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just an incredible breakthrough, no matter what it is called.

Someday, somehow any audio on the phone will be usable as ringtones. If Apple won't do it someone will make a hack. I was hoping Steve would say "Uses any song in your iTunes library for ringtones, just set the start and end time in the preview." But nope... guess Cingular had other ideas.

They didn't get it wrong. If they're willing to dump "Computer" from the company's name, iPhone isn't written in stone either. What they are doing is riding a popular tide of interest-- the name serves a purpose to make it approachable and desirable to those outside the Land of Über-Geek.

iPhone works now-- it's purposeful. If it becomes popular, the next big evolution will likely be named for what it is: Cojones.

And the iPhone multi-touch UI foreshadows what could be done on a laptop, or dare I say it, tablet, Mac. Looking forward to those great Macs coming over the next few months (that's what Jobs said in the keynote!)

I still think it's the right name for mainstream users, since they will first think of it as a phone, and that's the mainstream market that Apple needs to sell into at this time.

The reason they want to call it iPhone is because they do not want people to think that they are switching from a PC to Mac when they buy this. They would have loved to call this "Mac nano", but they did not do that for a reason.

This is all about marketing! Just wait for a few more years.. iPhone will change to "Mac *somthing*". Just like what happend to iBook.

I think Apple may have learned from the AAC naming debacle (which should have been called MP4) and is naming this thing so the masses can instantly relate to it. I'm personally not thrilled with it either, but I do think it will mean more to the masses to call it iPhone rather than Mac nano or something else that would actually be more fitting. Just as the PowerBook became the MacBook Pro fairly quickly, a later name change could be made once millions have been sold and people "get" what it really is.

Funny, when I dial a phone number, a person answers it, and then we have a vocal conversation, then I call it a phone regardless of what else it does.

At least it's not called the Xune, or Pune, or Gune, or Cune, or Fune, or any other name M$ mighgt come up with.

LOLOLOLOL

Exactly! SteveJack, nailed it!

Just like the iPod, they want to have a focused marketing focus.

The "iPhone" name may not do justice for what it really is, but it gets the attention of those searching for a modern (or in this case, cutting edge) mobile phone.

IT GUY (two comments up)...has it right. The name iPhone has everything to do with the public's perception of the device. Apple uses calculated precision with everything it does, including the names of it's products. Just like how they've been working on the iPhone for 2 1/2 years +. They don't rush to the market like Zune (an oxymoron: rushing to the market after the fact, etc) they set the bar so high for themselves and in this case have outdone all of our expections and maybe their's, while their competition buries themselves with mediocrity.

Can you imagine the laughter of the iPhone development team when Microsoft squirted the Zune onto the world?

I don't know. To me it's about as much of a Mac as a Motorola Q is a Windows PC. The Motorola Q also does e-mail, web surfing (though not as good), and can install programs that possibly could one day equal the functionality of the iPhone. I consider it a Smart(er)phone, but certainly not a Mac in the traditional sense.

Hell, even Steve Jobs acknowledged that it isn't a Mac, so they're changing the name from Apple Computers to Apple.

I have to agree with this.

iPhone is wrong for two reasons:

1) It is a CISCO trademark, so why not just use another name?

2) This is the more relevant reason, as noted by SteveJack it isn't just a phone, or iPod etc it is a mobile communications device.

I would have gone for iMobile (though that name has probably already been used).

It sums up the device perfectly. It is your mobile phone, mobile music, mobile e-mail, mobile computer etc.

my 2 cents,

Luke

It is a great name and possibly the only right name. It is understated and has style. This device is all about entertainment, lifestyle and cool, just like iLife, iPod, iTunes and iMac.

What do we want? The PortaMac, MacLet, or the Mhone? Seriously.
.
.
Now if it only came in white.

Hey Alfred.

See my post - just as understated and stylish.

iMobile

The name "iPod" to me has always implied more than music. They shoulda called it iPod Extreme.

Now only if the iPhone will be able to use all those accessories sold for the iPod since it comes with the same dock connector. Dock on iPod Hifi to listen to music and charge at the same time, and those who has already bought the FM transmitter ..... and if someone could take the car integration a bit further, now that the iPhone already has a big screen and a map application.

oh jeez. it's a smart phone.

in time they will release more affordable versions..

it's a category killer of course...

stop fscking whining about things you don't understand...

How a bout a 6 months to a year later, Apple would ship a smaller version and less feature phone with brushed aluminum casing on the back and call it iPhone mini or iPhone nano. These will be targeted towards the lower end of the cell phone market. I could only hope.

LukeeinOz, I hear you...

iMobile is pretty good, BUT iPhone just has that ring to it. Same with iPod. Some things are work (and iMobile totally does), but my ears say iPhone works even better. If anyone is the expert it would be Apple and Mr.Apple. As if they did not have so many discussions around this - seriously. Can you imagine.

