Not like you need to read yet another article on these huge announcements from Apple today.

It seems like every media outlet is just bursting with articles, analysis, pictures, and hype about Apple these days. In fact, I’ve even noticed that the old media stand-by from 1997, “The beleagured company…” has been replaced with “The legendary company…” in the most recent New York Times.

What a difference 10 years can make.

Well, if you’ve already read 100 articles on these products, I’m not sure you need to click many of these links. But, if you are a normal human being, and you’ve somewhat tuned out all of the recent press and hype, here are a few good links if you are curious.

The best web pages about the products are actually at Apple. So start there:

• iPhone
• Apple TV
• Airport Extreme

If you are interested in a few more links:

• Apple TV Pictures on Engadget
• Steve Jobs Keynote Video on Apple.com
• Apple iPhone Hardware Pictures on Apple Insider
• Apple iPhone Software Pictures on Apple Insider
• iPhone & Apple TV Pictures from Macworld 2007

Also, it looks like David Pogue, at the New York Times, actually got to sit down with Steve and play with the iPhone today. Read about it on his blog.

Let me just say up front, these products are gorgeous. Who knew that everything I’d want for my birthday would be small & rectangular this year? In all seriousness, Apple has taken design language and brand identity to a new level. It’s across their advertisements, their software, their hardware. It is constantly refreshed and new, and yet it maintains a language and style that consistently tells you it is an Apple product without even seeing the logo. It may look easy when Apple does it, but there is a reason why no one else does. It’s hard, bordering on impossible.

I am actually going to Macworld 2007 tomorrow afternoon, so I will post again with thoughts after I’ve seen the products in person. Let me just highlight here some of my initial thoughts:

• iPhone. Yeah, this is the reason Apple’s market capitalization went up by $6.1 Billion dollars today. The pictures make it look large, but I’m expecting to be surprised by its dimensions tomorrow. Not available until June, but clearly something that Apple felt they needed to announce now to capture excitement. It’s always risky to give the market a half year to formulate a response to your product, before you even ship.

  I am 90% sure that I will buy one of these to replace my Nokia cell phone and iPod nano. My biggest concern is that while Steve is selling the touch-sensitive screen, I think people may be underestimating the value of three dimensional button feel. If you have a universal remote that is all touch-screen, then you understand the loss of that physical feedback. I can dial my phone today without looking, with one hand. The iPhone seems to be geared towards someone who will look at it and hold it with two hands while they are using it.

  But man, is it gorgeous. Unbelievable. Beyond the physical device, notice the difference that great software makes? Does anyone still think that Windows Mobile/CE is impressive now that they are seeing what Mac OS X lite can look like on a device? Palm OS looks like it was written in the 1970s next to it. The biggest complaint I have heard about the Motorola RAZR family is just how bad the Motorola software is. I expect the software to be a real selling point for the device.

• Apple TV. Believe it or not, I’m more excited about this device than I was about the iPhone. When I had a Tivo Series 2, I used to love the Home Media Option. Displaying my iPhoto library and playing my iTunes library was great, and the fact that it presented all of my personal data (playlists, albums) was fantastic. Unfortunately, my move to DirecTivo forced me to give it up, in favor of dual tuners. Apple TV looks even better, because it will handle video, even high definition, and it has the only UI that I’ve seen on a set top box that looks as good as Tivo. The price point is excellent at $299. Everyone should have one of these.

• Airport Extreme (802.11n). You won’t see articles written about this one, but this is the companion piece to making wireless a real potential video distribution solution for the home. Like previous incarnations, I don’t think this will be a product that non-Apple devotees will buy. I guarantee you, there will be cheaper 802.11N basestations on the market within minutes. Still, I’ll buy one, largely because I am one of those Apple devotees, and because I expect it to just work flawlessly with my home network, and with my new Apple TVs.

I’m not sure if it will be feasible with this initial release, but I’m eager to find out whether it will be viable to have multiple Apple TVs in the same house. I’d love to have all of my photos, music & video on my G5 server, and then be able to watch them on any TV in the house.

So, $599 + $299 + $179 = over $1000 of new product that I now must own. Unbelievable.

More to come tomorrow, once I get a chance to see these and other products in person tomorrow.