Now, that was funny, only because of the herd mentality of the social being. I think we need to teach people more Philosophy in schools to avert the peer pressure of the materialistic society. We have become no more than recources for the State and big Corp. I am friking sick of it. There a friking laws against Jay walking and none where I live about using a phone while driving.
I’d like to see the statistics if the exist, on what percentage of vehicle accidents involved people on ther phones. I have one of those Trac Phone (no contract pay for minutes up front), and I think technology is great, but mine is only used is exigent situations. Not talk to aunt Pearl about her new curtains while driving down the road.
I saw my first iPhone yesterday. It’s owned by a friend who, until recently, didn’t even own a cell phone. Since he has trouble using the remote lock control for his car, we wonder whether the iPhone will end up eating him alive. We’ll see.
Those short videos are surprisingly addictive of his.
But when I saw this I immediately thought of a simple line: “Not an iPhone! That’s like blending god!” Heh, what a crazy guy. Though he does have a kick ass blender.
Cecilsays
The blended iPhone is up to $1150 on ebay. It also comes with the $400 blender that was used, but still…
That means the iPhone is worth more blended than intact!
Not feeling happy about the wanton destruction – and I would have said that about pretty much any piece of kit that works, as it just seems like a waste.
But still. Fantastic blender indeed.
Bruce Thompsonsays
Play it backwards and it’s a creationists view of evolution. Include the blender guy and it’s ID, since he’s wearing a lab coat.
TimothyPsays
Don’t worry iGollum, it’s a waste even when it is “working.” You should be mad at apple for making it, not at anyone who destroys one.
chembobsays
Baloney Tim! My iPhone is the single coolest gadget I’ve ever owned and I’ve had a few. I just read this blog and responded using it.
cmsays
Dear Peoples of the Developing World:
See, we’re so rich we create $600 state of the art gadgets and then ruin them as entertainment! And you people don’t even have clean water! Suckers!
This encapsulates my feelings about cellphones and other beepity gadgets quite nicely, thanks for sharing!
Doc Billsays
Notice how long the iPhone stays on while being blended.
ASUmusicMANsays
Ebay listing for the blended iPhone, blender, and autographed T-shirt. Currently at $1151
Julia Bsays
I like the item description in the Ebay listing, particularly the Condition: Used. Talk about understatement.
beccariisays
Oh, ok, I’ll post on this. Below is a note that I just sent to a set of students/friends/colleagues (some overlap among those categories exists). I don’t hate Apple, or even resent it, but I do find the iPhone hype to be annoying. Were I to have the computer-centric part of my life to completely re-create, I might even go the Apple route.
On a related topic, I also do not own a Blackberry, nor do I plan to do so.
I prefer to have my recently-acquired enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens, which cost a bit less (though not by much) than an iPhone, but which will not become obsolete within oh, let’s say a couple of weeks. In addition, I don’t have to pay monthly fees for use of the enamel.
And – I want one of those blenders (a wish dating back to a year or so ago, upon first seeing some of the demonstrations).
Subject line:
“a reasonable, valid application of the iPhone”
and…you either already know or can infer how much I want an iPhone…
—
Apple Monster
JJRsays
“Takes a licking and keeps on….oh never mind, then.”
Reminds me a little of the shtick w/ the “Bass-o-Matic” that Dan Akroyd put thru its paces on SNL in the 1970s…
…Anyhow, as far as the YouTube vid, man, that’s actually quite an environmentally toxic brew he has there…lots of iPoisonous iWaste….i wouldn’t breathe in that crap if I were him. His lab gear was completely insufficient for the task; needs a protective cover for his mouth and nose, for starters, and true lab goggles…frack, basically good hazmat gear. yeech.
Interesting how the iPhone dust will sell on eBay for enough money to finance the purchase of several more iPhones. I guess the wanton destruction works out okay for the perpetrator, at least in that sense.
It still made me queasy, though.
Asays
There’s a lot of wondering about the destruction and waste of destroying a perfectly good iPhone, but y’know, most companies’ ad campaigns cost a LOT more than $600, and that is precisely what the “Will It Blend?” series is – advertising for the blender featured. I see much more to complain about in the thousands of dollars spent on scouting, acting, filming, etc etc in many epic ads on television.
