Sunday, April 13, 2008

 

Is the iPhone as good as the hype would have you believe?


Nope. It’s actually better! I can honestly say, hand on heart, the iPhone is the coolest, sexiest bit of technology I have owned. The design is amazing, ease of use is phenomenal, it is very intuitive across many applications. In short, it’s a design classic. To quote that lynchpin of style, “It’s Groovy, Baby!”.

The Nokia classic model that I’ve had for several years (it’s another design classic, in my opinion) was starting to look a bit battered and outdated, though it still works fine. I’ve been thinking about getting a replacement since last year, and kept putting it off because none of the models I looked at were that compelling; each seemed to be missing something, that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. A while back I was considering a HTC Dual but got put off by the display model which seemed to be falling apart after only a short time on display in the shop.

Recently, I had pretty much decided I would like an iPhone but found myself wavering. Rick Strahl’s post Justifying an iPhone, tipped the balance and I took the plunge. The iPhone is not officially released yet here in Australia (apparently, a 3G model is due to be released towards the end of 2008), but that does not mean you can’t use one right now. Despite the fact that Apple seem to favour the ‘lock in business model’ (and I definitely echo Rick’s negative feelings about this shortcoming), I predict these will sell like hot cakes when they are released here.

Rick’s follow up post, Custom iPhone Ringtone Installation, mentions how you can unlock your iPhone using Ziphone and use your existing SIM card and provider.

I know it's a cliche, but I can't imagine Microsoft ever designing something so sexy. I only wish they would! Really I do. Whatever happened to the “Microsoft: Change the world or go home” mantra (late 2006), or the ‘user experience’ push (early 2007)? User Experience does not mean rounded corners and ‘aeroglass’ fades! I mean come on, fess up: was Vista really such a technological leap forward?
Remember this?
Frank Arrigo has a post over at his blog, Did someone mention Win2K??, where he admits surprise that more than 50% of his readers are still running XP. There’s probably a good reason for that, Frank! [On the subject of Vista, what maniacs dreamt up that awful bloody Vista retail box? The one that required extra sticky-tape additions to give clues how to open it!]

Don’t get me wrong. Microsoft has significantly changed the software development landscape (among other things), and will continue to do so. I just feel they are not achieving their full potential.

Since I’ve taken the Apple plunge, I think I might buy a MacBook Air next (although I really would like that Intel Quad core)!! I feel sorry for those Microsofties, who secretly want to buy an iPhone! ;)

# posted by Mitch Wheat @ 6:49 pm

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