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Ah, the iPhone. Since it’s unveiling in January, Apple’s first phone/PC/camera/MP3 player has been the talk of the entire cell phone industry. This product seems to have it all, including an extra-wide touch screen (eliminating the need for traditional “keys”) as well as a hefty price tag of $499-$599 (for 4GB or 8GB).

The iPhone also boasts “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching,” according to the Apple website–not to mention a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, automatic WiFi, OS X with support for Widgets, Safari, Google Maps, visual voicemail and iTunes.

Yes, it’s revolutionary. It’s slim, new, hip, and it’s Apple, for Pete’s sake–but does it have what it takes to win over millions of users from the companies that have been around through years of mobile phone successes and pitfalls? Can a computer giant, like Apple, waltz onto a playing field dominated by experienced wireless carriers and emerge victorious?

As you might guess, there is some debate.

On one hand, Apple is, after all, in the business of technology. It has a longstanding history of helping people communicate and connect effectively with one another. It is often regarded as cutting-edge, innovative, and modern. And let’s not forget that Apple users tend to be fiercely loyal. Apple also has the advantage of being a virtual communications giant while all the while somehow being portrayed as an underdog. In other words, Apple has appeal (no pun intended).

But to be fair, signing up for two years with a phone made by a company that has only now begun to venture into the mobile phone market could prove to be a risky move. How will the battery hold up? Will the touch-screen be usable? Are the programs intuitive? Perhaps more importantly, will smartphone seekers be willing to drop the dough to find out? At $500-$600 a unit, it’s not a cheap gamble.

Either way, the iPhone is certainly a new direction for Apple. Always a company synonymous with advanced technology, Apple has been interested in more than “just computers” for some time; so it does, in fact, seem quite natural that a mobile phone product is next in line.

The internet is already ablaze with people making predictions, and giving their two cents about a phone that isn’t even on the market. Only time will prove the iPhone to be a raving success, or a colossal blunder, but Apple has managed to achieve at least one win so far–it’s got everybody talking.