iPhone...really? (Part 1)
Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 10:53PM Ok, so being honest, when asked, my answer is "I am a Mac". Love it or hate it doesn't matter to me, it's not my war to fight. But, one of the reasons I prefer the Mac is the useful way they present what I am looking for. Don't get me wrong, I have done my damage at the bash shell prompt many a time, I have had my post-it notes with the proper way to ask for -h. But all that aside, most of the time I prefer not to be in the command line. I like knowing it's there, but I tend not to play there.
So in a cell phone...oh wait, now they are SmartPhones. What do you want? What do you expect? Maybe to have your Contacts, eMail, Calendar and SMS? AND you are willing to deal with a GEEK interface to make it happen. (You know lose that old Palm III you have been carrying around? - You may have even had the 56K modem accessory. :-) )
Enter Apple, Steve Jobs and the iPhone. Day one it gives you more than you have ever had (Maps rock) and it's presented in a way even non-geeks can understand. Pretty glossy pictures, you just press. (no, you geeks put your styli down). When you press, that application appears and you get what you wanted. When you are done, you press Home. Wow. THAT is what made the iPhone.
Apps - Then we wanted even MORE. That’s right, we loved this little phone thingy and we want it to do tricks. Apple steps up, smiles and says Web Apps. Wow, was that a polarizing moment? We want apps, real apps...you give us web pages? Yuk....Or really? I agree I was on the bandwagon, I wanted apps...that's what we were used too. But looking at this, Apple was right...they were just a few years ahead in their ideas. The state of web based applications when Apple made that announcement, well it was nothing compared to today. To cite one example, then move on to the real topic :-) , Google Voice Great App, get's denied...so Google just says no problem we can do this on the web. That's right, feature for feature. Exactly as Apple had predicted. We will see (by the way I am at least $10 a day at the app store!)
Ok, so the real point of this series is simple. Right now, 8/29/09, what apps do I have, do I use them and how?
(that comes early next week, come back often) Continue reading...
Reader Comments (2)
While I'm still proud to be a "PC", when it comes to my phone I’ll admit i'm a Mac. I do love my iPhone. While the iPhone was by no means the first smart phone, the iPhone was the first to successfully take the rich features of a Smartphone and to target the masses in a way that everyone could understand. In the past smart phones focused on tools and programs that geeks and business users wanted. Apple took that same technology and focused on consumer apps, a ridiculously beautiful interface and ultimately a library of apps that truly has changed our idea of what a phone is. Does anyone remember “Convergence” from the 1990’s? The iPhone is a serious step in the realizations of that promise.
Mike - Great post. Yes, I remember Convergence! :) Very well put. Please stay tuned as we go page by page. Great stuff. Please comment on what apps you find useful and those you cannot live without. A new post goes up today.
-john