Plus there are a million devices, services, companies with the name mobile in them.

Incedentally I just cracked open the current Wired mag and there was this ad for "The only way to get Outlook Mobile" = Windows Mobile.

Thank goodness it does not come in green!

He missed the point--Steve showed data on the various markets remember and how the market for mobile phones is close to 1 billion vs Music players of 135m, and the even smaller numbers of other devices. And that the market share aspirations of 1% of 1 billion in 2008. Thus the name, however prosaic, is an indication of an organization that clearly understands its goal.

But the memory needs to be a hell of a lot bigger than 8GB, and I'd have appreciated hearing about the longevity of the screen with all those 'fingers' on it.

Sell 'em on the phone, they'll use the other features, become enthralled, tell their friends, the friends buy one, etc. etc .etc. To borrow a line from the other Bill, " What's in a name? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet".

Shhhhhh! They couldn't call it a Tablet Mac - all the Mac haters wouldn't even consider it because it was a Mac.

Its a Trojan Horse. Its a phone, iPod, and a mobile iMac. But don't tell anyone. Once people start using it, they will realize how it is similar to the "other" Macs. And they will be hooked.

The way I see it, not only is it 3 devices in one, it's a huge fsck you to 3 others, rolled into one: the Zune, the UMPC, and the ROKR. Well, they were kind of screwed anyway.

The big question is will Apple release an SDK for the device (or build support into X-Code) or will they keep it closed? It is a stealth OS X computer if Apple wishes it to be. The HW/SW would make a hell of a telematic set up for auto manufacturers. Imagine one of these built in to your dashboard with a Nav system and a bigger touch screen.

If you look at the "Home" screen in the demos, you wiil notice that there is additional room for more widgets -- Hmmmmm.......

I hope Apple opens it up to 3rd party apps and widgets. I'm also curious about the audio capabilities. This may make a great little musician assistant (maybe a mini garageband app could be created with connectivity to a bluetooth based midi controller). I guess no mention of VOIP yet so as not to put Cingular/ATT in a sour mood.

I wonder if - after Leopard - the macintosh as a name will be left to history. It's time. It was tough enough to come up with a decent name for Apple's laptops - the names suck.

Apple TV - on the other hand - with the logo seems to work nicely. So I would propose the same for the phone - Apple Phone - with just the logo instead of Apple.

The only problem with the iPhone is the fact that its going to be offered through cingular only, which is quite sad. I would pay more for it if it was unlocked and unbranded. I just hope I can get it with no contract and not locked to one company.

SteveJack,

Nice to finally see an article from you.

More, please - and more often!

Thanks.

Perhaps Cisco and Apple, Inc. won't be able to work out a deal after all. The following alternative names may surface: Apple Phone, MacPhone, iDevice, iCell, iFone, iPod maxi, Mac micro. Maybe there's a more appropos name to the new device.

I would have gone with MacPod. Or just call it iPod, and give a "second name" to the other iPod devices: iPod video, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, etc. Afterall, this device is the forerunner of future "wearable" computer products from Apple.

This is my theory. Apple is calling it iPhone right now to capitalize on the free publicity, as SteveJack mentions. However, upon actual release, Apple will announce a name change. By that time, the hype will be so heavy, it won't matter what Apple calls it. The name change itself will cause more free publicity. It's the perfect strategy.

I also think Apple will double the storage capacities by the time the product is released, along with the same upgrade for the nano.

The name iPhone is perfect because the minute you say "Mac Phone" or "Mac Mobile" or "Apple Phone", 90% of PCers out there will think it is only for Mac users. iPhone, like iPod, says generic to any platform even though the realities are very different.

I totall agree with SteveJack - I've already posted on how boring and uninspiring the name "iPhone" is. And it's just too darn limiting.

When Apple decided to name their new GUI computer "Macintosh," they didn't do it because people thought "computer" when they heard the word. Macintosh became synonymous with graphical computing.

iPhone doesn't do that. The name inherently limits it to just phone duties.

Call it "AppleSeed," "Apple Tricorder" or "Thor" - almost any other name would be more inspiration and do a better job of evoking something greater than itself than the cheap, prosaic "iPhone."

Love the phone, though - just hate the name.

My suggestion for a replacement name.

Leonardo.

As in da Vinci, a man who was definitely far ahead of his time and had world class skills in a variety of different areas.

As the Apple Leonardo, the phone would convey those same qualities, a device that fuses art and science into a beautiful package. Imagine a year from now and you hear the following conversation:

Man: "Hey, cool, you got one of those Apple Leo phones!"

Woman: "Yeah, I love my Leo! It works so well with my Mac, it's like they were made for each other!"

Man: "I'm so jealous - I've been wanting to upgrade from my old iPod to a Leo forever, but now I think I'm just gonna go ahead and do it!"

