My wife recently announced that she wants an Iphone and I experienced a very unpleasant knee-jerk reaction. This is despite the fact that at a logical level I agree that an Iphone is probably the best smartphone choice for her. My anti Iphone / anti-Apple gut reaction was so strong that I actually woke up in the middle of the night worrying about it! I never realised that my subconscious was such a card carrying open software touting geek but there you have it.
Of course I don't dislike Apple products. I think they are masterpieces of design and innovation. Its just that Apple's closed system business model scares the daylights out of me. They have become the new "Evil Empire" a position that Microsoft held for a quarter of a century a position that in more recent times Google has made several half hearted plays for. Most depressingly Apple seem to be much much better at benign tyranny than Microsoft ever were. In the Iphone versus Android wars I cheer for Android not because I want to replace Evil Overlord Apple by Evil Overlord Google but because the mobile internet is far far too important to let one company own it. My feelings on this issue are so strong that it is almost impossible for me to separate fact from emotion in order to make an informed judgement.
My wife on the other hand is not a techie geek and she will not appreciate the extra fiddling that an Android phone allows / requires. She is the sort of person who will pay money for an app rather than figure out how to do the same thing for free by tinkering with alternative internet browsers. She wants a phone that "just works". She will love Apple's famously slick design. She will enjoy the social chic that an Iphone brings rather the geek chic that comes with an Android phone. There is a price penalty to be paid for owning Iphone (perhaps 50% more than a comparable Android phone) but this is a price my wife will probably be willing to pay.
What price my sleepless nights though?
Of course I don't dislike Apple products. I think they are masterpieces of design and innovation. Its just that Apple's closed system business model scares the daylights out of me. They have become the new "Evil Empire" a position that Microsoft held for a quarter of a century a position that in more recent times Google has made several half hearted plays for. Most depressingly Apple seem to be much much better at benign tyranny than Microsoft ever were. In the Iphone versus Android wars I cheer for Android not because I want to replace Evil Overlord Apple by Evil Overlord Google but because the mobile internet is far far too important to let one company own it. My feelings on this issue are so strong that it is almost impossible for me to separate fact from emotion in order to make an informed judgement.
My wife on the other hand is not a techie geek and she will not appreciate the extra fiddling that an Android phone allows / requires. She is the sort of person who will pay money for an app rather than figure out how to do the same thing for free by tinkering with alternative internet browsers. She wants a phone that "just works". She will love Apple's famously slick design. She will enjoy the social chic that an Iphone brings rather the geek chic that comes with an Android phone. There is a price penalty to be paid for owning Iphone (perhaps 50% more than a comparable Android phone) but this is a price my wife will probably be willing to pay.
What price my sleepless nights though?
Comments
Good plan. I will get on it.