Now, if you follow technology news I’m sure you have heard about the launch of the iPhone, Apple Inc.’s first product that marries an iPod with a mobile phone.

After reading a couple of previews (here, here, here, here and here), and owning both a 60 GB iPod video and a Nokia N93 I’ve made up my mind.

On the plus side I think that the design is very, very nice (as expected from Apple), and I’m sure that the interface will be easy to use and “sexy”. The browser also looks very nice (although those kind of browsers have been available before in other products). However, in my opinion this device has serious shortcomings. First in my mind is that it has no 3G connectivity. WLAN coverage is not ubiquitously available outside of San Francisco, so downloading music or browsing will not be as simple. Other issue that simply makes me literally scratch my head is the use of touchscreen. While in paper it sounds like a great idea, but given that the iPod is very scratch prone (I keep mine in a protecting case, as many people do) I truly wonder whether this will annoy users more than it will delight them. Also the fact of having Google maps without GPS or fast 3G connectivity kind of defeats the purpose of navigation (will you find a WLAN hotspot on the road?).

With my combo of N93 and iPod, I wouldn’t have the incentive to switch to a device that doesn’t hold as many songs on one hand, and doesn’t do photos, video and internet as well either, but that’s just me. Somebody who is an absolute fan of Apple’s products (and there are many out there) will buy it immediately.

All in all, I think it will be a steep learning curve for Apple, but I’m sure that their entrance to the market hasn’t been unnoticed by the SonyEricssons, Motorolas and Nokias of this world.