total.pardo

from: http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/07/10/iphone-naysayers-one-year-later?page=0%2C3

FTA:

What Dvorak said about the iPhone: Writing on Marketwatch.com in March 2007, Dvorak predicted failure.
“There is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a business this
competitive,” he said. “If it’s smart it will call the iPhone a
‘reference design’ and pass it to some suckers to build with someone
else’s marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace
failures.”What Dvorak says now: Did not reply to multiple e-mails.

did not reply to multiple emails.

read that again.

did not reply.

you know why?

because dvorak isn’t about journalistic integrity. he’s about sensationalism. he’s the quintessential nay-sayer. essentially, he’s johnny pardo but with more money.

i was dvorak - an all things apple hater. (some would argue pardo is an ALL things hater, but that’s for another blog post.)

i got on the kool-aid when i first handled an iphone approximately 4 feet from where i am blogging from at this very moment. the previous owner of pardohaus had her son in the kitchen talking on his iphone as i considered the purchase of a new home. as he finished his conversation, i politely (with techno-lust droole on my chin) asked to “touch” the phone. as the son spoke, and i touched, i was sold.

two macbooks later, i am an apple man. who would have ever thought it possible? not anyone who knows me in person.

the “keep an open mind” sentiment is not possible for dvorak and others in the guild. writers worth their salt know they must write to the audience and write to sell. opposition sells. there are times even i find dvorak’s pen to be pedantic and illusionary. most dismiss him. others vilify. in the end, he did what he had to do - knock a top flight product and duck calls to respond to his wrongness.

if you take the time to read jake widman’s article, you will see that most, if not all in some way, of the experts industry pundits who denied the innovation, took great and measured pains to retract with exception their “opinions” on why the iphone was the latest shiny tech object - or bling. none of them will allow for this device to become the trailblazer to ubiquitous computing.

the apps store takes the iphone as a device to that level. a “laptop in your pocket” indeed.

now, not everything is hunky-dory. there are issues 12 months on, such as:

1. no cut and paste (seriously, why?)
2. no MMS (not an issue if you just use email)
3. crazy expensive service plans (i can’t dispute this)
4. difficult keyboarding (no argument)
5. lack of 3G network coverage (not an issue for me, but, this is a world wide complaint)

and, i have to say i am flabbergasted that applications promised by app developers are not yet available. notably, ewallet by illumsoft and the wordpress admin application, were promised but not delivered. all the users got was a video of promised functionality available to a select group.

sorry, i am not buying the excuses. get those apps out there, devs!

another complaint would be the cost on the apps in the store. its not to say the free apps are not cool. the shazam, pandora, evernote, baseball, and even phonesaber apps are top flight apps that whet the proverbial tech appetite. but $69 for a language app? what is that about? gouging was never so sexy, my friends.

now, for paid apps, i would love to see an national football league offering similar to the MLB@bat app with in game video highlights on demand. a wifi catcher would be a nice addition. i look forward to seeing more development in the amateur radio world - maybe streaming audio of shortwave receivers?

all in all, the iphone is the best platform out there for a mobile device. think differently and get one if you can.