Update: All your base are belong to iPhone

With the iPhone, Apple just may have an everything-killer on its hands. Is it the ultimate gadget? If so, is it worth $600 for eight gigs of its magicks? Or $500 for four gigs? Them's PS3 prices!

Granted, we haven't even laid a finger on the thing yet, let alone reviewed it. That said, Apple seems to have killed several birds with one stone by addressing some of the iPod's shortcomings while creating a buzz-inducing all-in-one supergadget that everyone will want. And here is why.

• It's the first widescreen/touchscreen video iPod, which is good for a few million sales right there.
• The iPhone features integrated Wi-Fi capabilities, which means we may finally have a Wi-FiPod on our hands. iTunes can become fully mobile, allowing downloaders to purchase and listen to new songs on the go. A computer may no longer be needed as a middle man to manage your tunes. (Note: According to Kent German's iPhone First Take, it's still unclear whether the iPhone will allow users to download music directly from iTunes. And if not, that would be a shame.)
• The iPhone runs Mac OS X, and Steve Jobs made references to the phone being able to run full versions of Mac software, not just mobile apps.
• It borrows a fun idea from the Nintendo Wii: built-in motion sensors, which automatically adjust the iPhone's screen orientation and energy output.
• It borrows fun ideas from Microsoft and Sony: Origami and the ultramobile PC. It also makes both concepts infinitely cooler and less clunky...so far, at least.
• This thing is downright purdy.
• It boasts a built-in 2-megapixel camera, which equals some of the best camera phones on the market today. Sony Ericsson's 3.2-megapixel K790a phone still rules the roost on the camera-phone front.
• And we haven't even gotten to the part where it's a phone. The "Visual Voicemail" and call-management features look innovatively simple thanks to the nifty touchscreen UI. Add the iPhone's quad-band world phone capabilities and Apple's undying cool factor, and the iPhone becomes a mighty appealing buy for anyone needing a new phone, a new music player, a mobile productivity tool, a cool new toy, or all of the above.

Again, we haven't even held the iPhone yet, let alone played with OS X on the iPhone. That alone almost makes it unfair to compare it to other smart phones on the market. But on paper, the iPhone out-specs some of today's trendiest, slimmest, and top-rated smart phones.

Additional resources:

• First Take: Apple iPhone, with video
• Top-rated smart phones
• Top-rated music phones
• Video: Hands almost-on with the iPhone
• Video: Jobs unwraps the iPhone