The Apple iPhone will have a different feel than the other phones. It has to do with not just the choice of user interface to get a job done, but how the human being on the other end reacts.

We have seen how operating systems can do the job but manifest themselves in different ways. Linux, for example, is a UNIX OS and has OS features and functions that duplicate Windows and Mac OS X. But how the uber-architect choses to implement those features defines the look and feel of the system. The sense of aesthetics displayed dictates whether the user has a, well, warm feeling about the software. In Linux, the consensus seems to be that the effort has so far failed, Windows is problematic, and Mac OS X has succeeded.

The same thing is about to happen with mobile phones.

Now that Apple has revealed the iPhone, we will see a lot of amazing new designs in mobile phones from competitors. They'll all attempt to achieve the same grace and functionality for all the myriad of functions we ask the phone to do.

Some of those radical features will work well and some will fall flat. They're all polymorphic -- they do some essential job but take different forms. The question is, will the implementation suit the users, or will it feel like an awkward gimmick?

The difference between the Apple iPhone and the competitors, with respect to the handling of the phone, won't be whether they have the same features. It will, ultimately, be how the designer translates a specific function into a user interface that is developed with a fine sense of craft and, in turn, greeted with a warm human feeling.

One thing is certain. We'll be seeing a lot of new mobile phones in 2007, inspired by the iPhone, with lots of new ideas about how to handle and operate them. Some will look very cool in the screenshot. Vendors will tout their innovation. In the end, the real question is: how will the iPhone and all the other copycats feel after a month and the carrier already has your money?

I am reminded of Galen from the TV showCrusade. "Who do you trust?"