Reasons Why the iPhone Won’t Change the World.
This past week, I fried the logic board on my MacBook Pro. I was assured by multiple Mac Geniuses that there was nothing I could have done to cause this, but I have my suspicions. (Have you ever heard the expression, “He knows enough about _____ to be dangerous”? I know enough about the inner workings of a Mac to be dangerous. That’s a whole different blog post.)
Being “Mac-less” this week has brought a much-needed breather from the computer world; a breather I didn’t think I would enjoy as much as I have. I am working on a computer in our Chapel and, at the end of the day when it’s time to go home, I get to leave my work at work. It’s liberating to be able to truly say, “I’m not going to get to that until tomorrow!” and mean it.
Without my laptop, I’ve been depending more on my iPhone to accomplish simple tasks when I’m not at the church. Email, websurfing, RSS reading, Twitter, all can be done from the palm of my hand. But while the iPhone is truly an amazing piece of technology, it won’t be replacing desktop/laptop terminals any time soon. At least not mine. Here’s some reasons why:
1. Size: No matter how much the iPhone can do, it’s still too small to become a viable option for computer replacement. From the keyboard to the screen to the web browser, people (read: me) need space to complete everyday tasks.
2. Video: The iPhone still cannot display Flash encoded video outside of YouTube. This, obviously, is not a case of “We Can’t” but more of a “We Won’t”. With more and more websites integrating video into their visual process, the iPhone will need to accommodate video before it can hang with its Big Brother, MacBook Pro.
3. Video Conferencing: My MacBook Pro has a webcam built in. This automatically allows me to transcend physical boundaries in order to connect with people in a real way. The iPhone, unexplainably, does not allow me to do this. Put a webcam on the front of the iPhone and give people a native app that allows them to webcast at a moment’s notice and then, my friends, we’ll talk revolutionary.
Don’t get wrong, I love my iPhone as much as the next person. It truly has changed the way that I approach my work and social life. But my MacBook will always be my MacBook and my iPhone will always be my iPhone, if that makes any sense.
What do you think? (And if you’re wondering, yes, that’s the front page of my iPhone.)
Justin- I think more than anything this is revealing an unhealthy addiction you have to iEverything. I'm glad you get to disconnect a bit. Good luck with your search for a replacement.
I agree, to a point.
It is leaps and bounds better than anything else I have used. Try to survive 15 minutes with a windows based phone – it won't happen. It's not possible.
Wait for a real second gen product. We cannot consider 2nd gen faster internet in my opinion.
I'm trying not to covet. I would love an iPhone or even a Blackberry, but alas I have a Palm T/X which is worthless for e-mail & internet away from places w/o wi-fi. But since SOY won't pick it up, and I'm married to a low-tech, "don't give a rip about gadgets" girl, I won't have one in the near future until I can absolutely justify the expense.
If they integrate a webcam into an iPhone that would be truly sweet.
I totally understand where you're coming from, because my iPhone in no way substitues for my macbook. I can't edit documents on my iPhone like I can on the mac and like you said, I can't capture any video, although I have a jailbroken iPhone, so I'm able to do this (although not video-conferencing.)
Although I can do the basic stuff on the iPhone like twittering, web browsing, reading through rss feeds, I can't do all of this at once, and the lack of background apps seriously limits the iPhone in my opinion.