I cannot wait to get an Apple iPhone! It’s fantastic! It’s a phone, a MP3 player, and essentially a small computer. I’m a Mac person, so it’s understandable I’m reacting this way. But until 1:00pm today, I was a Palm person, too. Mac does the things my TX does, but does them well, and then some. Some in the blogosphere are making extreme statements, going so far as to predict the end of the PC era.
And maybe it is in a way. If there were a good blogging widget, I’m not sure that I’d take a laptop to conferences anymore (unless I wanted to take detailed notes). I’d feel less like I needed to take a laptop to coffee shops in case I want to connect. But I don’t think I’d go so far as to say it’s the end of PCs. They have their place, and a device like this has it’s own as well.
I think, more importantly, that it’s the introduction of a new type of computing. It’s a media device that is socially enabled. Phone calls, email, text messaging, and conference calls all look like they’re extremely easy on this thing. Taking a photo and emailing it, with a message, takes no time at all. It’s a device that you’d want to carry everywhere, so your friends are more likely to find you. It looks like the internet is extremely easy to access and use, begging for location aware social applications.
I think that there is potential that this phone will rock many industries, including libraries and education. If it becomes as ubiquitous as iPods are, we can expect that our students will have them, and have them all the time. Are we ready to provide services, and perhaps software programs, for a device like this? Are we ready to accept content from our community members using these devices?
I can’t wait until June, when I can get one of these gadgets. But I also can’t wait until they’re mainstream enough to have new social functions, to see where this may lead. Fun stuff!
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