The iPhone has received five-star reviews and was named "Gadget of the year" by Time Magazine. So instead of adding one more well deserved kudo, perhaps it's time to look back and remember what life was like before the iPhone, according to Tom Rose at the Boston Herald.

"In the six months since iPhone made its much-hyped debut, it's become easy to forget what the cellular telephone landscape was before it. With more ease than consumers had a right to expect -- even from an Apple product -- the iPhone allows owners do it all," Mr. Rose wrote.

The things we take for granted now on the iPhone were only a dream six months ago. "Browsing the internet, watching iTunes movies, listening to music, reading emails, taking photos and, yes, placing telephone calls," Mr. Rose observed, "are all elegant tasks on this stunningly attractive gadget."

Moreover, while Apple didn't invent the touch screen, they did figure out how to implement a real human interface so we could actually interact with the gadget. "Tapping, pinching, pulling, sliding -- manipulating this phone is fun and unlike anything consumers have encountered," the author noted.

In addition, instead of a minor league OS, Apple put most of the guts of its desktop Mac OS X into the phone giving it great room for growth and advanced technologies.

"It's rare when an over-hyped piece of hardware lives up to the dreams and desires of fans that waited patiently for its arrival. The iPhone is the biggest news that hit the world of technology in 2007. Somehow, I'm thinking it will stay in the spotlight in the upcoming year as well," Mr. Rose concluded.

iPO notes that we've gone from hating our mobile phone to loving it. What a difference six months has made.