Ok, I know the title will instantly make some people hate me. If you made it past the title, then maybe we can talk.
Let me start with this, yes I do own an iPhone and I do like it. I bought the 3gs version last summer, kind of by default. Here’s why I don’t believe that the Apple is not really an innovator when it comes to hardware or software.
First the iPhone. When iPhone came out it was touted (by the Apple community) to be the greatest thing ever. In fact I had a PC phone from HTC that I bought in 2006 that had more features. For pete’s sake you couldn’t even cut and past until the 3gs. Plus the HTC browsed faster than the original iPhone. I ran a head to head test with a my HTC and a G1 using Google to search for the same term. The HTC won by a long shot. They were both on AT&T’s network. Cause I know that was your next question. Last summer I finally broke down.. mostly because my 3 year old PC Phone did too.. and bought the 3gs. The final selling points were #1 I believe HTC stumbled with their latest version of the PC phone by putting their top heavy software over the phones, which slowed it down and made it unstable. I also was not a fan of the Blackberry’s. So, by default the iPhone. #2 The app store. This is important later.
Now we have the iPad. I keep hearing people saying things like it is going to revolutionize how you read and that the print media industry is hoping for a revival because of the iPad. Really? Have we already forgotten the Kindle. That has revolutionized how we read. It is also much easier on the eyes because it is not back lit. Plus, you get free 3G wireless coverage, although limited. Everyone I know that has one, said they wouldn’t give up their Kindle for an iPad. Another thing I’ve heard is how it’s going to change the way we surf.. now that could be true. If developers bow to Apples command to use Html 5. A standard that’s not even finished! Is this Apple’s arrogance? Incompetence? Maybe a bit of both. My guess is… well two things. One, Adobe made them made. Two, they had issues with implementing it on their devices and well, it’s easier to blame someone else than it is to fix the problem. I really thought that Apple learned their lesson back in the 90s when they almost went bankrupt, but here we are again where everything has to be created/approved/sold by Apple to work on their machines. There are also a number of other limitations, such as always needing to have the docking station with you. I was happy to see today that HP is coming out with a competitive device called the Slate.
In my next post I’ll explain in what ways I think Apple is an innovator.
