It’s been nearly 4 days since Steve Jobs stood in front of a packed Moscone Center in San Francisco, and unveiled the most important and most anticipated Apple product of all time. The keynote address, now a traditional January fixture in the wizard of presentation’s calendar, was hyped and over-hyped by media blogs and dedicated fans for almost a year. Since the first filings of patents for an Apple communications device were released by the US Department of Patents in June of last year, the feverish predictions of what the world’s most secret company would unleash on the world. Many speculated iPod integration with a phone, or a combination of services bundled in a smart phone. As the months rolled on, mock images of the purported device surfaced and hysteria ensued as to what the “iPhone” as it was dubbed would look like.
But no one came close to predicting the final product. Although Apple has started to move away from its traditional “snow-white” embellished products, the iPhone is an ugly baby when it comes to physical design. No doubt Jonathan Ive (or Jony as Steve calls him) worked his British butt off for this product, the end result is something similar to the first versions of the O2 XDA. The real beauty of the iPhone however as Jobs pointed out in a shameful comparison with brand-leading smart phones, is the interface with no buttons on the face of the product.
Touted as one of the most advanced products Apple has ever released, Jobs progressed slowly with excellent skill through the keynote address, pausing for effect many times, whetting the appetite of the eager media and dedicated fans in the audience of the massive auditorium. Standing to the left of the 40-foot projected Apple Keynote presentation, Jobs paraded through the boring stock-holders notes, proclaiming the wonders of the company’s performance in the past 12 months. In a mildly scathing attack at the Microsoft Zune WMA player, Jobs was quick to compare the market share gains of the re-packaged Toshiba device, which garnered a mere 2% base of sales in the first month of its release. My belief is that this 2% includes the entire workforce of Microsoft in the US who doubtless were given Zune players to quell the ever-increasing number of employees who tout the abilities of the Apple iPod.
When all was said and done, and Apple’s answer to Windows Media Center was unveiled and demonstrated (which by the way is an incredibly simple and powerful device I intend investing in soon), Jobs stood aside, under the veil of the “historic” Apple logo and proclaimed to the masses, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 4 years” and the palpable desire of the massed crowd was felt through the sketchy webcast I was watching over 6000 miles away in my room in Galway. The hype and build up didn’t end there, as Jobs introduced the iPhone with its three key features mentioned twice in succession to rapturous applause from the collective spirit that lay below his platform. “iPod, Phone, Internet; iPod, Phone, Internet.”
When Jobs eventually displayed the image (which of course I’d seen in the live broadcaster blogs and photographs from Engadget.com throughout the “live” keynote) I was slightly taken a-back. This didn’t look like an Apple product. In fact, it resembled a Nokia handset with the keyboard broken off. It was thin, it was black and it looked vaguely familiar. I was no doubt giving it all the lee-way to impress me that I could, and boy, was I delighted.
obs proceeded to demonstrate the item, on a podium to the left of the screen, using a very interesting technology that projected the live image of the screen onto the 40-foot goggle-box beside him. As he started the device, heralding the launch of its OS X system, I was shell-shocked. This was the most advanced and seemingly incomparable device I have ever seen. The software is incredible and clearly, Apple have thought of everything. The intricacies of the system are amazing. The Cingular-partnered development of Visual Voicemail was a wonder, but paled in comparison to the rest of the product. While the touch-screen interface was a master-stroke in physical human-computer-interaction, I was worried about the overall effect of the new keyboard. While some people on this planet have tiny stylus-shaped digits, the majority have fingers and toes that resemble chunks of badly cut meat rather than pianist fingers. But overall, the functionality of the system from the newly-designed iPod interface to the curiously sexy telephone interface were awe-inspiring.
However, the function that interested me most, was the internet capability. While it wasn’t met with the same furor that the phone and iPod integration was at the outset, the internet functionality is perhaps the most valuable to Apple. This allows for massive revenue streams to be exploited by the network operator, in this case, Cingular Wireless for the continental US and probably Telefonica through O2 in Europe. This will truly revolutionize the way people use the internet on their handsets. Because the Safari browser will allow web pages to be viewed as they were meant to be, more and more use of the internet will become the norm on the go. Along with Apple’s no doubt controversial “Push Email” attack on the Blackberry devices I hold dear to my heart, the fact that Apple will integrate with MS Exchange as an IMAP device means the iPhone could become the next best thing in corporate gifts.
The iPhone is so much more than a phone however. The hype was justified, the flattery worthy and the frenzy was to be expected. However until the FCC approves the design, we won’t see iPhones in public until June at the earliest. The fact that this waiting time is out there, I believe Apple will release an iPhone with probably a lower price and a higher spec camera before shipping the final version. All told, it looks like the iPhone phenomena will only get bigger as time passes.
I for one, have started saving!
diarmy
Thousands of people filled the narrow streets of Daingean Uí Chúis on December 31st 2006 to usher in the New Year. The 2006 final ceremony was a mix of tradition and technology, as the town’s Fife & Drum band paraded the town on its traditional route, culminating at the bridge street junction at the foot of Main Street minutes before midnight. From a central position in the crowd, I estimated approximately 4000 or more late night revelers paid homage to 2006 and jumped for joy as the seconds ticked toward the new year.
The 2007 countdown was again this year marked by my creation, a giant projected digital countdown clock, that displayed the end of 2006 across the gable wall of a building in the towns historic centre. I was asked last year for a contribution to the 2005-2006 ceremony, and this year I trumped my previous creation once more, with the help of a 3000 lumens digital LCD projector, some luck and a heck of a lot of planning. The crowds of people indulged in much photograph-taking activities, which I’m delighted to report largely involved photos of the clock. In a town on the edge of Europe, technology from diarmy reigned supreme. Next year’s clock may be projected in my absence, but this is one technological revolution I’m more than happy to donate my time in its cause. Of course, may I wish you all a Happy New Year, and to all those who were present, feel free to leave comments and suggestions/criticisms.
The clock this year was the fitting tribute to a town trapped in the political wrangling of its name. The photos displayed here were captured on my 2 MP Sony Ericsson W810i cellular phone, thanks in no small part to the failure to charge my 5 MP Digital Camera. The final image is a screen photo of the clock as it appeared on the laptop in the secret projecting facility, across the road.
