iPhone users are delusional, consultants say

[many a good man]

Many people I know are frightfully attached to their iPhones. They treat them as if they were a peculiar and exotic lover, one they can hardly believe they have managed to seduce.

The finely calibrated minds at Strand Consult have taken this analysis to a particularly simple conclusion: iPhone users are, the consultants say, really quite nuts.

The Strand thinkers released an opinion entitled "How will psychologists describe the iPhone syndrome in the future?." It focuses on the sorts of people who buy into Apple's great success.

Here's a flavor of the somewhat-skeptical nature of Strand's feelings: "Apple has launched a beautiful phone with a fantastic user interface that has had a number of technological shortcomings that many iPhone users have accepted and defended, despite those shortcomings resulting in limitations in iPhone users' daily lives."


http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10414356-71.html

[PeaceNikki]

1. Ha!

[enlightenment]

2. Oh, I KNOW I'm gonna get in trouble . . . but

damn. This: "<xxx> has launched a <xxx> with a fantastic user interface that has had a number of <xxx> shortcomings that many <xxx> users have accepted and defended, despite those shortcomings resulting in limitations in <xxx> users' daily lives"

could be applied to quite a few groups of people.

Running away now.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Beat me to it.

right behind ya .....don't look baaacck!!!!!

[enlightenment]

27. *chuckle*

Love your running guy . . . here's a couple of useful smilies you might like, also (I use them frequently!)

[Dr.Phool]

28. Uh-huh.

Running

[Warpy]

3. Some people are literally incapable of functioning without a cell phone

or combo with PDA. They check them compulsively every few minutes just to make sure nothing else has happened while their attention wandered elsewhere and get frantic if they mislay them. They take them on vacation to keep connected to work (!) and make sure they're next to them on the nightstand while they're asleep.

I fear for these people when technology either changes or collapses.

[shadowknows69]

6. Hey, I still know how to write with a pencil. Valuable skill.

If anyone still makes pencils.

[Warpy]

12. They do!

They even make yellow #2 pencils, although it's easier to find the foil wrapped kiddie pencils they use in primary school.

[Kalyke]

16. We have tons.

My son gets pencils with various "themes" printed on the sides as small gifts for winning little educational competitions in school.

He's a straight-A student, completed every category on his TCAPs in the 95th percentile or better and is competitive. As a result, we have two pencil boxes full of unused, theme-oriented pencils.

Let me know if you want a handful. :)

[HopeHoops]

32. The best pencils made today are the PaperMate Mirado Black Warrior - MADE IN USA!

Yes, believe it or not, they are made in the USA. They are cedar wood, not random pulp pressed into a pencil shape. You can sharpen them to a fine point and the lead doesn't snap off in the sharpener. And believe it or not, one of the local Dollar Tree stores had a bunch of 12 packs!!! I bought a lot of them.

[Aviation Pro]

20. Yes, I have my cellphone on my nightstand....

...because my household doesn't use a landline.

Word to the wise, much of my work is halfway around the world. Part of the problem with our unemployment situation right now is that many, many folks believe that jobs will return to the same local micro-economics they are used to. Not so, if you want to be gainfully employed nowadays make sure you have a job where you're commuting at least 6,000 - 8,000 miles one way at least once a month.

And yes, I take phone calls at 3AM.

[reggie the dog]

37. I keep my cell phone about

four feet from me on the floor in my room at night because my alarm clock is in my cell phone. I have no tv or internet in the phone.

[tabatha]

4. One comment

I agree that users can go to the extreme when defending the iPhone's shortcomings, but calling it delusional or Stockholm Syndrome is taking it several steps too far.

I have an iPhone and my journey to getting one wasn't so fast. When I first saw it announced I thought it would very niche and probably another fail by Apple, like the Apple TV or the Newton. I got an iPod Touch for my birthday one year and soon it became invaluable. When I moved and needed a new phone I got an iPhone. It definitely seduced me. The shortcomings annoyed me. AT&T's crippled network was nasty, the inability to send pictures over text messages, and the usual complaints about the iPhone bugged me. However, the good things were great. The web browsing experience was awesome. The touch screen was extremely responsive (I only have to use other touch screen devices to realize how spoiled I've become) and it's really an awesome device.

To call it Stockholm Syndrome is so extreme it's ridiculous. Kidnapping is one of the most negative and horrible situations you can be in and one you're forced into. The iPhone didn't kidnap me. I walked into it aware of it's shortcomings and happy in it's benefits. I haven't regretted it.

I would like to get one, but it is too expensive for the limited amount of use I have for one now. But I have heard people who have one say it is invaluable for some of the things it does well.

