Why a True Apple Fan Would Never Buy an iPhone
It’s been called the Second Coming—a gadget so revolutionary that people literally fall to their knees in praise of its magnificence. And why shouldn’t they? It’s from Apple, the same company that heroically unshackled us from the misery that is Windows. Apple opened our eyes to a whole new world of computing, one where fantastic design and seamless integration rule above all else. Macs taught us how easy managing a digital photo album could be, and were the de facto force behind our extensive (and legal) digital music libraries.
So why am I, a die-hard-Mac-fanatic, not purchasing Jobs’ brand new marvel? For a number of reasons, all of which are tied to one unfortunate reality: The iPhone is many, many things, but it sure ain’t no Apple.
Let me explain:
- Got a .Mac account? I do. And I couldn’t imagine life any other way. Syncing my emails between different computers is no longer an option for me—it’s a requirement, and I have only Apple to blame for my expectations. The iPhone? It won’t be doing that.
- Speaking of email, how could Apple drop the ball on such an important feature of the iPhone? Noticeable delays between the reading and deleting of emails? Manual deletion of emails one at a time with no option to delete a selected grouping? No BCC option? Yikes.
- On my Mac, Safari is the most dependable browser I’ve ever used. Not on the iPhone. Call me crazy, but surfing the internet sans Flash and Java just doesn’t feel like a true Web experience to me.
- The Edge Network. Can this actually be faster than dial up?
- 8 gigs is just too meager for the iPhone. One of my favorite things about using a Mac and iPod together is the ease with which I download music and sync them. The iPhone’s memory limitations require users to manually manage music and photos—something Apple liberated us from, a loooong time ago. Looks like you’ll have to carry around your iPod and a bigger phone in your pockets now.
- In case I haven’t already made it abundantly clear, syncing is vital to a true Mac user. So why does the iPhone’s Calendar app have so many problems syncing events with a desktop?
Look, I know there are a ton of other problems ($85.95 for a new battery after 300–400 charges?!) with the iPhone. I also know that in many ways, the iPhone rocks. But when Apple creates something unique, and invites me to make it a part of my life, I expect that device to bring it. Maybe my expectations are too high, but Jobs and Co. has taught me to expect only the best out of my gadgets. Ultimately, the iPhone is a jack of many trades, but a master of none. It delivers the internet, serves as an iPod, and provides portable access to iCal and iPhoto—but requests that you enjoy them in an undeniably diminished way.
For a true Apple fan, this is just simply too much to ask.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Color theory, peripheral vision illusions
These are just fun to look at (although it hurts your eyes after a while). Keep in mind that these are NOT animated. The movement that you see is simply your peripheral vision playing tricks on you.
Rotating snakes
Rollers
Rotations
Vibrations
Checkered heat waves
iWhack BETA, Whack-a-Mole for iPhone
I have not seen many games for the iPhone. Of the ones that I have seen—most don’t work. That may be the case for this too (I don’t have an iPhone), but somehow I don’t think so. The game, iWhack, is built with absolute positioning of div tags and it looks for good, old-fashioned mouse clicks. a.k.a. Flash is not needed.
Click the image above or click here for a quick link to the game.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Via The New York Times, “Google said yesterday that it had bought GrandCentral Communications, acquiring a service that lets people use a single number for all their phones.
Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
GrandCentral users can also create a single mailbox, accessible over the Internet, for all their phone messages, Google said on its Web site.
Users register their phones and can set all or some of them to ring based on who is calling.”
Apple may have sold 700,000 iPhones, beating estimates
Via Bloomberg, “Shoppers may have bought as many as 700,000 units over the weekend, Goldman Sachs Inc. analyst David Bailey said, twice his projection of 350,000. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster pegged sales at about 500,000, more than twice his original 200,000 estimate.”
“Jobs says he aims to sell 10 million of the phones in 2008, capturing 1 percent of the global market for handsets. He expects consumers will buy 1 billion mobile phones next year, which would be almost four times the number of personal computers sold.”
Now the math…
First weekend: 700,000 * $499 (conservative estimate) = Gross $349,300,000
Lifetime: 10,000,000 * $499 (conservative estimate) = Gross $4,990,000,000
I have a feeling that Jobs is doing his happy-dance.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Bill Gates drops to second most wealthy, happy 4th of July
His wealth, estimated currently at $59.2 billion, has been surpassed by that of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim. Slim, the son of a Lebanese immigrant, runs businesses in a number of industries from Mexico City. Stock in his wireless company, American Movil, recently surged in price by 27%, boosting his net worth to $67.8 billion.
Source seattlepi.com
p.s. Happy 4th of July.
Simple Spark catalogs more than 160 mobile services
Simple Spark catalog lists at least 165 mobile services in one well designed, easy to read page. The list ranges from Sonopia to WidSets, and everything in between. Anyone remotely interested in where mobile is going should really browse this list.
Via Simon
Are cell phone projectors on the Way?
Via Gizmodo
South Korea’s Iljin Display has been crowing about its coin-sized laser projector module for more than a year with no haps, but now the company says it’s inked a deal with South Korea Telecom (SK Telecom) to mass-produce the projector for use inside cellphones. Is Iljin’s so-called Nano Projector finally for real? [more]
The Tunnel House is just fun to look at
Useless nonsense that is fun to look at. Read more.
