zybch says:

Huh? AT&T are crippling any competition to their iPhoney cash cow!! Say it ain’t so.

sargasso says:

Correction: Apple’s WWDC a “magical” mystery. “Full of wonderment and innovation”. Of which a select few will be allowed to witness the keynote. And the “edited” highlights of which will not show Steve dancing around with a top hat and a monocle wearing an orange sarong.

qb says:

Improbus, the hype is tiresome but the problem isn’t Apple. The problem is the rest of the industry. Every company hypes itself, just listen to anything Steve Ballmer or Larry Ellison says.

The problem is after years of boring crap from most tech companies Apple came out with things like the iPods, iPhones and the iPad. The only reason that the Android is interesting now is because Google finally said to the manufacturers: “Pay attention morons. We made the Nexus One to look like an iPhone with a full front screen and no flimsy keyboard. In other words, make your phones look like an iPhone, not a bloody Blackberry.” Also Verizon tossed in $100 million on advertising which is a good thing because Google doesn’t give a rat’s ass about marketing.

Nobody besides Apple currently puts design as their number one priority. Palm was close but then came out with creepy advertising and released on the US’s 4th largest carrier. Design is really, really hard. Nokia tossed all their good designers over the side and now it shows. Design also extends to marketing and Apple gets more bang for the buck out that than anyone else.

The tech press focuses on things like no USB or no stylus or some other bloody thing when reviewing the iPad. A lot of people compared it to NetBooks which missed the point – as Douglas Adams would say “…it delivers a cupful of liquid that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.”

They wrote off the design and familiar usability as a differentiator. Apple will be ahead for a while with the iPad and everyone will copy them to catch up. And most of the tech press missed the point that the device wasn’t really revolutionary, but it was relentlessly evolutionary. Tons of people still complain that the iPad is “just a big iPod Touch”. Jonathan Ives would reply, “Yup, you’re right. That’s why it’s selling well.”

The day somebody else besides Apple comes out with something really well designed, and shifts or creates a new market, then all the tech press will go that way and droning hype will fade. Apple will eventually be beaten in the design game – or maybe they will just fade, who knows. Make no mistake though, Google will be the dominant empire in the long run, not Apple.

Google would love to see someone gamble and take a new approach. Trying to copy Apple or Verizon or HTC is a mistake, but I’d like to see someone go in a different direction. Personally I’m hoping somebody develops a new hardware manufacturing model which is more personalized for end users. Couple that with a software model that is independent of the phone companies and manufacturers and you’d have something better.

qb says:

LOL you’re right improbus. I admire Apple but they also drive me crazy. Time to move on.

Thanks.