Invention? More like an evolving (great one i might add) But definitely not a true.Invention..(start from scratch) but great phone.. :)

DJJS

@pgh:
You're right - the Pearl blew chunks, but there are/were way better PPC's out there.

ANoel

@Pope John Peeps II:
"Calling a very smart person dumb is an extremely dumb thing to do. And you should be called out on it."

Peeps, we agree on his general non-dumbness, however, he sure seems to either not know much about Windows Mobile devices or chooses to dismiss them. Perhaps his obvious iPhone hardon has sucked all the critical blood from his brain. Whatever the case, any supposedly fair-minded tech reviewer should be called out on THAT, don't you think?

ANoel

It's an invention, but not the invention of the year. It just sucks ass. Especially when not considering "illegal" unlocking.

xenobread

Tell me, when you started using the Mac, was it required that Steve Jobs surgically removed your sense of humor.

(Jeez, laugh a little)

freeway8989

@pgh:
My comments are nothing personal and I'm sorry you took them that way.
Yes, I would consider your wife's happiness and Apple's share price successful in some important respects.
On the subject of being conned, specifically, I meant I would never buy anything but an unlocked device.
The iPhone AT&T plan is like so many others, IMHO, not just false economy.
It attempts to bend the consumer over a barrel for instant gratification, with encouraging hardware prices, nailing them down to a long-term commitment, not to quality services but to the company's cash flow ... within 6-8 months the hardware purchased is obsolete, with a year or more to go on monthly payments - that my friend, I consider a con.
Peace.

ANoel

@Marty_Macfly:

"How do modern interpretations of the automobile invalidate the Model T as an invention (which, by the way, was far from being the first car)?"

A) That was a joke.
B) I'm well aware that the Model T wasn't the first car. But most other people don't know that. ;)
C) I was trying to get the point across that this guy will call anything an invention as long as it seems like one. But he clearly failed to consider what constitutes an invention. The light bulb is an invention, the iPhone is not.

"I guess that might be the case if we all had a one track mind as you seem to,"

PLEASE!!! Stop right there. You are an Apple fanboy. So please don't talk about one-track minds. Plus, you have NO idea who I am, so STFU.

"but whatever technologies that existed in the iPhone before its creation are not somehow stolen by Apple because of this accolade."

I NEVER said that they were stolen. Stop trying to skew what I said to make yourself look right.

All the I said was that Apple invented nothing when it comes to the iPhone.

freeway8989

Again, Apple is not inventing, but evolving technology. There is a substantial difference.

AdmNaismith

@mqasem: most clamoured and sought after piece of technology of the year, so yeah, it gets the win.

gokor

do apple fanboys have brains? i mean, i agree iphone's pretty cool, but you can barely call it an invention. there is really nothing new except pinching using multi-touch functionality.

saych

@ANoel:

I particularly like the inference that my wife has more money than she deserves. That's classy. Being conned is when you don't get what you pay for. Being arrogant is when you judge other people by how much money they have when you don't have the slightest clue about them. Being successful is when you provide a product or service that has value to other people and you earn the resulting reward.

In both Apple and my wife's case, they are successful. Can you say the same?

pgh

ANoel:

Conned is what you get when you paid and didn't get what you expected. When you get what you expected (and even a little more), you have not been conned, period. Don't like the iPhone? Don't buy one. But when you imply that by not doing so yourself that you are smarter than anyone else, well, I'll leave it to you to figure out which of us looks dumber.

By the way, I have a used Pearl for sale. It has only 7 months of use on it. It features:

A broken shift key

A useless browser

E-mail that displays embedded graphics as endless html hyperlink code

A battery cover that won't stay on in the best of circumstances

Flaking chrome

An exposed trackball that should one forget to explicitly lock the thing, ends up calling the last number dialed when it inevitably gets pressed by something else in your pocket

A case that seems to be disintegrating

The funny thing is, is that this was the state of the art before the iPhone appeared.

pgh

You guys are missing the forest for the trees. Yes, if you're only looking at the feature matrix, other phones can do similar things. But the iPhone has very clearly been the device of the year. Can you think of a single inanimate object that has been the subject of anywhere near as much discussion this year?

s5

@ANoel: Calling a very smart person dumb is an extremely dumb thing to do. And you should be called out on it.

