For the past couple months I've been using an iPhone, and when people ask me what I think about it, I respond: "This phone has completely changed the way I use the Internet." Now that's a pretty bold statement, I know, but the following is why I think that in 5-10 years, everyone will have the Internet in their pocket and the world will be a different place.
A level of disconnect exists between the Internet on a desktop and its general usefulness. Think of the case of using Google Maps or MapQuest. The common use case is to type your destination into Google Maps, print directions, and bring these directions in your car so you can use them to know where you're going. With the Internet on a phone, the common use case is to type your destination into Google Maps, and then go.
So what's the real difference here? Having the Internet on your phone is having the Internet when you actually need it. You don't need directions when you're at home planning your trip, you need directions when you're in the car wondering how to get to a destination.
The analogy I like to draw here is the replacement of land line phones with cell phones. Cell Phones are so popular because the idea of calling a person rather than a place is so intuitive. In the same way, having directions at your finger tips when you're in the car is more intuitive than having directions at your home, and needing to print them out to have them in your car.
I think in the coming years, as more and more people have Internet enabled cellphones, the whole concept of what the Internet is and how people use it will radically change.
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4 comments:
"You don't need directions when you're at home planning your trip, you need directions when you're in the car wondering how to get to a destination."
I don't necessarily agree with that. You need directions if you're going to plan your trip! Ideally, you plan your trip so well that you don't need directions once you're in the car, because you already have them printed out / written down. And I think that because everything is becoming so mobile, people tend to neglect that important step because they're so used to doing everything on the road.
Otherwise, I agree with all of this.
Another reason this is helpful is that people that are awful drivers and tend to miss their turns while driving are now able to get new directions once they're lost, or if they are someplace they don't know very well and want to go to some place specific they can get new directions while there.
I support these thoughts
Also, people who think iPhones are for snobs are chumps.
On the other hand, I plan to get one in a few years, and I'm a snob, so...
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