jonathanmoeller (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jonathanmoeller) wrote,@ 2007-06-26 23:42:00 |
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I, Phone
Out of curiosity, anyone going to buy an iPhone?
I'm not. Good heavens. I mean, $500 for a cell phone, and $60 for monthly charges. Utter madness!* Though I am curious to see if it flops or if it flies, for two reasons.
First, propaganda. Steve Jobs is an absolute master of illusion. The man practically speaks with the Voice of Saruman. After all, there are better, cheaper, more durable digital music players out there than the iPod, yet the iPod and iTunes rule the universe of digital music. I confess, I'm curious to see if the Voice of Saruman can sell form over function one final time.
Second, actual function. For work, I have to support and troubleshoot smartphones and PDAs on a regular basis, and I have to say, the current generation of devices just stinks. I've spent much time muttering under my breath while pecking at a tiny glowing screen with a stylus, or pecking at rice-sized buttons on a miniscule keyboard. And Windows Mobile is little better. The Start Menu does not translate well to a six-square inch screen, and Windows Mobile smartphones have this vexing tendency to lock up. More than once, I've had to restrain myself from throwing a smartphone into the wall out of sheer frustration.
So, if the iPhone's touch-screen works, and if it manages to integrate its myriad functions well, and if it truly functions as a mobile computer instead of a phone with some extra features tacked on, who knows? It could truly become The Next Big Thing. Maybe in a hundred years they'll first talk about how Microsoft launched the computing revolution and then Apple launched the mobile computing revolution.**
But I'm still not buying one. $500? No way.
-JM
*I didn't even get my first cell phone until late 2004. I still have it, and I generally make one or two calls a month.
**I suspect Steve Jobs wants that bad. So long as his name is mentioned prominently.
Out of curiosity, anyone going to buy an iPhone?
I'm not. Good heavens. I mean, $500 for a cell phone, and $60 for monthly charges. Utter madness!* Though I am curious to see if it flops or if it flies, for two reasons.
First, propaganda. Steve Jobs is an absolute master of illusion. The man practically speaks with the Voice of Saruman. After all, there are better, cheaper, more durable digital music players out there than the iPod, yet the iPod and iTunes rule the universe of digital music. I confess, I'm curious to see if the Voice of Saruman can sell form over function one final time.
Second, actual function. For work, I have to support and troubleshoot smartphones and PDAs on a regular basis, and I have to say, the current generation of devices just stinks. I've spent much time muttering under my breath while pecking at a tiny glowing screen with a stylus, or pecking at rice-sized buttons on a miniscule keyboard. And Windows Mobile is little better. The Start Menu does not translate well to a six-square inch screen, and Windows Mobile smartphones have this vexing tendency to lock up. More than once, I've had to restrain myself from throwing a smartphone into the wall out of sheer frustration.
So, if the iPhone's touch-screen works, and if it manages to integrate its myriad functions well, and if it truly functions as a mobile computer instead of a phone with some extra features tacked on, who knows? It could truly become The Next Big Thing. Maybe in a hundred years they'll first talk about how Microsoft launched the computing revolution and then Apple launched the mobile computing revolution.**
But I'm still not buying one. $500? No way.
-JM
*I didn't even get my first cell phone until late 2004. I still have it, and I generally make one or two calls a month.
**I suspect Steve Jobs wants that bad. So long as his name is mentioned prominently.