Pope John Peeps II

@ANoel: Ill take your stupid bet. Intel and MS have already shipped more pcs to these countries than they will ever build of the OLPC.

Im not saying its not a great idea but the folks behind it are getting rich and this will never be successful.

Considering you can buy a PC at walmart for less than you can buy an OLPC even in quantity.

You sir are obviously not paying attention.

zippyZ

It is an invention. So quit you biatching. If its not than most things you are using as inventions are not. Building upon others inventions is a key piece in inventing. Noobs. so STFU.

Who is Time? Well you really are sheltered. They have way more readers and way more world respect than Giz or any online operation will....take a look at some of thier work over the years. Especially in war photography. They have been there doing it before you were a crap stain in your daddys boxers.

Now it appears that some folks have not yet figured out what makes the iphone special. Its not just a phone...it really is running OSX just like a MAC does. Which means applications can be taken (NOT PORTED / NOT RECOMPILED) and run on the iphone. Seriously it seems to me the guy at Time gets it and you so called tech-fluent folks are not....this really is the first handheld computer that runs desktop software that has been worth a flying-F and also it is the first to see wide adoption. Take a look at Cocoa and you will quickly see that native Cocoa apps on the MAC will run no problem on the iphone. What does this mean...no more need for a notebook....you now have one that is the size of an iphone. This is what makes the iphone head and shoulders above the rest. ITs a GOD DAMN UNIX COMPUTER PEOPLE!!!! WTF can you not understand about that....it is not just a phone.

People who claim to really know something about tech and dont get how nice it is to have a *nix based phone/handheld computer friggen amaze me....what you know you were told my the boys in Redmond. Good luck with that. Apple may have their own agenda it just also happens to be in line with what i see as the correct way to go.

zippyZ

CONGRATS APPLE!!
YOU TRULY REVOLUTIONIZE THE CELL PHONE INDUSTRY!!
now everyone is playing (rushing) to catch up.

tomaartist

@pgh:
It's not about how many media toys shipped to people privileged with more money than they deserve to have, or how nice it is your wife was conned into signing up.
It's a nifty gadget, that's all.
BTW - I'll bet you more OLPC are sold before the end of 2007 than iPhones and with VASTLY more significant and (hopefully) more positive outcomes.

ANoel

@Pope John Peeps II:
I like his work too.
And here you take a charmingly similarly sychophantic perspective: his on iPhone and you on him.

ANoel

@ANoel:

Vis-a-vis The Al Gore reference, I suspect you may be having problems with the "this year's" qualifier in my post. I suggest you research it.

Regarding the OLPC, have they shipped over a million of those things yet? I suspect that, again, you are suffering the nasty timeframe-definition-challenge problem.

pgh

@pgh:
"I can't think of any other of this year's invention that has had even a fraction of the social impact of the iPhone"

Do you mean like the OLPC or like Al Gore "invented" Global Warming?

How can this award to a neutered mediocre PDA with mediocre phone capability but a "buy Manhattan from the Indians" interface be anything but an "Invention". Apple - it's been a pretty good year! Congrats!

ANoel

@ANoel: Stephen Fry is a former juvenile convict who earned an academic scholarship to Cambridge University. He then rose to become one of the greatest actors in Britain on both stage and screen. He won the Perrier prize at the Edinborough Fringe. He stayed for a couple seasons on the original "who's line is it anyways", as he is both brilliant and hilarious. He originated the show "Wooster and Jeeves" with Hugh Laurie. He played parts in Black Adder with Rowan Atkinson. He's written four novels, played Oscar Wilde in a movie to worldwide acclaim. Now he's directing movies to worldwide acclaim. He's the most famous quiz show host in all of Britain. And now he writes a gadget column for one of Britain's biggest newspapers.

Compared to him, you're a pathetic smear of fungus on the shady side of a dirty fire hydrant getting peed on by dogs.

Does that put things in perspective?

Pope John Peeps II

It's the most Hyped Invention of the Year.

mqasem

Could this argument logically be followed to the conclusion that after the wheel, nothing is an invention?

