Like most iPhone owners this weekend, I was having a blast with the new 2.0 software.  Also as a .Mac user, I have watched the painful Mobile Me transition unfold (well, it still is).  While waiting for the Mobile Me rollercoaster to stop, I spent a lot of time experimenting with or reading about many of the 500 applications now available for iPhone and iPod Touch users.  Interestingly, I noticed one important application not on the list.

While AIM showed up for opening day to provide its users with a chat program, everyone else was absent.  More importantly, no third party developer had a multi-protocol chat client available!  I was very surprised that an iPhone equivalent of Adium or Pidgin wasn’t available.  Of the 500 applications available, I still find myself crawling back to Meebo, to accomplish something I should have a program for.

Oh multi-protocol IM client developers, where art thou?  Please make an app available.  I would happily pay for such a solution.

“Isn’t the iPhone already big?”, you ask.  Well, sort of.  In the smart phone market it is beginning to see a decent percentage and is in second place to Blackberry.  That’s good news, and is a good sign for us early adopters, who from day one hoped that Apple’s first attempt into the cell phone business would pan out.

While the news is good around the iPhone, I dare say it is going to get a lot better (and I don’t say it because I own one).  Think about it, they have sold over 7 million of these already.  7 million of a $400-$500 cell phone.  In the past, cell phones have been subsidized by 2 year contracts, etc.  No such discount here, yet people jump at the chance to get one.

It was interesting to watch as the Engadgets of the world complained and moaned when the iPhone released.  They said it didn’t have enough of this or that, and the EDGE was just so terrible (it is no longer cool to review an Apple product without needing to point out some perceived major flaw, you know, to be “fair and balanced” – can’t be labelled a fanboy).  I am really glad nobody actually cared what they thought.  As usual, their geek perspective is so out of touch with reality, it is humorous.

Anyway, the good news is continuing without much interruption.  Every week I find another co-worker, friend, or relative has purchased an iPhone, and is having a blast with it.  I have never seen that with another new cell phone in the past.

The thing is,  the best part of the iPhone is yet to come.  This past week, they announced the “SDK” (software development kit), which allows developers to make 3rd party application that can run on the iPhone.  Finally, Apple is opening the doors to outsiders.  On top of that, they are making aggressive moves at the enterprise space by adding features like Microsoft Exchange support, with “push” email, calendar, and contacts.  All this is being dubbed “iPhone 2.0″, and it will be a huge hit.

The number of really innovative applications and games made for the iPhone will set the device further apart from the crowd.  Not to mention, the number of companies creating iPhone specific portals is growing by the week.

If 2007 was a big year for the iPhone, 2008 will blow it away.