Apple iPhone: a mugger’s dream

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007

Apple has announced the iPhone. I want one. But I doubt I will be able to afford one. No news yet on price. What’s the betting it’s going to be around £499? Anyone else care to guess?

I’m a slut for technology. Not all technology, though. It has to be genuinely useful and it has to look good if you’re going to be carrying it around (which is why Microsoft’s Zune has no appeal for me whatsoever).

The iPhone is going to be the number one glittering prize for magpie muggers the world over. It is also going to immediately become the must-have accessory of 2007. Anyone into R&B and hip-hop will, however, likely lament the fact that it won’t be available in gold – but no doubt a bling version will come out in time, or people will pimp their iPhones and showcase their customisations online. Kind of like the fluffy iBook only, um, nothing like that at all.

Those of us with iPods are well aware that the iconic white headphones are a dead giveaway that somewhere on your person lurks a device that is expensive, attractive and relatively easy to steal. I feel more secure in the winter months because my iPod Shuffle hooks onto my jeans and is well-hidden under layers of clothing. If I’m using my iPod Photo, it’s kept in an inside coat pocket. In warmer months, though, iPods of all kinds become a lot more visible as people ditch jumpers and jackets and walk around in tee-shirts with the shiny desirables more often than not clearly on display and far easier to snatch and run with.

I suspect that this year, now I have the Shuffle, I’ll use that more than the bigger iPod in June, July and August as it’s so incredibly tiny I will be able to bury it deep inside a pocket. It’s not so easy to do that with the Shuffle’s big brothers in all their variations.

But the iPhone? It looks like it will be quite large. I’ve never wanted a PDA phone before, for the simple reason a basic requirement in buying a mobile phone for me is that I can fit it into my pocket without looking like I’m pleased to see everyone I meet. That plus the idea of holding a large brick to my head, albeit an aesthetically attractive one, has always lacked appeal. Until now.

So why am I finding the iPhone so desirable, despite all the above? Well, it’s Apple. It’s cool geek chic. It combines everything I use on the move into one device… But most of all, I really, really, really want one because I know I can’t afford to buy one. This simple fact annoys me. Where there was no need, need is created. Or at least desire. Grr. Wow. Grr.

categories: all wired up