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It would take a pretty technologically insular personality to be oblivious of the fact that Apple's long awaited iPhone is being released next month. Ever since the release of the iPod six years ago, Apple's best advertising has come free of charge. It's not surprising then that nowadays just about everyone seems to be talking about the company's latest creation.

Apple has a history of being cutting-edge: it invented the PC as we know it today, and back in 1983 it was the first organization to introduce a personal computer that used the graphical user interface. The company went on to introduce the Mac in 1984, the Power Book 100 in 1991, and of course the iPod in 2001. Its latest device continues this tradition of innovation.

With the impending release of the iPhone, Apple is digging its heels into the forefront of a movement not simply to change the face of the cell phone market, but rather to continue radicalizing the digital consumer electronics industry as we know it. While smart phones that allow consumers to listen to music, surf the Net and make phone calls already exist, Apple's new venture aims to take the concept of user friendliness to levels that no other phone has achieved, by coupling a revolutionary multi-touch user interface with the convenience of consolidation. But is the iPhone going to be able to achieve the same success levels as the iPod?

What's so Great About the iPod Anyway?

Last month, the company reported sales of 10.5 million iPods and a 77.9% market share for the March quarter. It seems the iPod and its accompanying iTunes have carved out an impregnably exclusive status within the digital music industry.

Just how has Apple's portable music player inducted so many millions of die hard aficionados? "Apple was the first company to do it right," says Chris Breen, Senior Director of MacWorld magazine. In a limited market of portable music players that were hard to use and offered poor storage capacities, Apple's focus on optimizing user experience by making the iPod convenient and user friendly, proved pivotal to its success. Catering to multiple preferences, iPods come in a range of sizes, colors and storage capacities, but there is one thing that's uniform-- they all sport a similar user interface that makes them easy to use.

And then there's the other thing. Apart from its purely technical advantages, the iPod exudes the 'Cool Factor.' The frenzied hype surrounding the device stems partly from word of mouth (everyone's doing it,) partly from the fact that the players are just plain snazzy to look at, and partly from an incredibly innovative advertising campaign consisting of dark silhouettes, brilliant white headphones, psychedelic backgrounds, and insidiously catchy music -- the type that forces you to sing in the shower for hours after.

"The iPod is hip. It looks cool. People want cool things. And the iPod remains one of today's coolest gadgets. If you ask your parents for a music player for your birthday, it had better be an iPod or you're going to feel like a tool," states a matter of fact Breen.