Pages

Friday, June 19, 2009

iPhone launches. I talk.

Today was a big day for geeks as Apple's brand spanking new iPhone 3G S went on sale. In doing so, it instantly turned every other phone into the technological equivalent of that black rotary dial monster that cast a menacing shadow down the hallway of your childhood home.

Funny how no matter how often you dropped the thing - complete with its piggy-tailed handset chord - it never broke. And G-d forbid you ever dropped it on your toe. But I digress.

So the iPhone was, for the third straight year, a news story. Folks woke up before dawn and lined up with complete strangers so they could buy a device that'll be overflowing from store shelves around this time next week. They dreamed about taking pictures - and, gasp, videos - with the new-and-improved camera. They did voice exercises to prepare for the new voice control interface ("Call your mother. It's been a week!") They imagined what it would be like to use the new built-in compass to help them find a Starbucks, and they hauled out the Timex Ironman to more precisely calculate just how much faster the new iPhone was compared to the old one.

Good times.

Because I never miss an opportunity to talk geek, I did some chatting with reporters, including CBC Radio's Tracy Johnson, as well as a live interview with Zuraidah Alman from CTV News Channel (formerly Newsnet) - here's the video.

The iPhone's arrival coincided with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion's quarterly earnings announcement. This convergence of news turned the week into a busy one, with the following notable hits:
Your turn: So is there an iPhone in your future? If you've already got one, what say you?

10 comments:

  1. I have not tried the iPhone - you'd be hard pressed to pry my Blackberry from my hands. But I'd enjoy having both I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is IPhone in my future? Naw, I'm using our extra cash for Ramen Noodles, cereal and milk.

    A family's gotta eat.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'talk geek'
    i give you a new tech phrase
    tweek
    so that you can save a few nano seconds
    not to be confused with tweak, what you do to your kids ears when the fail to listen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Isn't the only reason to rush out and be the first to buy the new i-phone, is to show it to all the other techno-geeks that dont have one yet?
    Yes, you can show them all the cool features and then say in a condescending tone " oh, but your phone is okay too I guess."

    Steve Jobs
    in my gold plated island fortress
    Suck it Bill Gates

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nope, no iPhone for me... However, I do have an iTouch :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well having an iPhone since it's inception it so pisses me off that I have to wait so long to get the 3GS or pay full payment for it. ATT should be ashamed of themselves for their pricing plan. I so hope Apple rethinks who their provider is when this current contract with ATT is up.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love my iphone. I am , as you know, a simple geek. Of course mine is now an older model. Still, I went away for a weekend and had my internet access, my phone, my GPS, nd more in my back pocket.

    ReplyDelete
  8. iPhone? Not likely. Normally my phone is exactly that: a phone. I don't Twitter, and normally on those few occasions when I'm not in front of a computer, I really don't want one in my pocket. That said, there are times when I have really wished I had one available. But chances are that if I'm going to upgrade to a "smart phone" it'll be a Blackberry. And the news that RIM has managed to stay strong even in this economy doesn't do anything to weaken that position.

    Besides, if Balsille is gonna grow my favorite sport, the least I can do is throw the guy a bone, right?

    ReplyDelete
  9. i'd love an iPhone. i'd love one *not* connected to the NeoCon supporters: AT&T. I'd love one *not* connected with waldemart. Until then, I'll live blissfully ignorant with my iWannaBeAniPhone ;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. My mom bought an iPhone last fall but she returned it a month later.
    My husband likes his work-issued BlackBerry, but my oldest son complains about his simple TracPhone until I point out that it is nicer than mine. I'm still here with an technologically ancient Nokia.

    ReplyDelete

Please note that Written Inc. has been set up so that all comments must first be moderated before they go live on the blog. I apologize for the inconvenience, but this is to ensure bots and trolls don't muck up the works. If you have any difficulty leaving a comment here as a result, please feel free to email it to carmilevy AT gmail DOT com. Thank you for your understanding.