Blenders are like toasters: Unless you’re willing to cough up at least $400, don’t bother getting a new one. You’re better off haunting estate sales — the old ’50s blenders could chop up that iPhone rather nicely.
robsays
I don’t think it is a waste, really….
$600 is not a lot to pay for the publicity they got out of it. (although I seriously doubt anyone will actually pay a lot of money for the blended phone). And if they got 60,000 people viewing the site, thats a penny a person to advertise to them (or just to entertain them)…not bad. It’s no different than a movie where cars crash for our entertainment.
So Timothy, why again should we be mad at Apple for working hard to make a product that got a lot of people excited? Are you just bitter that you were never able to come up with anything interesting enough for anyone to care about it?
DuWaynesays
rob –
Read the above comments, it’s going for $150 over retail cost of blender and iPhone, on Ebay.
John C. Randolphsays
I liked the punchline: “but I’ve got another one!”
-jcr
robsays
DuWayne…I saw that, but often high-profile things like this on ebay don’t actually sell…people bid on them for the amusement and then bail without paying.
Arnosium Upinarumsays
Funny how the violent destruction (‘smoothie’ setting) of a complex organized material object into a black powder induces an automatic cringe.
Nothing is safe – here today, gone tomorrow. Right away I imagined a mouse or a puppy or a human preemie in there…or a cuttlefish. CRINGE. Can’t help it. Then my associations expanded to other worthy enterprises like, say, NASCAR or demolition derby or Burning Man or sand paintings or war-waging militaries and so on and on.
Gotta give it to us humans: we’re fucking insane. Just about as good at building things up as we are at tearing them down. Just for laughs. Hilarity.
The second cringe I got was when that lab-coated imbecile opened the cover releasing the colloidal smoke without wearing any protective breathing apparatus. There were batteries (and lots of other components) in that thing that have a very interesting composition…
Cancer risk just for laughs. har har.
Donalbainsays
I seriously dont get it… what is so great about the iPhone? What does it do that my current mobile doesnt do? Sheesh, its not even 3G and it isnt that pretty to look at..
But… but… the battery!! ACK! Just imagine the awfulness that’s in the dust! GAH!!!!!
I see Arnosium got there first, of course, but that was my first thought… THE BATTERY! NOOOOOO!
I couldn’t care less about the overpriced toy.
chris ysays
Some blender. Hint: if you try making mayo in super-powerful blenders like that, it curdles in seconds. You’re better off with a more modest model.
What is it with iPhones? AFAICS they’re an unexciting mid-range phone in a pretty box. Apple keep doing this – remember those hideous hemispherical computers a few years ago – and people keep throwing money at them for it. I don’t get it. (Mind you, my personal view of Steve Jobs is that I’d run Windows 3.1 for the rest of my life before I’d buy anything from his company, so maybe I’m missing something.)
Paul Asays
Woo-hoo! I’ve viewed Apple as the new Microsoft for some time now thanks to their locking down of their products (iPod + iTunes, iPhone + AT&T) and refusal to open up their toys to external software providers. Also the smugness and uber-hype is just too much to bear.
On a related note I have a couple of friends who work for a printing company in Edinburgh and they were forced to buy a couple of iMacs for the designers some years ago. They’re still referred to as Etch-A-Sketch’s by everyone else in the company :-)
Apple has a reputation for making gadgets that just plain work, that do so elegantly, and that look fabulous. They’re also always one step behind the technological cutting edge (which is actually good, although true geeks don’t see it that way) and they have a premium price.
I think the smugness is warranted. Apple makes techno-jewels.
mojojojosays
I don’t get it. What is point of expending so much emotional energy–either love or hate–over a machine?
Donalbainsays
Yeah, I remember the iPod, it was a little device for listening to music, wasnt it? Of course, I have one that costs half as much and does exactly the same..
Steve_Csays
Suuuuure you do.
My new 20″ iMac is coming tomorrow suckas!
I know new iMacs are due very soon… but this one is a gift.
linnensays
@ Steve_C;
But will it blend?
Steve_Csays
Everything does if you have a big enough blender… or wood chipper.
Robsays
@mojojojo
I don’t understand the hate thing (I mean, if you aren’t interested, don’t buy one and don’t read the articles)….but if people get enjoyment out of new gadgets, what’s wrong with that? Lots and lots of hard work from talented people went into the iPhone, it is probably the most important product release of the decade, and will certainly be highly influencial in the years to come.
