OMFGWTF iPhonez0rz!!1!one!!

So the iPhone is coming out today. At the moment, I have no plans on purchasing one. For one, I am locked into a contract with my current provider that would remove several vital organs from my anatomy should I choose to switch providers. Secondly, I currently use a broadband card over EVDO with my laptop - a far more useful internet experience for me than using the iPhone, but I have different needs than others (read: I do work on the train rather than just browse).

Anyway, what I find really, truly impressive is the buzz this thing has received. Regardless of your opinion of the iPhone itself - you have to admit that Apple sure knows how to market the hell out of a product. Even if you have been hiding under a rock for the last year, you know what an iPhone is, what it looks like, and that you slide your finger from left to right to unlock the device. And, if you turn it on it's side, the giant seamonster from Pirates of the Carribean adjusts his attack angle accordingly.

Apple's stock price has, at last check, risen $2.50 so far today. I've seen footage of lines wrapped around entire NYC blocks of people sitting, waiting in line to get their hands on a cell phone. Granted, it might do a lot of things, but, really..it's A PHONE. Hats off to the marketing people who can whip an entire country into a rabid buying frenzy for a $600 phone.

I have heard some rumors that there will be another version of the iPhone made that will run on AT&T's 3G network, which is much faster than EDGE. What I found interesting is that I've finally heard a good reason as to why the iPhone uses the "crappy" EDGE network. The main reason is that for the most part, phones used for 3G data require chips that suck more power than Apple was comfortable with. Secondly, the iPhone is designed as a mass-consumer device, it's an iPod with a phone, it is not a Blackberry. Less than 10% of the country is covered by 3G/EVDO networks, which means 90% of the intended audience of the phone would be suffering bad battery usage just so 10% of the phone's users could get faster data in limited metropolitan areas. Sounds like a smart move on skipping the 3G support. Now, if Apple eventually sells a 3G version of the phone to satisfy the Crackberry users, then everybody's happy - and the crackberry users will be happy with the fact that they'll have to plug their phone back into a wall when they finish their commute.

Anyway, the iPhone is upon us, for better or worse. I'm anxious to hear what people think of the device now that it's "in the wild". Even if I never get the iPhone, the innovation that went into it's design will be better for everyone because now existing cell phone manufacturers are going to have to compete with an Apple device. That fact alone should eventually increase the quality of the interaction between us and our cell phones, regardless of who makes them.

If you were one of the people who bought an iPhone today, I'd love to see a comment from you in the blog. If you didn't also feel free to comment on why. In short, the iPhone is as much a marketing success as it is a technological one.

tags: iphone  

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