Author(s): Brian X. Chen

Current Affairs

This is a swift, engaging analysis of how the iPhone is changing the way technology is integrating contemporary society. Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone as a combination of (just) "three revolutionary products" - an iPod, a mobile phone and a keyboard-less handheld computer. But with the introduction of the App Store, it has quickly evolved into a tool capable of more than 300,000 functions and counting. Even more important, it is opening the way to what Brian Chen calls the "always-on" future, with far-reaching implications - both positive and negative- throughout all areas of our lives.