Woman: "You should! I love my Leonardo!"

Steve Jobs, are you reading this????

Great design! There's only one thing wrong ... CINGULAR ...

599 for a simlocked phone?

Name it the iCom for iComputer/iCommunicator

I had exactly the same reaction yesterday when plenty of people whined that Apple left out the Macintosh from the keynote. But if an Apple built device runs runs OS X as its OS, it is a Mac by definition. SteveJack got it right. Remember that early in the keynote -- and I take this from the MDN coverage log -- was this entry:

Jobs: only talking Mac today...

Some think this was to screw the hedge fund bastards who have been holding the stock down by market manipulations -- he got 'em. But it is also true, so anyone calling Jobs a liar is wrong.

IT guy got it right though, about not letting on that people were going to be buying a Mac when they buy an iPhone. And given the demographics of purchasing this pricey item, plenty of top executives will become trained in using OS X and be likely to question IT as to why they are not using it. Talk about a halo effect! When iPhone buyers realize that they already know the OS X operating system, they will be very likely to become switchers for their other computer needs.

MW: doubt, as in: There is no "doubt" that the iPhone will be a smashing success and that the competition will be smashed.

Regarding the more software thing: It seems very likely. Look at the demo of it. All that blank space on the home screen just begs to be filled with more goodies.

It's the Newton 2... on steroids.


MaWo: 'morning'. As in, 'The presidents of Palm and Research in Motion didn't want to get up on this one...'

Alfred the wise said it very well: "It is understated and has style"

Before you get to cool features like the music and photo capabilities or internet communication possibilities the phone is genuine in its presentation and interaction with the user. There is power in simplicity; less is more. The interface doesn't have eye candy for eye candy's sake, or use it to cover up some shortcoming. Everything flows intuitively and sensibly.

I've seen the same or similar interface elements in OS X for years, but my jaw dropped when I watched the iPhone Quicktime demonstrations on Apple's website. When something is understated and has style, it ages well.

Whatever--- I want an iPhone.

I think the quote of Steve's was "And that's all we're going to talk about the Mac today" after giving some figures for it -as in no more Mac talk.

iMac
iPod
iPhone

That is the only reason for this name that I see, the three darling innovations from Apple.

I prefer MacPhone, but that might imply it is not PC compatible to some, just as Newton might. (I'm talking about the drive-by media here, who gets "little details" like this wrong all the time, and then the perception is set)

But just as AppleTV is multiplatform, I wish the name were different. And it still can be.

For six months, Apple could slowly focus the name away from iPhone for many reasons, including Cisco. This could be a marketing strategy to use the name "iPhone" to gain maximum media exposure for the unveiling.

Lets hope.

Incredible is an understatement ! I wonder if you will be able to share the internet connection via Wi-Fi ? We would finally have portable 'modem' that is simple to use - by multiple people if wanted.

We have several Crackberry's here and we use the Crackberry Enterprise Server to sync them to MS Exchange. Thus we have all notes, contacts, email, calendar, etc automatically and wirelessly sync'd between "Outlook" and the Crackberry.

The iPhone will have to be able to do that, but if it can and does (sync between "Outlook" and the iPhone) then they can and very well may gobble up a MAJOR chunk of the Crackberry market.

MW: "develop"ers "develop"ers "develop"ers "develop"ers...

Apple Blaster perhaps..?

With this speaker within, IPhone is the return of the ghetto blaster. What a mess in the subway. Aghhhhh!

tMac - T for telephone, telecom, all things tele.

Have anyone noticed that the iPhone Steve demoed yesterday was rigged via its dock to a conference hall projection system?

Think about having in 3 or 4 years from now a 24" screen with keyboard and mouse, Wacom tablet (and any other peripheral you use with your iMac or iBook) connected to a small dock. Same setup at your parents house. You use it at home where your docked iPhone is running the show, with its 500GB flash disk and Core8Quattro processor. You go to parent's house, playing a game or movie on the iPhone while your spouse drives (or the car drives itself). You use parent's dock to use your 'computer' there. Same for your wife carrying her iPhone between home and work. No more home, office desktops, laptop for travel. You have one computer for everywhere, and it goes with you in your pocket. And it has Apple logo on its back.

Open your mind to that possibility folks! Have you bought your Apple stock yesterday?

MW: further

dogfriend and others are right - it's a mac that will get people hooked.

My father complained about getting an iPod for Christmas because he was too old, but shows off his crappy motorola phone like it's the bomb.

This is a bigger trojan horse than the iPod. I think this form factor will replace laptops. Apple will make versions with a larger screen, but over time. Eventually, the MacBook and iPhone will have a merged device. And, suddenly, everybody's using a Mac, whether they know it or not!

This is the coup de gras for Apple. The platform wars are over, and Microsoft just lost.

MDN Magic Word: "french" As in, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer probably haven't felt like french kissing in over a day!