Comments on: The Apple iPhone: yet another conflation of needs and wants http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:11:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Dan Klarmann http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13335 Dan Klarmann Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:10:45 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13335 Details about how to take your iPhone apart. If you dare! <a href="http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-93276.html" rel="nofollow">http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-93276.html</a> Details about how to take your iPhone apart. If you dare!
http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-93276.html

]]> By: Ben http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13334 Ben Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:07:11 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13334 You deserve a new TV! You deserve a new TV!

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13319 Erich Vieth Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:08:07 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13319 Here's a post by another guy who doesn't get it about iPhones. <a href="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/03/183524.php ">Click here.</a> Here’s a post by another guy who doesn’t get it about iPhones. Click here.

]]> By: grumpypilgrim http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13266 grumpypilgrim Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:13:16 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13266 Further to Niklaus' comment, indeed, the business model for the cell phone is much like the business model for razor blades and Kodak Instamatic cameras: give away the razor, camera, cell phone, etc., then make your money by selling the blades, film, airtime, etc. It will be interesting to see what impact the iPhone has on the cell phone business model. With the proliferation of wireless access points, a phone that can use those connections for free, without incurring air time charges, could make a big dent in the industry. People with basic cell phone needs, especially those who live in cities, could have essentially unlimited cell access without paying anything for air time. Time will tell where the iPhone goes and how the industry responds. Further to Niklaus’ comment, indeed, the business model for the cell phone is much like the business model for razor blades and Kodak Instamatic cameras: give away the razor, camera, cell phone, etc., then make your money by selling the blades, film, airtime, etc. It will be interesting to see what impact the iPhone has on the cell phone business model. With the proliferation of wireless access points, a phone that can use those connections for free, without incurring air time charges, could make a big dent in the industry. People with basic cell phone needs, especially those who live in cities, could have essentially unlimited cell access without paying anything for air time. Time will tell where the iPhone goes and how the industry responds.

]]> By: Niklaus Pfirsig http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13257 Niklaus Pfirsig Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:30:06 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13257 Years ago, when cell phone technology became available to the masses and the bag-phone (analog cell phone with battery pack in a leather bag) was the rage, enterprizing housewife came out with the idea of a fake bag phone. The idea was to sell something that looked like the real thing, so that you could pretend to have an important conversation while stuck in traffic. All to impress total strangers in nearby vehicles. The fake cellphones sold quite well. The iPhone appears to be a major advance in usability for a smart phone, and the main complaint coming from supporters of other smart phones already is the price. As a curiosity, I check on the retail price of a new, unlocked Motorola Q. It was $650. Most of the wireless industry sells the phone as a loss-leader, then subsidized the cost of the phone by locking you into a draconian contract that they could not lose money on even if they tried to. Years ago, when cell phone technology became available to the masses and the bag-phone (analog cell phone with battery pack in a leather bag) was the rage, enterprizing housewife came out with the idea of a fake bag phone.
The idea was to sell something that looked like the real thing, so that you could pretend to have an important conversation while stuck in traffic. All to impress total strangers in nearby vehicles. The fake cellphones sold quite well.
The iPhone appears to be a major advance in usability for a smart phone, and the main complaint coming from supporters of other smart phones already is the price. As a curiosity, I check on the retail price of a new, unlocked Motorola Q. It was $650.
Most of the wireless industry sells the phone as a loss-leader, then subsidized the cost of the phone by locking you into a draconian contract that they could not lose money on even if they tried to.

]]> By: Erika Price http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13245 Erika Price Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:49:06 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13245 Remember the RAZR? A year ago everyone clamboered for that sleek, sexy little phone, making it quite the hot commodity-and it didn't even have any kind of improved functionality. Now anyone can afford to wield a RAZR, and it impresses no one. The iPod's many incarnations have followed a similar pattern, evolving from iPod to iPod mini to shuffle to nano, except that the new iPods at least always improved upon their predecessors techonologically. In a few years, the thing that everyone "has to have" will become old hat- and also much more affordable. How long will it take for every phone to have the iPhone's capabilities? Two or three years? Surely less than five. Apple will at least have a newer, sleeker version that makes this hot toy seem like a dinosaur in a year or so. Remember the RAZR? A year ago everyone clamboered for that sleek, sexy little phone, making it quite the hot commodity-and it didn’t even have any kind of improved functionality. Now anyone can afford to wield a RAZR, and it impresses no one. The iPod’s many incarnations have followed a similar pattern, evolving from iPod to iPod mini to shuffle to nano, except that the new iPods at least always improved upon their predecessors techonologically. In a few years, the thing that everyone “has to have” will become old hat- and also much more affordable. How long will it take for every phone to have the iPhone’s capabilities? Two or three years? Surely less than five. Apple will at least have a newer, sleeker version that makes this hot toy seem like a dinosaur in a year or so.

]]> By: grumpypilgrim http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13238 grumpypilgrim Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:35:03 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13238 For anyone interested in replicating iPhone features on a cell phone or smartphone, here's an article that explains how: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19507390/. For anyone interested in replicating iPhone features on a cell phone or smartphone, here’s an article that explains how: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19507390/.

]]> By: Dan Klarmann http://dangerousintersection.org/2007/06/29/the-apple-iphone-yet-another-conflation-of-needs-and-wants/#comment-13224 Dan Klarmann Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:16:31 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1428#comment-13224 The industry-shaking detail about the iPhone is not so much its "cool" factor, as the fact that AT&T is leaving it unlocked. That is, you can use your iPhone as a VOIP phone from any WIFI access point, without going through AT&T! You can transfer files on to and off of it without going through the cell network. I currently have a nice Motorola phone, half the functionality of which is blocked because it is locked by Verizon. I can't move pictures, videos, sounds, or text files between my phone and computer via the Motorola USB cable I own because Verizon forbids it. Only phone book synchronization is allowed. I could do these things if I pay Verizon an extra $20/month, but only via their cell network. The iPhone is creating buzz in tech circles because the practice of cell phone companies blocking device capabilities is starting to crack! The industry-shaking detail about the iPhone is not so much its “cool” factor, as the fact that AT&T is leaving it unlocked. That is, you can use your iPhone as a VOIP phone from any WIFI access point, without going through AT&T! You can transfer files on to and off of it without going through the cell network.

I currently have a nice Motorola phone, half the functionality of which is blocked because it is locked by Verizon. I can’t move pictures, videos, sounds, or text files between my phone and computer via the Motorola USB cable I own because Verizon forbids it. Only phone book synchronization is allowed. I could do these things if I pay Verizon an extra $20/month, but only via their cell network.

The iPhone is creating buzz in tech circles because the practice of cell phone companies blocking device capabilities is starting to crack!

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