When Apple’s engineers created the iPhone  a few years ago, it was an immediate hit, despite a fat price tag. Not only was it a cell phone but an iPod-like music and video player, too. It could surf the Web, handle e-mails, and receive GPS signals. Plus, it looked great and had touch-screen control.

The latest iPhone not only costs less than the original but is 3G, so its cellular and Wi-Fi connections are faster and more robust. It’s also a computer platform, so software makers can design countless applications for it, which owners can download from Apple’s latest e-tailing venture, the App Store. The iPhone’s popularity sparked a race among mobile phone manufacturers to mimic its sleek interface. Next, Palm hopes its Pre smartphone can capture a share of that excitement.

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