After four days, I am ready to confess. On the first day of Apple's newest iPhone, I ran out and bought one. Friends would be shocked to learn that I even stood in line - and never once complained.

Here, we could have a much longer conversation about the popular obsession with technology - and about weak-minded consumers who can't resist the latest marketing hype.

I don't care. I love this thing.

The uninitiated should know that it's a misnomer to think of it as a phone. The phone function is almost the least of it. The iPhone is a computer/GPS device/camera/MP3 player/phone in your pocket.

There's no point in even trying to identify all the functions. Thousands of applications are available.

I can read The Press Democrat or locate the nearest Mexican restaurant, shoot and edit video (and e-mail it to a friend), watch Family Guy videos, read my Twitter feeds, watch the latest YouTube video from Iran, listen to music, check my e-mail, surf the Web, monitor the weather or even read a book.

If I'm with a friend with an iPhone, we can even annoy the people nearby by playing Lightsaber.

Is this the best use of my time? Sometimes. But for an example of how personal technology is changing our world, the iPhone is Exhibit A.

Apparently I'm not alone in my gee-whiz moment. From David Pogue of the New York Times to Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, the people who write about technology products have gushed about its new features and speed. Apple reported on Monday that it sold more than one million third-generation iPhones in the first three days after its launch.