Iconfactory holds a special place in our hearts, as long-time Mac enthusiasts, not the least reason being that they produce the prettiest and most consitently amazing icons on earth, but also that they’re just great folks.

In anticipation of what’s becoming known as <cringe>”iDay”</cringe> , the folks over there have gone through their entire desktop picture library, and added iPhone-sized cropped and scaled versions.

We’d recommend creating a desktop picture-specific iPhoto library (on the Mac) or a special desktops sub-folder of “My Pictures” (under Windows) if you want to get all organized before your purchase today (you know who you are) and hit the ground running.

Apple has released iTunes 7.3 for Mac OS X and Windows, which provides iPhone support, and is required for activation if you’ll be participating in the madness today.

It can be installed via Software Update on Macs, the Apple Software Update control panel under Windows, or you can download it directly from Apple as an installer.

Among the new features are an iPhone tab, which manages backups for multiple iPhones (entire system images, perhaps?), and adds the capability to stream photos from more than one PC or Mac to the AppleTV.

The fine folks at Apple have taken a page from the Wii saga over the holidays and have produced an iPhone Retail Availability checker.

Curiously, no in-store events are scheduled for Friday or Saturday at my local store, if that’s any indication of initial stock levels.

David Pogue from the New York Times just posted a question and answer list about the iPhone’s features.

Highlights from the article:

Does the iPhone synchronize with my computer’s calendar and address book? Yes. It can sync with Address Book or Microsoft Entourage on the Macintosh, Outlook, Outlook Express on Windows, or Yahoo’s address book on the Web. If you add appointments or phone numbers to the iPhone, they are added to your computer the next time you sync. 

Does the iPhone work with Bluetooth computers, printers, stereo headsets or keyboards? No. At the moment, it communicates only with hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets (including Apple’s very tiny one, coming in July) and a car’s dashboard system.

Does the iPhone alert you when it detects a wireless Internet hot spot? Yes. In fact, if it’s a hot spot you’ve used before, the iPhone hops onto it seamlessly and quietly.

If you have a question of your own that’s still unanswered, let us know. We’ll be answering questions as we post to our day one journal tomorrow. Expect an unboxing, a browser acid test and possibly some pictures from our place in line.

The initial round of iPhone reviews have started tricking in from the largest news publications in the country, and they’re very favorable.

No real new information about features (that hasn’t been widely publicized prior) is coming from these reviews, except that:

• The camera’s actually really nice
• EDGE can be annoyingly slow, and AT&T’s network / voice compression for voice can be in the low range of tolerable in spots.
• You can’t use songs as ringtones ( /happydance! this is a negative? )

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Apple has just posted a demo for activating the iPhone via iTunes.

Unlike the traditional method of standing in line and signing a ream of paperwork to get your phone set up, it looks like you’ll buy the phone in-store, take the box home, and activate it at your leisure.

To which I say: bravo! (having spent entirely too much time rotting in AT&T/Cingular stores)

Update: Apple has also added rate plan information for existing AT&T customers, even those on a family talk plan. Unlimited data works out to about a $20 premium.

Apple & AT&T announced their combo data/voice plans for the iPhone this morning, and they seem to be rather reasonable:

• $59.99 / 450 minutes of voice / 5000 night & weekend minutes / unlimited data
• $79.99 / 900 minutes of voice / unlimited night & weekend / unlimited data
• $99.99 / 1350 minutes of voice / unlimited night & weekend / unlimited data

All plans include 200 SMS messages per month, and unlimited mobile to mobile minutes.

Update 6/26/2007: The official voice and data plans have been revealed. 

Another day, another complete lack of solid information on iPhone data/voice plan rates, which (in our opinion) is the single most important piece of the launch day puzzle still left undiscovered. Read More »

Update 6/27/2007: Official voice & data plans have been revealed

Applegazette has some possible details regarding the iPhone data plan today, which seem to jive with AT&T’s published rates.

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Apple has posted a rather long iPhone guided movie up on their website today, which answers a few more niggling questions.

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Kurt Schteck of City Tools recently interviewed Trey Harrell of iPhone Geek, getting his perspective on buzz and industry considerations surrounding the super-hyped launch.

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Marketcircle just released an app called iPhoney, which allows developers to simulate the iPhone browsing experience. Read More »