iPhone: See it for yourself

Unsure why the tech media is making such a big deal of the Apple iPhone?  Judge for yourself by watching Steve Jobs' Macworld speech, posted at Apple.com.   Momus watched it, and The Jobs made him a little verklempt.

 

Watching the webcast of last week's Macworld keynote, I didn't quite shed salt tears at any point. But I was moved by the sheer elegance and ambition of Apple's new phone. Seeing Steve Jobs' finger rattle a tactile playlist, glimpsing a photo pinched between finger and thumb and rescaled right there on the iPhone's multi-touch screen -- these things didn't just impress me, they moved me deeply. And I'm trying to work out why.

It's undoubtedly something to do with Jobs himself. He's a great, almost evangelical figurehead for his company. The firm, serious face poised above the black polo neck could be the hawklike visage of an inspirational priest, an inquisitor or cult leader. You immediately sense, and share, his deep need to get his team to do something beyond adequate, beyond acceptable.