My Blackberry user friends have all chuckled when I complain about my iPhone woes, and clearly I’m not the only one (see Apple’s discussion: forum: iPhone 3G Reception Problems? You’re Not Alone and C-NET’s coverage roundup here) . This makes my Blackberry friends happy, turns out their not-so-sexy phone is coming out to be a good tried-and-true reliable: the Volvo of the mobile world?*
But iPhone owners seem to have an unusually high level of forgiveness for this phone. In the midst of Apple’s stock dive and rumors of Jobs’ heart attack, I’m yet to find an iPhone owner that really dislikes their phone and has returned it. Yes, I’ve seen a few pictures of smashed iPhones, but for the most part they seem to be treated with the love and care of a fine jewel, or a hot-princess girlfriend (or boyfriend) that we feel lucky to have in spite of the obvious short-comings. The general consensus is that the keyboard is not nearly as usable as the Blackberry, but then the general response is: “you’ll get used to it.”
As for the dropped calls, people respond with a resigned tone “yes, I still drop calls, but it’s no so bad anymore… but I the app store is great!”
There is no doubt that iPhone challengers are coming out fast, and there’s definitely opportunities to bust iPhone’s pedestal. But make no mistake, this is not a rational space anymore. Yes, we want a functional phone, but the race is turning more about the phsychological love-obsession for these gadgets than the actual functionality. Therefore we should pay attention (once again) to brand cults. Check this insightful graph from Alex Wipperfürth How Cults Seduce and What Marketing Can Learn From Them*. Sound familiar?
As for me, I’m giving my iPhone another 10 days or so, sort of an ultimatum with the dropped calls. Apple suggested I turn off the 3G unless I’m using the internet. So, I am trying to show my commitment by paying for a few apps and giving it a real chance.
——–
* Volvo comparison came from Philip Miner, and I found the article thanks to Brand Autopsy
October 6th, 2008 at 1:10 am
You couldn’t have said this any better. . . someone else I know and follow on Twitter had similar issues with her phone but basically said, despite the problems with it and 3G, she still loves it even when broken.
Since she is of your age group, I must say that my take is that the iPhone and the code that Apple writes is far beyond what most others can offer. I’m sure it is a wonderful sleek-n-sassy device, but if the network or instrument doesn’t work, I’m gone. . . the whole idea of passion for a specific device v. its functionality is mission critical to me.
So enjoy the ride on the iPhone roller coaster. . .
October 7th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Despite your warnings, I jumped on the bandwagon and got an iPhone last weekend. I must say, so far I love it. I haven’t actually talked on it enough to get any dropped calls, but the functionality is amazing.
Seriously, the Pandora app is amazing. I drove from Eastern Washington to Seattle with it seamlessly streaming music.
The browser is also great. Full html is sweet.
I just downloaded the fring app. It is supposed to allow you to use skype. I hope Apple doesn’t remove it…
In any case, I’ll just have to see how well it works these next few weeks. For now, I am rationally in love.