Time Magazine Names iPhone "Invention of the Year"
Choosing Time Magazine's invention of the year isn't always an easy task — I know because I had to do it more than once. But this year, in my humble opinion, the decision was a no-brainer. Lev Grossman, who reviewed Apple's (AAPL) iPhone for Time when it came out in June, edited the Inventions section and wrote the lead story, which I've reproduced in full below (Time is Fortune's sister publication and Lev is a friend). To see the rest of the selections, you can go to TIME.com. Or you can buy the magazine.
Invention of the Year: The iPhone
By Lev Grossman
Stop. I mean, don't stop reading this, but stop thinking what you're about to think. Or, O.K., I'll think it for you:
The thing is hard to type on. It's too slow. It's too big. It doesn't have instant messaging. It's too expensive. (Or, no, wait, it's too cheap!) It doesn't support my work e-mail. It's locked to AT&T. Steve Jobs secretly hates puppies. And—all together now—we're sick of hearing about it! Yes, there's been a lot of hype written about the iPhone, and a lot of guff too. So much so that it seems weird to add more, after Danny Fanboy and Bobby McBlogger have had their day. But when that day is over, Apple's iPhone is still the best thing invented this year. Why? Five reasons:
