Instant celebrity

In our CNET/cell phone/gadgets world, the iPhone is a milestone. Yet it is one of many. We look, we play with it, we come up with an opinion. But sometimes we forget how many people neither know nor seem to care about the latest breakthroughs. We've seen iPhones everywhere. So much so, we've ignored the sheer awe it inspires when nongeeks see it for the first time.

Leave the phone on your office desk and count how many co-workers stop in their tracks. Take it out of your pocket at a bar and watch the magnet it becomes.

The point is that despite drawbacks, much of its allure is the prestige factor. And there are only two types of iPhone owners: those who love the attention it gets, and those who pretend they don't.

There's something to be said for being cutting edge.