Response to iPhone Release

With the release of the new iPhone yesterday (Jan, '07), I have been given cause to reflect about impacts on techno-literacy practices, due to its revolutionary new interface. Not only does it look really cool - sleek, uncomplicated - (on that basis alone I have decided that I WANT ONE!) but the interface is so different from all that has gone before it, that as stated in the media: "...the iPhone appears poised to revolutionise the way mobile phones are designed and sold." (The Age, Jan 10)

The first thing that I thought about when I saw the new design was how the input method was more like a computer than a mobile phone. Now I havn't used a Mac extensively since high school (at least 1995), but remember how menus were accessed, drag-and-drop features, and 'windows' well before I ever logged onto a PC. Features such as the ability to use a QWERTY keyboard, access internet sites and zoom in, listen to music and watch videos, send email and SMS, all point to this 'phone' being more of a mini-computer than a mobile phone, a shift in thinking that Marc Prensky has been calling for for a number of years (Prensky, 2004). When watching footage of the iPhone release, this was one of the features that struck me.

Another feature of the iPhone that seems really fresh is the fact that menus and features are accessed through an 'icon' interface. Whilst this feature has been common on many smartphones for a number of years, one still had to use the keypad or navigation buttons to scroll through and make selections. It is here, with the touch screen that the truely ground-breaking innovation of the iPhone comes into its own. The 'dislocation' between accessing phone features through clicking keys that correspond to a selection on the screen, is substantially diminished by being able to simply point to what you want on the screen itself. It seems to be a difference like that between handwriting and typing; which feels more human and 'tactile'?

I even found a website/blog where possible designs for the upcoming iPhone were displayed (http://appleiphone.blogspot.com/). It is interesting to note how a lot of the predictions subscribed to typical mobile phone or iPod design features (including keypads, navagation wheels, etc). And then there are some just plain 'far-out' designs. It is interesting to note though, that the touch-screen nature of the iPhone moves it dramatically away from previous model smartphones, making it closer to a PDA that you accessed with one of those 'stylus-pen' things. But here you get to just use your finger - point at what you want and it supposedly happens. I suppose it still remains to be seen what kinds of difficulties this touch screen producers

It also remains to be seen what effect this new design will have on individual dispositions with regard to communication. How will the 'apparant' easy of use of the iPhone influence dispositions towards modal selection for semiotically based activities? This is the area that really interests me. I have no doubt that the iPhone will take off extremely quickly - there is already the ready-made iPod market who will jump at this new device as a kind of 'up-grade' - but there will also be a large proportion of individuals that will be attracted to the iPhone due to its innovative design and features (not to mention the 'huge' screen size by comparison to other model phones!).

The effect of this interface design on the choices people make about everyday literacy events involved in communication and information retrieval/dissemination is of course a completely untested and unknown area. Sure, reading pathways will be somewhat limited (as with all phones) by those linkages laid down in the design of the product, however the ability of this device to access a wide range of internet sites opens up the possibilities for hypertext practices on the move in a very real manner. How will this ability to access a wide range of information sources at 'anytime' (take this idea with a pinch of salt of course) influence the decisions we make in everyday practice?

Will the apparent ease-of-use of the new interface have an impact on dispositions towards communication modes when using the iPhone? With the ability to use a QWERTY keyboard change the nature of SMS? Will the ability to send emails as easily spell the death of SMS to some extent? Will there be an impact on our dispositions towards making a phone call as opposed to 'txting' someone? Will the larger screen result in more extensive 'txt' messages or an increase in MMSing?

If the iPhone is taken up with as much enthusiasm as the iPod, what will be the results for the rest of the mobile phone market? With this device acting more like a mini-computer and presenting a functional convergence of technologies, a new expectation has just been set for the mobile technology market generally! I can't wait to see the response of other companies like Samsung, Sony-Ericsson, Motorola, etc., just as they responded to the iPod with their own portable music and media players. It is curious that Apple has called it an 'iPhone', when clearly the 'phone' is just one feature of many. The need to reconceptualise what we mean by a mobile phone or cellphone (or whatever other term is used), is clearly demonstrated with this new release.

It may be cliche to say: but the iPhone has set a new bar for mobile technology design, in terms of features, interface and design. The impact of these technologies on the literate practices of individuals in their everyday lives is of course yet to be seen or tested (in fact, the same could be said for most mobile technologies today in any case). I for one, am excited by this new release, this new innovation. Watching the impact across society and individuals should prove a far more interesting show than anything you could download and watch on it.


References

"Apple looks to reinvent itself." (2007, January 10) The Age.
Accessed on 11 January, 2007 from: http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/apple-looks-to-reinvent-itself/2007/01/10/1168105032307.html

Prensky, M. (2004). "What can you learn from a cell phone? - Almost anything!" Innovate!, 1(5). Accessed on 11 January, 2007 from: www.marcprensky.com/writing/

Vardarova, O. (2004). "iPhone Concept Blog." Retrieved 11 January, 2007 from: http://appleiphone.blogspot.com/

A Mobile Blog

This will b short - using this keypad is unfamiliar & I am not sure bout the memory. Small screen compresses web pages & difficult read. Find myself 'squeezing' language & expression - acronymy. Seems to have worked, albeit brief. Wonder if this site was set up 2 allow 4 this? Cheers!

The blog above was written and saved via mobile phone. A number of limitations imposed upon the format by the technology itself - including small screen size, memory capacity and battery life (among others) - had a clear impact upon the language used.

Pre-Mobile Blogging

I am about to attempt something new, at least for myself - blogging via my mobile phone. I am aware of the LifeBlog software developed by Nokia, but I don’t have this program, and want to experiment with an authentic, real-life situation: accessing an established blog via a mobile technology.

I expect problems. My phone - a Samsung E730 - accesses web content via GPRS. I know that this is somewhat like a verson of WAP language, which will only serve to exacerbate translation changes from HTTP format used for PC. Therefore, some of the problems I expect will relate to the specific device that I am using: problems with translation, display of images, sounds. Also ruled out would be accessing web pages with a large format, size or complex content, due to download times.

I am however, also expecting changes in the literacy practices I deploy in typing a blog on a mobile phone. Not only is the input method (phone key-pad) not something I am especially adept at, but the small size of the screen may also effect the manner in which I express/explain my opinions. The difficulty in scrolling and reviewing all that has been written is no mere flick of they eye further up the page, but instead requires a good deal of sorting through information more delicately perhaps than on a computer or in hard copy.

The web page may not display properly, or I may be unable to access the correct menus to enter the blog writing section. This is all experimental, for although I was able to access some of the website on my mobile phone last night, I came up against a problem when I couldn’t remember the password (which I had not changed to one I could remember), thus necessitating me having to go to the computer to check my email - this feature being unavailable on my phone.

As regards situational considerations: I am purposefully NOT selecting a specific time or place to try this little experiment out. The very essence of mobile technologies is that they can be used anywhere, anytime (Levinson, Cellphone, 2003). As such, it is important for the authenticity of this work, that the blog be completed in an indeterminate, as yet unplanned context. How this will effect the easy of use of the technology and the nature and quality of the blog, is yet to be seen.

I do not know if this pre-writing before mobile blogging will help, or if I have even covered all the areas that will impact on my literacy practices. I guess the only way to find out is to try: I will then reflect on the both the event of mobile blogging (including texts-in-the-making) as well as the artifact created (the mobile blog).

Let’s just hope that I can even access the site, or all this babbling will have come to naught!