[PatGund]

5. Rolls eyes

Yeah, because having an iPhone is so totally like being kidnapped and held for ransom.

Seriously, can we say "flame bait headline" boys and girls??

I have one. It works. It's not an all in one miracle gadget, it's simply a phone with several useful features.

[Deja Q]

7. What shortcomings? I use it as a P-H-O-N-E. It isn't a vibrator. Does it need a vibrator?

Maybe Strand needs a vibrator.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. there's an app for that

[paparush]

14. Yeah, its the iMoan. :-)

[Warren Stupidity]

15. it was pulled because of moisture damage

[Dr.Phool]

30. A microwave function, and trimmer app would be nice.

edit: I thought they all vibrated.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. I knew a phone phreak

who's certifiable. As of the last time I saw him - about 5 years ago - he hadn't been on a date for probably 10 years prior to that. The odds are against him getting lucky in the meantime.

After he got an early blackberry-type phone (Treo, I think it was), he cornered me & 2 other guys, going on & on about how great his new toy was. He went so far as to refer to the device as his 'baby' - a real 'sweetheart.' I asked whether he was going to actually phone anyone on it or fuck it, which drew a scowl of indignation along with hoots of derisive laughter.

[NYCGirl]

10. And people get paid for writing opnions like that? Amazing world, ain't it? NT

[Deja Q]

18. If a person can make real money doing so, it's worth the shot to get it.

:)

[asdjrocky]

11. I like Fish Food Frenzy. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

13. Yesterday my delusional iphone lectured me about soviet history

while I was driving my car home. I realize that instead I could have entertained myself with top 40 recycle loops or some irritating drivel on npr, but instead I had the misfortune of actually learning new things because of my nasty addiction.

Please help me end the madness.

[Occulus]

21. I don't even have the iPhone, just an iPod Touch

Didn't want a phone, didn't need a phone, no 3G availability here, electronic leash (all my friends have cellphones of some sort and they're always getting calls), etc., etc.

But my iPod Touch is awesome, I do have to say. Apple really did get it right with these things; they're really fairly powerful pocket computers more than anything else. Awesome multitouch screen, lots and lots of apps (gotta have wireless to get apps unless you want to jailbreak it and use the cable- haven't had any success doing that myself), long lasting battery that charges fast... and it's the best mp3 player you can possibly get, which is what I use it for the most.

I'm happy with it, but I'm not a "fanboy" in the sense this article is trying to say.

[bamacrat]

17. Best phone ive ever had.

Had a Samsung touchscreen phone and switched to the iphone. Not sure I would ever want a different phone. Sure its not a miracle gadget that solves all problems but it is quite amazing. The multi-touch screen is the best in the market some companies are now starting to adopt it years after apple. The web browsing is second to none, and it is possibly the easiest phone to learn. there are no menus you just touch the icon for what you want to do. Awesome.

People are more addicted to their Blackberries than iphones.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. I love my iPhone

It's more of a computer than a phone. I can surf the net anytime I feel like it. It's one of my favorite possessions.

[Lorien]

44. I was able to put off buying a laptop for two years by owning an iPhone

instead. It's really handy when visiting a city I'm totally unfamiliar with; I wish I'd had one years ago. It would have vastly improved several vacations.

[alfredo]

19. Apple's design philosophy centers around making machines that people

will become attached to. It's all rounded corners, muted pastels. You open it up and it isn't an imposing mass of wires and circuit boards. It's modular, smooth, polished and pretty. (attention to details) That philosophy extends to the OS. It is very pleasing to the eye. Windows has made great strides in making their UI more appealing, but it is still cartoonish.

OSX and earlier versions were designed to be intuitive. You can use it without reading a user manual. You don't have to hit start to shut down. Placement of icons to the right has a lot to do with our eye scanning left to right. The OS is not needy, it stays in the background, allowing you to do what you need to do with the minimum of nagging.

All that good design is backed up with brilliant marketing and strategic thinking.

Who thought that the iPod touch/iPhone would become a very competitive game platform? Steve Jobs knew.

For myself I liked the user interface, and their friendliness to the creative arts. Back in the 90's I was let in on the long range goals of Apple and became a believer as I watched them reach and surpass those goals. I liked their insurgent mindset. I like how they push the technology, forcing the rest of the industry to be less conservative.

Why does the auto industry put smiling faces on their cars?

[Fumesucker]

24. A lot of it is in what you get used to..

I started on PCs with MSDOS and went to Windows and I have a bit of experience with Linux. Before PCs I had a Timex Sinclair, a C64 a couple of Ataris and a Rat Shack Color Computer..

