Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Friday, October 4
They look cool, but, no, I don't want one. My mp3 player, Palm, and cell phone all work just fine.
TEASE!!!
Eh, I don't know. If they were cheaper and I needed a new phone, I'd seriously consider it. But they're not, and I don't need a new phone, so there you are.
Yes. As long as I don't have to buy it.
No. The Sidekick 3 does everything the iPhone does and more. And both the phone and the plans are cheaper.
I'm 31 and just got my first computer, so maybe when I'm 50 I'll be ready for the iPhone or whatever version is available in 20 years. I'm so behind!
I'm 31 and just got my first computer, so maybe when I'm 50 I'll be ready for the iPhone or whatever version is available in 20 years. I'm so behind!
No way - I would have to take additional insurance for it just in case it was lost or stolen - a phone is a phone, not a music device, satellite dish, radar detector or anything else - the smaller and sleaker the better.
Yes, but I have no plans on buying one. And if at some point a pile of cash falls into my lap earmarked specifically for a new phone and my old one dies, then I'll still wait for the next couple of generations.
not really. for all the hype its getting, and ive read some reviews (out of boredom, not for research or anything) and it just seems like its not something i would really want to invest $500 on. for all the memory it has, it would only hold up to about 2,000 songs anyway. it looks complicated too. my current phone was free, hey i had to sign a contract, but im happy with my carrier anyway. also, as with all things electronic, there are sure to be some bugs in the first generation. look at the first ipod, it wasnt crappy or anything when it came out, but compared with today the thing had problems and htings that needed updating. maybe if the iphone werent so freakin expensive i'd consider it. also, no freedom to choose your phone carrier? kinda lame!
No. I like to keep all of my gadgets separate.
I passed by people standing in line in front of the apple store on Michigan Ave. I pretended to be talking into my iPod. I don't know how convincing it was.
Yes. Absolutely. But I'm not paying that much for it... and I'm not switching to AT&T.
In a pig's "i".
Nope. For a long time I didn't even want a cell phone, but I do have one now. I rarely answer it though- it's like voice mail service - if I'm out and about, I don't want to be bothered. Sorry if that sounds rude.
Anyway, the way I see it, just because some company creates a new gadget and they hype it up blah blah all the cool kids have it blah, doesn't mean I need it.
*meow*
No thanks. I barely use my cell phone now, which is more of an enjoyable convenience rather than an absolute necessity.
I'm going to pretend I have one and talk into my iPod too.
I'd be too scared that I'd scratch it to ever use it.
I would like to have one, but not for $500 (even if I could afford it)...
Furthermore, unless you're a computer geek, it looks like you would probably need to take a class to learn how to use all the various functions...
And as someone else already pointed out, never for as long as the service is only available through AT&T. I hate that company, and only recently switched over my hi-speed internet, landline service and cell phone service from them--I have no plans on returning. Ever...
I don't even have an i-Pod. So, no, I am not into the iPhone. It seems really cool, but I am SO NOT INTO GADGETS. I have a basic cell phone and that's it.
Mikey - What company you switch to for the internet, cell phone and landline?
Sure I want an iPhone but... like, I also kinda want Supertramp's greatest hits.
Because they kick fucking ass.
what the sam hill is an I- phone? I'm still rocking sony diskman, son!
I think I'd rather keep the gadgets separate. Plus I don't need a new phone, or MP3 player, or TV, etc. So no I don't want one.
Going about my day having to coddle some expensive jewel-like gadget, all afraid of dirt and scratches, does not appeal to me at all.
Second grade, we're standing in line and this girl Debbie is in a pair of gleaming white canvas Keds. This other kid Mike, who'd just walked through some mud, takes a brief but contemplative look at Deb's new shoes, and then firmly stamps her left one with a muddy zigzag tread pattern.
