Macopinion

Negatives, Shmegatives

by Marc Zeedar macopinion@designwrite.com

By now the first authorized iPhone reviews are out. They are mostly glowing, but all include handfuls of iPhone negatives, most of which we've heard for months. Some aren't crazy about the virtual keyboard, which takes time to get used to, no one likes the slow Edge network, and most point out the device's high price and AT&T lock-in as the iPhone's biggest drawbacks. There are plenty of other issues, too, mostly features iPhone is missing: no instant messaging, no voice control, no video recording, no copy/paste, no games, limited ringtones, etc.

Let me tell you right now that you can safely ignore all these negatives. They are irrelevant. There are two key reasons these "problems" don't matter.

First, the iPhone is a software product. At any time Apple can upgrade the software and fix the majority of these limitations. With virtual buttons the entire interface can be revamped or restructured, which is completely unlike any existing smartphone. Apple will improve the product and eventually all these issues will go away. Look at the evolution of the iPod and iMac.

Second, while some of these issues will limit the potential market for the iPhone, there will still be plenty of buyers for iPhone 1.0. The reality is that no 1.0 product is perfect. Every product has limitations and early buyers know this. The ones who will buy today will buy with these "limitations" in mind.

But don't think that there are only a few 1.0 buyers. There are millions. People want the iPhone, even one with a few 1.0 limitations or a high price.

I'm going to divide iPhone buyers into two categories, the Techies and the Average Joes. The Techies consist of technophiles who just love gadgets and aren't concerned about price or 1.0 bugs. The Techies also include rich people who just want to show off their style by waving around a fancy, rare iPhone. There aren't a huge number of Techies -- I'd guess maybe a million or two all told. Enough to make iPhone moderately successful, but not an out-of-the-park hit.

Then we have the Average Joes. They consist of business people, grandparents, moms and dads, college students, etc. They are the real market for the iPhone and there are a lot of them. But will iPhone appeal to them? Can they afford it?

To attract Average Joes, the iPhone only needs to get one thing right: it must be simple to use. That's it. It's got to combine three complex activities -- multimedia, Internet, and cellular phone -- and make them so easy to use a Grandma would want one.

I tell you right now, Apple's got nothing to worry about. From the early reviews we know that the iPhone's core is solid. No complaints about sluggish behavior, interface problems, or needing to read the manual to learn how to use the thing. Even the keyboard problems are only an issue to those used to traditional smartphones with hardwired mini-keyboards, and smartphone buyers are Techies, not Average Joes. Apple has once again made the complex simple, and that's all the Average Joes want.

Most Average Joes aren't concerned with technical details like networks or whether the thing can do this or that. All they want is a phone that is easy to use. You know why the vast majority of iPhone buyers want it? Simple address book syncing and calling. That's it. Existing phones make such an important thing so cumbersome and awkward people dread having to do something as obvious as enter a person's contact information. (Remember, I'm talking about Average Joes here, not Techies who enjoy fiddling with technology.)

Just the other day I told someone about my new cell phone number and he told me to call him. "That way I can add your number to my address book," he explained. "That's much easier than me trying to add it manually."

I completely understood and agreed. But isn't that weird and a bit backward?

With iPhone, he could type my info on his computer and sync it to his phone, or I could send him an email or SMS with my contact details. Apple just made managing contacts so much easier.

Even if that's all a person did with an iPhone -- manage their contacts and use it as a cellular phone -- it would have value over traditional phones. But of course iPhone is so much more. It easily allows powerful multi-media features, video and music, and of course the full Internet, web and email. And those functions are just as easy to manage as your contacts.

The iPhone is infinitely more powerful than any existing phone simply because it's useable. What good are a dozen cool features if you can't remember how to activate them?

I had been just the tiniest bit apprehensive. With all the hype over the iPhone I figured there might be a backlash. If the phone didn't perform as expected, if there was the slightest hint of a problem, it would have been front page news. But instead the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. We still have to wait to see what real world people think of the device, but I can't imagine we'd hear anything different.

So I'm no longer worried. The iPhone will be a monster success. It will change the world (it already has). No, everyone on the planet won't buy one on the first day -- but there are still people out there who don't own an iPod, believe it or not, and they've been selling for years. Give this thing time and it will be revolutionary. Unlike the iPod, which snuck onto the landscape with a whimper, this revolution is beginning with a fantastic bang.

Forget it when people complain that the iPhone is missing this or that or has a flaw or problem. It's irrelevant. The only thing that truly mattered was "Does it simply work?" Since it does, we're good to go. Everything else will be addressed with updates and future models. Now go buy your iPhone.

macopinion@designwrite.com