AAVR Magazine

Imitation = Flattery: iPhone

We have all have all heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and that is what I am going to focus on in this article in regards to the iPhone. More than two years before the iPhone was even talked about openly by Apple, techsites and fanboys started creating art work of what they thought that it would look like. I began to follow these designs on Gizmodo.com where it seemed like every other week a new image was up from another designer with another idea of what this phone (which probably wasn’t even in development) would look like.  Personally, I was getting excited.  I owned a Mac, and I was in search of a phone that would sync with my contacts, and my calendar, and do all the things I knew a device like that could do. When I started using a Sony Ericsson Z520a, I found that it did have the ability to sync contacts and events via a bluetooth connection, one step closer to what I wanted. But it still wasn’t a product desgined to work with the Mac, and I knew that could only happen if Apple made something for it.

Finally, in 2006, the iPhone was announced! And within moments of the Apple Keynote, there was praise and critisim. The fanboys and others were in love, while the Apple haters started to moan and groan. As said before, I do own a Mac, and yes, I own an iPhone, however, I would not call myself a fanboy as I do not support everything Apple does.  One of the first things that came out to destroy the iPhone was a blog (which I am still looking for so that I can post a link here) where the author was ripping the iPhone a new one. A major critique was that it was all touch screen, indicating that the iPhone was missing a very important function, tactile response.  And there is a lot to be said about this.  Just the other day, I was talking with someone who had a Palm Treo and was due for a new one and didn’t want to get an iPhone because she wouldn’t be able to type while driving.  STOP!!!  I know we all do it from time to time, but we should not be texting while driving, so the agrument that you can’t use the iPhone to e-mail while driving should be null. It won’t suprise me if we see Darwin award winner who met their end by sending an e-mail to 10 friends lest they have bad luck.

After the iPhone finally it store shelves, it wasn’t long before the imitators came along. True, before the iPhone, the Palm Treo was a touch screen.  However, the screen was very small, and you usually were better off using a stylus. The iPhone was now that only phone with a large touch screen… and then Verizon came out with the Voyager, which added a flip style to expose a full keyboard for those still depndant on tactile response.  Then, shortly after that, clones, and knock offs have been appearing in Japan and China. These imitation iPhones may look like the real deal, but they don’t work like them. 

Another point to which the Apple haters flocked too was that there weren’t enough features. You can’t send MMS,  record video, run party apps, and so on. This is all true, the phone could not do these things. What they don’t mention, is that this is the first time a phone has been realesed where you can update as new software comes out right at home which will improve functionality and bring more applications. Back when I had a Nextel, the only way to upgrade the firmware was to bring the phone to a store and they had to do it for you, or the update had to be downloaded via your cell reception which could take some time. And to top it off, the only way you would know if there was an update is if something wasn’t working and you had to go get it fixed.

With all of the critics that the iPhone has had, it is still the first of its kind, and every cell phone company is now trying to make a phone that has a touch Interface. Even Windows Mobile devices are now supporting iPhone-y icons.  And now with the recent release of the SDK, third party applications will be coming to the iPhone as early as June 2008. Say what you will about the iPhone, but there is no denying that every company in the business is trying to come up with its own version to compete with the iPhone.

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