Cell phones: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year"
- 11/7/07 1:26 PM
What qualifies it as an invention?
by schlice - 11/7/07 11:46 PM In reply to: i Don't Own a car by WTF You idiotEffectiveness? How well it does what it's supposed to do? Those things make the iPhone the best incarnation of the smartphone to date. But that's an improvement on existing technology, not an invention.
An invention does something that has never been done before. We were doing everything the iPhone does (talking on cell phones that play movies, music, and surf the web) long before it came out.
Just because the iPhone does it better that any other smartphone out there (which is also debatable) does not qualify it as an invention.
Please try to stay on topic. The question was whether or not the iPhone is an invention. By definition, clearly it is not.
But it's really cool anyway.
iPhone is so cool?!?!?!
by jgvillan - 11/7/07 6:34 PM In reply to: If you don't own an iPhone you have no right to comment! by WTF You idiotIf the iPhone is so cool, how come it doesn't have 3G and be used for other US carriers who also has UTMS/3G. Why can't they sell unlocked versions of the iPhone. How come it has to be ONLY for AT&T with the hefty price tag, then drop the price, and then tissing everyone off becucase of the price drop. Invention of the Year, no. Hype of the Year....yes. Contraversy of the Year....even better. Remember the Cisco iPhone name drop.
So...
by thesimulacra - 11/8/07 7:03 AM In reply to: If you don't own an iPhone you have no right to comment! by WTF You idiotyou're actually arguing that people who "buy Might & Magic cards" couldn't possibly also be the main group of people slobbering over their iPhones? Here's just my experience but every single person I know that owns one is a total nerd, and I say that with all due respect. Get your stereotypes right!
Did Apple invent the Computer also?
by donaldavis - 11/7/07 5:11 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Sure they improved a product-- but invention?? I think not.
dI've been surfing the web on my phone, listening to music & podcasts, storing my calendar contacts tasks notes docs & spreadsheets, playing games, and, oh yeah, making phone calls on my mobile for years. Heck I even have 3G which the iPhone people don't. And I can "legally" put programs on my phone.
Having said that, I can't wait to see whats in the next generation of the iPhone.
Not an invention
by cmparras - 11/7/07 5:18 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Disappointing. Maybe they should first look into the dictionary what 'invention' really means.
Re-Invention of the Year
by goldndog - 11/7/07 5:21 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In the sense that the iPhone is an invention, it probably goes further to integrate more phone, contact, calendar, web, music and graphic content than any phone. The best part may be that you don't need a magnifying glass to see the screen. Add the slick finger smart interface and the auto-rotating screen feature... well, who else has done it? After using a Treo for years, I continually want to touch my Motorola Razr's screen (the Star Trek communicator of phones). Apple brought together a myriad of technologies and re-invented it into the Black Monolith of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Again, life imitates art.
Not a good choice
by rhomp2002 - 11/7/07 5:34 PM In reply to: Re-Invention of the Year by goldndogAll they are doing is trying to justify the hype. You have to remember that the invention of the year is totally out of date within a very short period of time. Just like the Car of the Year. Remember that the Chrysler Omni and Horizon were cars of the year. So was the Renault Alliance. Would you even give them garage space now - or even then? It looks good and maybe works well within its very narrow window but until you can hook it up to the best of the suppliers like Sprint or Verizon or the other providers it is stuck with the terrible service that AT&T give. I wouldn't want one unless I could hook it up to the good service here and AT&T ain't it. As a result it doesn't make any sense to me at all. What it could be called is a nice assembly of parts but that does not make it an invention by any stretch of the word.
I never said AT&T was worth anything as a carrier...
by goldndog - 11/7/07 6:22 PM In reply to: Not a good choice by rhomp2002So, rhomp...
Using your logic of "a nice assembly of parts", Edison did not invent the light bulb, correct?
Let's see, a glass bulb, a vacuum, a carbon filament, a source of electricity, some wire... Yep, "a nice assembly of parts".
History must have gotten it wrong. Edison just built "a nice assembly of parts".
So......
by jgvillan - 11/7/07 6:54 PM In reply to: Not a good choice by rhomp2002So, by that arguement....the iPhone should be the Cell phone of the year. Yes, I would say that. Invention of the Year? No, I would not say that.
Best invention? Not by my standards.
by ua_eng - 11/7/07 5:49 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Is the iPhone an innovative device? Very.
But it's not worthy of being the innovation of the year. To me, an invention is something that can benefit everyone, in the way a car or refrigerator has improved life.
The iPhone doesn't fit this category.
Time's reasoning doesn't make sense either. They call it "a genuine handheld, walk-around computer," but I think of user control being a necessary part of a computer (installing your own apps without needing to hack it).
So, is the iPhone great? Yes. Is it the best of 2007? No.
No other invention compares
by gschwinn - 11/7/07 5:54 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I can understand why some may not consider it an invention at all – it is more of a RE-invention. Clearly, there were more "original" inventions. That said, I think it is totally appropriate for a consumer magazine like Time to name it Invention of the Year. No other invention can compare to the iPhone's impact on the consumer marketplace. For Science Digest or Inventors Digest to name it such would have been folly. However, it IS a pretty darn amazing (and beautifully executed) piece of technology.
What?
by thesimulacra - 11/8/07 8:24 AM In reply to: No other invention compares by gschwinnHow are they a "consumer magazine"? They're a news magazine. Consumer Reports is a "consumer magazine". Forbes or Business Week or any other business magazine could justify it as "product of the year", but TIME's jurisdiction is the entire world. They do articles on science all the time. I read TIME a lot and I can tell you that the top two front-page subjects for that magazine are politics and science; neither of which I would classify as "consumer" related.
Invention??
by drbooth - 11/7/07 5:55 PM In reply to: Poll: Time naming the iPhone "Invention of the year" by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
IMHO the term invention is out of line for the iphone. One could call it an enhancement, an upgrade of capabilities, an innovative addition to an existing capability, etc, etc. etc.
But any one of those definitions suggest, to me, that improvements to something that exists is good and should not be condemned because a person doesn't like apple (or something equally inane).
My question is: what is the recent announcement by google that they, in conjunction with some carriers, are going to be incorporating their
android software into phones and really do some enhancements, ala internet. Even then, I would not call it an "invention".
Dale
Invention? Yes.
by krae84 - 11/7/07 6:11 PM In reply to: Invention?? by drboothiPhone's invention lies in it's multi-touch user interface. Pinch, squeeze, zoom, slide... those functions have NEVER EXISTED on a device before the iPhone..
And yes, multi-touch qualifies as a worthy invention that will change the way we communicate with devices and computers in the future..
Invention of the year?
Without a doubt.
Multi-touch is the future of computer interaction.
invention of the year
by drbooth - 11/7/07 8:22 PM In reply to: Invention? Yes. by krae84Well Krae,
I would find it hard to believe that the functions that are currently on the iphone were never used before. While this is my opinion based on what I think, I could be wrong (been there - done that).
Having said that (at least typed that), I would have to believe that
the newly announced Google Android software (new to cell phones) coupled with a linux OS (new to cell phones) and an agreement with several carriers prior to implementation (Several carriers agreeing on something - now that is new) could be a contender for "invention of the year" which could upset the iphone "invention". BUT EVEN THEN, I would not consider that an invention as all the above described parts to the project already exist so once again I would have to label it as innovation. Anyhow, I am not picking on anyone in particular, just giving you the reasons I don't consider it an invention - much less invention of the year. The year is not over yet.
Have a great day.
Dale
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