Pancho Pistolas's Journal: The new Apple iFrustrated, and TMI...

So the new iPhones are out, and once again Apple demonstrates the simple principle that being an innovator in one part of your product doesn't make up for being woefully ignorant in another (already established) part of your product. Apple made this mistake the first time on phone price (Ever hear of Nintendo, Mr. Jobs?), and now on mishandling the network used to entrap-- er, enroll people in their indentured servit-- er, monthly contracts.

First off, it's a phone. Even if it can do all kindsa interface-y things, it still has to be able to do what a cell phone does, and if you want to indenture folks through cell contracts, you have to be able to do it at least as well as every cell phone maker out there.

Second, the iPhone is only going to be wildly profitable as long as it's the First and Only(tm) phone to do the things it does, because in less than a year, your competitors will be offering similar (and cheaper) functions. Yeah, nobody started making MP3 players seriously until the iPod came along, but now practically every phone has this functionality, and there's lotsa competitors catching up. However, the cell phone business is already in existence, and they're already way better at setting up new service and locking in customers than you are. Get a clue if you want to stay ahead.

In other (related) news, sometimes people say (or quote) the darnedest things. Concerning his recent purchase of his new iPhone, this fella in Japan had the following tidbit: [http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/07/11/iphone.sales.ap/index.html]

"Just look at this obviously innovative design," Yuki Kurita, 23, said as he emerged from buying his iPhone, carrying bags of clothing and a skateboard he had used as a chair during his wait outside the Tokyo store. "I am so thrilled just thinking about how I get to touch this."

Dood, I did NOT need to know that...touching bit of information. You need to get out and meet PEOPLE. Like, in person. Get a girl/boyfriend, or whatever, and not one of those electronic ones. And no more of that Touching thing. Seriously.

To quote a old favorite, it's okay to love your electronics, just don't love your electronics, 'k?