Apple: Much Too Predictable

Nearly a year ago, during a comment on Apple's somewhat irrelevant iPod Hi-Fi, I made a facetious comment about Apple being so unoriginal as to come out with an iPod that was also a phone.

And then, on Tuesday, they did.

I'm not so much bothered by they fact that they actually came out with the iPhone; it's that they've already tried it twice before with mixed results. (Anyone remember the Motorola RCKR and SLVR? Yeah, no one else does, either.) But, those were actual "phones," with some iTunes functionality. The iPhone isn't even a phone. It's an iPod with some phone functionality. If you put a phone on a toaster, does it become a phone? If the PSP had some phone function, would PSP stand for "Playstation Phone"? (I find it humorous that, excepting the phone thing, the PSP actually appears to have more features than the iPhone. And I thought Sony had the market cornered on over-hyped, under-developed devices.) It all just plays into my theory that people don't actually want a phone; they just want some little thing to fuck around with.

That being said, I don't see how anyone would be able to afford one of these "multimedia devices." They start at $500 for a 4GB, $600 for the 8GB. While this is not the most expensive "cell phone" ever (the Motorola "Brick" cost $1000 when it was introduced back in the early '80s), it is probably the most expensive, non-jewel-encrusted phone currently available. And much like the PS3 v. XBox 360, HD-DVD v. Blu-ray face-offs, price is a big factor on what is bought, regardless of technological superiority. If Sony was to actually add phone function to the PSP and add $100 ($200, even) to its $200 pricetag, I think we'd have a new winner in this technology segment. (Not that Sony would do this, as it would mean doing something smarter than their competition. And that just doesn't happen.)

But, all of this bitching is probably for naught, as, I'm sure, when this thing comes out in June, they'll sell a shitload of them. And, honestly, it does look pretty fucking sweet. Not that I'd buy one. I've got a phone. I've got an iPod. I don't need another one of each.