Indeed, it is iPhone mania around the world. Australians and New Zealanders braved the cold wind this morning to get in line and get their iPhone; in Japan, crowds appear outside the store for the first unveiling of the iPhone there, which went with much fanfare amid swirling smoke after a 30-second countdown. Here in Europe, an exciting day in those countries where the beautiful piece that many of us treasure makes its debut. In Spain, more than 200000 have registered to get more information about this marvelous instrument..
A New Zealander friend wrote: “Yes, the iPhone finally launched here last night. I guess that is the benefit of living in the future.”
Edward C. Baig, USA Today’s Personal Tech columnist, loves the new iPhone too, writing that “this expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after.”
And with a user profile that includes a vast majority of users under the age of 35, it is quite tempting for those of us in the media business to try to take advantage of that core group of potential customers to our products. Since its inception, iPhone users have connected with their phone to their favorite newspaper website, and, indeed, more than 80% of users say that they do so.
That is probably one reason the International Herald Tribune (a New York Times product, published in Paris and distributed worldwide) has launched an Iphone-friendly, optimized version of its website, iht.com.
The IHT blog includes this comment: The iPhone site is still very much a work in progress. We wanted to get the core functionality in place first so the user can access nearly all of the content on the regular IHT.com site. You’ll notice that we’ve decided to build the entire site using AJAX (as opposed to published pages), and while this allows the speed to be quite zippy on Edge and blazing fast on Wi-Fi, it also uncovered numerous bugs and usability issues.
ME AND MY IPHONE: Of course, I use my iPhone to make calls, text message and listen to music , but, most importantly, I find myself using it as a camera, and recording the little moments along the way——like the interesting design of that bottle of lychee tea in Bangkok, or to monitor the construction progress of the world’s tallest building, in Dubai; a colortful phone booth in Spain; my grandson Jack Garcia lying on the grass; or a mama raccoon carrying her baby in Central Park, New York. I also photograph my sketches to send to an art director, or pages hanging on othe wall during a “gallery walk” display presentation.
These are all visual treasures that I now capture daily, reminders of the world around me. Before the iPhone, I simply committed the images to memory, unable to share them with others.
Yes, forgot to mention that I also download episodes of my favorite Ugly Betty, to watch during long flights.
WE SEND YOU:
USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2007-06-26-iphone-review_N.htm
International Herald Tribune
http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/technology/lab/?p=20
http://iht.nytimes.com/articles/2008/06/09/business/iphone.php
Want specs of the new iPhone 3G?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
WHERE’S MARIO?: Last day in Paris, a cloudy day with cool breezes; tomorrow back to the Florida sun.
CONTACT ME: mario@garcia-media.com