Some Random Dude

Original? Me? Never!

Yes, I have stooped to participating in the Noah-level flood of iPhone blog posts. As literally everyone on this planet knows, Apple announced the iPhone at its Macworld Expo which resulted in Mac enthusiasts losing their damned mind for the rest of the day. If has all sorts of features – touchscreen technology, a 2 megapixel camera, WIFI, music and video playback, etc, etc, etc. Kotke has a great writeup on the actual size of the device as well. In all honesty, I have not seen/heard of another phone even coming close to approaching the feature list, aesthetic appeal or ease-of-use that this phone boasts. Neither have I seen many phones cost $500 to $600. Yes, be prepared to dish out a half-a-grand (or more) for one of these gizmos if you decide you just need to have it.

Is a phone worth $500? I understand that it does far more than a regular phone, but it still begs the question. I for one am certain I will not be picking one of these up. If you have read my blog recently, I think I have been pretty clear on my take on the obsession of consumer luxuries in this country. I am actually a little disappointed that there was no mention of a more reasonably-priced model in the horizon. The UI is very impressive – far easier to accomplish normal tasks than my current phone on its best day. I would love to see a 1 megapixel, 256 MB, no WIFI version that costs in the $100 to $150 range. Ironically, it was the iMac (the affordable alternative to regular models) that sprung Apple from its past free-fall. I would hope that they would continue to recognize that design which is more accessible to the global community as a while is just as important as design that makes our lives easier.

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