Apple’s iPhone is a computer, not a phone, says Fortune’s David Kirkpatrick.
“It is impossible to explain why the iPhone has so completely captured the world’s imagination. But I think one major reason is that many of us who routinely use the web today instinctively feel we ought to be able to do so everywhere. Until now that has been impossible,” Kirkpatrick writes.
“The iPhone appears to be the kind of solution we have been waiting for. And the early built-in features, like Google maps with real-time traffic information demonstrate just what kinds of potential there is in real Internet features on a portable device,” Kirkpatrick writes.
“To hear Jobs talk, the iPhone is almost an extension of the Mac. I told him that as a Mac user I was concerned that the company’s work on the iPhone would distract attention from the steady improvement of OS X, the Mac’s operating system. To the contrary, he replied. Since the iPhone uses OS X as its fundamental software underpinning as well, its existence will in fact help OS X to evolve even faster, he said. I hope he proves right,” Kirkpatrick writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: You can read us, or you can read it in Fortune six months later: “Apple’s ‘iPhone’ isn’t really a phone at all. It’s really a small touchscreen Mac OS X computer, a Mac nano tablet, it you will. Here’s how misnamed the iPhone is: some people are complaining that Jobs didn’t spend enough time on the Mac in his keynote! Folks, iPhone is not only a Mac, it’s the most radical new Mac in years!” – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, The only thing really wrong with Apple’s iPhone is its name – January 09, 2007
Isn’t that what I have been saying all along?
This should have read.”Apple changes the face of computing AGAIN!” They did it with the Lisa, they re-didi it with the imac, again with the ipod and its siblings and now with the……Yes! IPHONE!!!!!!! Daaah!
Having said that, this forum is going to be quiet today as most people are queueing for one. So goodbye all! see you tomorrow!!!!
Bullshit MDN and Stevejack. It’s not a Mac! Just because it runs OS X doesn’t make it a Mac. A Mac runs any program written for OS X. Not just apps for the built-in web browser.
If an iPod ran on OS X would it be a Mac? Even thought it only played music and video? No.
MDN you’ve become confused.
No Copy, Cut, or Paste. Not a Mac.
iPhone = new iMac
I think this particular semantic issue is really where most doubters of the iPhone fail to see it’s significance. In their myopic view, they fail to see the iPhone as the most portable computer ever made, and to grasp that it’s functionality will grow in proportion to it’s ubiquity.
Sorry MDN, gotta disagree…
The Mac is a hell of a lot more than Safari, mail and widgets.. Some people actually use their Macs to do real work. iPhone is a portable internet device, not a Mac.
Nevertheless I am getting one ASAP.
MW = many -/- No, just one for now.
Yes, they’re all Macs — the Macs themselves, the coming iPods, the iPhone and the Apple TV. That’s one fantastic family.
Speaking of family, my son, who just separated from the Army as a captain with a thick wad of cash from savings and investments, followed my suggestions and bought almost 700 shares of AAPL. Those tax free years in Iraq, with nothing to spend his $$$ on, have paid off. We are an AAPL family and expect to be very prosperous in the coming years.
Call it a bold prediction, but folks, there are going to be more
iPhones sold the first week and first month than there were songs sold on iTunes the first week and the first month.
The number of songs sold sure got the record companies attention, didn’t it? Now they are what?…third in line only less than WalMart and Best Buy in songs sold.
This iPhone is the cats meow, and there is going to be a halo to the halo effect on this thing over the next few years.
I would say that the iPhone is a mac, but a different kind, with a limited feature set due to size and other hardware restraints.
“Folks, iPhone is not only a Mac, it’s the most radical new Mac in years!”
I totally agree. So much so that I’m actually replacing my seldom used PowerBook with one!
“The Mac” to me, has always been about tight integration of software and hardware. The “computer” was and is only one manifestation of that combination. iPod/iTunes/iTunes Store is another and the iPhone is yet a third. As iPhone actually runs OSX, it IS a paradigm shift in how we use computers. Make no mistake…it is a computer…..
Dumb terminals are computers too, and are counted in sales statistics. Just because something runs only a few dedicated apps, doesn’t disqualify it as a computer.
The mac as a platform is nearly 30 years old. iPhone is just about to be released and has a compliment of functionality that builds, slightly overlaps, but does not replace a desktop mac. Debating whether it’s a “real” mac or not is like asking how many angels dance on the head of a pin. There is no definitive answer as this is a crossover device.
Up till now, we’ve called them smart phones, but this is attempting to move things in a slightly different direction (primarily consumer-oriented but totally business-capable).
If anything, I’d argue it’s really a PDA for “everyone” because with one quick download, this thing can essentially become something new, even a year or two down the road. I still bet that we’re going to get some really cool software to download that will make iPhone more personal for the average Joe (or not) than any PDA yet.
the only reason it’s called the iPhone is because of Marketing – everyone uses a phone – but not everyone uses a hand-held Mac. That’s why it appeals to the masses. It may be a name that doesn’t suit the device, but it’s a name that suits the market that this device needs to reach in huge numbers.
don’t underestimate the marketing genius of steve jobs. when he described the iphone as the most revolutionary phone ever, he was leapfrogging over 30 years of stinking mac fud that 95% of the world population believes. rather than spending the gdp of california to fight it. just step over it and let people figure out the phone is a mac for themselves. brilliant!
@me (no not me, you) technically it’s a mac, it can run mac apps, but doesn’t because apple decided so.
it’s not a mac for the user, but IT is a mac, from it’s own point of view, it’s essence.
The iPhone is a Mac, but naming it iPhone was a good idea because it allows the Mac to slip in under the radar. Sure, IT departments won’t be fooled, but users will not understand why IT doesn’t want it, and IT will be forced to accept it.
MDN Magic word: led – as in, IT is about to be led into the future kicking and screaming.
That must mean the AppleTV is a Mac too! WRONG. It can be if you want it to, but the newest software update stripped even more of OS X’s core features and abilities.
They all run the same OS.. That’s all. A Mac is a piece of hardware
Newton II
“…one major reason is that many of us who routinely use the web today instinctively feel we ought to be able to do so everywhere. Until now that has been impossible,” Kirkpatrick writes.”
Impossible? This guy has been sleeping under I rock. Has he never heard of the other smart phones available, including some with WiFi?
Word.
The iPhone is a tablet PC. Look for the next one to come with an optional larger size, yet smaller than a macbook.
Pocketmac if you will…
http://ThunkDifferent.com
DUHHH! Don’t you get it?? The multi-touch computing in the next GUI. Why do you think Leopard has all those new changes?? To get ready to change to this type of interface. The MOUSE IS GONE. Get ready for a whole line of computer and POST-PC DEVICES stemming from this! Multi-touch on the iPhone will work as a HALO EFFECT for the rest of the computers in the Apple line up!