And I thought it was just my phone.

I was hoping for something revolutionary. Instead we have something evolutionary. Apple have taken the iPhone business model, followed the “Lather, Rinse, Repeat” instructions and come up with a product about which the only outstanding feature is the marketing.

I will wait until I have got my hands on one before I pass further judgement, but I don’t think I will be buying one for myself. I do not see the argument that this device fits between a laptop and a smartphone - at least not if you own both. If you have a desktop and a smartphone, or a regular phone and a computer (portable or not), then it might fit your needs, but I don’t see it taking over in the living room, which is where it seems to be pitched.

Time will tell.

Apple have finally released an app for the iPhone that answers the question “How can I carry my files around with me?”. It uses MobileMe and allows sharing of files via emailed weblinks. Big files (>20MB) and zip files are still unsupported, but it is a good start and compares well to other apps of its type.

Please, please, please don’t try this yourself. Report it to the police.

I still think Apple implemented this feature as a response to the wonderful software Undercover which was built for the mac (I have installed this on both mine and my wife’s macbooks). Unfortunately the iPhone version is vastly inferior in my opinion and I will be waiting until the mobile me location and iPhone Undercover technologies converge before buying it for the iPhone.

It is tempting to say that Apple are verging on the irresponsible with their actions in making this functionality available. I like the idea of tracking my lost iPhone and being able to remotely force it to make noise to find it down the back of the sofa, but the very real possibility of trying to track down a stolen iPhone concerns me. With America being the litigious place it is, I won’t be surprised to read about a case brought against Apple for somebody claiming that Apple allowed them to approach a dangerous individual who had stolen their iPhone and getting physically injured as a result of using the new mobile me service.

Talk about using the tools available to you at the time. Apparently it only took an hour too, very pragmatic work.

The linked page (Thanks to Mr Gruber) has a video of how it was done, Ms Eisenberg has a good image of the front cover.

Mr Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote this remarkably prescient piece on what he expected to see in the keynote speech at WWDC, but he wrote it before the event which seems incredible in hindsight. Indeed MacRumors, who normally play down unsubstantiated rumours, linked to this page purely based on his WWDC prediction track record.

So if I were a betting man, here’s how I’d handicap expectations for the WWDC keynote:

His five tips would have made him some handsome winnings had he found a bookie to wager against.

An amusing pseudo analysis of the tethering costs on PAYG iPhone on O2 (UK iPhone carrier).

I have become that which I once mocked. I have become an Apple fanboy.

If Apple can tempt the staunchest anti-corporation bearded techie I know, what hope does the average consumer have?

UPDATE: Billy has made two further posts here and here.