iPhone 4: Head Vs. Heart
Any new product has to win a battle of hearts and minds. Apple’s new Face Time ads appeal directly to the heart, forgoing geek-speak to talk to your soul. They answer the mainstream consumer question “why?” by placing Face Time front and center, showing how through the iPhone 4 you can make emotional connections.
Yes, internet video chat has been around for ages via web cams plus Skype, Windows Messaging, Apple’s Mac-based iChat, and now other smart phones, but Apple adds an extra layer of ease-of-use and then makes a top-notch advertisement. There are no explanatory voice overs, no celebrities, no cute metaphors. Just a visual phone call plus a very subtle camera drift, ever-closer to the iPhone screen. The product speaks for itself, and the emotion of the person on the other end is all that matters. Get an iPhone 4 (well, at least two) says the ad, all that nerdy “how?” will fall away and you’ll soon be chatting with people as if they were right in front of you. Speaking face to face — even better than sharing pictures and text via Facebook.
My non-technical, PC using in-laws have never gotten a handle on this video chat stuff, despite the desire. One year’s Christmas present was web cams for all, then a muddle of confusion, since nobody could get past different hardware setups, Windows Messaging logins, we’re on Macs and Windows Messenger doesn’t recognize the iSight, Skype means another login, password, and money, resulting in utter failure.
Meanwhile, my parents got an iMac, and actually figured out how to use the built in iSight. We recently did video chat with my technically savvy brother via Google Chat (which recognizes iSights), to meet a new addition to their family.
And here comes Consumer Reports, and their decision that the iPhone 4 antenna issue is reproducible, and real. They don’t recommend the iPhone 4.
I know my PC in-laws read Consumer Reports, and it’s safe to say they will continue to pass on Macs and iPhone 4s for that matter, despite my occasional comments that Apple might make many things easier.
Meanwhile, I’m getting an iPhone 4, and hope my brother does too (he’s really into his iPad). I could spend months analyzing data, striving for the most informed decision based on the evidence at hand, but sometimes I just follow my heart.