I have been without my MacBook Pro for nearly a fortnight, following the failure of its graphics card. Whilst I am assured by an Apple Authorised Service Point that it is on its way back to me, I have found it fascinating that for 75% of my usual computer-related tasks, I didn’t need a computer!
A few years ago, without a computer, I would have been without access to instant messaging or the World Wide Web. Today, I can still access most social networking sites, the Web and still chat to my buddies without one.
Smartphones are, quite simply, amazing.
I can fulfill most of the social aspects of the Internet solely off my phone. I have Twitter, MSN, Google Talk; if I wanted I could even access Facebook, MySpace or protocols as obscure as IRC!
Whilst it isn’t quite as easy to communicate from a smartphone, you can still do a satisfactory job.
Information and socialising is now amazingly portable.
Whilst smartphones won’t replace laptops or desktops, due to it being impractical to do proper research on a small screen or typing a letter on a small keyboard, I do believe the role of traditional computers is only going to diminish.
The Apple iPhone was released today in the UK. I hadn’t got any hopes up as I knew how expensive the contract would be and I realised that the chances of unlocking an iPhone permanently are near zero due to the fact Apple fixes unlocks via. updates.
A good friend of mine was anticipating the iPhone launch but hadn’t been following developments of its release in the UK as much as myself. She didn’t know that including the contract, an iPhone would start at £900 (about US$1,900 or €1300) and whilst this does include 200 mins and 200 texts monthly for 18 months she thought it was still pretty costly.
It’s interesting how Apple Store UK fails to mention the contract on their homepage yet mentions a fairly generous pricetag of £269 and the phone’s 8GB of memory.
One of Apple’s key markets are students and teenagers who are surely unlikely to be able to afford to splash out a minimum of £35/month for a minimum of 18 months. I wonder what Apple’s motivations behind contracting their phones are… the consumer would no doubt be much happier if they were unlocked!
My friend realises that a price nearing £1000 isn’t worth it for any phone, regardless of how cool it is. When you add into this the fact that the iPhone lacks 3G it seems even more of a rip off…
I think it’s also worth noting how the British consumer is being charged more than Americans. The total cost for an American iPhone with a 2 year contract (entitling 450 mins and 200 texts) costs US$1900… a British contract for 18 months and less than half of that amount of minutes costs the same amount!
Apple need to remember who their market is, especially outside the land of freedom fries and other Americanisms, and not lose touch with the consumer by solely pursuing profits as they blatantly have done with the contracting of the iPhone. I won’t be getting an iPhone due to its hefty price tag in addition to its lack of 3G (whilst 3G isn’t widespread in the UK, it certainly can come in useful!).
Tags: apple, iphone, o2
