adonis said:
The reasons I'll be getting an iphone next friday:1. Consolidation 2. Google maps3. Video Ipod 4. Functionality 5. Internet function
I get all that on my $79 Motorola Q.
Hi NB,But you're overlooking the most important part of the post.
Other: Make no mistake, there's a huge coolness factor to this gadget. I'm fully sold on apple, and I really want to experience their newest product asap. Touch screen, integrated device. It'll go great with the macbook pro I'll be getting later this year, finances allowing.
J
Very true. It just struck me as I was going down his numbered list that I already had all that. I don't dispute the coolness factor at all. Just for me, it's not like it's several hundred dollars worth of coolness. No doubt Apple got a huge hot on their hands once again - but let's call it what it is: a cool gadget. Now if someone could combine a decent cell phone with a Sony PSP, that's some coolness I would pay some $$$ for.
Yeah. But a simple feature comparison really doesn't do the iphone justice, or most any products for that matter. A huge part of what apple is able to do is to make the using process pleasant enough that you enjoy using your device to its potential.For instance, looking at operating systems, feature-wise, I can't imagine why people don't see the benefits of running linux on their computers. Honestly, not as a joke. It's free, it has all the features anyone would ever want. Programs are open source, and there is a wide variety of options. I use it all the time at work and love it for what I use it for. With it's low cost, it's feature rich offerings, and its increasing acceptance, why don't people see the goodness that is Linux? The thing is, people don't understand how to use the interface. It's work to get it to do what you want. All of the features linux offers don't amount to anything if people don't or can't use it. Windows is much better at appealing to users than Linux, and so is Mac OS X, hence their higher user numbers. So simply by comparing features, Linux would stand toe-to-toe with the other two major OS's, but it's clear that a simple feature comparison doesn't do justice to the actual user experience. In other words, a simple "my phone can do that too" doesn't work here because the question is, "how well does your phone do that?" and most people, myself included, have to say that their phone does that very poorly.The ipod and other mp3 players used to be the same way, back when apple broke into the market. They were the first ones to do it right. They made their devices accessible to everyone, no learning curve, easy to use, a pleasure to operate. The iPod was also very appealing to the eye, and along with its hip/catchy commercials, it had the IT factor, the coolness factor that people wanted. But this was largely enabled by its functional appeal. I see the iphone as offering that same functional appeal. I can't tell you how many people don't understand their basic phones well enough to do much of anything beyond dialing numbers and calling them. I have friends who have phones that can play mp3's who never use it for that purpose because it's so hard to do. Hell, some Chocolate phone my friend got, she came to me, a technical savvy guy, and I couldn't even figure out how to play songs on it - even after reading the manual. So comparing her phone to the iphone, even though the features may be similar, is WAY off to saying which one a person would be happier using. And I much prefer to use a phone that I'm happy using, for the functions I want to use it for, than one I have to work at to get it to do what I want. I'll gladly pay more for a phone that's a pleasure to use, that makes my tasks easy and intuitive for me, over a phone that touts similar functions but leaves me wanting in ease-of-use.If you're happy with your $79 Moto Q, and its interface is good for you, and you use its functions to the fullest,there's no reason to get an iphone. I have an expensive smartphone that i barely use because I hate the interface. I believe apple will do it right, and all indications, demo's, tutorials indicate that this is the case. I guess I'll find out friday whether it is a good idea or not. Maybe, the true test is how many of its functions will I be using 3 months from now, because everytime i get a new gadget, I use it a lot, but drop it quickly. My ipod hasn't been like that, I wonder if the iphone will be. With the phone, google maps, and integrated ipod, I doubt it.BTW, just to add, the most important part of my reason to buy an iphone is not because it's cool, but because I believe it will do what I want it to better than any other phone out there. The user experience will be better, and I'll get more use out of that phone, than I would any other that I've seen. The same is true for the macbook pro, but for different reasons. I'm getting one of those because it runs on a UNIX core, and from work I love Linux and can heavily utilize the command prompt in OS X to do work from home. Plus, the notebooks performance is one of the best across all notebooks out there. Anyways, just wanted to add that while "coolness factor" is a part of my reasoning for getting the phone and notebook, other factors weigh much more.