Mike from Boston

In reality, the only thing that Apple truly did here that is note-worthy is the kick in the pants to every other mobile device manufacturer when it comes to graphics and the UI. It's fast, it flows, and you don't have to wait for the very good-looking UI to do its thing.

Meanwhile, on your average Nokia handset, the UI looks like regurgitated crap and is mind-bogglingly slow sometimes and tough to navigate almost all the time. A high-spec Nokia is still in many respects a better phone, but the user experience is usually really blah.

The iPhone has shown that you can in fact make handheld devices that respond reliably all the time, look fantastic all the time and has had real effort put into making finding things easy, and if Nokia learns that along with the things they've already got right, Apple will be in for a huge challenge.

Unfortunately, so far it seems like Nokia is slavishly copying rather than accepting that they stink at UI design and then innovating new stuff... but I guess we'll see what the future brings.

cr0ft

Lots of thing get invented long before they reach the stage that they actually work really well. Take the bicycle. Invented in the 18th century, it wasn't until the development of key technologies that it reached real usability and became capable of changing the world.

Does the iPhone change the world? Not really. But until you've lived with one (as I have), it's really easy to dismiss it. But the fact is that it makes all my previous phones look positively stone-age by comparison (and that includes my Blackberry Pearl).

Perhaps Time has stretched their own rules. But the fact that my cell phone-hating wife exclaimed "I want one of those!" and followed through speaks volumes about the magnitude of Apple's achievement. It is certainly one of the top stories of the year, period. I can't think of any other of this year's invention that has had even a fraction of the social impact of the iPhone.

pgh

I just don't understand how the iPhone would get invention of the year when reviews for the phone aren't even all that great. And to say it's the first handheld computer, does this thing really do anything new that prior pda phones couldn't? Touchscreen, wifi, browsing, music, lack of proper exchange support (well not that one) were all established before the iPhone came to be. I will admit though, it sure is pretty and as most writers for time tend to be shallow, I guess that wins!

I'm sure the runner up was the 'over the shoulder doggie sling'. "I can dangle my dog on my side and you know what? He looks so cute!"

Silenthillnight

@freeway8989: "If your interpretation of the word "invention" is accurate, then screw the Model T, the BMW/Mercedes/Cadillac are the only inventions in automobiles."

How do modern interpretations of the automobile invalidate the Model T as an invention (which, by the way, was far from being the first car)?

I guess that might be the case if we all had a one track mind as you seem to, but whatever technologies that existed in the iPhone before its creation are not somehow stolen by Apple because of this accolade.

Marty_MacFly

@killershatner:

"the iPhone is a compilation of a bunch of different products... is that an invention"

Every invention in the history of inventions is a compilation of a bunch of different products, even your beloved Hasbro Easy Bake Oven.

frigg

typos:

"pre-established *technology*"

freeway8989

@Chaos421:

Look at key words:

"3 a: something invented: as (1): a product of the IMAGINATION; especially : a false conception (2): a device, contrivance, or process ORIGINATED after study and experiment"

Apple simply took already-established and put it in sexy packaging.

If your interpretation of the word "invention" is accurate, then screw the Model T, the BMW/Mercedes/Cadillac are the only inventions in automobiles.

freeway8989

Is it an invention? Maybe if they awarded the multi-touch technology... but I kind of think that the iPhone is a compilation of a bunch of different products... is that an invention? Or did they just do a really good job of putting a bunch of stuff together?

killershatner

While it's no Hasbro Easy Bake Oven, the iPhone nonetheless deserves to be invention of the year so stop being such picky little wankers.

frigg

"Invent" means:

"3: to produce (as something useful) for the FIRST time through the use of the imagination or of ingenious thinking and experiment"

Someone please explain this man's interpretation over the English language. Or does Apple have dominant market share over that too?

freeway8989

@ Gizmodo: You guys are well ahead of Time. You unofficially named this invention of the year BEFORE it even came out!

chai714

@MikeHinds and king_of_fools:

[m-w.com] please see section 3 a (2)

chaos421

@MikeHinds:

What part of it was "invented"?

Apple invited must have invented the "i" the phone was already there.

king_of_fools

You ask: "Why would Lev Grossman, one of the first four reviewers of the iPhone, name Apple's gadget Time's Invention of the Year?"

