I've Been Waiting For The iPhone For Three Years And It's Still Not Here

I have covered the wireless industry for almost seven years. And in that time I have spent three years writing about the Apple iPhone. But how, you may ask, have I spent so much time writing about a device that wasn't announced until yesterday?I first wrote about the iPhone in 2004. You see, rumors started floating that year that Apple was going to release a cell phone. Later, the rumors intensified and everyone in the wireless industry was abuzz about stories that Apple and Motorola were planning an iPod cell phone.

Then February 2005 came. The wireless industry congregated at 3GSM, the international wireless gabfest. Apple and Motorola were set to announce. And then...they didn't. And no one really knew why. We had to wait until September that year to finally see the long-awaited Apple cell phone -- the Motorola Rokr. But, the Rokr didn't rock many people and the device soon turned out to be a big disappointment.

Critics charged that the Rokr was not the real Apple cell phone, merely a taste of what was to come. So, after a few weeks, the rumors started back up and everyone was again waiting for the iPhone.

The iPhone rumors persisted through 2006 and the blogosphere churned on about it endlessly. The iPhone, it seemed, was fast-becoming the consumer electronics version of the Prester John -- a mythical hero who would appear and magically make Internet-enabled cell phones fun and easy to use.

And now, after almost three years of waiting, it's here. But, I can't help but feel a little disappointed. Like my colleague Mitch Wagner, I don't get it. Sure, the iPhone looks cool -- it's got great design and the UI seems amazing. But, I can't really seem to muster the enthusiasm everyone else has. Why? Because after all these years, I am STILL waiting to actually, you know, see the iPhone. The iPhone will not ship until June. I'll have to wait to this summer to see if the iPhone ever really materializes.