That's not a cell phone in my pocket. It's a paradigm shift.

One of the things I love to go on about is that Apple Computer is not a computer company. Steve Jobs knows this, which is why he changed the name back in January to Apple, Inc.

But analysts can't seem to shake the notion that a company that makes computers must be a computer company. And now that so much of the company's revenue comes from music, they're trying to think of it as an entertainment company. And now a cell phone company.

It's none of those.

Apple is a design company. Its area of specialization--which by no coincidence is also the thing that drives Steve Jobs more than anything else--is user interfaces. When you understand this, you understand the Macintosh computer. You understand the iPod. You understand iTunes. And you understand the iPhone.

More important, you understand that now would be a really stupid time to sell the stock.

What's that all about, Brian? Well, I'll tell you.

The iPhone is not a cell phone.

Okay, yes, it has cell phone functionality. But it's also a camera, a computer, a music player, and a video player. So what is it?

It's a portal. A portal to the information you access in order to run your life. The fact that it operates like a cell phone is crucial, of course, but it's way bigger than a cell phone. It's a paradigm shift.

Remember when the cell phone came out? People thought it was neat because it allowed them to make or receive phone calls form anywhere. What they didn't quite grasp was that phone numbers would no longer be tied to geography. Thanks to cell phones, a phone number now belongs to a person, not a place.

That's a paradigm shift, and one we haven't even fully digested yet. After all, cell phones still have what's called an 'area code', despite the fact that the concept is irrelevant, except in terms of creating an impression.

On June 29th, Apple gave us the first opportunity to see the next paradigm. One in which we move from 'mobile computing' to access to information without physical constraints.

Sure, a lot of the features that are touted in the iPhone were previously available. But what hasn't been appreciated is its ability to switch from cell service to WIFI. That, along with its Safari browser and its iPod interface, make it a device that will enable you to access all of your information from one single location. You.

Wherever you are, you can now access and run your entire digital life, not just continue operating and sync with your own personal mother ship back home or at the office.

If you buy that, then you understand why Jobs is not worried about the iPhone cannibalizing iPod sales. It's a different tool. What is is worried about--probably--is the iPhone cannibalizing laptop sales. If people use their laptops primarily for e-mail, web browsing, and entertainment, why would you lug around the monitor and keyboard?

Well, I'll tell you. Because pretty soon the Apple laptops will be able to make cell phone calls as well. For those who actually need computers to write, run data, or perform some other computer-specific task away from their desks. (You know those micro laptops the rumor mills keep promising will be coming from Apple? If those don't come with cell phone capabilities, I will be seriously disappointed that Steve Jobs isn't the visionary I know he is.)

In fact, what Steve Jobs has just opened the door to is a world where computing tasks are performed on dedicated computing machines, and where we don't have to carry around all that computer for our day-to-day functioning. In essence, we tap into the Borg.

Curiously, this is a lot like the world he derided Bill Gates for trying to create. And maybe one man's borg is better than another.

I think so.

I also think that there's no other company that's in a position to offer an alternative to Mr. Jobs' new paradigm, certainly not one that understands so beautifully how important it is to people to interact with their information, not their machines.

That having been said, I will not be running out to buy an iPhone. It doesn't add enough to the way I operate for me to justify spending the money.

But it is the future. It is inevitable. And it will be huge.