Published on
July 7, 2009 in
tech.
John Gruber lays out a very well-worded argument for the soft keyboard found on the iPhone. His argument is similar to what I’ve told others in that I type very well on the iPhone but horribly on my wife’s Blackberry, with the opposite being true for her. The point being that practice is required on either the software or hardware keyboard and to completely write off one or the other is ridiculous.
This quote from Gruber regarding Apple’s approach sums it up pretty well:
Are software touchscreen keyboards good for everyone? Certainly not. But this is another aspect of the Apple Way. Apple tries to make things that many people love, not things that all people like. The key is that they’re not afraid of the staunch criticism, and often outright derision, that comes with breaking conventions.
http://daringfireball.net/2009/07/mobile_phone_keyboards
Wired has published an in depth article on the iPhone development process and it’s long-term impact on the wireless phone industry. It speaks on the efforts, trials, and money that it took Apple to come out with the device. In the end it proclaims that despite some of the obvious knocks on the device it “…cracked open the carrier-centric structure of the wireless industry and unlocked a host of benefits for consumers, developers, manufacturers — and potentially the carriers themselves. Consumers get an easy-to-use handheld computer. And, as with the advent of the PC, the iPhone is sparking a wave of development that will make it even more powerful.”
Read the full article here.
Outside of my normal obsessions, I’m also strangely fascinated with marketing, branding and advertising campaigns. When SBC bought AT&T, rebranded itself with the latter, and then bought BellSouth, I was very curious to see how they would fold all of these brands, which include Cingular Wireless, into one 150-year-old name. You’ve probably noticed that they’ve beaten us over head to make clear that “Cingular is the New AT&T.” Thankfully it appears that they are ready to move into a new phase of the marketing transition. A recent article on Fortune Magazine’s site gives a bit of a back story on the transition and sheds some light on the SBC’s decision making process. It’s an interesting read, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Meet the new AT&T
