But that was not the point of my reply to that message. He said "Alot of great hardware". I want to know what type, I am that kinda guy, I like to know those things.
Well, I couldn't substantiate that claim. No on other than Apple, and maybe their suppliers, is totally sure what all is in the iPod. But think about what it does. This isn't vaporware, as some idiotic CEO has said. He pulled it out of his pocket and showed you what it could do--Cover flow is a memory hog on my computer, and it's a Core Duo laptop with 2 GB of RAM. Apparently the iPhone has an ARM processor, probably along with (probably several) DSPs for decoding h.264, mp3, etc.
Still, it seems like a strange thing to say--the hardware is hardly the pull. It's the interface. And this is what baffles me about the iPhone naysayers in threads like this--You all keep talking about Apple like they're Motorola or Dell or Toshiba or something. Who even cares what it's running? Mac Computers are on Intel now. That means that I can get the exact same laptop, hardware wise, as my MacBook from Dell, for $100+ dollars less. And it would be preloaded with Windows, that OS that every one uses. And if my computer were just a commodity, then I'd do that, because it's cheaper AND it's the path of least resistance.
But I am into Apple, and why? Not because it's "Alot of great hardware" (even though it is), but because the interface is intuitive and beautiful, from the hardware interface to the software interface. So we read all these
completely stupid articles by people who complain,
"Apple reinvents the phone? Ha! Ha! It doesn't even have any new features! Music Management? Google maps? Web Browsing? Photo Management? A Camera? Sounds like every other phone on the market to me, except it costs 2 times as much." But the hint is in the word, "reinvents." They didn't invent new features. They designed a phone that works so well that you will actually want to use those features. I have seen PDA phones before. Almost every one I'd seen looked like a big metallic turd. fugly. I realize, Stella, that Opera has a web Browser with the same feature list. Do you use Internet Explo[r/d]er? It has a pretty similar feature list to Safari. Really, most browsers do. But the test is in the use-case. It's the same with the iPod: the iPod sucks. It really, really, really sucks. Why would you want one? You could get a Zune for about the same price, and it's got WiFi. THAT'S some pretty sweet hardware. Or you could get some SanDisk or Creative thing or something, that has an FM receiver--you could be listening to the radio! so Why buy an iPod? Oh, right, that thing that people never account for in the commodity market--a good user interface. You can't underestimate the power of a good design: It's the kind of thing that makes people want to buy something they wouldn't otherwise give a crap about. Like me. I have a motorola razr, and it's a pretty phone with a terrible interface. And I knew it when I got it, because all I ever wanted to do was talk on the phone and text now and then. But looking at the iPhone demos, I feel like I might actually be interested in browsing photos on my phone, watching a video, browsing the web. Especially browsing the web, for me. That kinda thing never had a pull on me.
And it's not to say I don't have my qualms about the iPhone, but I'm an optimist--I know that prices will always come down, and that Apple always improves their products. Even though I am not waiting for a contract to end, I will certainly be waiting for revision B.
