With Apple’s release of the iPhone, I realized something so obvious it made me laugh a little to myself. I’ve never had a good cellphone. I’ve never had a friend who had a good cell phone. I’ve never even heard of a good cell phone. What do I mean by “good?” A good cellphone is simple to define:
- Simple and intuitive user interface (software/firmware).
- Sturdy and solid case with an easy to read screen and keypad.
No matter what company you buy your cellphone from, you end up getting a piece of junk which physically breaks in less than a year, has too many firmware bugs to use, wont turn on all together or any combination of these undesirable characteristics. That is, until Apple announced their new iPhone. People were shocked at the paradigm breaking design and shear high-quality-ness of the device. Why were people shocked? Apple consistently seeks out low technical standards and raises the bar. This is Apple’s niche.
So why didn’t we see the cellphone revolution coming? It seems so obvious now: no one was happy with their cellphones so there is money to be made. What does this mean for the United States? The large computer companies (Microsoft, Apple, Dell, HP) will start to take over the pocket gadget industry as users demand the gadgets to be more like computers. Other big name U.S. companies are already starting to hop on the gadget wagon such as Microsoft’s Zune multimedia player, Google’s plans for a phone, and Cisco’s VoIP iPhone.
As a consumer, these big companies taking an interest in our little gadgets is probably the best thing that could happen as competition will rise, quality will rise, and prices will drop.
- None Found