Since before we were married, my wife has always been very tolerant of my obsession with technology. She has never complained about the six computers that litter the study, or the endless gadgets that flow through this house. But while she has tolerated gadgets (and my endless blabbering about them), she has never had even a small interest in owning one [1]. So when I went to cut us over to AT&T Wireless last night to support my new iPhone, I just got her the cheapest phone available (a Razr) and called it an evening. Before bed I re-entered all her contacts into the Razr, connected it to the network, and put it in her purse so she wouldn’t even notice a difference.

This morning she picked up my iPhone to see what all the fuss was about. Within a few minutes she had scrolled through photos, checked the weather in Trumbull (CT), rolled her eyes at the list of Battlestar Galactica episodes, played a Linkin Park song, and read an article on the New York Times website. Then three minutes after picking up the iPhone, my wife surprised the heck out of me. She looked up and said, “I want an iPhone.” So the Razr went back, and we are now a two iPhone family.

I think what is most interesting is what she said about the phone. “What I hate the most about gadgets is they make me invest time in learning them before they are useful. With the iPhone I just felt like I had a beautiful box filled with useful tools. If I needed one, all I need to do was open the box, pick one up, and use it. No learning required.” This perfectly articulates why I think Apple has done something amazing. Beyond all the hype, and the backlash from the hype, and the backlash from the backlash, Apple has created something beautiful that is simple to use.

When we first bought our house, I was overwhelmed by the number of house projects I wanted to do. There was no way to do them all. Through a lot of trial and error, I found that if I prioritized the projects that impacted things I used the most, I got the most out of my time. Don’t like the shower head? Fix it first. I take a shower every day. How often do you use the phone?

So can the iPhone get better? Sure. Examples like more storage, embedded GPS, a news reader, and a faster network (although wifi really helps here) would improve it. Do I miss any of these features? Not for a second. I use my cell phone all the time, and with the iPhone, it is a simple joy just to answer the phone. Heck it is a joy just to pick it up. It is intuitive, well thought out, and easy to use.

So bravo, Apple. You nailed it, and you nailed it right out of the gate. If you can make my wife want a gadget, you have truly built something great.

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[1] To be honest, it is rare she wants anything material. Sometimes I think she missed her calling as a monk.