On the 9th of January Steve Jobs announced Apple’s entrance into the mobile phone market. In typical Steve Jobs fashion–black turtleneck, jeans and comfy sneakers–he brought tears of joy to the Macworld audience by displaying the shiny, sleek, heavenly, and just downright immaculate iPhone. It might seem like a rather over zealous way to describe a new phone (or any new technology for that matter), but anyone who is familiar with Apple products would probably prefer that I used even more biblical terms in my description. Not since the introduction of the iPod, a whole six years ago mind you, has there been so much excitement and anticipation for a product. Needless to say, Steve Jobs probably looked out into the Macworld audience and saw many glossy eyes.
But at that very moment, there were tears of sadness as well.
Those who can’t budget in the new iPhone are probably sad or frustrated that this epitome of sleek technology is so close yet so far. The reason I say so far is that some just can’t afford it and know it will be quite some time until they can. Like salt in an open wound though, the iPhone will be (quite literally) close to these people as it will seem like everyone around them has one. Yes, a dry sense of humor is required but being that I personally can’t afford one yet, I don’t feel too bad about it. At $499 for a 4GB model and $599 for an 8GB model, the price is something to seriously contemplate. It is an investment to say the least. When all is said and done however, I’m sure people will go great lengths to acquire this phone. Maybe ten-dollar lawnmower jobs are going to increase exponentially…it’s a nice thought right?
Aside from the sadness of the consumer, the iPhone has probably scared many phone companies into seclusion. Either that or the likes of Nokia, Sprint Nextel, Verizon, and T-Mobile have something up their sleeves and choose not to give away too many secrets. These companies definitely have a lot on their plates, so keeping hush-hush might be a smart tactic. Either that or they are frantically running about with their research and development teams trying to top the gizmos that the iPhone has. Hopefully not because it would be so nice to see this miracle called iPhone have some sort of competition.
According to the Todaytechnews website, there is some information out there as to what other phone companies are conjuring up. LG’s Prada phone, also with touch screen technology, seems to be the favored contender. Nokia’s prototype Aeon (also with touch sensitive screen) is smaller and thinner than the iPhone–and quite the piece of eye candy if I do say.
But alas! Sony claims to still have something better (or at least more “interactive”). According to Gizmodo.com, a new Sony Ericsson SO703i uses “replaceable scented sheets” that is intended to relax the user while he or she is chatting away. Wow, I can smell the roses.
So despite a reserved nature on behalf of other mobile phone companies, they are at least aware of what it is going to take to compete with Apple’s newfound revolutionary phone/music library/TV screen/desktop/internet device.
Can I rightfully call the iPhone the Holy Grail of mobile technology? I am heading in that direction but until I see 10-60 year olds mowing lawns to make some extra cash to buy said iPhone, I will try and not be so absolute. But let’s face it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the lawns around my block don’t start to look life golf courses as soon as tomorrow.
TodayTechNews-
http://todaytechnews.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/iphone-having-lots-of-competition-a-study/
Gizmodo-Sony Ericsson
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/japans-sony-ericsson-so703i-smells-purty-229417.php
1 comment:
the iphone in my opinion is a waste of money...apple has already put itunes into phones; take a look at the slvr with itunes... not only does the battery life diminish when using itunes, but, for those who have it (that i know of) dont even use the itunes feature. as for the "new inovated home menu screen"...its pretty much been done by the blackberry and all those other palm pilots out there; the only differenc is the look and i supposed the itunes feature, although many that i ahve seen have some sort of mp3 feature installed in them...and for the price of a 4GB you can buy a ipod with a much greater amount of gigs and i personally dont see such an issue with having my cell phone in one pocket and my ipod in another...
-brandon-
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