iPhone 4G speaks to the black and white audience

Originally published on June 10, 2010

I have a confession to make.

I pre-ordered the iPhone 4G and received it a day before the launch date (today). I used that extra day to squeeze every ounce of attention out of my co-workers and those within eyesight (hell, I’m still waving it around like a flag on Memorial Day). Its totally shameless and some would say self-depricating to the extent of being seen as a Apple zombie/fanboy kneeling at the shrine of Steve. I admit that have that false sense of superiority which comes from owning a object that people line up days in advance for. But you know what? I don’t care. I’m going to revel in it as much as I can. Why? Because I can. Because I know that a huge percentage of my decision to buy an iPhone 4G was to be able to rub people’s nose on it. If I waited a month or two it would just be a phone, but because I was one of the very few who had one the day before its more than that. As the days pass by the ‘value’ of having an iPhone will depreciate dramatically, and so I feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Its and ego thing, but in the words of the prophetic Sheryl Crow, if it makes me happy, it can’t be that bad right?

Over the course receiving it in the mail, taking and importing a picture of it to my Flickr and Facebook accounts, flaunting it to the point of receiving scorn, and now, I’ve made some interesting observations. I’ve noticed that people are either open in their interest or flaunting in their disinterest.

When it comes to Apple in particular, response is as black and white as their products tend to be. People tend hate or love the company and their products for a variety of reasons and there is no middle ground. I know its a bold blanket statement to make, but I truly believe this -and it, quite frankly, annoys the hell out of me.

So I thought I’d write about it.

When it comes to high-profile products people need to get past the notion that they feel the need to bash or love it. This is especially the case with designers. Designers are naturally inclined to criticize everything, and though that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it is definitely a close-minded thing. I know this because I’m an expert at it. Whether its a crush to the ego ‘How dare Steve not solicit my awe-inspiring design input before creating this horrendous piece of crap!’, or defensive response ‘Why didn’t I think of that? I suck -wait no I don’t, that evil corporation does!’, there’s no denying that ‘self-actualization mode’ kicks into overdrive.

Whether or not you believe that the iPhone is a ‘game changer’, you can’t deny its underlying impact on society. Sure, its been hyped by the media and Apple’s marketing department, but that doesn’t make it a bad device nor does it make Apple an evil empire. Responding in this way makes as much sense as voting party-line during election time.

If anything, the fact that iPhone opponents feel the need to publicly bash it or go out of the way to say that its an ‘unimpressive’ device proves that it is, in effect, impressive. When something is unimpressive to me, it unconsciously placed somewhere on the level of ‘a grain weevil crawling up a tree with a grain of rice in Northern Africa’. You won’t find me arguing for or against the efficiency of an unimpressive subject.

I’m not saying that the iPhone 4 is without fault. It has plenty of missing pieces. The service sucks, its heavy, its relies on a closed-system controlled by a tyrannically controlled corporation, it scratches easily (arguable), battery life sucks (also arguable), etc..  But that’s not the point really. These complaints are grain weevils in a world of people with big boots.

Regardless of whether or not you like its industrial/interface design, or Apple’s underlying business strategy, the fact of the matter is that they’re pushing technology forward. Some may say its not enough, but in my opinion, something that makes people even come to that conclusion is successful.

Anyone can criticize a design. Designers are super-awesome at this. Some have good reasons, and their complaints are valid. But lets not get stuck in the hate too much that we are unable to see potential. At some point, we need to concede to the positives and build off of it. At some point, we need to be able to appreciate the contributions of all. Evil money-grubbing corporations included.