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A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

thenextweb.com

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Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#31

Post by rmc »

Htsthbjig wrote: post #28
possibilistic wrote: post #18

I think it's incredibly interesting that Apple is one of but a handful of companies that seems to enjoy a steady proliferation and preservation of its past company lore, both in the popular media and amongst technologists. People take a great deal of interest in the historical artifacts this company produces; for an outsider, it really stands out as unusual. I can only think of a few other companies that manage this…

It has nothing to do with Apple. It has to do with a successful product. I saw how the iPhone was received at the time. In my environment of Nokia enthusiastics in Europe it was received with extreme skepticism. Everybody said: "A phone where your fingers cloud the screen never will take off". "The battery lasts so little for a phone". "No way I am using a phone with the battery soldered". "I can't type while in the…

It wasn't just the iPhone. Remember the Slashdot review of the iPod? "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame."

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#33

Post by vacri »

rmc wrote: post #31
Htsthbjig wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has nothing to do with Apple. It has to do with a successful product. I saw how the iPhone was received at the time. In my environment of Nokia enthusiastics in Europe it was received with extreme skepticism. Everybody said: "A phone where your fingers cloud the screen never will take off". "The battery lasts so little for a phone". "No way I am using a phone with the battery soldered". "I can't type while in the…

It wasn't just the iPhone. Remember the Slashdot review of the iPod? "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame."

A lot of the ipods were overpriced and underfeatured. They were shiny, but didn't always work as well as competitors. I once bought a video ipod - that was a mistake. And no radio? Crazy.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#34

Post by arrrg »

jawr wrote: post #30
davb wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another thing I see is that Apple, unlike the vast majority of competitors, have very limited product ranges. This means that as a new iteration is developed, every Apple fan is focussed on that team's output. More so when the company decides to venture into a new area altogether (smartphones). When Samsung produces a new flagship phone (let's say a new Galaxy smartphone), there's a good chance that a Samsung fan wil…

Haven't they moved away from this trend with the watch? I feel like it's way too customisable to be an Apple product.

It’s still only one product. The innards and the software are exactly the same, no matter which watch you buy. Functionally they are all identical.

The customisability of the exterior is something new, sure.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#35

Post by cmiller1 »

userbinator wrote: post #3

That phone interface has a very 80s retro-look to it, and I could imagine it appearing as a "futuristic smartphone" device in a movie from that decade. I honestly don't think it looks all that bad. (Then again, I like artistically simple yet functional UIs and think gradients are far too overused now...)

The spacing and all of the rounded rectangle buttons vaguely reminded me of a Hypercard stack from back in the day.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#36

Post by rmc »

vacri wrote: post #33
rmc wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't just the iPhone. Remember the Slashdot review of the iPod? "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame."

A lot of the ipods were overpriced and underfeatured. They were shiny, but didn't always work as well as competitors. I once bought a video ipod - that was a mistake. And no radio? Crazy.

And yet Apple probably makes billions of dollars per year from the iPod and it has become almost the colloqual term for "portable digital music player". Crazy.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#37

Post by frogpelt »

possibilistic wrote: post #18

I think it's incredibly interesting that Apple is one of but a handful of companies that seems to enjoy a steady proliferation and preservation of its past company lore, both in the popular media and amongst technologists. People take a great deal of interest in the historical artifacts this company produces; for an outsider, it really stands out as unusual. I can only think of a few other companies that manage this…

It may be because Apple's mission has been to design what they consider to be revolutionary products, not from a hardware specifications standpoint, but from a design and UX standpoint.

At least Steve Jobs' Apple did that with iPod, iPhone, and iPad and even the iMac to some degree. The Apple Watch may be viewed that way in a few years but it doesn't seem like it yet.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#38

Post by Retric »

arrrg wrote: post #34
jawr wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haven't they moved away from this trend with the watch? I feel like it's way too customisable to be an Apple product.

It’s still only one product. The innards and the software are exactly the same, no matter which watch you buy. Functionally they are all identical. The customisability of the exterior is something new, sure.

Don't forget, the iMac G3 had five plastic color cases for some reason. Apple also sells a range of iPhone/iPad cases. Also, a major early selling point on the iPad was the magnates to better integrate with a case.

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#39

Post by kamjam »

vacri wrote: post #33
rmc wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't just the iPhone. Remember the Slashdot review of the iPod? "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame."

A lot of the ipods were overpriced and underfeatured. They were shiny, but didn't always work as well as competitors. I once bought a video ipod - that was a mistake. And no radio? Crazy.

I never looked at an iPod until at least the 4th gen, although fairly expensive compared to the competition, it had 60Gb space on the photo model. I didn't care about that much space for music, but it also doubled up as an external hard disk! I bought a 5th gen in the end, which I still own. Most of my music plays off my phone so it was not worth upgrading but I still keep it synced and the battery lasts longer than phone!

Re: A look at the Apple ‘Skankphone’, built before the original iPhone release

#40

Post by Iftheshoefits »

rmc wrote: post #36
vacri wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of the ipods were overpriced and underfeatured. They were shiny, but didn't always work as well as competitors. I once bought a video ipod - that was a mistake. And no radio? Crazy.

And yet Apple probably makes billions of dollars per year from the iPod and it has become almost the colloqual term for "portable digital music player". Crazy.

Not crazy; marketing.

Apple's marketing is very good, and it gets a lot of positive press (read: free positive marketing). One of their most successful plays, in my opinion, is to have become almost identified with "high-tech" consumer gadgetry. They have a target market that consists mainly of affluent people who are not only willing to spend their cash on consumer electronics, but desire to do so in a specific way that helps them identify as a "techy" or "tech geek" or what have you. Apple's target market is a set of people who are paying for a product as much because it has the Apple logo on it as because of what it does. For better or worse.

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