...or at least it makes me feel that way.

Let's rewind.

When I moved to Seattle in 2002, I had a simple, "candy bar" Nokia phone. I could barely text message with it, but it worked.

My first Windows Mobile phone was the Audiovox SMT5600--a fancy name for the HTC Typhoon. I could sync calendar and contacts over the air with Exchange. I could T9 through my address book.

I felt like I jumped 18 months into the future. I got the upgraded version of the Typhoon (with the weird bump on the top). It ran a newer version of Windows Mobile. It had a prettier screen. Let's say I jumped forward another 6 months.

Then I went BlackJack. Bigger screen. Keyboard. A reasonable browsing experience, at least for GMail. Maybe a jump of a year into the future.

After a brief stint, I managed to loose my BlackJack, and went to BlackJack 2. Slicker look. Newer version of Windows Mobile. Maybe a 6 month jump.

Fast-forward to Sunday. I was snowboarding with some friends. My phone was in my pocket. My pocket was open. I was in the terrain park. I lot my phone.

Damn.

So I go back to the AT&T store. And the iPhone stand starts calling to me.

I have many friends with iPhone.

Both of my brothers have one.

I get one.

It's been less than a week.

Easily a 5 year jump. I feel like I'm living in the future. The thing freakin' rocks. It makes the BlackJack2 look like a joke.

Not only have I ditched Windows Mobile, I've ditched Zune. I've gone to buying MP3s from Amazon's store. Instant gratification. No expiration. No DRM.

This is the future.

It flawlessly syncs with Outlook on my desktop. (I have a friend who's been trying to get it to work with her BlackJack for months.) The experience with iTunes is great. Maps, Email, SMS, all clean and beautiful.

With the announcement of the SDK and Enterprise support (over-the air sync with Exchange, etc) I can't imagine a better setup for a phone.

I'm sure Google will have a cool offer with Android. I'm sure MS is sweating bullets and cranking on some interesting stuff. At least I hope so.

In the end, the bar has been raised--by a lot. All mobile users will benefit in the long-run by the existence of iPhone.

Especially those that have one.

I couldn't imagine going back.

Let me say it again: wow.