Feelings of gadget inadequacy always lead me to ebay in search of the latest uber-gizmos from around the world that actually can do more. And even though I've played with my friend's Treo, held a RAZR in the Cingular store, and spied the N90 and N71 on Gizmodo and Engadget, I was still amazed by feature sets and spec sheets as I got sucked deeper and deeper into ebay's "Cell Phones -> Phones Only" category listings.

My dream phone quickly grew from a modestly-sized device capable of making calls, carrying my date book, and playing mp3 audio from a removable memory card through stereo headphones to a super-slim device with both a keypad (preferably full-QWERTY) and touchscreen that played AAC music, took 2.0 megapixel or better photos, and ran on a customizable if not fully hackable operating system like Symbian or Linux. And, you know, could be had in warrantied, like-new condition for under $200 including shipping.

Funny thing is, save for that last bit about the price, my expectations were driven not by some sort of nerdy fantasy world but by reality itself. Sure, the Treo 650 is an amazing device, packing a cell phone, VGA camera, email client with QWERTY thumboard, Web browser, and touchscreen-driven Palm OS into a package just bigger than an iPod. But have you seen the i-mate JASJAR or Dopod 838? What about the O2 XDA IIs and Benq P50? Or even the offerings from less exotic brands you might actually have heard of, like the Sony Ericsson p990a (no, no, not the p910, come on now) and Sharp SX833? Some of these "phones" offer everything I listed above and then some, including Wi-Fi connectivity, 3+ megapixel cameras, and pocket versions of Microsoft Office and other productivity software. Then, of course, there's Motorola's plethora of drool-worthy smartphones like the A1000, A780, and the mythical beast itself, the forthcoming "Q", aka "The RAZRBerry" (pictured left), of which only prototypes are available from dubious importers for upwards of $1,000 each.

Yes, folks, I've gone way off the deep end. And just in time for the holidays, too.

And What About an iPhone?
So, as my publisher might say, "What does this have to do with Apple?" Well, with MacWorld right around the corner in six weeks' time, the rumor mill is churning itself into high gear once again (Has anyone else noticed how Apple's managed to orchestrate the rumor mill into a state of near-constant year-round activity over the past two years?). Speculation is centering around the introduction of the first Intel-based Macs, but there's secondary buzz about the possibilities of an iPhone and/or "instant-on" home media Mac. Without getting into the business of making predictions, I'd be lying if I said that all of my recent, uh, "research" into the cell phone hadn't gotten me thinking about what might happen if Apple did decide to unveil the iPod phone everyone wishes the Motorola E1 ROKR was.

The question was almost answered for me the other day by the December issue of Wired magazine. There on page 132 is a picture of the iPhone. Or, at least, on first glance I could have sworn it was the iPhone. Instead, it's the Hop1886, a phone made by a company called Hop-On. A phone that looks so much like an iPod that I swear it'll never see the light of day before Apple's lawyers sue Hop-On right out of business. A phone that, as it turns out, was announced a good six months ago with a launch date of October 2005. A phone that really looks like not much more than a spec sheet and Photoshop mock-up. And yet, there it is in Wired offering an integrated digital audio player, 2.0 megapixel camera, touch screen and keypad controls, 1GB of internal memory, and a flash card slot, and all for just $300. In addition to the side-by-side picture at left, you can see its spec sheet here on the Hop-On website, though ironically enough all images of the phone have recently disappeared from the company's pages.

Still, if an iPod look-alike phone made it to the pages of a glossy magazine, there's got to be something similar in the works somewhere, right? Motorola's E1 ROKR is currently the only phone to run iTunes software, but as we all know it received second billing to the iPod nano on launch day and has roundly been criticized for its slow transfer speeds and software-imposed 100 song capacity. I played with a ROKR in a Cingular store the other day, and was actually fairly impressed by it, but then again I didn't have to load any songs via USB 1 and I'm also a big sucker for album art on tiny color screens.

Word is that the second version of Motorola's ultra-slim RAZR phone will actually come in as many as four flavors, one of which (the V3i) will feature iTunes software built-in along with a memory card slot and 2-megapixel camera. Already the new V3x can be had on ebay, and while there's no iTunes pre-installed, playback of non-protected AAC music files from removable memory cards is supported. If and when the V3i materializes, all of my "dream phone" specs save the touchscreen will indeed be met. Though the phone is likely to hit the streets for around $500, or maybe $350 if one's willing to pony up for a new two-year service contract with Cingular.

But even a RAZR running iTunes won't be a true iPhone. One hundred songs - or even a full 512KB card's worth of music - does not a 30gig iPod make. And when I hold my iPod 5G in my hand, I can so easily imagine a smaller click wheel, larger screen, and hinged panel that would turn this mere a/v player into a full-fledged clamshell superphone. Imagine a standard iPod screen and click wheel on the outside with a larger screen and phone controls hidden inside the flip. Maybe the screen twists and folds, as per the current trend exhibited by the Nokia 6260 (pictured left). Or maybe a touchscreen with stylus, Palm-style. Or maybe the flip opens the long way like a Nokia 9500 or the aforementioned JASJAR, whose screen even twists so it can be viewed while the phone is closed up. Heck, if i-Mate can come up with that, imagine what the folks responsible for the iPod could do.

Analysts, Bloggers, and Everyone Else
Which brings me back to the rumor machine and silly prognostication. The analysts and bloggers seem pretty convinced that at least one or two Macs with Intel Inside will be unveiled at MWSF '06, most likely the new iBook and/or Mac mini. I'm very interested in seeing the first Intel-based Macs and, perhaps more importantly, seeing their price tags. If Apple can cut iBook prices to $699 to really compete with entry-level offerings from Dell and other WinTel manufacturers, that'll be something to write about. Seeing as I also work in a school technology department with limited resources, anything Apple can do to make Macs less expensive is more than fine by me.

I don't think we're going to see a flash memory-based "instant on" Media Mac in January, though the thought of such a box running on an Intel XScale processor isn't so far fetched. Front Row didn't really do much for me, but it's a step in a similar direction as selling videos on the iTunes Music Store that playback on iPods. Apple's certainly testing the waters when it comes to muscling their way into our living rooms, but they're interested in selling content along with their hardware. Frankly, I have no idea what they might next be up to in this arena.

As for an iPhone, I'd love to see it if only to see Jonathan Ives' take on the cell phone. Apple's made a business out of doing new things better. They're not usually the first to market with a new idea, but they're quick to pick up on a trend and raise the bar when it comes to user interface and industrial design. And ever since the iPod, they've gotten in the habit of raising the bar higher than anyone else can reach.

Eventually Apple's run may end, and they're smart to venture a bit cautiously into new territories while riding the iPod wave and keeping the dream of increased Mac market share alive. So they may leave the iTunes-equipped cell phones to companies like Motorola who already make cell phones. But think about it -- most of the people out there carrying iPods around with them everywhere also have cell phones, and if that phone isn't a Treo, a good portion of those folks also carry a PDA as well. And when it comes to the things you use every day, who wouldn't rather have one less thing to bring everytime they leave the house?

Apple won't release an iPhone if they can't do it right, and it may be that any phone that meets Apple's standards will wind up being too expensive, delicate, or unstable to market to the masses. But hey, if anyone's up to the challenge right now it's these guys. And if I can come up with a half-dozen badly Photoshopped prototypes over the Thanksgiving weekend, just imagine what the folks in Cupertino could do...