The prediction: the iPhone is going to flop.
O.K. - maybe it won't be a Zune-esque flop, but a flop in relation to the nauseating hype surrounding the release of this all-in-one wonder. I just wanted to get that on the record on this day before the "BIG DAY".
A little background:
I am a life-long Mac addict. Although my first computing experience was with a Commodore 64, and I thought it a mighty swell machine, when my dad brought home an Apple Macintosh, my computing world was changed forever. My dad brought home three more Macs over the years, and the first computer I ever owned was a Tangerine iMac (233 mHz G3), which was eventually replaced with my current machine, a dual 1 GHz PowerMac G4 Quicksilver. I also own a 12" Powerbook G4 - the last of the Powerbooks to come out before the current Macbooks. I've known and loved many other Macs over the years - from the old beige towers to blue and white G3 towers to "Mirrored Drive Door" G4's to blazing monster G5's.
I love Apple computers.
But I'm feeling forgotten lately. The machine that I'm waiting for seems to have been forgotten as well in all the iPhone hype. The current Mac Pro is a swell machine, but it is has been eight months since the last significant update to that product line, with no news or hints as to what improvements will be coming next or even when an update might happen.
And frankly, I am sick to death of hearing about the iPhone. To me, as a life-long Apple fan (oh, I forgot to mention that I also own a 3G 20GB iPod as well as a 1G 512mb iPod Shuffle... my wife is a very patient woman) I get the feeling from what I've been reading and hearing that this gadget is a dreaded "jack of all trades, master of none" as it's a phone, it's an iPod, it's a web-browser, it's a text messager, it's a wide-screen video iPod, it's a camera for Pete's sake, it's your new digital lover that you'll never be without, blah blah blah.
I won't be buying an iPhone.
My why list is long, but near the top of that list is the fact that, like the regular iPod, you cannot replace the battery. Not only that, the largest hard drive is 8GB! (EDIT: The iPhone has a flash drive, not a hard drive like the previous full-size iPods. That explains the low storage space numbers, and actually 8GB isn't bad for a flash drive, but still weak as far as iPod standards go.) And on TOP of that, the thing runs you a minimum of $499 BEFORE the mandatory 2-year service contract. To be fair, Engadget put together a fantastically detailed real-price comparison of the iPhone and other similar devices, and it turns out that the iPhone is well in-line with other plans. And to be even more fair, I couldn't put any of the iPhone's data plan features to use, so they don't appeal to me. It pains me to admit (as a friend of mine pointed out, and try as I might, I couldn't refute what he said) that this puts me right out on the front porch of the technology old-folks home, quietly rocking with a wool blanket on my lap reminiscing about "The Good Old Days".
I am willing to admit that my feelings against the iPhone may just be "forgotten fanboy" syndrome, as it is a distinct possibility. And if Apple is using iPhone to really push themselves in the public eye in order to create a larger audience to market their latest and greatest Intel Mac Pro that I was just too impatient to wait quietly for, then I'll be first in line to apologize. And as long as I'm there, buy one of those shiny new computers.
Good luck,
K
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