Kottke explains how the iPhone’s become a universal gadget, forcing itself into the marketing calculations not just of handset makers and carriers, but those who make cameras, portable game consoles, and even personal computers.
I think this is a good thing, even if you’re not fond of the iPhone and its ilk. It forces the credibility “boiling point” for specialized gadgets up, because they have to compete with an actually-successful “convergence device” and its spawn.
The iphone’s screen is simply too small to be the “good enough everything” – old people complain of having trouble seeing it, that’s a market that can’t be completely ignored, as everyone who is now young will eventually be old or dead.
Agreed! Just like netbooks in a sense.
Although, I thought that level had been reached when I was playing SMB3 on a windows mobile phone 6 years ago, now I’ve realized it’s more about playing Symphony of the Night on a netbook.
Caldrax – i’m not entirely sure that altering your device to cater for the lucritive “dead” market is the best strategy to go for..
The first footnote in the blog post is quite interesting. I didn’t know you can do that.
For now on I will refer to all TV shows as Star Trek, all cars as Humvees and all women as hookers. Then I will get incredibly annoyed with people who misunderstand my ravings.
bloodboiler: “The first footnote in the blog post is quite interesting. I didn’t know you can do that.”
Are you serious? The number of trademarked products that are used in place of the generic (Kleenex, Xerox, Jell-O, Lego, etc.) are legion.
BBG – are you going to write a farewell post?
Or does it end with a whimper, with this once proud blog now overrun by spam comments, tweets, and offworld updates?
Long live Infomerica!
Its all very well the IPHONE being superphone (well sort of) all it is but if its not a available on you network in your calling plan it might as well not exist. Quite a lot of people don’t want to be lumbered with a £40 a month plus contract