my pocket at all times and I won't be able to do that with this device, sexy as it is. I also want to see how this new phoen handles a stylus - while Steve says that we won't need one anymore, I would find life very difficult without a stylus now. I am VERY excited about this device but I want to know more before I put money down (not that that will be a problem, there is a wait until the end of the year for the European release)

Now, I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with appletv - it is a wicked idea and it looks great but I just wish they had put a TV decoder card in. In it's current state, the appletv can not replace my Media Center - I need to be able to record live TV, get at emails etc. I don't want to be restricted to view what it on the Apple Store (neither do I want to have to pay the quite high prices). It is a nice idea, but I think it won't suit my needs.

I was hoping for some more info on Leopard but it can be wait - there are enough things to get our teeth into for the moment :)