The New Portable Mini-Computers from Apple Have Arrived, and They Make Phone Calls Also

So yeah, pretty exciting. The new iPhone 3G[!!(S)!!]was unveiled earlier this week. And as I talk about the new features and *what the technology means* with my Top 5 friends & family, it continues to amuse that we regard this device as a "phone".

Per the new feature list: your "phone" can now take pictures, with variable focus, and video. You can also edit video. So to my understanding you can now go out with your phone, shoot a movie, edit it, and mail it in to Sundance or Tribeca Film Festival, then listen to music while you wait for the powers that be to call you back and tell you "you're in!". Then you can take a break and play a video game, before checking your blood pressure (about to be a star! in the public eye! feel stressed!), and even start making the music for the soundtrack to the new film because, of course, there's apps for that etc. etc., all on the same device.

I mean honestly, at this point the *phone feature* is becoming a nuisance. I might ask apple to deactivate if/when i get a new one. Something I'm undecided on, by the by. Will prob wait to see the first round or two of reports and feedback.

Also, worth highlighting: the old iphone, 3G, is now $99. When it first came out, two years ago, June 2007, it was $600. Wow. (I did a man-on-the-street for the first release on gawker. ahh, history.) But if they're not already, by next year they will be ubiquitous. Coming Soon: African babies, still starving, looking in the App store for food.

iPhone 3Gs Feature Guide [Gizmodo]
New iPhone [Apple]
First Responders: Are You Buying an iPhone? (2007) [Gawker]