Some people get excited about the latest Harry Potter book, some people get excited about the latest discovery from Nasa, some get excited about a newly discovered species of squid. Whatever.
Donalbainsays
“Most important product release of the decade”? How on earth do you get that idea?
It’s a phone. It’s not even a ground breaking phone. Its just a pretty phone. Its not going to change anything, which, it can be argued the iPod did. At least the iPod was an early adopters toy for listening to digital music and was part of the whole change in that field. The iPhone is nothing like that at all.
No1Unosays
Please, please sign me up for a product with no third party apps, for only thrice the price of similar phones, stuck with only one (in my experience, the worst) carrier. Oh, and throw in a hard-wired battery. Sign me up!
Steve_Csays
The iPod is just a digital music player and the Macintosh was just an all in one computer…
It is too early to say if the iPhone changes the cell phone world. It’s not just a phone however.
Steve_Csays
No third party apps… YET. It’s been out less than a month.
How many phones are out there with wifi for $200?? Please, enlighten me.
The battery will last about 2 years and it has a better talk time than most.
robsays
“Most important product release of the decade”? “How on earth do you get that idea?”
Feel free to suggest your candidate for most important product launch of the past 10 years. Seriously…you got one for us?
And btw, you say it is “just a phone”, but it is also an internet browser, media player, etc. What is interesting about it (to those of us that find it interesting) is the user interface, which is works dramatically differently than any comparable product, and is sure to be copied by all the competitors. Obviously, you don’t highly prioritize user interface, but lots of people do.
Donalbainsays
Well, the iPod was, as I said earlier, an early adopters’ toy and was part of a change in the way we listen to music. The iPhone is nothing like that. It is not coming in at the start of anything, mobile phone ownership has pretty much reached saturation and there are phones out there that can already do anything that the iPhone can do and there are phones that can do more.
No MMS and not 3G? Thats not even close to good enough to be “the most important release of the decade”.
Donalbainsays
More important consumer product of the decade.. I would suggest that the Wii has more potential to be that than the iPhone. At least the Wii changes something. It only changes the way people play computer games, but that is something at least.
No1Unosays
“No third party apps… YET. It’s been out less than a month.
How many phones are out there with wifi for $200?? Please, enlighten me.
The battery will last about 2 years and it has a better talk time than most.”
Apple has nixed any legit third party apps. Treos and Blackberries, with a service agreement, can be had for under that. Ok, but it is just a battery. Why did they hard-wire it unless it was to be able to charge an exhorbitant service fee for what should be a simple fix? Typical Apple.
… and it will change the way you think and live, forever.
robsays
The ipod launch was important in retrospect, but at the time it was not a huge deal (it only worked with macs, there were plenty of other mp3 players around, etc). But the fact that iPod WAS eventually so successful is, obviously, a major reason for the interest in the iPhone.
And Donalbain I can’t see how you can say Wii changes things and iPhone doesn’t…iPhone dramatically changes the user interface of the cell phone (and the form factor of the portable computer, which is essentially what it is). And I’d argue that the impact of the iphone will affect a lot more people than Wii, since most people use cell phones, and your future cell phone interface WILL be affected by iPhone.
Regardless, as far as being a successful launch, nothing compares to it in terms of the interest it has gotten (which, admittedly, isn’t justification for being interested in it).
Donalbainsays
I am not so sure.. a phone that I cant use without taking off my gloves? That isnt very likely to take off in a big way in the north east of Scotland!
And you seem to be missing the point that I am making with the iPod. Before the iPod, people simply DIDNT listen to digital music on the move to any great degree. After the iPod people do. That is a fairly big change.
You wont get anything LIKE that with the iPhone. People ALREADY do what the iPod lets them do. And I am not sure that the user interface will be such a big deal. It isnt as if phones are horrible, difficult things to use now, so you cant compare it to the start of the GUI with computers. And you can’t compare it to the Wii, because the Wii fundamentally changes the things we do with a computer game. They used to be sedentary, sat down things, now they are active, physical things. That is a MAJOR change. The iPhone is still just a phone.
Anton Matessays
Apple keep doing this – remember those hideous hemispherical computers a few years ago – and people keep throwing money at them for it.
I’ve got one of those. Easy to move and clean, easy to attach/detach cables, the swivel monitor comes in handy on an hourly basis, and I think it looks adorable. Hasn’t changed my life or anything, but it’s a great computer.
