So Much Freakin’ iPhone Buzz
January 13, 2007
Perhaps I should have thought twice before setting my RSS reader up to monitor for the iPhone tag. But now that I’ve gone and started monitoring the buzz, it’s impossible to stop. After all, just about everyone I like and respect has a perspective on this new device.
There’s a lot of skepticism out there, which is only proper given that the device won’t be available until June. In the absence of opportunities to go out and buy one, make an unboxing video, or post a review, all the bloggers can do is speculate rampantly.
Some are wondering if the phone will work for business, especially for people who do business on PCs. Michael Arrington thinks PC users should just switch to Mac already.
Of course, TailRank is already reporting that an intrepid geek has developed the iPhone UI for Windows Mobile. Does this remind anyone of something? Vista, perhaps?
Meanwhile, Tim Moynihan at CNet’s Crave has a scintillating article detailing thirteen reasons to doubt the iPhone hype. He makes a great point about all the additional data services that may be necessary to support the iPhone’s various functions. Users who want the full package could be looking at a $200+ cell phone bill each month. He also laments the lack of 3G support, but Josh Bancroft indicates that it may be 3G upgradable.
Robert Scoble is dismayed at the iPhone’s lack of GPS, while Eric Rice says that GPS is better suited to use in cars. After all, Americans are fat and lazy and never go anywhere without our cars anyway.
Personally, I was dismayed to learn that there will be no third-party developer option for the iPhone. I was really hoping for an XML-RPC widget that would allow me to blog. Apparently, Jobs is worried that some third-party software will “gum up” Cingular’s network. I’m sure there’s a way around such concerns, and having an open API for widget development would stifle critics’ worries about not being able to blog from the thing. I know it would be a huge value-add for me.
Steve Hodson thinks that people are making way too many stupid observations about the iPhone. He poo-pooh’s Michael Arrington’s suggestion that the whole world just switch to Mac already, which makes sense when you think about it. I think the winner for stating the obvious goes to Glenn Fleishman for his observation that the iPhone’s true beauty lies not in its power as a phone, but in its seamless integration of multiple devices into one pretty little package.
My bottom line: The iPhone isn’t perfect. No phone is perfect. The fact that people expect “the perfect phone” from Apple only indicates how much respect they have for Jobs and his team. What Apple has created here is a marvelous user interface that integrates their most popular product (the iPod) with the functions of a smart phone in such a way that people don’t need to read the manual to use the thing.
I know I’m stating the obvious here, but the iPhone is a digital life device, just like all of Apple’s products are digital life devices. They can be used for business or pleasure, but they’re optimized for human beings. I’m a fan of their products and will continue to be until one really, really disappoints me. So far I’m still pretty jazzed about buying an iPhone, but it’s a long slog until June. Between now and then, will the buzz die on the vine?
Funnily enough, I came to the same conclusion has Glenn. While the iPhone features individually do not revolutionise many things, it is the way Apple has created a fluid user experience between all its components in an elegant and intuitive way that truely revolutionises the concept of the Phone.
But I won’t get to see it till god knows when anyway. I will be very interested in how they will handle the product launches in other regions ie Asia, where I’m from.
Dazzer: I came to the exact same conclusion as well. I’m just teasing Glenn for stating the obvious.
Teresa, thanks for linking my blog entry. See I knew people would see it similar to how I do. We share the same opinion, the iPhone is really for our digital lives. It’s not a business phone. I just don’t see how Jobs would just create a business phone. Apple is a consumer focused company. It’s for life and that’s both business and pleasure. I think the iPhone is a good compromise of the two.
Juan: Not to be even more of a Macsturbator than I already am, but I think the digital life device is the right approach. After all, the digital world is already causing the line between work and play to blur significantly.
The real problem here is that at $500-600 a pop, this phone is priced for adults with jobs. I think someone said that it was priced for twenty-somethings who just got a big fat raise. I fall into that category more or less, which is probably why I’m creaming myself over this phone.
I have a feeling that future versions will come down in price, just like the iPod did.
I know that my particular contribution to the buzz isn’t particularly well worded or well thought out, but it’s good to know that you neither like or respect me
Yeah…I figured that none of my posts showed up because I haven’t actually tagged any of my posts recently. I’m lazy like that.
I think blog posting is possible, since it’s doable from a Dashboard-style widget engine.
Miguel: The only problem with that is that there will be no third-party developer participation in widget development, at least not at this juncture. That means we’re at the mercy of Apple to design a desktop blog editor/widget for the phone that does everything we want because there will be no way to get under the hood and improve it if it doesn’t work properly…
[...] Here is an interesting article rebutting the iPhone chatter of this past week, in which the point is made, with which I agree, that while the interface is divine, there are many aspects of this device that are all-too down-to-earth. Nevertheless, I think Steve Jobs and pals have made a great step forward, though even if I had the money, I would not be in line at the Cingular store come the iPhone’s ship date this coming June. [...]