Comments on: The iPhone's secret blindspot, revisited

By: Richard Stewart, Big Pine CA 93513

Richard Stewart, Big Pine CA 93513 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:37:28 +0000

I have an iPod Touch and can do everything that the iPhone can do except talk; I can e-mail, access facebook, the internet, so why a specialized app for networking? keep it simple! wifi is pretty much ubiquitous, n'est pas?

By: David Bean, London

David Bean, London — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:53:44 +0000

It's funny to hear that Jobs doesn't understand the end user.

This must be the funniest thing I've heard in my life.

By: Patton, Palo Alto, CA

Patton, Palo Alto, CA — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:47:07 +0000

Jobs has kept up with the times and even been ahead of it more so than anyone else for 20 years.

Social networking would not have been a defining feature for a next generation phone in its first release.

If some one needs it that badly – there is always facebook accessible on the iphone through safari.

I don't think having social networking features would have made any difference in the volume of iPhones sold.

By: David, NY, NY

David, NY, NY — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:08:01 +0000

To help answer the question as to whether there should have been social networking software built into the iphone, I would ask everyone a simple question: If the iphone didn't come with the "telephone" part of it, say it was the "iWi" or "iHatePrivacy" or something, would you buy it? Probably not. But, now that you have the core feature which works really well (the "phone" part), we can let the demand drive the rest. If there is demand for an "iFace" (and I believe there will be) then the market will deliver.

By: jj st. louis mo

jj st. louis mo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:14:38 +0000

These are all great additions to the iphone, however, I think your greatly under estimating the intelligence of Steve Jobs and his team !

By: Steven, Atlanta GA

Steven, Atlanta GA — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:09:17 +0000

I don't believe Jobs is as behind the times as this author believes. People refuse to understand what a tremendous undertaking this device represents. I truly believe that Jobs was committed to not heaping too much on the iPhone at once. His first priority was to make sure that it actually worked as advertised and that everyone understood what made it stand out: the UI. Now that this has been accomplished, I believe he would like to have the device taken seriously in the enterprise. This could never occur if business & IT people perceieved it as some sort of social networking toy for teenagers. This will also require the 3rd party assistance which will be facilitated by the SDK. Once these things are established, and after new, lower-price versions have been introduced, then he can afford to look at stuff like social networking.

Can anyone appriciate how difficult it would have been to introduce this device with all the capabilities everyone thinks it should have? It does not appear so.

By: Jackson, WY

Jackson, WY — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:10:11 +0000

I'd have to agree with many of the comments. Almost none of those social features are of high value to me. Like most people who have real jobs and a real life, I don't need to get Facebook updates pushed to my cell phone. That may be great for a certain crowd that hasn't fully formed in their adulthood, but the day I feel commenting on a YouTube video is in my critical path is the day I commit suicide. I don't want everyone around me to know where I am or what I am listening to. I don't want to know where other iPhone users are, nor do I want to message them. Actually, they are mostly an annoying group, myself hopefully excluded.

And suggesting that Steve Jobs doesn't understand the iPhone consumer? Are you kidding? He CREATED the iPhone consumer. He created the iPhone category. He destroyed every other smartphone on the market. Steve Jobs doesn't understand you or the losers who need their iPhone to tell them who their friends are, because Steve Jobs has a job, friends, and a life.

By: Noah, Tucson, Arizona

Noah, Tucson, Arizona — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:05:02 +0000

While it would be nice if the iPhone had some of the capabilities mentioned here, he forgets that most of America is just starting to use email regularly. I know people who are still using dial-up. Most people in America are not sitting at a computer uploading photos to Flickr and chatting on Facebook. They are talking on phones, watching television, and using the internet to find a new restaurant or look up information on something. Techies (and I consider myself to be one) need to be careful that they are not criticizing everything that is not aimed at techies BECAUSE it is not aimed at techies.

By: brett, portland, or

brett, portland, or — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:59:36 +0000

If Michael Arrington disagrees with it, then it must be the right thing to do. Jobs knows where the money is – and is not. It is not in social networking, web 2.0, or any other flash-in-the-pan promoted by the twitterati. In short, Jobs is pissing off the right people.

By: Phil, NYC

Phil, NYC — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:26:02 +0000

Does this guy have a girlfriend? Just imagine if people can see where you are on the iPhone it would be a perfect device to have your girlfriend put you on a leash lol oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Of course you can turn it off, then she would be like "why did you not broadcast your where about??" iPhone sales will PLUMMET LOL.