Steve_Csays
I haven’t heard of any Treos with wifi built in…maybe a blackberry?
And only at the high end.
To say you can get a device with most of the same features for a third, is crap.
I’m an Apple fanboy going way back, but a guarded one. I like the iPhone, but I can’t help notice how strikingly it resembles the highly buttonless Newton MessagePad. I really don’t think an exclusively touch-screen interface is a good idea for any device, especially a portable one like the iPhone.
For the time being I’d rather have a Treo.
Rey Foxsays
“I really don’t think an exclusively touch-screen interface is a good idea for any device”
Me neither. But that might be because I’m somewhat fastidious about my screens. Every time I think of the iPhone, I think of it covered with greasy finger smears. Imagine if your kid ever got a hold of it.
Steve_Csays
I disagree. Exclusively touchscreen means the whole device can be revamped when necessary. All you need is a software and maybe a firmware update to add new features.
And apple designs great software… I can see them adding many new widgets in the next year.
swangeloksays
When we talk about phones there is only one company, Nokia
CalGeorgesays
It will change everything – eventually.
Being able to do all the essentials easily on one small device, anywhere – that’s a worthy goal and the iPhone is taking us in that direction.
I’d run out and get one but I object to:
1) The very high cost of the thing – a thousand bucks a year for the first two years, and
2) The exclusive AT&T contract. The built-in lack of choice really sucks.
Ichthyicsays
Regardless, as far as being a successful launch, nothing compares to it in terms of the interest it has gotten (which, admittedly, isn’t justification for being interested in it).
shorter:
marketing works.
as to the Iphone istelf…
like i said in the original Iphone thread:
just give it about 6 months, and you’ll find clones from other companies that work better, are more flexible, and about half the price.
give apple credit for having the wherewithal to spearhead the issue, but just like with mp3 players, you’ll find far better options available soon enough.
Yes. Remember the Lisa? $10,000 bucks, and it ran almost no software…but what it had was an elegant interface and got everyone rethinking how computer software ought to work. Now we’ve got Mac and Windows, and they’ve all adopted the pattern set then.
I’m not rushing out to buy an iPhone myself, but what I want is the device that will be spawned from the iPhone within a very few years: a useable, elegant, lovely communications tool that will allow me to live on the internet everywhere and at all times. It may not be made by Apple, but I guarantee you the next generation will steal everything they can from the iPhone concept, and make it better. And cheaper.
that was the first post from my brand new 20″ iMac. Just set it up tonight.
Ichthyicsays
Do you know why the iPod has 70% of the DMP market years after it’s launch?
It’s the interface… it’s the software… it’s the complete package. No one has managed to duplicate the success. That’s not just due to marketing.
no, you’re right, it’s not just marketing, it’s also the fact that there is inertia involved; once one person gets an IPod, others will follow. It IS however, the marketing that made it “cool” to begin with, and continues to attempt to make it look so as time goes by.
Having tried several dozen different kinds of Mp3 players, there are MANY with far better features and quality, for less price, than the Ipod variants.
your argument is like saying the reason Windows maintains its popularity is because of its interface or features.
uh, nope.
Steve_Csays
It’s the entire experience…
if you have to hook it up to a crappy interface to download files, use a crappy online store to get legal music and have to convert video to get it to play on your device. Is it really worth the 50 bucks you save to NOT get an iPod?
Apparently if you hate apple it is.
Ichthyicsays
It’s the entire experience…
so, if you’re creative enough not to NEED the “experience” of “itunes”, then you hate apple?
What the hell kind of a blender does that guy have?
Mine wimps out on ice cubes.
If you’ve got $400, you can have one, too.
Ahh, the ‘will it blend?’ guy on Youtube (golf balls, glowsticks, …). A great form of advertising for their blender.
Not an iPhone, … no … the humanity
The Bible, wrapped in the Stars and Stripes….
Will it blend?
It’s amazing to see how long the screen stays lit up.
And how powdery fine it all ends up.
n iPhone? Nope … that inspires no feelings in me at all.
If the guy had tried to blend a Sharp Zaurus or an HP 200LX, though, I might have shed a tear.
Rotfl, I work for AT&T, they won’t let us buy the iPhones at the employee rate, so blend away…
I don’t hate Apple, I just hate their smugness.
