A Dream Interview With Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Macworld 2007 was stunned by Apple’s introduction of iPhone. Coming down from the clouds the next day was a big letdown.

We’re certain iPhone won’t show up for six months. It’ll be a long wait. Months of many questions and fewer answers. Then the phone rang. It was Steve Jobs.

Let me back up a day. Bambi and I left Macworld for her place in Las Vegas on schedule Tuesday afternoon after a 5-minute hands on with iPhone.

All we could talk about was how this one product could transform Apple the way the iPod already has. Then the questions started popping up.

Will the interface of future iPods change to match the iPhone? Will Apple release a tablet or pad-like Mac? Why Cingular? Why not multiple cell phone carriers?

Between the two of us, we came up with buckets of questions. Why no removeable battery in the iPhone? Will Mac developers be able to create iPhone applications for OS X?

See how that works? It won’t end. Ever. Tuesday was a long day. Wednesday we relaxed in Las Vegas, talked on the phone with friends, had lunch, and I settled in for a well-deserved nap before a flight back to New York in the evening.

I had just settled in to a dream of about colorful icons and ring tones, and then the phone rang. Bambi answered. It was Steve Jobs.

My gawd! Is that possible. It must be a dream. Steve Jobs? Bambi motioned for me to pick up the other phone.

Steve Jobs
I got your business card from some of our people, and I just wanted to thank you for your positive coverage on Mac360.

Bambi Hambi
Thank you very much. You read Mac360? I’m here with Kate MacKenzie.

Kate Mackenzie
Steve, we love the iPhone. It’s a stunning product. Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?

Steve
Whoa. Two against one isn’t fair. Hello, Kate. Yes, I read a few Mac sites, though I don’t have a favorite. Questions? OK. But only a couple of minutes.

Bambi
The iPhone name. We heard there was a deal with Cisco to use iPhone, now no deal and a lawsuit. What’s going on?

Steve
Well, we thought we had a deal, too, and Cisco made some changes that we didn’t like. We’re confident we can work it out.

Kate
Steve, can I ask you some questions about the iPhone? You said it runs “OS X” but obviously not “Mac OS X”. Does that mean Mac developers will be able to create applications for the iPhone?

Steve
I don’t want to comment on specifics of our strategy with iPhone, but I can say that Mac developers who attend Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference later this year will be very happy.

Bambi
Steve, it’s Bambi. Already there are critics pointing out problems with the iPhone. For example, there’s no removeable battery, no hard drive model, no ability to buy songs or movies directly from iTunes Store.

Steve
The 4 gigabyte and 8 gigabyte models are just the first two of what we hope will be a growing family of new products. We’re happy with our first iPhones. Hard drives? Battery life is a major issue, but technology advances, so we expect improvements in battery life over time. We think using the Mac or PC to manage music, movies, and TV shows is a better experience.

Kate
Nearly everyone, including all of us at Mac360, expected a lot more from Apple at Macworld.

For example, no new Macs, no iLife ‘07 or iWork ‘07, and no demonstration for OS X Leopard. When will we see the rest of the show?

Steve
All of us think 2007 will be a great year for Apple and our customers. Leopard will launch on the Mac this year, and we have some great new products in the pipeline. Remember, in 2006 we revamped the entire Mac line to run on Intel chips, and every one of the iPods, from the exciting shuffle on, are new. It’s been a good year. This year will be better.

Bambi
Does that mean that we can expect a new product from Apple? I mean, not a Mac, not an iPod, not a phone?

Steve
I don’t want to comment on future products or strategy, but I will let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell anyone…

Just then the phone rang. Again and again and again I could hear the phone ringing in the background. I kept thinking, “Bambi, answer the phone already!”

I felt a nudge on my shoulder, and Bambi said, “Kate. Wake up. Nap’s over. Time to move. You’ve got a flight to catch. Freshen up and I’ll take you to McCarran.”

It was a dream. A dream. I was interviewing Apple CEO Steve Jobs and it was just a dream. Holy smokes. That is just sooooo unfair. Seriously.

“Bambi, were there any calls while I was asleep?” I asked. Bambi said, “Just one call from someone special. I’ll fill you in on the way to the airport.”

I fly all the way to San Francisco for Macworld, get to touch the product of a lifetime, and finish it off with an interview of Steve Jobs. Now I have to check online to see if the iPhone is real. It is real, isn’t it? Is it?

If you could get Steve Jobs on the phone for five minutes, what questions would you ask him?