I was there... I oohed and aahed with the rest of them... then I asked questions. Is the phone really cool? Yup. Will I buy one? Yup. Is it perfect? Nope... and here's hoping that Apple will listen to some of the criticism.
First off... if you haven't looked at the online demo on Apple's website, be sure to check it out. It is both informative and an impressive use of the web for an interactive demo.
Cool... huh? I agree... but here's my list of gripes.
1. The battery is not user changeable. I travel a lot and carry three cell phone batteries with me. I've also run my iPod dead while on a plane. See the math? What also happens when the battery stops charging all the way? Currently Apple needs to service iPod batteries and it takes a few days.
2. They say it runs OSX and "desktop class" applications – but that doesn't really mean any application and no they won't let third-party software develop titles independently. Rather, it'll be more like iPod games, just a few titles and tight control.
3. It looks to have none of the following items – no iChat, no AIM, no Games, no GPS, no Java, and no Flash (yet most carriers and phones offer these).
To be fair... here's what's great about it:
1. You iPod accessories and chargers work with it.
2. Apple has confirmed that they can (and will) release updates for it like the iPod.
3. Apple i supporting third-party hardware development.
4. The map features is really cool.
5. It has an "airplane mode" so you can turn off wireless but leave the unit on.
6. You can see all your voice mails as a list and check them out of order.
7. Widescreen video playback.
8. A great looking web browser.
9. It's really thin!
David Pogue has lots of great info on his blog | post 1 | post 2
And hey... the release date isn't until June. So maybe they'll continue to tweak it a bit.