You probably thought you had already heard the most ridiculous hyperbolic sound bytes regarding the iPhone, but it’s getting zanier the closer we get to launch day. AP quoted Michael Gartenberg of JupiterResearch as saying, “This is the most anticipated phone since Alexander Graham Bell did his…” Yes, he really said that. Thus, I must finally call BS.
Sure, the iPhone is sexy, but it’s time to realize that we’re all getting carried away. Aside from the admittedly amazing Star Trek-like touchscreen, the only thing really attracting me to this thing is pure oh-look-a-shiny-new-thing geek lust. I’m from the school of thought that believes all-in-one printers mostly suck for a good reason: At this point in consumer electronics history, certain tasks still deserve dedicated hardware until we get convergence right. So the iPhone—with all its alleged 8 hours of converged goodness—is looking very risky to me right now.
There’s another reason to poo-poo the iPhone superhype—other goods things are happening in Cupertino. According to an NPD report noted by The Inquirer, 14 percent of all notebooks sold in the U.S. are Apple computers. So while armed guards are set to man the stores (true) and fanatics camp out and tempt the same violent fate that met PS3 crazoids last year, the sane Apple fans among us can find simple pleasure in knowing that Apple laptops are hotter than ever—armed guards not required.
Photo: bryce_edwards
