iPhone Cult

No matter the zombie-like state everyone seems to be in over the IPhone, sales over at Apple have not reached predicted heights as of recently. Word on the street is that people are not able to afford upgrading at the ridiculous rate Apple releases new products. Just as people got comfortable on their IPad 2, the third edition came out. Those desperate to get their hands on the newest technology are selling off their barley used products at cheaper prices. Allowing many to purchase used Apple products for less, which also does nothing to directly profit the brand. The stores themselves also sell the older models, since they all work well many opt for the less updated but more reasonably priced device.

Big stores like Nordstrom and small stands at my local Farmers Market are now using iPhones to ring purchases up. With the attachment of one device, the phone can become a credit card scanner.

Never once has every single person I encounter had the same phone as me. Sure, when I had my Blackberry Tour I saw a lot of twins but it was nothing like this. My boyfriend, a Droid enthusiast, is the only person I know without one. Even my Grandma has expressed the desire to have one; she can't remember her phone number but she knows everyone but her has an iPhone!

Heck, at least they sell phone cases to give us some differentiation amongst one another- other than the standard white or black.

Why Does Everyone Have an iPhone?

All-in-One

This is how we all used to look on our IPods. I mean really, how many people had any other music device besides an IPod, I remember the very sight of an mp3 made me wonder about the person- how come they had that instead of the regular old iPod? Perhaps that’s why when Apple decided to merge the beloved iPod (with ITunes) into the magical iPhone, the world went mad- we all had to have one. Apple incorporated music into our everyday worlds, even when in a work meeting or at a funeral.

Broken Phone, Not I

Remember all of the issues your cell phones had before your IPhone? I don’t know about you, but unless I drop mine flat on its face (which I have and it shattered) it always seems to work- quickly and without many glitches. Even with a cracked face the phone actually works pretty flawlessly. In the old days, the tracker ball would fall out of my BlackBerry, or my Envy would no longer hold a charge. Now that I’ve switched to an iPhone, I almost fear the “others” simply because they always broke in the past! Yet, perhaps this has changed- my boyfriend’s droid has lasted longer than any phone I’ve ever had!

No One Wants to Be an Outsider

A friend of mine recently decided he was “iPhoned out” ready to try something new. Within days of the anticipated switch, he was back to his old iPhone ways, claiming the Droid device somehow offered him “too much.” More than anything though, I think we all fear what life will be like excluded from the “IPhone club.” Heck, no one wants to be an outsider! Obviously, no one is afraid of losing loved ones or popularity for switching- it’s something else; a fear that we must be missing out on something if we don’t have an iPhone.

iAdvertise

Apple was infiltrating our media long before iPhones or even iPods hit stores. The first time I saw the computer was in Legally Blonde, when Reese Witherspoon purchased a mac laptop in order to be smart and fashionable at Harvard Law School. Now, everywhere you look someone is using an Apple product- on TV, in the movies, even in the latest documentary. They started with the shop-hungry generation when we were young, sautéing that bitten apple into our mind so that it’s become familiar over the years, almost homey.

Regardless if Apple has anything to do with it or not, many of the popular Nickelodeon shows use Pear products that mimic Apple nearly to a tee- only in the shape of a pear. Naturally, kids want the products that their role models use, since Pear isn't real- Apple is the next obvious choice. Ironically, one of the main shows using Pear products is called iCarley.

iForever?

But will this iPhone craze last or be just another fad; a blown up version of the Sidekick? Apple has a lot going for it but anyone will admit it’s not perfect. For starters, the iPhone is heavy as a brick and shatters at first introduction to concrete. And while the latest iPad has amazing screen resolution, it’s so good the human eye can’t even appreciate it. Not to mention, the device gets hotter than the sun when used for any duration of time.

Still, people hold their breath in anticipation of the iPhone 5 whispered to be hitting stores here soon. But more than a couple of my closest confidents have said they are hardly excited for the new release. What more could our phones do for us? Will they be lighter and less likely to break? That's what I want to know!

No matter, there is plenty room for improvement, for someone else to come along and create the latest product that takes the world by storm. I'm hopeful this happens before the start of my next cell phone contract.