Please don't hurt me.

I’m really rather tired of explaining what I think about the iPhone and Verizon. So I’m putting together this nice little FAQ about what I believe.

Q: Is the iPhone even coming to Verizon?

A: Yes. I mean in all seriousness, it makes no sense for Apple to completely ignore the largest carrier in the Western Hemisphere. There is also no reason for Verizon to refuse the world’s best selling phone. Yes, it will happen.

Q: So when will it happen?

A: Well, let’s narrow it down by the month, first. Apple launched the first iPhone in the summer time. Along with that, was the iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3GS. Fiscally, they have to launch the iPhone during the summer months. Not only that, but they have to launch it immediately after announcement. Any break between those event and sales are lost as people wait for the new model. So it’ll happen in June or July. When it comes to year, no one knows. Rumor has it that AT&T and Apple are reaching the end of their agreement this year. Don’t correct me on that, or agree with me. It’s rumor. Speculation. No one knows. It’s secret. They did, however, negotiate the deal earlier in the year, around April or May, so if it expires this year it’ll be in time for a new model on Verizon during the summer. My best guess? June of this year, as Verizon has been rather vocal about it’s want and has been snatching up a lot of other phones as of late.

Q: Is Verizon really better?

A: See, here’s the thing. A lot of people think the excitement is over Verizon being better. In reality, only those in large cities like SF or NYC specifically, really want off of AT&T, who’s network seems to be unable to handle such large and dense traffic. Because of the multitude of people on Verizon, there is, most likely, just a large group wanting the iPhone but not wanted to switch networks. When it comes to price, they’re really about the same. Not to mention the fact that Verizon’s CDMA network uses more battery than AT&T’s GSM network. 

Q: Should I get the iPhone?

A: No, you didn’t ask this, I know. However, I’d like to do some ranting right about… now. I love technology. I really do. I value advanced hardware and software that comes together in a beautiful package that shows what us nerdy humans can produce. However, there are some times when I really want to hurt someone. When I see the idiotic person walking around with a really nice phone with a punch of “fart” apps on it, I die a little inside. Yes, yes, technology is great now because a lot of it is accessable and easy to use so we can all play! Well, I don’t want you playing. Someone who fully understands what makes a product great and can make an informed decision is someone who I want to have this phone. When the iPhone comes on Verizon, every single person that wants it, will have it. That means I will literally be dead on the inside and my soul will die, because about 80% of those people have no idea what makes their phone the best.

*S'plosion*

GameCenter. It sounds childish, really. Xbox Live and PlayStation Network are rather successful platforms for multiplayer gaming, and definitely showcase what you can do with millions of people and some games. It would seem, then, that the mobile device with the most games would also get a network of some sort. Well, with iPhone OS 4.0, the iPod touch and iPhone will. 

Working with the rather enormous amount of applications offered on the iPhone OS devices (around 185,000), “GameCenter” will show leaderboards and achievements, along with an active friendslist. 

Sorry for some reason I’m writing this like it’s an article and that’s immensely boring if you ask me. 

Okay so basically the whole idea of this thing is basically some type of Xbox Liveish program for the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. Now, if you ask me this whole idea has rather double edged. First of all, I really like the idea of having any sort of friendslist or leaderboard. Keeping track of your friends progress in Tap Tap or whatever game it is that you like could really be interesting, because everyone knows they’re lying when they tell you what they have in person. Achievements are also a great idea, giving you some incentive to play more, but also allowing developers to get deeper with their games and eventually create larger, more unique experiences. 

But in all honestly who really needs this?

I really like the idea of an online network, but maybe I just want a phone? Sure, I’m playing devil’s advocate here, but it’s an important point to consider. Look at the iPhone like… iTunes. iTunes used to be very simple. Music, iPod, music store. Now it does way too much. Hook up with this and run this and view that and update this and buy that and scroll through this and make this look nice. Maybe I just want to play my music and sync my iPod. Now the iPhone is the same thing. With the app store it became the do everything device for productivity, mobile gaming, and communication. But now it’s becoming something larger. Connecting every single phone on some sort of gaming network takes the iPhone from a device that can play some cool games to a gaming device which can get really competitive.

That just seems a bit over complicated. Why does it have to be so… interconnected? Keep it simple? Does that make sense? 

Playing devil’s advocate is dangerous, I’m beginning to switch over. 

As far as I am concerned, creating a new mobile network is a good idea that will make you get more value out of your applications, but at the same time it will only create a mess in the long run as people struggle to maintain standards. 

Yes, it's gigantic.

I used to think that calling the iPad an iPod touch with a gigantic screen was an insult. I mean, why would you degrade such a great new product with potential to something like a music player? 

Well, now that the iPad is out, and there are apps available, I can easily say that it’s an iPod touch XL. But I don’t say it with malice, no. See, with that larger screen, and that more powerful hardware, the iPad is a device which isn’t just a supersized music player, but in actuality a whole new way to experience media. Let me tell you how.

First, that screen opens up a whole new world of opportunity for Apple and developers. When the iPad was first showed off, all you really got a chance to see was how their own apps (Mail, Contacts, Calander), really looked with the new screen. The thing is, though, what other develops have done. Primarily, applications have been using the larger screen to show different parts of navigation at once. Mail, for instance, shows your inbox and the message at the same time just as a laptop or desktop would. Instapaper does a similar thing by showing all your available articles. The screen also allows for better looking apps, ones that are either more detailed, or more in depth because you have more access to the game itself. However, the best part could just be the presentation of video and text. The NY Times and USA Today have fantastic applications that take great steps in presenting a newspaper like experience on a tablet. Scrolling through articles, pictures, and video, is something that isn’t entirely possible on a small tablet. ABC and Netflix have also used the larger screen to their advantage to present full TV shows and movies on the device. While possible with a smaller screen, it just doesn’t work as well that way. More power means more fun, as well. Not only are those larger video applications possible with the greater processing power, so are games which require more power. 

That larger screen also opens up something else: books. Yes, you can read a book on an iPhone or iPod, but for all intents and purposes, who wants to? With the huge screen on the iPad you can easily read a book in whatever font size you wish. You can flip pages (or show two at once), and best of all view color pictures on the screen. It makes e-ink almost obsolete. 

So, yes, you might be getting an iPod touch with a gigantic screen, but when you think about it, that isn’t bad. Not to mention not every teenager you see will have one.