An Apple a Day
Popular culture, is what defines us as a people in this setting in this time. When archaologists in the future unearth our remains and the clues of our existence, they will piece together the artifacts that define us as a people. Few artifacts of our popular culture today will affect us in the long term as will the Apple iPhone. This product allows us to surf the web, maintain e-mails and text messaging, watch TV, movies and browse YouTube. We can also communicate with anyone else with a phone anywhere in the world, and listen to our favorite tunes at the flip of a finger. With the right application download, we can wobble the iPhone to get a sloshing sound, or watch our retirement portfolio wither away to nothing. Whether required in the business world or just as a “must have” item, ownership of the iPhone is quickly becoming an icon of status and cultural savvy. Editorialist Ken Anderberg laments, “So now I wish I had an iPhone. After all, I want to be part of the "in" techie crowd, and what better way to say so than with Apple's newest toy” (Anderberg, 2007, p. 4).
Besides the coolness aspect, many are confirmed Apple loyalists that prefer to wait in long lines to get the first offerings (Rhey, 2007) rather than to order on line, in order to schmooze with fellow Apple freaks. Time Magazine warns of an increasing addiction to data and the internet (Grossman, 2007). Something else, however, is going on besides mere addiction.
Business is happening, big business. Not only is Apple enjoying a fantastic income stream, but even AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive service provider, is enjoying a renaissance. The iPhone has gleaned over twenty percent of the U.S. market in less than a year, since it’s introduction. In addition to overall sales figures, a growing number of third party applications writers are virtually making a killing overnight by riding along on iPhone’s coattails. A small startup company writing applications for the iPhone will net over one million dollars for 2008 (Lyons, 2008), and a former ATM programmer for Wells Fargo made over two-hundred fifty thousand dollars in two months (Lyons). A recent article in a leading business magazine with respect to new iPhone applications states that “One lets you turn your iPhone into a flute. Other applications enable inventory tracking. Outsiders make them, and Apple keeps 30% of the revenue” (Burrows, 2008). Besides the business aspect of this phenomenon, we may be witnessing a total turn around in our approach to computing into the future.
A member of the American Bar Association espouses the use of the iPhone instead of the traditional computer. “With the original applications plus the new ones now available on the App Store, you can use it to replace your laptop when you're traveling and don't want to haul along the laptop, or when you need to do something immediately without getting out your laptop” (Herring, 2008). With endorsements like this, how long will it be before the transformation actually occurs?
References
Anderberg, K. (2007, August). I wish I had an iPhone. Communications News, pp. 4,4. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.
Burrows, P. (2008, December 22). APPLE. Business Week, Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Grossman, L. (2007, April 16). The Hyperconnected. Time, 169(16), 54-56. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Herring, V. (2008, December). Ditch the Laptop, Bring the iPhone 3G. GPSolo, 25(8), 56-57. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Lyons, D. (2008, December 22). There's Gold in Them iPhones. Newsweek, 152(25), 20-20. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Rhey, E. (2007, August 21). iPhone: Anatomy of the Hype. PC Magazine, 26(16), 16-16. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Popular culture, is what defines us as a people in this setting in this time. When archaologists in the future unearth our remains and the clues of our existence, they will piece together the artifacts that define us as a people. Few artifacts of our popular culture today will affect us in the long term as will the Apple iPhone. This product allows us to surf the web, maintain e-mails and text messaging, watch TV, movies and browse YouTube. We can also communicate with anyone else with a phone anywhere in the world, and listen to our favorite tunes at the flip of a finger. With the right application download, we can wobble the iPhone to get a sloshing sound, or watch our retirement portfolio wither away to nothing. Whether required in the business world or just as a “must have” item, ownership of the iPhone is quickly becoming an icon of status and cultural savvy. Editorialist Ken Anderberg laments, “So now I wish I had an iPhone. After all, I want to be part of the "in" techie crowd, and what better way to say so than with Apple's newest toy” (Anderberg, 2007, p. 4).
Besides the coolness aspect, many are confirmed Apple loyalists that prefer to wait in long lines to get the first offerings (Rhey, 2007) rather than to order on line, in order to schmooze with fellow Apple freaks. Time Magazine warns of an increasing addiction to data and the internet (Grossman, 2007). Something else, however, is going on besides mere addiction.
Business is happening, big business. Not only is Apple enjoying a fantastic income stream, but even AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive service provider, is enjoying a renaissance. The iPhone has gleaned over twenty percent of the U.S. market in less than a year, since it’s introduction. In addition to overall sales figures, a growing number of third party applications writers are virtually making a killing overnight by riding along on iPhone’s coattails. A small startup company writing applications for the iPhone will net over one million dollars for 2008 (Lyons, 2008), and a former ATM programmer for Wells Fargo made over two-hundred fifty thousand dollars in two months (Lyons). A recent article in a leading business magazine with respect to new iPhone applications states that “One lets you turn your iPhone into a flute. Other applications enable inventory tracking. Outsiders make them, and Apple keeps 30% of the revenue” (Burrows, 2008). Besides the business aspect of this phenomenon, we may be witnessing a total turn around in our approach to computing into the future.
A member of the American Bar Association espouses the use of the iPhone instead of the traditional computer. “With the original applications plus the new ones now available on the App Store, you can use it to replace your laptop when you're traveling and don't want to haul along the laptop, or when you need to do something immediately without getting out your laptop” (Herring, 2008). With endorsements like this, how long will it be before the transformation actually occurs?
References
Anderberg, K. (2007, August). I wish I had an iPhone. Communications News, pp. 4,4. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.
Burrows, P. (2008, December 22). APPLE. Business Week, Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Grossman, L. (2007, April 16). The Hyperconnected. Time, 169(16), 54-56. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Herring, V. (2008, December). Ditch the Laptop, Bring the iPhone 3G. GPSolo, 25(8), 56-57. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Lyons, D. (2008, December 22). There's Gold in Them iPhones. Newsweek, 152(25), 20-20. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Rhey, E. (2007, August 21). iPhone: Anatomy of the Hype. PC Magazine, 26(16), 16-16. Retrieved January 11, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Hello Buck - nice to "meet" you in the FranlinLive last night. Your blog is absolutely awesome and I wish I knew how to jazz up mine. I have been having a hard time figuring how to cut and paste a picture from the internet to mine, but to no avail. This is the first blog I have ever had. With your post about the Apple iPhone, does it have the capability to see Doppler weather like you see from the Weather station?
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