My reaction when I first saw this:
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Ack!
That’s all I can say.
Now, that was funny, only because of the herd mentality of the social being. I think we need to teach people more Philosophy in schools to avert the peer pressure of the materialistic society. We have become no more than recources for the State and big Corp. I am friking sick of it. There a friking laws against Jay walking and none where I live about using a phone while driving.
I’d like to see the statistics if the exist, on what percentage of vehicle accidents involved people on ther phones. I have one of those Trac Phone (no contract pay for minutes up front), and I think technology is great, but mine is only used is exigent situations. Not talk to aunt Pearl about her new curtains while driving down the road.
Omigawd. Cool blender, though.
I saw my first iPhone yesterday. It’s owned by a friend who, until recently, didn’t even own a cell phone. Since he has trouble using the remote lock control for his car, we wonder whether the iPhone will end up eating him alive. We’ll see.
Or we can get him a blender.
Those short videos are surprisingly addictive of his.
But when I saw this I immediately thought of a simple line: “Not an iPhone! That’s like blending god!” Heh, what a crazy guy. Though he does have a kick ass blender.
The blended iPhone is up to $1150 on ebay. It also comes with the $400 blender that was used, but still…
That means the iPhone is worth more blended than intact!
Link to the auction
Invalid HTML, how embarrassing. Here’s a working link.
Fantastic blender.
Not feeling happy about the wanton destruction – and I would have said that about pretty much any piece of kit that works, as it just seems like a waste.
But still. Fantastic blender indeed.
Play it backwards and it’s a creationists view of evolution. Include the blender guy and it’s ID, since he’s wearing a lab coat.
Don’t worry iGollum, it’s a waste even when it is “working.” You should be mad at apple for making it, not at anyone who destroys one.
Baloney Tim! My iPhone is the single coolest gadget I’ve ever owned and I’ve had a few. I just read this blog and responded using it.
Dear Peoples of the Developing World:
See, we’re so rich we create $600 state of the art gadgets and then ruin them as entertainment! And you people don’t even have clean water! Suckers!
Love,
America
Shouldn’t that be iCringed?
You mean iCringed
but anyway, does PZ Meyers have something on Al Scaduto, who does “They’ll do it Every Time?” http://doiteverytime.blogspot.com/search/label/squid
Wow! kvinther and I just proved ESP is real, you skeptatheistics!
Yes, a waste of materials but more importantly, a waste of time.
Besides, Letterman did it first with “Will it float?”.
So Mr. Blendo, get a real job!
http://www.imwithfred.com/
I have looked upon the face of true evil, and it wears hideous glasses.
This encapsulates my feelings about cellphones and other beepity gadgets quite nicely, thanks for sharing!
Notice how long the iPhone stays on while being blended.
Ebay listing for the blended iPhone, blender, and autographed T-shirt. Currently at $1151
I like the item description in the Ebay listing, particularly the Condition: Used. Talk about understatement.
Oh, ok, I’ll post on this. Below is a note that I just sent to a set of students/friends/colleagues (some overlap among those categories exists). I don’t hate Apple, or even resent it, but I do find the iPhone hype to be annoying. Were I to have the computer-centric part of my life to completely re-create, I might even go the Apple route.
On a related topic, I also do not own a Blackberry, nor do I plan to do so.
I prefer to have my recently-acquired enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens, which cost a bit less (though not by much) than an iPhone, but which will not become obsolete within oh, let’s say a couple of weeks. In addition, I don’t have to pay monthly fees for use of the enamel.
And – I want one of those blenders (a wish dating back to a year or so ago, upon first seeing some of the demonstrations).
Subject line:
“a reasonable, valid application of the iPhone”
Text, minus physical address:
“iSmoke”
A word is born.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceblogs%2Ecom%2Fpharyngula%2F
A
and…you either already know or can infer how much I want an iPhone…
—
Apple Monster
“Takes a licking and keeps on….oh never mind, then.”
Reminds me a little of the shtick w/ the “Bass-o-Matic” that Dan Akroyd put thru its paces on SNL in the 1970s…
…Anyhow, as far as the YouTube vid, man, that’s actually quite an environmentally toxic brew he has there…lots of iPoisonous iWaste….i wouldn’t breathe in that crap if I were him. His lab gear was completely insufficient for the task; needs a protective cover for his mouth and nose, for starters, and true lab goggles…frack, basically good hazmat gear. yeech.
