iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone

Look, I love Apple products. Geoff and I have a Mac desktop and three laptops and five or six iPods, including the Touch. We give iPods as gifts. So don't write a comment saying I'm an Apple basher. None of this "That stupid Sarah Lacy has probably never even USED an Apple product!" Because odds are I've added to their explosive revenues just as much as you have.

But seriously-- does the launch of a phone warrant this much hysteria? I can't think of another company where a product launch is mainstream news time-after-time. Meanwhile, across the street early results were being unveiled about a diabetes drug that could lessen treatments from two shots a day to once a week. You can't tell me that's not more impactful! I'm quite sure at least 19 million people afflicted with Type 2 diabetes would agree. And given the war now brewing for this lucrative part of the health care market, it's probably a better story for investors than the "Yeah Apple is awesome, but don't buy the stock because it can't go up anymore" line that dominated financial news today.

But because I work for the man and aim to please the masses, I did my part of iPhone coverage today. What impressed me was the ramifications of the software, not so much the new handset. But I'm more a software/UI geek than a gadget geek. Here's the piece I did. Yes, I kinda look like a banker.

While we're video-ing it up, here's a piece I did several months ago where I said the lack of a physical keyboard, price and flakiness (I have several friends on their third or fourth iPhone in a year so don't argue) would be a major stumbling block to mass-business adoption.

I was, of course, brutalized. It seems Apple has solved that partially with the new low price point, and a lot of these apps give business users a way more substantive reason to switch than just a better Web browser. But the keyboard still worries me, and I've used the Touch. It just isn't as functional when you email and text CONSTANTLY. Moments ago my Treo had to be PRIED out of my hands for a radio interview. The only way I can keep control of my inbox is to address messages as they come in, because I never have hours of downtime. That frequently means thumbing while making eye contact with someone else (or, er, the road. I know. Horrible. But I'm not the only one!)

It's literally the only thing holding me back from getting one. I'm sick of my Treo and Yahoo has an AT&T tower so switching service doesn't bother me. I *love* the idea of real software apps on phones. Think of how much more I could blog on the go with the new TypePad app alone!

Ok, Fake Steve, I'm done. You take it from here...