So, let me start by saying I am a MAC user. I love my mac, and would never go back to Windows Baesd Software for my personal use. But, I have some questions about the new iPhone. Macs have always been a great computer, esp. for people in the grpahic design field. Since Steve Jobs and his team released the iPod, the company has evolved greatly. Apple's stock over doubled since the first generation iPod, and their sales have skyrocketed. What I think attracts everyone to Apple's products is the fact that (one) they last for a long time (two) Apple has good technical support, where you don't have to talk to India, and (three) they have a really cool look.
The problem that I see with the iPhone is that everyone already has an iPod or some type of MP3 player and everyone already has a cell phone. I know this isn't going to stop people from buying it just because its the iPhone. I'm all for it, and personally the day Apple announced it, I told my dad that i wanted to get one. But now that I have read into it a little more, I realize it might not be the best investment. I look to the cell phone as a safety tool, and I need it in case anything goes wrong. I look at the iPod as a luxury, and I love to have my music with me everywhere I go. The battery life on this thing is going to be a problem. They say that if you listen to music and only make a few calls, you can get about five to eight hours out of the battery. Well I know people that use their cell phone a lot more than eight hours a day. Are people going to carry battery packs around on their backs so they can charge their iPhone?
In the end, I will prob. want to get one, but I want to see the market reaction to them before I invest my money in it.
5 comments:
Even though I am an avid Windows user I like how you used the new iPhone from the perspective of both a luxury and safety item. I think the battery life will always be an issue, though I think more because of how many people listen to music rather than how long they talk on the phone. Either way, it's still an issue that hopefully will be resolved or endured, for Apple's sake.
NPR's On the Media did a short segment about how Apple turns their marketing announcements into hard news. It's something that they are excellent at and it give them a huge advantage over companies that can't do it.
Interesting ideas, Jeff, but i'm not quite so sure if i totally agree with you. Yes, the battery life will probably be an issue, but for those people who actually use a cell phone/smartphone and ipod daily, i think this could be a very good product. It would not only save space (one device instead of two) but it also has more features than both a smartphone and ipod combined. In the end, I think that people will be more fixated on the benefits of the iphone rather than its [still unknown] battery life.
Good thoughts, Jeff, though this post doesn't delve too deeply into the culture/society aspect of computer/technology usage, and I'd like to see a little more of that. When cell phones were first emerging (and I remember back in the day when my grandmother had gotten a "car phone" because she was a realtor, and this phone was practically the size of a small briefcase), cell phones were considered a "luxury item". Now, many agree with you that it is very much a necessity of life. For example, AU experimented recently with taking local phones out of dorms because so many incoming students had cell phones. At what point does a luxury become a necessity for us? What do we really feel attached to and entitled to, and why?
Again, good post, just put a little more "culture" into the "technology culture".
P.S.: I'm currently proud to be iPod-less, just like 5 years ago when I was proud to be cell phone-less. Today, I have a RAZR and I don't think I could fully function without it.
-Prof. Castle
Just as bad as the short battery life is the small hard drive space. I believe it was as low as 8 gigs of hard drive space for the 600 dollar model. By trying to be significantly ahead of the curve, apple has rushed too much technology into too little space. Regardless of how impressive the touchscreen and lack of buttons is, the absence of battery life and small hard drive greatly damage the utility of this device. These shotfalls on top of a 600 dollar price tag too much for me, and I am willing to bet most consumers agree.
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