I don't find Apples intuitive at all because they work so differently than what I'm used to and I've only really used them for maybe a few days total.

[alfredo]

33. I started off on a Vax, then IBM XT, Mac Plus, then DOS and Win 3.

Mac 7100, Mac G3, Win 2000, DOS, G4, MacMini. Along the way I used MkLinux, and various other forms of Linux. OSX with its UNIX core won my heart because I can run the Linux/UNIX apps I like. I've run KDE and Gnome on OSX.

I liked DOS better than Windows because I was doing data entry, and DOS stayed out of the way and let me do my work.

[Fumesucker]

39. DOS has its advantages true..

But it really only does one thing at a time..

Right now I have about eight windows open including FlightSim, Firefox (with about a dozen tabs open), Photoshop CS3, Registax (an astronomical image processing program) and Paintshop Pro as well as two instances of the Folding@Home clients, one on each of my dual cores. I have a 96 shader video card on the way to run yet another instance of F@H on that should easily quadruple my output for that as well as give me even higher resolution and smoother operation on FlightSim and any games the kids might want to play around here.

My box stays up for weeks at a time under that kind of load running XP, with the F@H clients it runs at 99% or more load just about constantly.

A few of my customers are *still* running custom DOS point of sale programs that are nearly twenty years old in a window running under XP..

[alfredo]

47. When you are doing data entry all day, and that's all, DOS is all you need.

[Fumesucker]

51. Yeah, but that's not too far from my personal definition of hell. :)

[alfredo]

52. It is, but hell paid well. I did it for a few years after my injury. Instead of

carrying mail, I pounded keys and drank coffee.

[Fumesucker]

23. My grown daughter's iPhone crashed a week or so ago..

She spent at least eight solid hours getting it working again and was in a very irritable mood the entire time..

Of course when I'm deprived of my internet connection unless it's my choice to do without I get irritable too. :evilgrin:

My Blackberry Pearl Flip will connect to wifi but I don't have the other type connection, mostly I use it as a pretty decent mp3 player..

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Author is probably jealous cause he can't afford an iPhone

[kenny blankenship]

29. iFetish? Gizmophilia?

Yeah they make you scratch your head, but they're no worse than gun nuts.

[Lucian]

31. BlackBerrys are more practical than iPhones.

And iPhone is on the crappiest 3G network in the country.

I'll keep my BlackBerry Tour on the Verizon network, thank you very much.

[Lorien]

41. I've heard little more than nonstop complaints by Blackberry owners

two people I know broke their on purpose just so they could justify replacing them (which I thought was a bit nuts, but whatever).

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. Mine sucked

I had it about 6 weeks.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. I got rid of my Blackberry

Worst phone I ever had.

Love the iPhone I replaced it with.

[1]

34. heh. apple fanatics are that way. its a cult. like prius owners...

:rofl:

[tigereye]

35. ah, I don't know- my husband still seems quite sane and he's had his for more

than a year. I don't know that the reaction is any more intense than for any other cool technological device. Apple just makes some very user-friendly devices...


OTOH my son spends more time than he should on his Ipod- we almost have to pry it out of his hands periodically. :D

[AllentownJake]

36. Well it isn't the first time I've been called nuts

Sure it won't be the last.

[mitchum]

38. They're only delusional when they think the iPhone music apps sound worth a damn

[Lorien]

40. The Strand is selling what?

I've had all kinds of regular ol' cell phones, many as expensive as an iPhone. The iPhone is far easier for me to use. No owner's manual needed. Plus, it's easy on the eyes, which is hugely important for those of us with vision issues. I think the Strand Consult is clearly nuts-and envious.

[DefenseLawyer]

42. I'm one of those annoying guys who is on the phone most of the time.

My iphone has been pretty reliable. The email and such could be a but more business friendly, but it is reliable.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

43. They are a devolutionary step... iphoniacs are about as interesting as meth addicts

[knitter4democracy]

48. But there's an app for that.

Sorry, just had to say it. :)

[CRF450]

49. DROID users are delusional too!

Naw I'm just kidding. I was close to buying the iPhone, till I discovered the DROID a few days before its release. Dont regret the purchace at all! I liked the iPhone allot, but I dont think I could've put up with AT&T's lack of service in my area, and the total lack of 3g coverage which is 40 miles away. BTW, for any DROID users here, theirs an update for the Android OS available, version 2.0.1, made a huge improvement to the phone!

[walldude]

50. I have a cell phone that takes pictures, surf's the internet, has GPS

play's MP3's, plays games, sends IM's has a calander, an alarm clock, maps, traffic updates... You know what I use it for? To make phone calls.