iPhone Buzz falls to 6,213, down 325 stories from Thursday

[Click the above image for a larger version of the graph]

The number of news stories covering the iPhone fell slightly today over Thursday, we assume because we're heading into a weekend when the iPhone won't be available. We're starting to graph the iPhone Buzz Index starting today so that people can see the overall trend.

iPhone displays are starting to appear in both Apple and AT&T stores overnight. Particularly interesting are the giant iPhone displays running demos. Since the displays are probably just standard LCDs, I wonder if Apple built those by loading real iPhone software onto a Mac mini and running demo code similar to that used in the actual iPhones. Ah, the advantages of having a common OS between desktops and phones; it makes creating kiosks SO much easier.

Perhaps the most interesting article I saw this morning was one where a Wine Director in a prominent restaurant actually got to play with one of the about 100 iPhones currently in the wild prior to launch. His summary I think captures the essence of the iPhone phenomenon well:

Overall impression of my 5 minute trial... The Apple iPhone is a magical device that for the first time seemlessly blends art, architecture and electronics into a brilliantly designed... I don't know what to call it. Calling it a phone is like defining Natalie Portman as a "Homo Sapien Female Humanoid" There is so much more to it than that.

Of course, this didn't stop the Boston Globe from noting that canceling your AT&T iPhone contract before the end of two years would cost a subscriber $175. The Globe claims that such fees are typically to reimburse the carrier for the cost of a subsidized handset and that therefore the unsubsidized iPhone shouldn't be subject to them. My understanding has always been otherwise. The real purpose of contract cancellation fees is to compensate the carrier for the discount they provide the subscriber for committing to two years worth of guaranteed revenue. If you take away the guaranteed revenue, they want their discount back. But on a slow news day, anything about the iPhone makes a publishable story, a fact I am sure Apple is quite happy about.

Technorati Tags: Apple, at&t, iPhone, iPhone Buzz Index