Apple the Underwhelming

nik.mercer — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:39:22 -0700

Apple once was innovators' paradise. Shrouded in secrecy, the computer company churned out fashionable, chic, and utterly necessary inventions time and time again. Because of the device's success, "iPod" became synonymous with "MP3 player"; the iPhone carved out the future of cell phone technology; the computers (yes, all of them) indicated a shift from the hyper-techy to the ultra-intuitive and easy-to-operate. Still, all of Apple's products are gorgeous pieces of eye candy, and we can't help but buy up or subscribe to every new release, even if it means shelling out outrageous annual fees (Mac Mail!?) or laying down a couple bucks for a sitcom we could just as easily stream online for free.

Since the Mac Air was launched, though, Apple has been growing increasingly uninteresting and bland. The company's increased size and marketing muscle has made it more... corporate, and that's no fun for anyone. Anthem [eagerly] explicates Steve Jobs' keynote announcements at today's 2008 WWDC convention:

Integrating the iPhone with 3G and GPS technologies: Honestly, this was a no-brainer from the get-go. The iPhone, for some reason unbeknowst to all, didn't come with a speedy 3G connection option and GPS software. Underdog Helio has been utilizing America's 3G network and GPS service providers since its inception... so why didn't Apple tack it on the iPhone's package from day one? Anthem says: Dull!

iPhone price drop: Again, this should've happened months ago. $199 for a cell phone is still nothing to write home about, so why even bother delivering a keynote speech to declare something so... expected? Where's the twist? Where the punch? That's it?! Apple just docked the price a hundred or so dollars? Come on... while this is, doubtless, a good thing, it's not what one would expect from Jobs' keynote. Anthem says: Thank God―finally!

MobileMe: Smart. Apple's software and hardware have always been tough to deal with and sync up. No longer will this be the case, it seems, with MobileMe, a forthcoming platform that allows users to connect all of their Apple devices and keep on top of all their emails, calendar, updates, etc. Anthem says: Good idea―thumbs up!

Opening up iPhone's applications to third parties: Apple has always had a difficult time dealing with third party software creators and application developers. On the surface, Apple appears to be especially greedy, hording most―if not all―of product development to itself. Jobs announced, though, that the company will be making more of an effort to open up the iPhone to engineers, coders, etc. outside the Apple family. Phew. Finally. Again, this seems like a decision that's been a long time coming. The iPhone is certainly a miraculous piece of hardware and ought to be tapped for all it's worth. The fact that Apple refused so many computer geeks and legitimate companies access to the Holy Grail of mobile devices for so long can't be erased with this last ditch attempt at appeasing those offended. Anthem says: Yes yes yes! But we wanted it so much sooner!

Improved graphics of the iPhone; added Web components: Boring. While sprucing up the video game capabilities of the iPhone, adding more functions to the thing, and releasing more Apple code to the [sort of] public is cool, it just doesn't deserve a keynote speech. Conversely, Google has always been alluring in that it trickles out updates, revamps, and alterations without much warning. Microsoft, too, to an extent, is guilty of the same. Perhaps it's just more fun to find new features and releases than to be preached to about them. Think on that one, Jobs. Anthem says: Great―would've never guessed...

So we're unphased, underwhelmed. Apple's stock went down about $5 during the WWDC speech... it's bounced back up since the end of the event, but still―not a good sign. Keep on trucking, Apple... maybe next time.