Wassel Design

Tomorrow, the world changes forever.

No really, the media is telling me it will. The almighty iPhone will “revolutionize” everything ever made - and that’s still an understatement. This is the single greatest invention the world has seen. It even beats out fire, the wheel, Newton’s Theory of Gravity, Christmas, the color turquoise and refrigeration… combined. Tomorrow, the world starts anew.

To tell you the truth, I am excited for tomorrow. I’m excited for all this nonsense to come to an end. The iPhone has hijacked all the technology podcasts I listen to. Hell, it’s even hijacked my RSS feeds. It’s been everywhere for six months. I’m waving the white flag. I give up. Leave me alone.

Yes, I’ve seen the screencasts. I’ve seen the UI. I’ve seen how razor thin it is. I’ve seen it.

Wait, what’s that? Google Maps you say? On my phone, you say? Whoa. Holy cow… I can’t get that on my Treo. Oh, yes I can and in fact I do. Works great.

It has a nifty web browser? Whoa! Wait, my Treo has two installed right now.

“Yeah but it has that cool full page and then zoom in thing.” Oh right… Opera Mini has that too.

“But it only takes three clicks!” Um… My Treo has a “Home” key that leads to the main menu as well. I’ve yet to see anything that my Treo can’t do in the same amount of clicks.

Touchscreen? Amazingly, Treos have that too… and have for years.

YouTube? You got me here. I don’t get YouTube on my phone. But I do get real, live television.

The only reason I see to buy the iPhone is for the iPod. I don’t have 4GB of space on my Treo. I can play MP3s, but not 4GBs worth. But here’s the thing, the only time I actually listen to my iPod is when I’m 1.) in the car driving or 2.) at work, playing music off my computer. Neither situation seems appropriate for me to be playing music off of my phone.

I will admit the iPhone is slick. Apple bringing it’s design muscle to a cellphone was an infinitely sexy idea and they delivered something that is pretty to look at, no doubt. But really, outside of the prettiness, what’s the big deal? I don’t see it.

Maybe I’ve been over saturated with the ads, the rumors, the endless hours I’ve spent listening to people talk about this phone. Maybe I’m annoyed with the fact that Apple has personified iPhone (notice how they don’t use “the” before it). Maybe I’m tired of Apple fan boys drooling over every, little thing Apple produces. But at the same time, I have to admire Apple’s marketing scheme that can create such a juggernaut.

Just please, after tomorrow, can this end? Really? Pretty please?

P.S. This article, in no way, will stop me from pledging tomorrow to WBEZ who is raffling off an iPhone every hour between the hours of 6am and 7pm. You pledge once and your entered into every raffle of the day. Just do it… iPhone or not.