Still wish we at least had the option for Flash on the phone. It's not the real internet if you can't see half the sites... and cmon.. flash videos are just as fun as Youtube! ehh... Battery life we're all used to phones with none anyways.. I want flash!
disclaimer: i have no first hand knowledge.
flash will be available for the iphone by the end of the year. if you look at what apple is doing, or more accurately what they're not doing -- they're basically shutting out anything outside their control -- no flash, no sdk, no additional plug-ins.
they're doing this, i believe, because of the massive scale of the iphone and the already large number of new variables apple is dealing with:
- first time in a long time working with a partner like at&t
- totally new market, never tried before and far more critical than an ipod
- the device itself has so many potential points of failure compared to the ipod (sensors, touchscreen, wifi chip, cell chip, etc...
- the ipod got a bit of a stealth release "apple was doomed" back then so it got some play in the tech/geek press and a bit in the mainstream, but nothing like the hype for iphone. this device will launch as perhaps the most scrutinized piece of technology in history.
once the phone launches and apple works out the kinks we'll start to see things like flash and the SDK... though with flash keep in mind i have visited some sites that will bring a dual 2.0 ghz G5 to its knees. i'm sure the iphone will choke on those and kill the battery life.