Buying an iPhone Vicariously Through Others

Since I just got a Cingular 8525 a few months ago, I've had no interest in the iPhone.  I have tried to point out all the flaws to my wife (a mac user) and my friends.  No 3g. No Exchange integration. No Keyboard, etc.  Of course, Apple knew the short comings and seemed to fix each one day by day before the launch.

So yesterday, being stuck at work the last day of the month, I was able to watch Ustream.tv and read blogs from California, New York and right here in South Florida.  It almost made me want to leave and go jump in line some where.  From watching Robert Scoble in California to reading a Pastor at my church's Blog that he updated hourly from the line made for some interesting media that the news will never duplicate.

Today I have watched numerous reviews and tests.  I'm watching two guys calling AT&T right now to fix their inactive phone only to get hung up on after 20 minutes of waiting.  I feel their frustration.  But it reminds me of watching somebody else's kids.  Feed them all the sugar you want and hand them back and forget about it.  I feel for these guys, but at least I can turn it off.

Yesterday is just the beginning of what we will see in the coming year.  If something interesting is going on, we aren't going to have to wait for CNN or the local news.  Someone is going to bring it to us live online immediately. If we want reviews or to know how a product stands up in real life we will be able to find all the data we need online. Old media is dead. 

Oh yeah, I think I want an iPhone.