Phone of the year...?

I know what you’re going to think: Are you really trying to push something as “of the year” when we’re already into a new year? Well, put simply, yes. I have a busy schedule lately and well…this is MY blog, so yes I am going to.

I really, absolutely, 100% and wholeheartedly feel Motorola deserves the biggest gold star I can find. They went from the over saturation of the RAZR in 2005 (everyone had one) to near death, to bringing out the “Time Magazine Gadget of the Year.” And, well gosh; I agree it is the gadget of the year. I don’t say that as a Droid owner (which for the record I love my phone) but as a fan of tech.
They not only allow custom user interfaces (UIs), which can seem a bit sketchy for anyone, but Motorola embraces it and silently promotes it by adding apps for these UI at their app store. As a phone company they understand the very basics of their job; to make a phone capable of doing what the user wants. Not make an interface that works with the phone they make or “let’s make a phone interface that works with the cheapest phone we can produce!” Which seems to be the trend in cell phone manufactures. It seems like a very simple concept to make a phone as best as you can while not cutting out its core - THE USER. But most manufactures want the cost effective over the optimally equipped. Even the mighty Apple iPhone is almost backwards (I say almost very lightly); using the concept “let’s make a phone we want.”
It’s hard to bash the best phone on the market. It’s a simple fact the iPhone transformed the cell phone industry from a once luxury idem to a convenience to both, making it a luxury item that’s peak in convenience. Before the iPhone no one dreamed of full html internet on a cell phone. No one dreamed that a 3g network could exist in America or that a phone could have the power to keep a 3g connection running for more then a few hours. So, yeah I can’t bash it but I can point out because of the iPhone other companies have stepped up. Verizon has the most 3g coverage; Sprint has been working on battery life for as long as I have followed their lead designer on twitter and AT&T is constantly making network upgrades. The only drawback (I say only very lightly as well) is that prices are at a standstill because of all the competition. But the old is also the new in some light; outdated networks have sprouted up new cell phone services that are both inexpensive and reliable (as long as you stay in range of their small networks).

But what Apple and AT&T are missing in the whole is “future” - which is a very Apple way of life. “Make the best right now, get a new one later” is the hacker slogan for Apple (I need a bumper sticker that says that). While innovation is key, longevity is king (wow, another bumper sticker I need) and for what it’s worth the iPhone works well but it’s already in its 3 generation and just shy of being 3 years old. That’s kind of a big thing if you’re spending $500 on a cell phone. Verizon (being cost effective more than anything but making a good point) places costumers on a two year upgrade plan starting off, and that’s about right for cell phone lifespan. Now, breaking the phone is something else all together but I’m talking about as far as the technology after two years it’s a whole new world. Spending $1,500 and change for a new iPhone every year is quite ridiculous.

An ad that recently aired proclaims “It’s the first thing you see when you wake up, and the last thing you see before you go to bed.” How true is that? I couldn’t tell you the stress I feel when I don’t have my phone on me. It’s practically my left arm. I can totally live without it but it’s very, very useful (Meh. That one is so-so on the bumper sticker kick). So if you’re going to spend the cash get what works for you best, which again is Apple’s way of doing, well… everything. But if you don’t own an Apple computer…why are you getting a phone made for it?
Also, check out this great editorial on IGN this week…