Today’s the big day when the iPhone becomes a reality and The Los Angeles Times has an editorial about the phenomenal device that goes beyond, as my friend Gary says, “the mere promotional passion for the iPhone” and into the realm of profound societal reverence.
The Times thinks that the iPhone is not only a product of Apple’s genius, but also a “coming-of-age moment for computers and the Internet.”
For proof, consider what truly distinguishes Apple’s latest creation from yesterday’s novel “smartphones” and music-playing hybrids: It’s a full-blown computer that promises an online experience much like what a laptop can deliver. It’s not limited to websites that have been slimmed down to fit onto underpowered cellphones with tiny screens. And although it doesn’t support much audio or video online, it can deliver a host of “Web 2.0” services — generating maps, checking prices, collecting news, perusing blogs, sharing photos, banking online; the list goes on and on.
This almost religious view of the iPhone is nothing new. I’d say the vast majority of articles, blog entries and essays I’ve read about the iPhone have more or less been written with the unconscious or conscious notion that the iPhone is a truly, truly awesome thing.
At one level, this iPhone mania is just a form of collective psychosis. After all, the iPhone is only a phone, an iPod, a handheld computer and objectively speaking we’ve all gone off the rails a little bit, demented by Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field.
But at another level, the iPhone is a weirdly sharp and crystallized reflection of society, tapping deep into some previously unarticulated need we all have. Put simply, the iPhone reflects our desires to stay connected to the Internet 24/7.
[T]he iPhone’s shiny black surface is like a mirror, and it reflects a public that can’t bear to log off.
Think that’s an overstatement? For many of us, if not most of us, the burden of carrying a laptop shapes our day and we don’t even know it. Worrying about whether we’ll be able to plug into an electrical outlet, gain access to a Wi-Fi connection or even be able to sit down in order to open up our portable computers are constant factors in our daily routines.
The iPhone, even if it’s only a precursor of things to come, promises to eliminate virtually all of those concerns. With the iPhone, we’re always connected to the Internet, whether we’re standing in a crowd or far away from an electrical outlet.
And we’re connected in a way that’s human-scale, which current “Soviet-style” cell phones don’t permit. We’ll be able to surf, read, watch and listen in a way that’s intuitive and, hopefully, enjoyable.
The Times titles its editorial with one portmanteau word: “iAmericans.” The iPhone’s ability to make the Internet ubiquitous is indeed a coming-of-age moment. We’re all iAmericans now.
Cynthia Brumfield at 8:25 AM|Comments(0)
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