First, I have to admit, Apple has a good thing going and its really hard not to jump aboard the bandwagon. From a photographer’s standpoint, embracing Apple seems like its becoming more of a necessity every day especially considering the opportunities for mobile advertising. Below are 5 loving and 5 hateful observations of Apple and it’s ever-expanding dynasty.
Love ~
(1) Portable Portfolio (iPhone / iPad): I dished out the extra cash for an iPhone specifically for this reason. Being able to have a large amount of examples of my work on me at all times without strapping a laptop to my back has helped me conjure up quite a bit of business, especially during those times when that new business was unexpected or if I’m out of cards at the moment. The iPad (and this is one of the only true benefits of the iPad I see at this point) just makes the portable portfolio option even better by enlarging the images and having them all available in a slick layout at the touch of a finger. It makes me want to go drop $499 right now even though I’m not sure what else I’d really use the thing for…
(2) Visual Appeal: Apple, in my opinion, has some of the best product design and graphic design of any (comparable?) company out there. Hardware is all minimal and sleek letting the user focus on the task in front of them. Software is cleanly laid out and full of juicy graphics (i love Apple’s use of 256px PNG for icons). I often catch myself staring at blank 27″ iMac desktops at the Apple store just because I like the dock icons so much.
(3) Simplicity: To stay in line with the minimal product design, Apple products and software has always been regarded as user friendly. The amount of physical buttons on devices are kept to a minimum and the OS doesn’t break as often as windows. Less distraction and less headache is always a good thing.
(4) Creative Standard: When it comes to working in graphic design or in-house photographic processing, Apple seems to be the preferred platform. I can’t personally vouch for how different it is (since I’ve dug myself into a Microsoft hole) but I can see how a dual quad-core rig with 32 gigs of RAM could make photo processing quite enjoyable.
(5) Service: Having problems with any sort of hardware usually leads to endless headaches and more cash spent than one would care to part with. My experiences thus far with the Genius Bar have been thoroughly pleasant and I have to commend Apple for the overall setup of this service offering. Being able to make a reservation online, drop by a store, have your randomly defunct iPhone inspected and walk out with a new one in under 30 minutes is simply excellent. The stores can be crazy busy sometimes and there can be a wait for service but compared to other industries you can’t really complain.
Hate ~
(1) iPhone Dependency: For those of you who own an iPhone (or any equivalent smart-phone for that matter), how do you feel when you go 1 day without it? Have you gone 1 day without it? It’s almost as bad as having withdrawals from trying to kick a nasty Vicodin addiction… it’s a sad day when no-iPhone-itis leaves you fetal and twitching on the cold bathroom floor. The dependency we grow to have on these devices is almost sickening if you really take a step back and look at it.
*My specific iPhone vices are:*
• Google Maps – how else would I know where I am and where I’m going? I live my life thinking I’m a mobile blue dot now. What? You want me to Google directions at home and p-r-i-n-t them?!? Are you nuts?
• Safari - now I have access to Google search and Wikipedia on the go… there’s no situation where I will be left without an answer (correct or not) or witty response. The Wiki never lies.
• Email Access - I can conduct my photography business directly from my iPhone while I’m at my full-time job, stuck in a cubicle, working on spreadsheet number 37 today. Tell me how I’m supposed to go without my Gmail account and have no access to the outside world for 8 hours a day?
• Alarm Clock, Dropbox and Twitterrific.
• Phone - yes, I can surf the web, tweet about surfing the web, schedule when I’ll be surfing the web again, write notes about what I surfed through and then open up my contacts and call someone to tell them all about my surfing. Gnarly dude.
(2) App Store Investment: Thinking about dropping your iPhone so you can switch over to the Android platform? I hope you wont miss the 629 apps you’ve downloaded over the years and spent at least $1000 on in addition to the cost of the physical iPhone and AT&T monthly service. If you have any sense of practicality within you (which probably should have kept you from purchasing so many freakin apps) then you can understand how difficult it is to throw that investment away. But it’s ok, all hope is not lost, now you get to buy more apps… for your shiny new iPad.
(3) Price: iPhone = ~$299 for 3Gs (+ $60/mo talk & unlimited data service + $10/mo unlimited text messaging + ~$30/mo for app store purchases. iPhone = $100/mo). The high quality and slick design of Apple products does justify the higher prices to a degree but it’s highly depressing to go onto the Apple website to configure my dream machine only to see the grand total of $18,230.90 staring me in the face. One more dream I’ll never be able to make into a reality. Thanks Apple.
(4) Obsolescence: I purchased the iPhone 3G and the 3GS came out shortly afterwards. Now the ’4G’ is supposed to be on the horizon and I’ll be stuck with a phone that is significantly less capable but still requires the same monthly cost for service. Lame. Not to mention the new firmware update that is going to add a bunch of new, highly anticipated features to the iPhone platform… no 3GS? No multi-tasking… Lame. And, I don’t feel like shelling out the ridiculous $600 AT&T wants for a new phone when it’s not time for my upgrade. By the time my upgrade comes around my 3G will be comparable to a rock. FYI, this point is really just a rant as obsolescence is a part of buying any technology.
(5) Development: I had to throw this in with the Adobe vs Apple battle going on right now. It’s unfortunate that the iPhone/iPad platform is pretty closed off and development must be filtered through the app store, however, it is a good model for controlling a lot of the junk apps that would be floating around if everything wasn’t set up this way. Regardless, I am all for getting Flash viewing capability on the iPhone. My online portfolio (and MANY online photographer portfolios) are Flash-based sites and now, there is a steadily increasing number of people using the mobile Apple platform that cannot view these portfolios. Adobe needs to roll out their latest, anticipated Flash Player update so, if there is a breakthrough and the gods allow Flash to be viewed on the Apple platform, at least the iPhone wont melt in your hand.
In Conclusion ~
If you’re lucky enough to have your smart-phone dependency fix at the moment and therefore aren’t curled up on the floor, twitching… what are your thoughts? Do you completely Love or Hate every aspect of Apple or are you like me and live out life torn between the two emotions and too invested in app purchases to leave the relationship?
There are no comments yet