Well that's not entirely true Smacky. We both know that if the media loves something then even a bad idea becomes a good one. The iPhone was not the first smartphone, contrary to the media hype today. In fact, the Windows phones were far more powerful and useful than the first two generations of iPhone, perhaps even third generation. HTC made the first smartphone, which is kind of ironic since some of the things Apple is suing them for were found in earlier HTC phones but apparently Apple believes the hype too. But they weren't as slick. Apple closes off customization because it's easier to keep things running smoothly when you can control what the end user does to the phone.
Android is in its infancy, and it has the possibility to outshine all other mobile platforms. Apple has the ability to improve greatly too. I'd like to see what's coming down the pike. It's going to be an intersting few years in innovation I think.
You need to look at it from the generation of people between the ages of 25 and 17 or so. The middle of the spectrum were in high school when Blackberries were huge and it was cool to have a smartphone. Not everyone had one. Only about 10 or 15 out of a graduating class of 460 or so (my personal experience). It wasn't until the iPhone came out that kids jumped on the smartphone bandwagon. Then it became between Blackberries and iPhones. Those who were sucked into the shiny cases of Apple hardware went to the iPhone using the logic that they owned and loved their iPods so the iPhone was no different.
Those that went the way of the Blackberry had a different approach and loved the keyboard on the phone (most dumbphones did not have them, or some did as compared to Blackberries where all of them had keyboards) and were excited for web browsing and texting with the phone.
So yes. the media and peer pressure can definitely shape the consumer's choice, and it works both ways. Those that bought the iPhone or BB because their friends had it have people ridiculing them saying Android is better because they too are following the advice of others. They just regurgitate what they here on forums and spit it out as if they truly believe it. Most people haven't even handled a BB or an iPhone. How can they make an informed decision? That's my issue.
So, yes, if we are to argue semantics the iPhone was NOT the first smartphone. It was, however, an integral part of making smartphones as popular as they are today. You couldn't possibly think WinMo did all of this. I have nothing to support this but I'm sure more smartphones are used for leisurely stuff rather than business stuff, which is initially what they were meant to be used as. For checking email and being productive. That's where the age group of 18-25 or so that I mentioned comes in. Most Android users are young. Fact. I would assume the same for iPhone users and Blackberry users. A little green bastard as a logo should not mean that younger people gravitate towards it more than an apple with a chunk taken out of it. It's the younger generation that will determine what is useful. If multitasking is good for businessmen to check email and browse the web while listening to Pandora and talking to the kids at the same time, it will live on only if the younger generation needs it to IM, browse the web and text at the same time.
Now, the battle is not what is practical, but what do consumers want. And since it's all in the hands of us youngsters, it'll be what's convenient and fast, rather than something useful and refined.
To judge whether it is useful and refined is up to those that actually have handled the device. When you get on forums like this, as I mentioned earlier, people read others' opinions and pass it off as their own. And they sound like jackasses. The "oh, as long as you don't go to Apple, those losers and their crap phones" just exposes the sheep.
might want to just consider a jitterbug