You've answered your own question. To preserve that top-tier status.

lianna_g

What part of it was "invented"?

MikeHinds

I guess nothing important was created this year.

DashTheHand

I don't think they gave a fair chance to the vibrating car seat for women as invention of the year.

Mike from Boston

That's was a pretty fair assessment by Grossman, that is, until until he wrote,

"That makes the iPhone more than just a gadget. It's a genuine handheld, walk-around computer, the first device that really deserves the name."

The FIRST handheld computer?
FTW he sounds like that dim-witty Stephen Fry - maybe Grossman IS on the payroll too.
Shame.

ANoel

"Gadget of the Year" would've been way more appropriate. Naming it invention of the year is just stupid, since Apple did not actually invent the concept behind this device, they merely improved (subjective I know) upon the media-centric phone in general. Perhaps the real invention of the year should be the Reality Distortion Field, but I guess you can't have the same invention win every single year.

Kaiser-Machead

How can "Time" honestly think anyone gives a crap what they think?

SchruteBuck

How can something be 'Invention of the Year' when its not an invention.

king_of_fools

How can something be 'Invention of Year' when the year isn't over?

Maksimir

Yeah, if we get apps a-la iPod games... it'll suck.

Jason

Hey, you finally updated that old crappy cover!

Nice one.

Guess you read my e-mail ;)

Keebler

That's one helluva sexy angle.

jawzxy

@Frigg:

Evolving, as used by Adm, means taking and implementing the best features of devices already available.

No genius is needed nor anything anything synonymous to inventive.

All it takes is an eye for what works and what doesn't:
something virtually everyone on the planet has.

freeway8989

@AdmNaismith:

"Again, Apple is not inventing, but evolving technology. There is a substantial difference."

What is the difference between "evolving technology" and "inventing?"

Isn't the difference just that if you're in the know, you view an invention as an evolution and if you're not in the know, you view it as coming out of nowhere. But in reality, all inventions (with no exception) are evolutionary.

frigg

@zippyZ:

"....this really is the first handheld computer that runs desktop software"
Not.
Win CE has been operating for ten years.
More info if you care to check it out...
[en.wikipedia.org]

ANoel

@zippyZ: The root of the word invention derives from a meaning of "discovering" or "finding out" which implies something totally NEW. The iPhone is by NO means totally new (in any aspect at all) despite it's fusion of several nifty/cool/recent features. NOT an invention in the true sense. If you want to side with idiots at magazines who proclaim every latest trend/fad as "great", so be it.

P.S. nothing personal - just fed up with all the hype about gadgets that don't deserve it (every great one is overcome by the next one - typically 6 months later).

huygir

I agree... the iPhone is not an INVENTION... it's just a nifty gadget at best. TIME editors are idiots.

huygir

@freeway8989: "You are an Apple fanboy. So please don't talk about one-track minds. Plus, you have NO idea who I am, so STFU."

Committing and protesting the same offense in a single breath. Awesome.

iPhone articles always bring out the best.

someToast

As long as Apple refuses to sell it unlocked, I wouldn't give it such title. Sure it's an amazing piece of hardware, I could call it the best mobile hardware around considering it's size, but compare to Symbian / WM possibilities, it's ridiculous. If we just could install something on this...

Palestina

So... how is the iphone more of a movbile computer than the OQO?

Oh, it's not?
yeah, it's not.

Sean

It's that guys opinion. If you don't feel it deserves to be "invention of the year" than that's your opinion. Who ever said that Time magazine holds the final word on what is to be the "invention of the year"

Geez, I swear the people against this article just hate Apple for being Apple.

Face it, Apple's iPhone had captured the headlines this year, and not only that, they took the bull by the horns when it came to touch anything. Look at the influence the have had on that. You have to acknowledge them for being the forerunners at least.

Grats to Apple on the nod from Time.

25mL

Daily Tech - Wal-Mart's Holiday Deals Start Tomorrow on geeksugar -- Geek is chic.

IN ODDER NEWS: iPhone Also Wins Best Actor on Best Week Ever

@ANoel: Don't diss Stephen Fry!!! Lol ye it was a stupid comment though.

Gormania

this is about as bad as al gore winning the nobel prize

mwalker05