Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
I have always had a love-hate relationship with Apple and the products it produces. More to the point, I have less of a problem with the actual products and more of a problem with the price of those products and people that buy those products, religiously.
On the one hand I, like just about every other living species on earth, am drawn to the products that Apple brings to market for their seeming simplicity in both style and operation. I have even caved to that attraction at times and bought Apple products despite that little voice inside that tells me that there are other products out there that offer the same features and performance for one-tenth the price.
(Every once in awhile that voice needs to be put in its place, which unfortunately is back in my head with the other voices.)
And, once I buy that product I then feel remorse for having given in to the dark side, and the voices get louder.
However, there are other people in the world that don’t get this guilty feeling from buying Apple products, and in fact seem to look down upon those of us who do. There is really no harm in this attitude, though I would suggest that you try to avoid looking these people directly in the eye.
These people are usually easy to pick out as they are constantly camped outside of the local Apple store waiting for the launch of the latest Apple gadget.
Apple recently threw these people a bone by unveiling a white version of its iPhone 4, a device that has been promised for nearly a year. In that time the talk of such a device has produced a hype-perpetuation machine that was just about to hit the “frothing” level.
Now, you would think that a company launching a highly sought after product, especially if that company is Apple and that product is a white iPhone, would be greeted with cheering not seen since the Death Star was blown up … twice. But, of course you would be wrong. And by “you,” I mean “me.”
Instead, people started breaking out their micrometers to measure the difference in dimension between the black iPhone and the white iPhone. Really? Can’t everyone just be happy that there are now two colors of iPhone available? My thought is that if you need a micrometer to measure the difference between two products, you don’t need a micrometer to measure the difference between two products. Plus, who has a micrometer?
This perceived, or real, difference was plastered all over the blog-o-sphere with computer simulation, animated re-creations and 3D videos being produced in record time showing this real, or perceived, difference. Heck, this brouhaha even drew out an Apple exec who felt so strong about the accusation that he left Apple’s secret volcano lair to call it “junk.”
“Junk!,” he said!
While I am not sure this really was such a big enough deal to disturb the rulers of the Apple world, it did stir a bit of uneasiness inside of me, the likes of which typically follow my favorite Mexican meal.
I was not sure if it was pain, or remorse, or sympathy, or maybe just hunger, but I felt that Apple was getting the raw end of this deal. Of course, they weren’t because in the time it took me to even think Apple made enough money to buy and sell my emotions 1,000 times over.
Regardless, I feel I need to take the step in actually thanking Apple for finally unleashing this white unicorn onto a market that really does not need it and apparently does not appreciate it.
But, maybe next time could you make the iPhone less appealing? And maybe cheaper?
OK, enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Worst of the Week column. And now for some extras:
–Finally! A reason to get a tablet device. I have a bit of a history wondering what exactly is the lure of tablets, but with the thought of a 3D device coming soon, I can now say I am sold. If fact, I will dare to say that 3D will make anything, even tablets, more awesome.
I am reminded of the awesome-enabling power of 3D every time I go to a 3D movie and experience for myself how much better life is when things that are not real appear to be heading directly for my head. Oh, the humor.
I welcome your comments. Please send me an e-mail at: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter
