How do you access music, photos, and video using the touch screen?

Apple explains that you can:

Scroll through your songs, artists, albums, and playlists with just a flick of a finger. Album artwork is dramatically presented on the large display. And now use Cover Flow to browse your music library by album artwork for the first time on an iPod.

Effectively, the iPhone provides the option of having content either displayed by list or by album art. Apple provides a video demonstration on the company website as well.

How does the iPhone synchronize music, photos, and videos with a computer? Can it sync via Bluetooth or wi-fi?

The iPhone synchronizes music, photos, and videos in the same way that the iPod does -- via the iTunes software program and the iPod "dock connector" port.

Upon it's introduction on January 9, 2007, MacWorld was optimistic that you might be able to synchronize data with the iPhone and a computer using Bluetooth 2.0:

It isn't clear yet if Bluetooth will be just for headsets or if you'll be able to use it for syncing data with your computer, or whether you'll be able to sync via Wi-Fi. One thing Apple did tell us is that you won't be able to use the iPhone as a wireless Bluetooth modem for a laptop on the road, for example (at least that’s the current plan).

Currently, you cannot officially synchronize the iPhone via Bluetooth or wi-fi. However, hardworking hackers have created a rudimentary program that makes it possible to synchronize a folder on a computer with a folder on the iPhone (or iPod touch) via wi-fi. Although full synchronization is not yet available as of the date last updated (see top), it is a noble first effort, and more developments are planned.

Can you access the iTunes Music Store directly from the iPhone?

Not as originally shipped on June 29, 2007. However, on September 5, 2007, Apple unveiled the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store which makes it possible to "browse, search, preview, purchase and download songs and albums from the iTunes Music Store over a Wi-Fi network directly" onto an iPhone or iPod touch.

Can you "beam" music, photos, and videos between iPhones? Can you "beam" data files between iPhones? Does the iPhone support "disk mode" when connected to a computer?

As designed, the iPhone software does not allow one to transfer music, photos, or videos between iPhones. The iPhone cannot be used to transfer data files via Bluetooth or wi-fi, nor does it support "disk mode" when connected to a Mac or PC.

MacWorld laments that:

In its current form, you won't be able to use the iPhone to move documents from one Mac to another -- well, unless you send a file as an attachment to your Yahoo push e-mail account.

Additionally, ComputerWorld notes:

iPhone Wi-Fi is for connecting to the Internet through wireless or networks only. You won't be able to connect peer-to-peer.

However, as is often the case, where Apple has decided to deny access, third-parties have come to the rescue.

It's not quite as convenient as it would be to directly "beam" music, photos, videos, or data files between iPhones, but as first spotted by the TUAW blog, there is a third-party iPhone application called Song Sender that makes it easy to send a song by e-mail to another iPhone -- or any other device with e-mail access -- or add the song to the available ringtones on your iPhone.

To solve the lack of iPhone "disk mode" functionality, Ecamm Network has released a small software program called Megaphone (originally named iPhoneDrive) that makes it possible to copy files from a Mac to the iPhone for transfer to another computer as well as access some types of files on the iPhone itself.