Six Reasons Why The Blue Box Is Still Cooler Than The iPhone

Steve Jobs believes Apple is revolutionizing the telephone industry with the forthcoming iPhone and that may be true. But back in the day, he and Steve Wozniak made a much more noteworthy contribution to American culture by hocking "Blue Boxes" out of the back of a van.

Blue Boxes, for those unfamiliar, were hand-built devices that could hack into a phone line and allow the user to make phone calls anywhere in the world for free. You can read a rundown of the history of the Blue Box on Wikipedia.

A side-by-side comparison makes it clear that the Blue Box is still cooler than the iPhone. Here's why:

1. With the iPhone, you'll be able to download and listen to podcasts from the Vatican for free. With the Blue Box, you could call the Vatican for free;

2. There was no DRM technology embedded in the Blue Box;

3. When you sold a Blue Box out of a van, Cisco wasn't waiting behind you with legal papers. (OK, the cops were. But Cisco's lawyers are really tough;)

4. Cingular didn't make you wait until your two-year service agreement ran out to upgrade to a Blue Box;

5. The touch-keys on the Blue Box were way easier to hit with adult fingers than the keys on the iPhone;

6. Microsoft is six months or a year behind the curve on the iPhone. It's 30 years behind on the Blue Box.