iLovers & iHaters
For the past couple of weeks I've been reading every article I stumble across about the new iPhone. No, I'm not going to run out and get one, I'm still happy with my iP4, I'm just curious. My contract is good for another year, I'll probably upgrade then. I read the reviews on most new technology, phones, tablets, laptops, whatever the current rage is.
Back in 2007 Cheryl and I were vacationing in San Francisco. Walking back to our hotel one evening we bumped into a crowd, urban campers, 20 & 30 somethings, lined up at Stockton & Ellis Streets with tents, sleeping bags, chairs and provisions. "What's going on?", I asked. "The iPhone is on sale tomorrow." Two days later in the same neighborhood there were lines around the block at the AT&T store, new iPhone people acquiring service from the only provider.
Not much has changed in the last five years. I'm still astounded by the must-have-it-first people who line up at stores hours before the iPhone debuts. They're passion with iEverything is borderline OCD. Apple sold 5 million units of the 5 during the first weekend. The Jobsians bank on the iPhiles lining up, happily handing hundreds of dollars to be the first kid on the block with the new gadget. You can't tell me they're all at contract end, so some are paying the full price .... in the $600 ballpark. That's just crazy, but if it makes you happy it can't that bad, right?
At the other end of the techno-wars spectrum are the iHaters. Open any online article on the iPhone that has a comment section and you'll witness a vast volume of vitriol aimed at everything Apple. The Galaxy and Droid people have a chip on their shoulder and love to bash the iPhone, iPad and whatever issues they have. Some are downright nasty, calling iPhiles morons and other names just because they're loyal to a different phone. It's really pathetic, shallow and I wonder what motivation there is to hate a product so.
C'mon people, get real. It's a fucking smartphone! Get a life. This is not the most important thing in the world. Your gadget needs to do a half dozen things well, phone, text, email, surf the web and maybe a few apps unique to each user. Everything else is just bells & whistles, extras that make your phone cool, but not necessities. If you're happy with your pocket technology, good for you. You don't have to prove it's the best smartphone or hate on the competition. I like my phone, you like yours, everything is cool, right?
No. People seem to have a need to hate something, and there's no shortage of iHaters. Apple has some business practices that annoy me, like their new proprietary docks on the iPhone 5 that render old cords and accessories useless, but for the most part they make elegant and useful products. Apple has their fans, the Droids and Galaxy has their fans. Can't we all just get along?