Gift Giving Guy

For Valentine’s Day 2007, my wife gave me a slip of paper that could be the best gift I’ve ever received: a picture of an iPhone. June 29 was iDay, the very first release of the iPhone. So yesterday I waited outside an AT&T store for three hours with friends, and now I have joined the iPhone cult. Actually, I’m writing this entry on the iPhone right now while listening to Don Henley’s “Everything is Different Now.” Uncannily appropriate.

Okay, I’ve switched back to my PowerBook laptop. The keyboard on the iPhone is okay, and I’m sure in a few days my fingers will be flying. Typing aside, the device is revolutionary — an iPod, a cell phone, a full-access web browser, a video/photo viewer and a two-megapixel camera — all packed into the size of a chocolate bar. I must resist the urge to eat it.

iPhone is a very generous gift, but you really need to make sure the recipient wants it, and more importantly, can afford the required two-year cellular contract with AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular). The least expensive plan is about $60 per month ($1,440 over two years). The iPhone will not work as “just an iPod” unless you activate it with the two-year cellular commitment. Also, iPhones may be hard to get in your hands until probably late July.

So if you want to be exceptionally generous to a Mac fanatic, give a $500 Apple Store gift card. That way, you give the Mac guy or girl a choice: iPhone or something else great from Apple (maybe a video iPod with accessories).