CM: my sentiments exactly, btw.
Great comment, Bruce! [#16]
Interesting how the iPhone dust will sell on eBay for enough money to finance the purchase of several more iPhones. I guess the wanton destruction works out okay for the perpetrator, at least in that sense.
It still made me queasy, though.
There’s a lot of wondering about the destruction and waste of destroying a perfectly good iPhone, but y’know, most companies’ ad campaigns cost a LOT more than $600, and that is precisely what the “Will It Blend?” series is – advertising for the blender featured. I see much more to complain about in the thousands of dollars spent on scouting, acting, filming, etc etc in many epic ads on television.
Damn, I want that blender!
Blenders are like toasters: Unless you’re willing to cough up at least $400, don’t bother getting a new one. You’re better off haunting estate sales — the old ’50s blenders could chop up that iPhone rather nicely.
I don’t think it is a waste, really….
$600 is not a lot to pay for the publicity they got out of it. (although I seriously doubt anyone will actually pay a lot of money for the blended phone). And if they got 60,000 people viewing the site, thats a penny a person to advertise to them (or just to entertain them)…not bad. It’s no different than a movie where cars crash for our entertainment.
So Timothy, why again should we be mad at Apple for working hard to make a product that got a lot of people excited? Are you just bitter that you were never able to come up with anything interesting enough for anyone to care about it?
rob –
Read the above comments, it’s going for $150 over retail cost of blender and iPhone, on Ebay.
I liked the punchline: “but I’ve got another one!”
-jcr
DuWayne…I saw that, but often high-profile things like this on ebay don’t actually sell…people bid on them for the amusement and then bail without paying.
Funny how the violent destruction (‘smoothie’ setting) of a complex organized material object into a black powder induces an automatic cringe.
Nothing is safe – here today, gone tomorrow. Right away I imagined a mouse or a puppy or a human preemie in there…or a cuttlefish. CRINGE. Can’t help it. Then my associations expanded to other worthy enterprises like, say, NASCAR or demolition derby or Burning Man or sand paintings or war-waging militaries and so on and on.
Gotta give it to us humans: we’re fucking insane. Just about as good at building things up as we are at tearing them down. Just for laughs. Hilarity.
The second cringe I got was when that lab-coated imbecile opened the cover releasing the colloidal smoke without wearing any protective breathing apparatus. There were batteries (and lots of other components) in that thing that have a very interesting composition…
Cancer risk just for laughs. har har.
I seriously dont get it… what is so great about the iPhone? What does it do that my current mobile doesnt do? Sheesh, its not even 3G and it isnt that pretty to look at..
But… but… the battery!! ACK! Just imagine the awfulness that’s in the dust! GAH!!!!!
I see Arnosium got there first, of course, but that was my first thought… THE BATTERY! NOOOOOO!
I couldn’t care less about the overpriced toy.
Some blender. Hint: if you try making mayo in super-powerful blenders like that, it curdles in seconds. You’re better off with a more modest model.
What is it with iPhones? AFAICS they’re an unexciting mid-range phone in a pretty box. Apple keep doing this – remember those hideous hemispherical computers a few years ago – and people keep throwing money at them for it. I don’t get it. (Mind you, my personal view of Steve Jobs is that I’d run Windows 3.1 for the rest of my life before I’d buy anything from his company, so maybe I’m missing something.)
Woo-hoo! I’ve viewed Apple as the new Microsoft for some time now thanks to their locking down of their products (iPod + iTunes, iPhone + AT&T) and refusal to open up their toys to external software providers. Also the smugness and uber-hype is just too much to bear.
On a related note I have a couple of friends who work for a printing company in Edinburgh and they were forced to buy a couple of iMacs for the designers some years ago. They’re still referred to as Etch-A-Sketch’s by everyone else in the company :-)
Remember that little widget called the iPod?
Apple has a reputation for making gadgets that just plain work, that do so elegantly, and that look fabulous. They’re also always one step behind the technological cutting edge (which is actually good, although true geeks don’t see it that way) and they have a premium price.
I think the smugness is warranted. Apple makes techno-jewels.
I don’t get it. What is point of expending so much emotional energy–either love or hate–over a machine?
