It’s Monday, and I do not have an iPhone.
The forecast is more of the same, for a long time.
The mania, pro/con commentary is impressive for the sheer amount of energy generated/expended. Seriously, when was the time people camped out for a phone (yes, I know it is more than a phone)? And there is no shortage of opinions on the extreme ends of the continuum, of which I am grateful camped out right in the middle. It’s not so bad to be without the shiny toys (that’s what we tlel ourselves, applying band aids over the ego.
To shatter some techno myths aboout this dog, I rarely, rarely, like almost never, ever go after first releases of software/hardware. I like to see how the dust settles. I clung on to Mac OS 9 for quite some time after 10.0, maybe after 10.1. I was late to get an iPod, and at that, got one at the low end. The largest exception was getting the first wave of MacBookPros as that was the time I started at NMC.
There’s the leading edge, and then there is drafting just behind the spilling blood and guts absorbed by the front runners. And to be honest, with so much blogging, online articles, vehement discussion forums, tweeters, you don’t necessarily have to have the latest gadget in your sweaty hands to stay in touch. So keep the stream flowing, my leading/bleeding edge colleagues
But that is not to say I would not jump on an iPhone of one fell from the sky (along with a paid plan), but at this time it is extremely doubtful I’ll be getting one. That is not to say I would not jump one an…. Okay, repetition does not work magic.
My phone usage is pretty much limited to the function of making… phone calls. I don’t listen to music, take photos only as a desperate last message, do not read my email there or surf the web. I think I need fewer attention diverting/sucking devices, not more. And face it, as proud as we Americans are of our technology, we have less than Third World mobile phone capability; we are literaly years behind most of the world, throttled by slow networks and greedy providers. There was a meeting I was at last March, hanging out with some U.K. colleagues who just laughed their heads off at our blog cliunky mobile devices. I still remember that feeling.
So I’m camped out, but virtually, and taking in the evolution of the iThings… but I will most likely not be close to jumping on this 1.0 train. But that is not to say I would not jump….
I’m with you. An iPhone, with or without a paid plan, would need to fall from the sky into my lap for me to own this version.
The deal-breaker for me is that the included camera does not record video. I’m a videoblogger! My good friend Rupert (in the UK) is running twittervlog.tv from his Nokia N95 phone, shooting 640×480 video, uploading it to his video host (blip.tv) over wi-fi, and from there it is auto-posted to his WordPress blog. Until I can do that with an iPhone, I have no need for one.
Then there’s the matter of AT&T. Having been treated horribly by them in the past, I cannot bring myself to do business with them again, no matter how sexy a phone they sell.
But, I *would* be interested to know whether I can have an iPhone and use it only over wi-fi, without the AT&T account. That would kill the phone part of the device, but all I’d want it for is music, email, video playback, video recording and uploading. If that becomes possible, I might just nab the 2.0 version.
Alan, I’m with you on this all the way. I’m a Mac fan, there’s no other company out there for me that combines form and function like they do, but with this one, yep, it would ahve to fall into my lap with a paid account too.
I just do not have a mobile lifestyle. I did have a smartphone for a while and realized it made no sense in my case because I don’t want to be connected all the time, and I want to watch my video and read my email on a nice, large screen thank you very much. And much like Cheryl, I’ve been treated horribly by At&T and will not consider giving them my business either.
So I guess the three of us, for the moment at least, will sit in the middle and watch the game unfold.
Well, I think I’m even more extreme than any of you. Honestly, If the iPhone and a pre-paid plan fell out of the sky and into my lap, I’d throw it away. Don’t get me wrong. I love technology. I’m even in a technology graduate program. I just don’t have the desire to be tied down to it. A phone that keeps me constantly connected to everything sounds like a nightmare to me.