The hottest tech 'gizmo' available today has got to be the iPhone by Apple. For a company that seemed doomed to be annihilated by Microsoft in the mid to late 90s, they sure have made a herculean comeback. A big part of this 'comeback' has to be attributed to the release of the "iPod" as well as a smart, hip marketing campaign that left the competition in the dust. They got a head start and never looked back with the iPod and they appear to have hit another one out of the park, this time with the release of the iPhone.

It's no wonder it's so popular with all of the options that are included in this technological marvel. From the touch screen, 2.0 megapixel integrated camera, media player, voicemail to internet features like email, web browsing and wireless connectivity this small gadget is a lot more than just 'a phone'. One amazing feature is the virtual keyboard on the touchscreen. Have you ever had to type a message on a phone without a keypad ? It's such a time saver to be able to just click each key on the touchscreen instead of needing to press the correct number the right amount of times to get the letter you need to appear. With the iPhone, those times are gone. The LCD touchscreen measures 320x480 pixels at a resolution of 160 pixels per inch (ppi). The glass is scratch resistant and is specifically created for the use of fingers for multi-touch sensing. The only drawback is that bare skin is required so users wearing gloves will need to take them off to use the touchpad. The iPhone was initially launched with either a 4GB or 8GB flash drive, however Apple decided they would be discontinuing the 4GB version in early September 2007. A new 16GB version was announced in February 2008 and that model is currently the most popular Smart Phone on the market.

For those of you who want to be able to listen to music, watch movies or tv shows, take snapshots all the while be able to stay in touch by taking your calls, messages and being able to surf the web and check your emails, the iPhone is for you. You no longer have to bring your iPod, camera, mobile phone, laptop, portable DVD player on your holidays to ensure you have what you need to stay connected. Apple has done a wonderful job gathering all of the best features from these devices and packaging them all up in one great do-it-all device. It's no surprise that it was declared Time Magazine's Invention of the Year for 2007.

The announcement of the iPhone was officially made by Apple on January 9th, 2007 and was introduced in the U.S. on June 29th, 2007. It was subsequently released in the United Kingdom, France and Germany in November 2007 and more recently for Ireland and Austria in March 2008. Unfortunately, several countries are still eagerly awaiting the official launch of the iPhone for their population. These countries include : Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey and Uruguay. Apple has planned the release of the iPhone in those countries for sometime later in 2008.