Yeah, I remember the iPod, it was a little device for listening to music, wasnt it? Of course, I have one that costs half as much and does exactly the same..
Suuuuure you do.
My new 20″ iMac is coming tomorrow suckas!
I know new iMacs are due very soon… but this one is a gift.
@ Steve_C;
But will it blend?
Everything does if you have a big enough blender… or wood chipper.
@mojojojo
I don’t understand the hate thing (I mean, if you aren’t interested, don’t buy one and don’t read the articles)….but if people get enjoyment out of new gadgets, what’s wrong with that? Lots and lots of hard work from talented people went into the iPhone, it is probably the most important product release of the decade, and will certainly be highly influencial in the years to come.
Some people get excited about the latest Harry Potter book, some people get excited about the latest discovery from Nasa, some get excited about a newly discovered species of squid. Whatever.
“Most important product release of the decade”? How on earth do you get that idea?
It’s a phone. It’s not even a ground breaking phone. Its just a pretty phone. Its not going to change anything, which, it can be argued the iPod did. At least the iPod was an early adopters toy for listening to digital music and was part of the whole change in that field. The iPhone is nothing like that at all.
Please, please sign me up for a product with no third party apps, for only thrice the price of similar phones, stuck with only one (in my experience, the worst) carrier. Oh, and throw in a hard-wired battery. Sign me up!
The iPod is just a digital music player and the Macintosh was just an all in one computer…
It is too early to say if the iPhone changes the cell phone world. It’s not just a phone however.
No third party apps… YET. It’s been out less than a month.
How many phones are out there with wifi for $200?? Please, enlighten me.
The battery will last about 2 years and it has a better talk time than most.
“Most important product release of the decade”? “How on earth do you get that idea?”
Feel free to suggest your candidate for most important product launch of the past 10 years. Seriously…you got one for us?
And btw, you say it is “just a phone”, but it is also an internet browser, media player, etc. What is interesting about it (to those of us that find it interesting) is the user interface, which is works dramatically differently than any comparable product, and is sure to be copied by all the competitors. Obviously, you don’t highly prioritize user interface, but lots of people do.
Well, the iPod was, as I said earlier, an early adopters’ toy and was part of a change in the way we listen to music. The iPhone is nothing like that. It is not coming in at the start of anything, mobile phone ownership has pretty much reached saturation and there are phones out there that can already do anything that the iPhone can do and there are phones that can do more.
No MMS and not 3G? Thats not even close to good enough to be “the most important release of the decade”.
More important consumer product of the decade.. I would suggest that the Wii has more potential to be that than the iPhone. At least the Wii changes something. It only changes the way people play computer games, but that is something at least.
“No third party apps… YET. It’s been out less than a month.
How many phones are out there with wifi for $200?? Please, enlighten me.
The battery will last about 2 years and it has a better talk time than most.”
Apple has nixed any legit third party apps. Treos and Blackberries, with a service agreement, can be had for under that. Ok, but it is just a battery. Why did they hard-wire it unless it was to be able to charge an exhorbitant service fee for what should be a simple fix? Typical Apple.
Isn’t there an Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode about the iPhone?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3104370847913563527
… and it will change the way you think and live, forever.
The ipod launch was important in retrospect, but at the time it was not a huge deal (it only worked with macs, there were plenty of other mp3 players around, etc). But the fact that iPod WAS eventually so successful is, obviously, a major reason for the interest in the iPhone.
And Donalbain I can’t see how you can say Wii changes things and iPhone doesn’t…iPhone dramatically changes the user interface of the cell phone (and the form factor of the portable computer, which is essentially what it is). And I’d argue that the impact of the iphone will affect a lot more people than Wii, since most people use cell phones, and your future cell phone interface WILL be affected by iPhone.
Regardless, as far as being a successful launch, nothing compares to it in terms of the interest it has gotten (which, admittedly, isn’t justification for being interested in it).
I am not so sure.. a phone that I cant use without taking off my gloves? That isnt very likely to take off in a big way in the north east of Scotland!
And you seem to be missing the point that I am making with the iPod. Before the iPod, people simply DIDNT listen to digital music on the move to any great degree. After the iPod people do. That is a fairly big change.
