rotten bananas

What’s the deal with the excitement?

Ok, maybe that’s not what I mean. I understand the excitement from the Macophiles. It’s what they do. I used to be one. Well, an aspiring one. All I could afford was a used iBook off ebay, but that’s neither here nor there. I own an iPod, two actually, they’re good products.

But, seriously, what’s the deal? I’m hearing people say things like the iPhone will revolutionize the mobile industry. What? The iPhone will change the wireless biz. Um… not quite.

Let’s look at the basics - it’s a phone that can play music. It has a web browser. It has email. According to Apple’s website, it can display maps. Maybe they’re not my standard Google-type maps. Maybe they’re special Apple maps with all the real roads.

I’ll go one up on them. It’s not just a phone with lots of fancy features. It’s a smart phone. It’s a PDA/phone combo. It’s a mini-computer. Call it what you will. I’ve had one since ‘05.

Let’s not even discuss that the iPhone won’t support the newest cellular network technology. I won’t bring up the lack of flash support (whoops). I won’t even point out that it’s going to be running Safari!

Look at the positives. It’s made by Apple, so the interface will surely be pretty and most likely easy to use. It’s got a fancy touch-screen and a sleek design. How exciting.

Is it worth $500? No. It’s not even worth $200. I am curious to see how it interfaces with Windows though (This may already have been revealed. I don’t really do “research”). What should happen if everyone buys the iPhone and realizes that it won’t sync with Outlook? I’ll laugh. Maniacally. Oh well. Buy a MacBook. They’re not that expensive.

I’ll admit that Apple products are cool. The iPod did change things. The interface was revolutionary. It does it’s job quite well and Apple has been well rewarded for that, but when the iPod appeared on the market there was no leader to speak of. This is a whole new terrain for Apple.

We’re talking Treos here. We’re talkin Blackberrys. They’re not jovially referred to as Crackberrys because people don’t love them.

I’m sure the iPhone will sell well. There’s a lot of Apple fanboys wetting their pants over this thing, but let’s be real. It’s a toy. It’s a fancy phone, just like the RAZR was. They’re not revolutionizing anything. They’re porting existing technology to a new case with a shiny new face.

They had a shot. Apple could sell used dog food to a dead cat if they painted it white. They could have made something that really was different, something that would make them stand out as a technology company. They could have dropped it into the hands of millions without trying. I think they got too comfortable, comfortable with the image. They got comfortable being the best looking, and they are, but everybody knows beauty is only skin deep.

I know this wasn’t meant for Apple, but I think it applies.