As you have perhaps heard, Apple's WWDC is happening this week in San Francisco. After Monday's keynote there has been a flurry of trash talk and aired grievances by the press, bloggers, and tech heads mostly in regards to AT&T and the newly announced iPhone 3G[s].
Now I'm not going to defend AT&T at all and I'm not even going to really defend Apple all that much either. I wanted to explore the underpinnings of this debate and philosophize a little bit.
To get straight to the point I think that many so called "modern" (post-religious, post-ideology) people invest too much of their hope and happiness in consumer electronics. When things don't measure up to their idealized standard (read: anytime an Apple product is released) they get pissed off and even feel depressed and angry.
Now, this is partly Apple's fault for projecting such an image. If you talk the talk then you have to walk the walk. People are constantly expecting something as revolutionary as the iPhone out of Apple. When a new release such as the iPhone 3G[s] comes along and it doesn't have an OLED screen and a telescope people feel let down. Maybe rightfully so? Apple set a very high bar for itself. Spec bumps and slight improvements are not the messiah everyone is looking for.
The truth is that you should never get so worked up about a gadget that you feel ANY emotion about its release or existence whatsoever. This means that you are seeking your identity in an arbitrary external object. Cut it out, save yourself the anguish. Gadgets are meant to be fun and entertaining. There are created to delight and help you. You should be actively seeking your authentic place in life elsewhere. What skills can you hone? What things can you learn? How wide can you make your mind? Which people can you help? What technology can YOU design? How can you make the world a better place for yourself and the people you love? Insert purpose here: ___________
So let's take a different perspective on the new iPhone release. From an engineering standpoint: This thing is a marvel! The iPhone has never been able to accommodate 32GB of storage, the iPod Touch has but there isn't a PHONE inside the iPod Touch. From early reports the new iPhone has a 600 Mhz processor (up from 412 Mhz) and 256 MB of RAM (up from 128 MB). The battery life, while not making a huge leap forward, has stayed the SAME or in most cases increased even with the faster processor. The new camera is better and shoots video. There are also several other features I won't get into (such as the new magnetometer) that all fit into almost the exact same form factor. This is also a smart business (as well as environmental) move seeing as all the bajillion accessories out there will still work with the new version. All this while still retaining the same price points.
I think you will admit that it took a lot of engineers a ridiculous amount of time to improve this thing so that you can surf Facebook faster and fire up Mew-mew Tower in less time. Our hats should be off to them. The iPhone is simply falling in step with the other products in Apple's lineup. New laptops get a processor boost, slight improvements here and there, a new unibody, a new SD slot, etc. The main point of these products is their FUNCTIONALITY!! Everything you do on an everyday basis can be easily handled by these incredible modern machines. Even these "spec bumps and slight improvements" take a massive amount of time, energy, and innovation.
Can you make calls and listen to voicemail on the iPhone? Youbetcha! Can you send texts? Yup! (even MMS by the "end of summer") Can you surf the Internet? Yessiry. Can you get emails and push notifications? Affirmative. Can you take pictures and upload them to Flickr? Si! Can you download fart apps and impress your friends? Perhaps. They are very few features lacking here. Sure, I understand the Palm Pre can multitask but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you don't need to multitask nearly as much as you think you do.
There are pros and cons to every single phone on the market right now. There always will be. Most differences are superficial and come down to something as fickle as personal taste. The reason we are all having such a conversation about this in the first place is because of how important cell phones and technology are in the world today. Consumers demand nothing but the very best because it is of dire importance to their lives.
All I ask is that you step back and remember how things were ten years ago. We got along fine then and we're getting along just fine now. Take a deep breath and go pet a kitty.
Mew!
