Apple can sell sand in Sahara
Since I bought my MacBook last year (which I am really happy with), I have been watching Apple news very very closely. They make very good hardware and appealing software. And I must say that I am genuinely amazed by the attention they receive. If an Apple employee coughs, it's in the news. This is an amazing achievement by a company and there is nothing else to do than applaud this ability.
Now, the problem is that pretty much all the news are positive. "It's not a bug, it's a feature" comes to mind. The concept of critical journalism apparently does not apply to technology innovations from Apple. This is not good. Not for consumers or Apple.
Look at the Apple iPhone. Following the news on Diggs Apple section about this, I cannot believe the approach that is taken to the "features" presentation of the iPhone at the recent WWDC. Only Apple can make a phone, leave out an SDK and still receive headlines such as Jobs Offers Developers Web 2.0 Apps For iPhone. Offers.
The hype about the iPhone is amazing. This is one of the reasons why it will fail. Features? It has a touch screen. That's great - what else does it have that we don't already own? Nothing. Even so, it still receives much more attention than e.g. the Nokia N95 which has a list of features that surpasses the iPhone by years.
And there are many more "features". The iPhone does not support Flash, which has been supported on other phones for around five years. The iPhone does not support Java, which pretty much all phones support - around 2 billion of them anyway. Why have nobody questioned this? How can Apple enter a new market and implicitly say that companies such as Sony-Ericsson and Nokia (which have both been in this market for around 25 years) are wrong?
It supports "Web 2.0". Apple put their trust in Javascript, that is. I am amazed that Steve Jobs is focused on security and the only 3rd party code that will be executed on the iPhone is done in Javascript. In addition, the browser provides access to the address book, e-mail application and other bundled applications. This looks like a hackers dream.
No 3G. No swapable battery. These are facts. And let's see what happens when people finally get a hold of that keyboard - someone claims it isn't good. And let's see what happens with that big screen when it has been in your pocket for a while. Wireless is a great feature, but when you have access to a wireless network, it's probably at home or work where you have a decent size screen anyway. Wireless would be useful if you could run 3rd party applications such as Skype, but...
Apple makes great MP3 players and computers and the attention they receive on these are almost justified. But the iPhone can never live up to the expectations that is generated from the Apple brand. This attention won't last forever, but right now, Apple could sell sand in Sahara.
Now, the problem is that pretty much all the news are positive. "It's not a bug, it's a feature" comes to mind. The concept of critical journalism apparently does not apply to technology innovations from Apple. This is not good. Not for consumers or Apple.
Look at the Apple iPhone. Following the news on Diggs Apple section about this, I cannot believe the approach that is taken to the "features" presentation of the iPhone at the recent WWDC. Only Apple can make a phone, leave out an SDK and still receive headlines such as Jobs Offers Developers Web 2.0 Apps For iPhone. Offers.
The hype about the iPhone is amazing. This is one of the reasons why it will fail. Features? It has a touch screen. That's great - what else does it have that we don't already own? Nothing. Even so, it still receives much more attention than e.g. the Nokia N95 which has a list of features that surpasses the iPhone by years.
And there are many more "features". The iPhone does not support Flash, which has been supported on other phones for around five years. The iPhone does not support Java, which pretty much all phones support - around 2 billion of them anyway. Why have nobody questioned this? How can Apple enter a new market and implicitly say that companies such as Sony-Ericsson and Nokia (which have both been in this market for around 25 years) are wrong?
It supports "Web 2.0". Apple put their trust in Javascript, that is. I am amazed that Steve Jobs is focused on security and the only 3rd party code that will be executed on the iPhone is done in Javascript. In addition, the browser provides access to the address book, e-mail application and other bundled applications. This looks like a hackers dream.
No 3G. No swapable battery. These are facts. And let's see what happens when people finally get a hold of that keyboard - someone claims it isn't good. And let's see what happens with that big screen when it has been in your pocket for a while. Wireless is a great feature, but when you have access to a wireless network, it's probably at home or work where you have a decent size screen anyway. Wireless would be useful if you could run 3rd party applications such as Skype, but...
Apple makes great MP3 players and computers and the attention they receive on these are almost justified. But the iPhone can never live up to the expectations that is generated from the Apple brand. This attention won't last forever, but right now, Apple could sell sand in Sahara.
