The Atlantic - The Growing Geek iPhone Backlash

[Hack&Lube]

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...acklash/58283/

The comments section is actually more interesting than the article itself with people from both sides of the coin and a lot of industry people chiming in. I am one of those people who don't like the lack of freedom or unwritten policies resulting in an inabilty to recoup development costs but I totally understand the benefit of having a very tightly controlled, policed, and polished and working system to present to the public as that's honestly what most people want...and it also maintains a very good business model. We've all seen what happens when platforms get overrun with substandard software.

[Burninator]

Well certainly nothing new in the article in terms of the closed Apple ecosystem that is the iOS. I think that a lot of Apple products (anything running iOS, the Apple TV) are not geek products. Geek in that they are purposefully limited in their functions. If you want to do things that aren't listed on the box you really have to go out of your way to do it (jail breaking etc.). But the geek community isn't a big one. The average Joe and Jill aren't geeky. They just want things to work, they don't want to troubleshoot their phone.

Personally speaking I've been buying more Apple products lately because they are not geeky. They are simple, they work and they look good. I do not feel like spending the time to tweak things, troubleshoot or spend hours getting things set up. Geeks like to do that stuff, I don't and most the public doesn't like to either.

Whether or not this is good for the computer industry down the road I have no idea. Most people that have computers in their home only end up using a small fraction of it's power and function. It's possible that most people will be using locked down devices like iPhones and iPads and the tradition computer will become a more utilitarian device.

[sclitheroe]

It’s ironic that people decry a lack of freedom on the iPhone, and yet, it was THE mainstream phone that introduced the world to actively seeking out and installing apps on their own.

Prior to the iPhone, how many people did you know who had custom apps loaded on their Blackberry or other smartphone device?

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

It’s ironic that people decry a lack of freedom on the iPhone, and yet, it was THE mainstream phone that introduced the world to actively seeking out and installing apps on their own.

Prior to the iPhone, how many people did you know who had custom apps loaded on their Blackberry or other smartphone device?

Red is dead.
If you're not with us, you're against us.

[nfotiu]

Apple's American partner (AT&T) is equally or more geek un-friendly for many reasons. Sticking with AT&T as the sole provider, when Verizon is clearly the better network is really giving Android some solid footing in the American market.

A year ago, us people who needed a phone that could actually make phone calls were jealous of the iphone, but would never leave Verizon for AT&T. Now that Android has basically caught up (and then some is some areas) and is much more consumer friendly, there is very little reason to leave Verizon for an iPhone.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

It’s ironic that people decry a lack of freedom on the iPhone, and yet, it was THE mainstream phone that introduced the world to actively seeking out and installing apps on their own.

Prior to the iPhone, how many people did you know who had custom apps loaded on their Blackberry or other smartphone device?

You are confusing openess and freedom with accessibility and ease of use. The app store is fantastic and I greatly prefer it to the mess I used to have to go through to buy and download and then transfer apps to my Blackberry. Apple made downloading music and installing approved applications seamless and easy and accessible for everyone through a tightly controlled and highly polished centralized system that could be accessed directly through the device. Freedom would be the ability to put anything on there that you wanted that the hardware was capable of using. It would be the ability to develop any software you wanted and then distribute it widely and openly to anyone you wanted (aside from the 100 people you are limited to under Apple's model before requiring app store approval).

[Azure]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Apple's American partner (AT&T) is equally or more geek un-friendly for many reasons. Sticking with AT&T as the sole provider, when Verizon is clearly the better network is really giving Android some solid footing in the American market.

A year ago, us people who needed a phone that could actually make phone calls were jealous of the iphone, but would never leave Verizon for AT&T. Now that Android has basically caught up (and then some is some areas) and is much more consumer friendly, there is very little reason to leave Verizon for an iPhone.

True.

But because the iPhone is still a great phone and a great device, if it does eventually come to Verizon, a lot of people would consider getting it.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

You are confusing openess and freedom with accessibility and ease of use. The app store is fantastic and I greatly prefer it to the mess I used to have to go through to buy and download and then transfer apps to my Blackberry. Apple made downloading music and installing approved applications seamless and easy and accessible for everyone through a tightly controlled and highly polished centralized system that could be accessed directly through the device. Freedom would be the ability to put anything on there that you wanted that the hardware was capable of using. It would be the ability to develop any software you wanted and then distribute it widely and openly to anyone you wanted (aside from the 100 people you are limited to under Apple's model before requiring app store approval).

You are right, I could easily be accused of confusing the two concepts with that post.

HOWEVER

For most non-geek people, the phone is far more of an open platform than anything we’ve had in the past. Prior to the iPhone I don’t recall many phones even allowing you to upgrade your OS without carrier approval.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Red is dead.
If you're not with us, you're against us.

I don’t get it

[Azure]

Yeah. Think about the Krazr phones, or any old Telus phone that was stuck with the stupidity known as 'Spark.'

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

We've all seen what happens when platforms get overrun with substandard software.

Check this out for the extreme case: http://translate.google.com/translat...es&sl=es&tl=en