My in-laws gave me a sweet new iPod Nano. I had been wanting one for a while because my iPod photo feels too big and bulky, and I am willing to trade off disk space for pocket space.
Sabrina and I gave Carter and Zavier iPod shuffles. They love them and I love that I am able to set the max volume on my computer so that they don’t go deaf before they exit elementary school.
I gave Sabrina a case for her iPod. She gave me an iTunes gift card. Many of our friends and family opened boxes from Cupertino on Christmas morning. What can I say, Apple makes some quality stuff. I wouldn’t trade my MacBook Pro for any other laptop on the planet. BUT…
There is this new iPhone commercial that has some punch line like “how did you ever live without an iPhone?” To be honest, the commercial makes me a little sick to my stomach. It makes me feel like an automaton that will buy anything The Steve tells me I want. It is also just plain pompous.
I am seriously considering a moratorium on giving Apple any more of my money. I don’t want to become too dependent and entrenched with one company. Of course that is easy for me to say as I sit here with my MBP and my Nano. Still, I hate that commercial.
14 Comments
About the “pompous” commercial, all I can say is try iPhone first for a month or two, and then see what you’d say. When I first saw the commercial, I thought it was a bit much, but the few people I know who use one enthuse about it in just the same way. I don’t go around saying it, but if someone asks me, I’d say it. For in the way that the Web via our computers has snuck into our everyday activities (shop, bank, travel, converse, entertain, etc), iPhone takes that to another level - 24/7.
My answer is “Easy. I had a Treo.”
But I do love my shiny new iPhone. It’ll be even cooler once it has some 3rd party apps on it.
Forget quality when choosing an electronic device, choose based on slogans!
Never mind your own personal experiences of satisfaction, the person in the commercial is expressing satisfaction inappropriately!
It’s never okay to be a satisfied customer. EVER.
If you’re going to become entrenched with one company, it’s better to support Apple than greedy, goofy, inept MS.
Having had an iPhone since June 28th, I would feel lost without it. Every once in a while, I use our old Samsung flip phone, and I it feels like I’ve stepped into a time warp and gone back to 1997!
Sounds like you must be ready for another dose of the Reality Distortion Field via the Stevenote on 1/15!
Personally, I don’t buy Apple products because of what Steve says; I listen to what Steve says because of the Apple products I’ve bought — and want more of that. It’s worked for 20+ years so far….
Kate, that is a true answer. Let me know if it changes over the next few weeks as you get acquainted with your iPhone.
Fishwreck, that is true too. OSX on Mac laptops is the ONLY reason I have any Apple products. iPods are great, but don’t hold a match to my laptops. I may be tempted by this year’s Stevenote, but that doesn’t mean I won’t resent it
I have an iPhone. The interface is great. It is great to have an iPod again (I left my last one in the rain.) The interface is cool. However, it is nothing like the commercial.
Here’s the dirty secret about the iPhone that few people talk about because they spent so much money on the damn thing. The service sucks. My fellow iPhoners joke about the speed of the internet on the commercials. I pulled up this very post yesterday on my phone, and it literally took between 10 and 15 minutes to load. Then I typed a comment, and it timed out, never to appear here.
Plus, you cannot send or receive MMS (multimedia) messages to or from your phone. The coolest phone in the world, and I can’t snap a photo and send it to you. I have to email it. And if you send me one, I have to go through an unwieldy process involving a website and an ID number and AT&T generated password. And it usually takes about a dozen tries to get through. It’s ridiculous. Every cheap phone in the world has MMS messaging, except this one.
Some aspects of this thing make you feel like you’re in a white tablecloth restaurant with a Big Mac in front of you.
I think that is a result of it being 1st generation. I am guessing when they first started they sat down and chose what all features they wanted and could accomplish before it had to be launched. If they had all day/forever to just keep on enhancing the iPhone then I am sure these features would be there. Anyways, all the features/issues you mentioned I have heard will be addressed in the 2nd generation iPhone. Broadband internet, mms, gps, etc.(I HOPE!!!)
I’m not usually one to jump on the 1st generation wagon. I didn’t expect this from Apple. It’s so Microsoft-esque.
Jackson, I share your sentiment about becoming too dependent on one company (more like beginning to feel trapped on the Apple “platform”) and that’s why I’m pleased with the progress of open source alternatives (at least for software). They’re not (yet) as good as Apple’s offerings, but in most cases they’d be good enough it it weren’t for the comparison to Apple.
Jim & JW, despite it’s obvious shortcomings, the iPhone rocks for a first gen product and is nothing like a Microsoft first gen (seeing as how it actually serves a useful purpose). Some of those missing features will be released as software updates to ALL iPhones, including the first gen. Apple has said as much and the most recent s/w update for iPhone demonstrates it to some degree. Others will be addressed by third parties once the SDK is released. The hardware-based features will have to wait for future models, if ever, but keep in mind the distinction between “shortcoming” (like the absence of MMS and IM) and “desirable feature” (like GPS). Shortcomings would be features that are widely available on most/all mobile phones and desirable features would be things you’d pay more to get. Apple is smart to save some of the desirable features for future phones, otherwise you’d never have a reason to upgrade.
My complaints are about specific shortcomings, especially the speed (lack of) of all things internet. For that I blame AT&T (warranted or not). The MMS thing just perplexes me. That’s been on phones for years.
However, don’t get me wrong. The iPhone rocks, indeed. My original post probably sounded like buyers remorse. It is great at what it does well. What I said was that the service sucks. Using the internet reminds me of my first 750 meg. computer. All it lacks is the 90’s dial-up modem noise.
Then I think, “Oh poor me, I can’t access the vast world of information available on the internet in a timely fashion on my full color credit-card sized phone.” And at that point, I’m over it.
I agree the omission of MMS is perplexing, although in the rush to market they may have cut that feature knowing that email would allow something close enough. Hopefully, it will be available soon.
Regarding network speed, have you seen any of the articles comparing the iPhone to 3G phones? Interesting stuff. These are good starting points:
http://blackfriarsinc.com/blog/2007/10/why-edge-versus-3g-less-than-you-think
http://blackfriarsinc.com/blog/2007/12/iphone-edge-browsing-comparable-to
Have you experienced any other issues attributable to AT&T’s network other than speed?
No, and honestly, I never tried to access internet on my ole phone, so I have nothing to compare it to, other than my computer. But it goes back to the original point of the post, the commercial. The internet is quick on the commercial, painfully slow on the real phone.
You are always an Apple person….happy new year!