I think my point is, if you go about your business in fear of getting your shoes dirty, you're going to be disappointed. Mike was an a-hole, though.
i wouldn't turn it down if someone gave it to me (since i'm currently on cingular... fuck, i mean at&t, those bastards (had attws back in 99-00 and HATED it, now i'm back to the same friggin' company! grr!))
that aside, i have a video ipod and have, i think, two videos on it (louis ck's podcasts!) and zero pictures. you can view the pics fine on my digital camera, why would i need them on my iPod or my iPhone? cell phone cameras are always way shittier anyway. the device-combining is a terrible idea anyway - unless you like having a mediocre camera/phone/mp3 player, rather than separage high-quality ones.
No. I'd be living in fear of Paris Hilton calling me up (in 3-D video) to discuss her release from prison, and the cicada invasion. All the ridiculous overhyped stories rolled into one big fat fucking nightmare.
it's funny that everyone has so far either said 'no' or has given a very lukewarm yes. i guess anyone that does want an iphone is shitting in a bag in front of the apple store right now.
The consumers in line at the Apple store looked really miserable to me as I passed them on the way back from my lunch. Count me out, for now.
Like someone else said, I'd take it if someone gave it to me, along with a year or two of free service. But paying $600-plus for one, not including the acutal phone services cost? F*ck no. Besides, there are enough zombies sitting on the bus now with little white wires dripping from their ears, engrossed in listening to musicor watching Madonna on their video iPod (like I saw the other day on the bus), or checking email every five minutes or playing some game and then jerking up to ask me, "Wait, what did the driver just say? That the train is going to run express?" Uh, no, I say, that them move away to watch them freak out with they realize they just zoomed past their stop. Haw!
Packing all of that unnecessary diversion into one machine is kinda handy, though. Now you can close yourself off from society in a sleek new form.
Besides, I don't even have a phone with a f*cking camera yet. What kind of loser AM I?
Yes, but like others: I prefer to keep my money. Also, I definitely don't want a two-year contract with AT&T.
I do not covet one.
Which will shock the shit outta the wife.
My phone already plays music, has a great 2MP camera, and the monthly service (through AT&T) doesn't cost me $100 a month (except that month in Ireland, damnit!)
What's up skafiend, I thought you were my twin. Get teched up, dude!
I'm with fluffy. I dislike having a phone, but occasionally do find it convenient since many of the people in my life are tied to theirs. I'd rather not have a phone at all. And I don't have an iPod or a Palm. But I suppose if I found myself in a position to buy all three at once I'd consider it. But I don't see that happening. I honestly want a cell phone that only has the ability to store phone numbers and make phone calls. Forget the rest of the "features" just give me a basic phone.
No. No interest in joining the iCult.
I do.
no!
No. While I can't wait for Apple to port multi-touch to the desktop, I've done fine without an iPod. And like others above I'm a reluctant cell phoner, so there's no sense dropping cash on something that handles both. I'm good, thanks.
Things I do want: regular work, a language faster than Ruby and cleaner than PHP, the smoking ban in bars, off-street parking, a girlfriend of radiance and erudition, fireworks, another Mexican Coke, the instantaneous return of my critical vocabulary (yes, I am responsible for its lapse), and less paperwork.
Printdude...
chill! I'm hep, I'm with it. I actually was thinking of getting an iPod, despite what I said. I do sometime like riding the bus with music and a portable CD player is clumsy and I've had too many cassette tapes get caught in the mechanism (do they even still sell blank cassette tapes and is taping off the radio passe?). So an iPod does seem convenient. And portable music is a convenient way to ignore panhandlers and the like. You can ignore them and have a convenient, if phony, excuse.
But as for the iPhone, nah. iGot enough shit to keep track of. I'd lose the damn thing or drop it. $600.... poof!
A few months ago I found myself with a dead cell phone & kaput iPod. About to take trips overseas I decided an iPod was essential for the plane riding & though I dislike it, I needed a new phone, too.
I purchased both of these items & then about 2 days later the iPhone came out.
I'd have considered holding out & waiting for the iPhone for the same amount of scratch had I known!
So for me--maybe after the first generation kinks are worked out and my current devices kick the bucket.
