I love Helvetica. I really really love it. So I really enjoyed reading this post from Subtraction.com.

I’d been disenchanted with my Palm Treo 650
for some time even before yesterday’s announcement, but now, looking at
its bulky, awkward frame and interface, I’m more convinced than ever
that I’ll soon leave it behind.

What sealed the deal, though, was a quiet milestone that the iPhone
hits in design sophistication: it’s the first mobile device that I know
of — and certainly the most elegant — to use the typeface Helvetica
throughout its interface.

Everyone knows I’m a huge Helvetica fan,
and you could sell me almost any device that uses the typeface, in part
because there are no devices that do. But there’s a reason that this
particular usage seems to signal something more to me.

Helvetica is not the most expensive of typefaces to license, but its
plain elegance is easily dismissed by product managers who don’t see
the percentage in using a truly elegant typeface, especially when much
cheaper and ostensibly more distinctive typefaces can be had easily.

Someone on the iPhone’s product team had to go to bat for Helvetica,
someone with a truly articulate design sensibility, and they had to
argue for it in the face of the easy availability of much trendier
alternatives. Digital devices have rarely been exemplars of excellent
typography, and the fact that the iPhone team took the time to address
such a subtle but significant aspect of the design is meaningful. We’re
just turned a corner, I think; design for mobile devices isn’t going to
get much easier anytime soon, but it’s going to look a lot better
sooner than we thought it would.

If you like that sort of thing, subtraction.com is well worth a read.