Althouse: The "oleophobic" screen...

June 17, 2009

The "oleophobic" screen...

... and other nice new iPhone things.

ADDED: You realize that "olephobic" means: I am appalled by your greasy face and fingers.

8 comments:

American Liberal Elite said...: Does Wisconsin still have oleophobic consumer protection laws?; 6/17/09, 12:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Walt Mossberg's take was just published, too. Has a handy graphic as well. Mossberg's musings on technology in the Wall Street Journal are always worthwhile.; 6/17/09, 12:30 PM
XWL said...: ADDED: You realize that "olephobic" means: I am appalled by your greasy face and fingers.

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure being "oléphobic" means an irrational fear of attending bullfights.

(one little accent can make a huge difference in meaning)

(and there are perfectly rational reasons for not attending a bloody ritual masquerading as a sporting event); 6/17/09, 1:24 PM
BJM said...: But 21 million iPhone sales later, it’s become clear that the heart usually manages to shut the head up.

Obviously the reviewer has never been alone in a bar at closing time.; 6/17/09, 1:25 PM
Jennifer said...: I've been experiencing a mild bout of buyer's remorse ever since the 3G S was announced. Thanks to your link, I now know I get a free software upgrade and my "old" 3G becomes a 3G S! Sweet.; 6/17/09, 2:17 PM
Bart DePalma said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/17/09, 4:40 PM
Bart DePalma said...: What Apple is doing is incorporating the best apps and app ideas into the operating system and giving them away for free. Once they have you hooked, Apple has another several thousand apps there for purchase from which they get a 30% cut. To get an idea of what an awesome business model this is, imagine if Microsoft pocketed 30% of all the gross from software made for Windows.

The iphone is a tablet computer with cell capabilities. As soon as they load up Microsoft Office with speech recognition so I can draft pleadings and e-file them on the run, I wonder if I will need my desk top anymore.; 6/17/09, 4:41 PM
Robert Cook said...: Jennifer said, "I've been experiencing a mild bout of buyer's remorse ever since the 3G S was announced. Thanks to your link, I now know I get a free software upgrade and my "old" 3G becomes a 3G S! Sweet."

Well...no.

You certainly will get improvements in your iPhone 3G, with added apps and functionality, and, I hear, snappier performance. But the 3G S is distinguished as well by added hardware functionality (improved camera, video capability) and apps that aren't included in 3.0, (Voice Control, Compass). Additionally, the 3G S has under the hood improvements in memory, chip speed, and, for the top of the line model, increased storage.

I have a 3G and I'll be happy with the upgrade to 3.0 at this time. (I'm away from home until Sunday and cannot upgrade until then.) By next July when my current ATT contract expires, Apple will have introduced their next iteration of the iPhone, and I'll be poised to buy that at the fully subsidized price.

Why "buyer's remorse," by the way? Inevitably, any tech gadgets we buy will be replaced as the "newest/fastest/best" in short order. If your devices function well and do what you need them to do, why worry that someone else has a product with a few tweaks that yours doesn't? The turning wheel turns and one day you will one day again have the "newest/fastest/best"...until you again do not.; 6/18/09, 12:50 PM