Dev hardware
The dev hardware has been available for ages. This is the next hardware version which is deemed to be ready for the consumer.
OpenMoko's open source phone software is on its way, and now there's a handset to go with it, ready for budding coders to begin creating apps for the platform. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES 2008 on Video Microsoft demos Surface multi-touch user interface WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink …
Rejoice McWorshippers, despite being the nicest form-factor (and yes, it is NOT an iPhone "ripoff", they were out BEFORE the heavenly iThing), it seems that OpenMoko team cant take off the ground, and with the other mobile phone players cant even bring themselves to copy the good things of the iPhone, AAPL IS on the way to surpass MSFT in market value!
"with the other mobile phone players cant even bring themselves to copy the good things of the iPhone,"
Such as?
Touch screen was available years ago
Video playback was available years ago
MP3 and AAC playback, years ago
Wi-Fi, not as many years, but still before iPhone
Gui interface, years ago
Not sure about the rotation sensor, about who had it out first, but it was certainly in demo phones at shows before the iPhone came out, and it's in some current Nokias (and perhaps other phones)
Synchronising contacts, emails, notes etc. all there before iPhone (though I will admit it looks like iPhone may do that better, but it's not new, just works properly!)
and of course there's ...
Memory card support
sending text to multiple recipients
cut and paste
3G connectivity and high speed data
Video conferencing
Ability to swop in a spare battery
3Mp and up camera
FM radio
real GPS (not triangulation from cell towers, but actual GPS from satellite)
Thousands of games and applications to download and run natively on the handset, including alternative web browsers etc.
Using the built in camera as an OCR device to scan business cards (my SonyEricsson P990i can, though it's something I've only ever used once!)
... oh wait, I believe people have said iPhone can't do those, but other handsets can.
And there are things I just don't know if the iPhone can do ...
... for example can you say the name of a person into the phone and it will find the phone number and dial it for you? My SonyEricsson P910i did that years ago and I'm sure wasn't the first phone to do so.
So which things are "new" to iPhone that the other manufacturers are not "copying"? Sure there are things the iPhone does better, but I think you'll find that the other manufacturers are all racing to continually develop better phones and any feature (that's not tied down by patent) will appear in other phones within a year.
I love the iPhone, but when will peoplel realise it's an evolutionary device that has left out a lot of functionality in order to get to market at a reasonable time (I expect the v2 and v3 iPhones to add a lot of the missing functionality, such as 3G/GSM connectivity) and that just about all the individual features already existed in other phones. It's just that Apple is excellent at pulling things together and making them work together in a user-friendly way, something the other phone manufacturers could do better!