The New Apple iPhone

If you haven't seen the new Apple iPhone yet (or whatever they call it), go check it out before you read the rest of this post.

Now that you're familiar with this "breakthrough device", tell me, how, exactly, does Apple expect this thing to be a hit? I've read that their goal is to have 1% of the market within 12 months of first availability. That means that within the next year 1 out of every 100 cell phone users is going to lay out a week's pay (plus or minus) to get a new iPhone. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still using the same Motorola V600 I got when I first signed with Cingular. The only thing that would make me spend the money to get a new one is if this phone stopped working.

Back to the iPhone, sure, it's cool looking and the widescreen display is definitely a plus if you want to watch a movie on the go. Yes, it would be great to get high-quality audio and make/receive phone calls from a single device (although a decent smartphone and an iPod nano would cost quite a bit less). But really though, $600? Wait, what's that, I need a two-year contact with Cingular as well? I'd be willing to bet that they're at least $1000 if you don't want the contract (or are one of those people who keeps renewing to get new phones and aren't currently eligible). Oh, and yeah, I know that it's only $500 if you want the 4GB model instead of the 8GB, but do you honestly think that anyone who is kicking out this much cash is going to skimp out and get the cheap model? It's like buying a luxury car and not paying the extra $800 for the upgraded stereo or the heated seats...

On top of that, this brand new phone doesn't even support 3G networks. I don't currently have a data plan for my phone (since the amount of data that can fit on my screen is useless) but I can sure tell you that I would NOT buy a new phone that didn't support 3G.

Furthermore, how many idiots do you think there are going to be stuck without a phone because they ran down the battery playing music, watching video, and surfing the web? Unless this thing cuts off your usage of applications other than the phone when the battery hits some low mark, I guarantee you'll be able to ride the train on any given day and find someone on his/her way home pissed off that they can't make a call because they drained their battery.

Anyway, it's pretty obvious how I feel about this new "innovation" from Apple. Buy one if you like but I'm sure won't.

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