15 comments

Dude,

Haven’t you heard- the American economy is in a tailspin that only bringing oil back down to $1.50 per gallon is going to save. And you know the greedy Wall Street commodities traders don’t give a S*it about anyone but themselves. Apple is much better off focusing on the pro-sumer and pro-sumer businesses than corporate America right now.

lrd, on July 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

So being highly connected/networked and wanting to be able to manage those connections easily while not sitting at a computer, plus enjoying having a few games on your phone, signifies being in the leisure class? I check the weather nearly every night to make sure I’m not caught unprepared during my commute. So of course I want a weather app on my phone if I can get one.

Most of my job takes place online, even though I usually do my work in an office setting. There are times when it’s been deeply inconvenient not to be able to get to a real web page while otherwise engaged in my normal off-duty life. An iPhone changes that in a way most other smartphones don’t. It means not having to carry around a laptop in case there’s an emergency.

Honestly, the real trend I see here is that people don’t need lots of fancy apps to be able to use their iPhones for work as well as for play. For those of us whose jobs are based on the internet, access to web-based services etc. is all we really need.

Erica, on July 17th, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Soon to have double-digit market share!

Partners in Grime, on July 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

Only one of those people in the picture is using an iPhone.

Mikey Wally, on July 17th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

@Erica - points well taken. I didn’t intend to suggest there is anything inherently frivolous about the iPhone itself. In fact I personally believe it’s as paradigm-changing a device as Apple, perhaps anyone, has produced. The great preponderance of early adopters, however, would appear to be people with lots of time on their hands and who are interested in using the phone largely for amusement and entertainment.

Lonnie Lazar, on July 17th, 2008 at 5:01 pm

Erica wrote: “So being highly connected/networked and wanting to be able to manage those connections easily while not sitting at a computer, plus enjoying having a few games on your phone, signifies being in the leisure class?”

Erica, this is an anti-Mac, Microsoft propaganda site. They will say anything they think will kill sales of Apple products. Discrediting those who buy the products is standard practice.

zato3, on July 17th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

the iPhone is a darling of those with time to spare….NO NO NO it is a darling of ALL Gadget Lovers

Sachin, on July 18th, 2008 at 12:43 am

When I got my iPod back in ‘03, I felt special being one of the very few people walking around London with my trademark white earbuds. I might see 1 or 2 people a day with one. The few who had them would invariably smile or nod when they saw another iPod owner. There was nothing else like the iPod. We were ahead of the game. We were cool.

But the iPhone is different. It may be the best device in it’s class, and maybe in a class by itself. But it’s really just an agglomeration of existing devices. So your phone is cooler than mine. So what? It still connects to the same networks and people. Your iPod doesn’t hold any more tunes than my older nano. Yes, you can surf the web anywhere, but I can always get a 3G card for my notebook. And my £20 pay-as-you-go el cheapo phone from Selfridges was doing 3G way back in 2003. With a camera that could do video calls!

The iPod was a friendly device admired and coveted by almost everyone. By 2005 you couldn’t find anybody without white earbuds. The iPhone is almost aggressive, and their owners try to look like it’s just any phone, while making sure everyone around knows exactly what they have. The iPod had “cool” appeal; the iPhone has snob appeal. And the owners less interested in the snobbery grew up as “Tickle Me Elmo” kids. No matter the cost, effort, or utility, they’re entitled to and have to have the latest and greatest.

The iPhone is the modern day equivalent of those 8 pound bricks that the Barbarians At The Gate used 20 years ago. Nobody liked those guys back then, and iPhone owners are starting to rub people the same way.

Unlike my iPod, this is one curve I plan to trail.

imajoebob, on July 18th, 2008 at 2:03 am

In NY we wait ON line, not in line. :-p

Ken, on July 18th, 2008 at 5:50 am

@Ken - I know. My NY friends are so out of line sometimes… then they go offline on me and I can’t give ‘em grief about it.

Lonnie Lazar, on July 18th, 2008 at 5:58 am

@ zato3 …Why aren’t you wearing your helmet in here?

Church of Apple, on July 18th, 2008 at 9:49 am

[...] it’s the leisure class I can’t hang it up without turning it off, they keyboard goes fritzy, Contacts crashes when I [...]

The Woodwork » Blog Archive » I think I found my class, on July 18th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

I love reductive reasoning like this. The writer of the story sounds like one of those angry Blackberry users who keeps calling the iphone a toy. I personally make it a habit to judge people by the clothes they wear, the cars they drive and of course their hair style. Being able to judge people by their phone or mp3 player is just the cherry on top.

Camperton, on July 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

As far as people with iphones having more fun, that’s a given because it’s actually fun to do fun stuff on an iphone. I never had fun on my blackberry because it doesn’t lend itself to that. What I like about the iphone is it lends itself to both fun and productivity.

Camperton, on July 19th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

[...] iPhone Defines the New Leisure Class, Cult of Mac. I’ve done my share of lining up for gadgets, but it became restricted to weekends only after obtaining a full-time job. I’m also scared that if I ever do end up getting an iPhone, I would never be able to enjoy it to its full capacity because I just don’t have the time to do so. Well, here are those who have the time to wait on line and download a gazillion apps…our new leisure class! [...]

Geek in Heels » Blog Archive Hump Day Hook-Ups, on July 23rd, 2008 at 7:42 pm