Things have been relatively quiet on the portable media player scene this week - perhaps because most competitors don’t want to share the spotlight with the Apple iPhone. This hybrid iPod/mobile phone device debuts today after months of waiting.

The Apple iPhone, which gets up to eight hours of talk time, sports an interactive 3.5-inch widescreen display which you touch to control virtually every feature the phone has to offer. As far as being an iPod goes the iPhone is as close as Apple has gotten thus far to a widescreen player like many hope the company will someday release.

iPod specific features of the iPhone include support for iTunes Store content such as music videos, television shows and movies in the H.264 format. Audio formats supported include AAC and MP3. Like the iPod you can use the iPhone to sync with iTunes on a Windows or Mac to carry around your media library wherever you go.

The iPhone is available later today in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US). This is on top of a two-year AT&T service plan.

Apple iPhone