I think it's funny all the nay-sayers. Like when CDs came out, the old people saying how they weren't as good as whatever came before it. So crochety on a Friday!
I don't think the iPhone is a bargain by any stretch, but what Apple has done for the aesthetics of technology is like WOAH.
Mad ups to them for that at least.
yes, but not until 1) it's off v1.0, 2) it's 3g, 3) it can handle flash in the browser...
i do not belong to the iLife either. i prefer to have an unplugged life...
less than year ago i got the first ever cell phone....i'm not even sure all the features this piece of metal has...
i'm amazed how some people feel they have to be attached to some device all the time..
do i sound like a ludite?
eh..
Want?
Try, "have". Yes, I waited in line for about 4 hours to get one. The price is no biggie for me. I'm an early adopter anyway, and no matter what I get, it's usually in the $500+ range. I never get discounts, because I trade them in so often (12 months on average). I've been hooked on "smartphones" for years and have been search for the Holy Grail ever since. I'm already with AT&T and my service plan actually went down in cost since the iPhone unlimited data plan is cheaper than the old PDA unlimited data plan.
So far, two complaints. The case design prevents my Shure headphones from fitting in the headphone jack. I used to txt my parents and sisters whenever I land in a new airport, but the iPhone doesn't do group SMS. Guess they'll have to read my blog from now on.
Other than that, wow!
If it was free and I could stick with my phone carrier, then yes. That said, maybe in a few years, if the thing is still around, I'll look into. There's something appealing about having all the gadgets in one. I am curious to see how well it works though. Maybe if someone brought it to my house for a demo, and they threw in some free tupperware, I'd test it out. Otherwise, no.
Maybe I’m just getting cranky in my old age (just turned 33), but the hype over the iPhone was driving me crazy to the point that I do not want one. And I like gadgets, so for me to not want a gadget... well, pretty telling. I’m on Cingu... The New at&t already, so that wasn’t an issue.
I guess I’m starting to appreciate simplicity. I have a 1-year-old Nokia 6030 that does what I want it to do — make calls and tell me what time it is. No camera. No mp3 player. It has a browser of some sort built into it, but I don’t have a data plan, so it doesn’t matter. It has 2 games, but I never play them. The only frill it has that I actually do sometimes use is the FM Tuner built into it. It will usually be tuned to WBEZ when not in the subway portion of the ‘L’.
not at the price. The phone and the plan is just too damn expensive to be worth it, pure and simple.
I like the concept, but I don't like to carry around expensive gadgets, just not my thing. When it gets down to less than say $225, I MIGHT consider it.
Yep, I waited in line for 6 hours. (Which proved wholly unnecessary, but who knew?) With all the hype, I was sure to be disappointed. Instead, consider me blown away. It's the coolest invention since TiVo. Or maybe air conditioning.
It's gorgeous -- looks fragile but isn't. I just watched a video where a guy from PC World put it in a bag with keys, shook it around, then in a violent display, actually took a key to the glass. For the grand finale, he dropped the phone onto the concrete from 6 feet up a few times. Not a single scratch on the glass.
So yeah, I wanted one. And I'll want it again when the next generation comes out.
{Even though AT&T truly does suck.}
No.
In a few months to a year, they'll be sold at half price.
They're kind of cool and convenient, but I'm not about to stand in line for an hour to buy one, spend $500-$600 on a device that only offers minor conveniences over my current Blackberry(employer provided) & iPod setup, only to go home and spend 1 - 3 hours with with AAPLE support trying to get it activated.
If I ever feel that I MUST own one, I'll simply steal one off of my sister's trendy little friends.
And, by the way - get ready for an onslaught of new & less expensive "iPhone-like" phones from other manufacturers and providers. Many are expected by 3rd/4th quarter 2007.
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What're you drinking?
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What's your reaction to the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act?
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Be real: what is the meanest thing you've ever done?
Andrew / June 29, 2007 10:48 AM
No, we don't have one to give away; just wondering what your thoughts are about it.