And another thing to remember is that there is parallel evolution. These types of things were going to be the next great thing. The beauty is that it's finally happening! We all saw it that it should have been here already!

Parallel evolution is a duh! That's why software patents are particularly obnoxious. We saw parallel evolution all through history even with hardware patents. How much harder is it with bits and bytes to not step on someone's toes with software patents? Just something to think about, eh?

Bami, Dendron, USA/Virginia

To David, Dorset, UK -- you are absolutely right. That's not to take anything away from what HTC and Prada have done which I would imagine are also quite nice! But I haven't seen them in action like I did the iPhone in the video of the Demo at MacWorld by Steve Jobs which was an awesome piece of work! It was too expensive for me, but I found myself wanting one very badly! LOL! Anyway, kudos to them all; Apple, HTC and Prada. As they say, variety is the spice of life! And not everyone will want Cingular for 5 years. This HTC one may be at least a partial option (no iTunes) for those really itching for this type of technology but not being able or willing to make the move to Cingular for that many years' commitment.

Bami, Dendron, USA/Virginia

To believe that Apple "announced its version WAY before it was even capable of making it" is an uninformed person's view of the world--Apple prefers to spring it's new products on consumers when its immediately ready for purchase. The reason it announced the iPhone early was the fact the information would be available once FCC testing started.

Pat, Washington, DC, USA

The LG Prada came first, uses the same touch screen technology and you CAN move things around by swiping. Did Apple copy them also?

These interfaces take years to develop, so to think HTC whipped this up AND has it ready to release in 6 months is just ridiculous.

Surur, London, UK

Ian, yes, there is "a good reason they've never taken off". It's because they've been poorly designed, implemented and executed. Something that Apple, read El Jobso, tends to do the opposite of. What makes iPhone different and 5 years ahead of everything else including HTC and Prada is OS X. Not many people seem to get this; and no it's not a stripped down crippled version of OS X, as Windows Mobile is to XP, it's the whole enchilada (minus the unecessary desktop elements). Plus, leveraging iTunes for seamless content syncing can only improve upon the current general malaise of device-to-pc interfacing. Give credit where it's due, Apple look to have genuinely designed from the ground up here. Time will tell if iPhone is a stonking success, which it probably will be.

David, Dorset, UK

For those who dont know HTC is not a copy cat company - they are actually single-handedly driving the Windows Mobile-power smartphone sector. They make phones the smartphones under the HTC, I-mate, Dopod, Fujitsu, Treo (yep!)and other brands.

Its a joke to say they are "copying" a phone that isnt even released yet.

Clearly this muti-touch thing is a new technology that all these phone makers have available now and are jumping on.

Apple has "annnounced" its version WAY before it was even capable of making it - in a vain attempt to steal mind space. Meanwhile the people who specialise in MAKING phones eg HTC actually have them for sale TODAY.

Enough with the naive attitude of swallowing Apple's marketing hype. The truth is that HTC probbaly makes more phone in a week, than Apple will sell all year - and has been doing so for a long time.

Osam, London, UK

Marie, the user interface on the iPhone itself is a more or less a straight copy of the technology demonstrator phone that Synaptics commissioned Swordfish to produce to show off their multi-touch surface sensors. In, fact, some features are missing (flicking a text message off the screen to delete it, for example).

In fact, the iPhone (and possibly the HTC, I don't know) is the one using yesterday's technology. All the other fashion victim phones use Flash-based user interfaces, which are portable and should be easy to upgrade if people don't find gesture-based UI's intimidating. (They've been around since the 1970's, and there must be a good reason they've never taken off!)

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

Well, I think that if another company has to copy Apple just to be cool and "fashionable" it has no real vision for the future. In other words, HTC should come up with something
"new", that is, if they want to make a positive impact on their peers. And as far as Apple goes, I commend them for coming up with their own invention. God has gifted all poeple, and so HTC should find out what gifts they were given and not copy Apple.

Marie, ALbuquerque, New Mexico