You wont get anything LIKE that with the iPhone. People ALREADY do what the iPod lets them do. And I am not sure that the user interface will be such a big deal. It isnt as if phones are horrible, difficult things to use now, so you cant compare it to the start of the GUI with computers. And you can’t compare it to the Wii, because the Wii fundamentally changes the things we do with a computer game. They used to be sedentary, sat down things, now they are active, physical things. That is a MAJOR change. The iPhone is still just a phone.
I’ve got one of those. Easy to move and clean, easy to attach/detach cables, the swivel monitor comes in handy on an hourly basis, and I think it looks adorable. Hasn’t changed my life or anything, but it’s a great computer.
I haven’t heard of any Treos with wifi built in…maybe a blackberry?
And only at the high end.
To say you can get a device with most of the same features for a third, is crap.
I’m an Apple fanboy going way back, but a guarded one. I like the iPhone, but I can’t help notice how strikingly it resembles the highly buttonless Newton MessagePad. I really don’t think an exclusively touch-screen interface is a good idea for any device, especially a portable one like the iPhone.
For the time being I’d rather have a Treo.
“I really don’t think an exclusively touch-screen interface is a good idea for any device”
Me neither. But that might be because I’m somewhat fastidious about my screens. Every time I think of the iPhone, I think of it covered with greasy finger smears. Imagine if your kid ever got a hold of it.
I disagree. Exclusively touchscreen means the whole device can be revamped when necessary. All you need is a software and maybe a firmware update to add new features.
And apple designs great software… I can see them adding many new widgets in the next year.
When we talk about phones there is only one company, Nokia
It will change everything – eventually.
Being able to do all the essentials easily on one small device, anywhere – that’s a worthy goal and the iPhone is taking us in that direction.
I’d run out and get one but I object to:
1) The very high cost of the thing – a thousand bucks a year for the first two years, and
2) The exclusive AT&T contract. The built-in lack of choice really sucks.
Regardless, as far as being a successful launch, nothing compares to it in terms of the interest it has gotten (which, admittedly, isn’t justification for being interested in it).
shorter:
marketing works.
as to the Iphone istelf…
like i said in the original Iphone thread:
just give it about 6 months, and you’ll find clones from other companies that work better, are more flexible, and about half the price.
give apple credit for having the wherewithal to spearhead the issue, but just like with mp3 players, you’ll find far better options available soon enough.
THAT’S what I’m looking forward to.
Yes. Remember the Lisa? $10,000 bucks, and it ran almost no software…but what it had was an elegant interface and got everyone rethinking how computer software ought to work. Now we’ve got Mac and Windows, and they’ve all adopted the pattern set then.
I’m not rushing out to buy an iPhone myself, but what I want is the device that will be spawned from the iPhone within a very few years: a useable, elegant, lovely communications tool that will allow me to live on the internet everywhere and at all times. It may not be made by Apple, but I guarantee you the next generation will steal everything they can from the iPhone concept, and make it better. And cheaper.
Apparently the N95 isn’t as good…
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/desktop_mobile/its_not_iphone_its_my_phone.html
Do you know why the iPod has 70% of the DMP market years after it’s launch?
It’s the interface… it’s the software… it’s the complete package. No one has managed to duplicate the success. That’s not just due to marketing.
Clones? You mean like the Zune? Hehe.
Introducing the best way to protect your iPod or iPhone…
http://hideapod.com/
By the way…
that was the first post from my brand new 20″ iMac. Just set it up tonight.
Do you know why the iPod has 70% of the DMP market years after it’s launch?
It’s the interface… it’s the software… it’s the complete package. No one has managed to duplicate the success. That’s not just due to marketing.
no, you’re right, it’s not just marketing, it’s also the fact that there is inertia involved; once one person gets an IPod, others will follow. It IS however, the marketing that made it “cool” to begin with, and continues to attempt to make it look so as time goes by.
Having tried several dozen different kinds of Mp3 players, there are MANY with far better features and quality, for less price, than the Ipod variants.
your argument is like saying the reason Windows maintains its popularity is because of its interface or features.
uh, nope.
It’s the entire experience…
if you have to hook it up to a crappy interface to download files, use a crappy online store to get legal music and have to convert video to get it to play on your device. Is it really worth the 50 bucks you save to NOT get an iPod?
Apparently if you hate apple it is.
It’s the entire experience…
so, if you’re creative enough not to NEED the “experience” of “itunes”, then you hate apple?
You’re funny.
dude, do you get paid by apple to advertise here?