OMFG: Apple Announces iPhone
January 9th, 2007
Just when I had nearly given up hope on my hopes for the iPhone, when I sold my shares of Apple stock and when I had gotten the hang of my navigating my new Treo 680 – Apple announces what it probably the most significant gadget ever (perhaps a very slight exaggeration). And it’s even more amazing than anyone could have predicted. Immediately a few things struck me as significant about today’s Apple announcements:
My Curse Lives On
I’ve joked about this curse for years, but this time I’m beginning to think it’s for real. I’ve purchased laptops, iPods and cell phones – and without fail they are replaced by entirely superior products at lower prices within weeks. Sometimes (in the case of the Motorola ROKR) they’re replaced within hours.
The Mobile Web Gets Serious
While the iPhone appears to do an elegant job navigating web pages that have not been designed for mobile, I’m certain that pages designed for the mobile experience will make it that much more of a pleasure to use. The iPhone is going to launch the mobile web even deeper into the public consciousness and it’s going to become something clients are going to start talking more about. People get ready.
Microsoft Who?
Another beautiful thing about this gadget is that Apple managed to coordinate the efforts of Google, Yahoo and Cingular on a device that blows everything else out of the water. Plus, Apple got Cingular to innovate on their network technology to support something they wanted to do on their device. The iPhone and it’s partnerships only further underscore the growing irrelevance of Microsoft. Now more than ever, Windows Mobile smartphones and the Zune media player look like the steaming piles they are.
No Touch Wheel
This didn’t occur to me at first because I was so blown away by how slick the iPhone’s interface is: but there’s no touch wheel like in other iPods. There’s not even a simulated touch wheel. From the Flash movies on the Apple site it appears you scroll through your artists by dragging your finger down the screen. That might work for a short artist list, but I’m curious to see how that solution will scale.
All Touchscreen Means No Tactile Feedback
Despite how incredible the hardware and software look for the iPhone, the fact is that if it’s a big touchscreen there will be no tactile buttons. Real buttons just feel better to the touch and provide more feedback. My Treo has nice large touchscreen buttons, but I typically find myself using the tiny tactile buttons in the keyboard for dialing.