What kind of statement does the iPhone make?

[Virgil-TB2]

What kind an impression do iPhone users make on the public? iPhone owners, go ahead and guess, non iPhone owners tell us what you think.

1. I got money b*tches, M-O-N-E-Y!
2. I'm too sexy for my iphone to sexy for my iphone
3. I'm a somewhat vein, anti-social geek with money to burn. come beat me up
4. Other [please post]

Thanks

Well, your choices are funny, but I could easily make about ten others that you didn't include.

At root, your choices (and most any that I can think of), boil down to two things:

1) I am rich
2) I am "with it"/fashionable/cool

This is what the iPhone "says" IMO (both of these)

.

 

[wonderbread57]

Well, your choices are funny, but I could easily make about ten others that you didn't include.

At root, your choices (and most any that I can think of), boil down to two things:

1) I am rich
2) I am "with it"/fashionable/cool

This is what the iPhone "says" IMO (both of these)

.

But it is more like "fo" rich. It's not a high luxury item like a rolex or import sedan. Maybe the pretentiousness of the iPhone with regard to money is that it is so very middle class and up. AKA the "Yuppy" factor.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

I really don't get how this phone says you're rich... Does the TomTom portable GPS in my car scream the same? It cost more than my phone.

I payed the $399 for the 8 gig which is a bit steep for a phone but well worth it. Who's to say I didn't get it as a gift? And I pay the same amount on my monthly bill than I did pre-iPhone.

So in the end I'd say it's statement is something like ""I liked the style and functionality of the phone, so I saved up for a couple weeks and payed for one."

 

[queshy]

In fact, studies have shown that an iPhone can make you look 30% cooler.

 

[ikare]

It says I want email and web access on the go and I always take my iPod, so you might as well put it all on my phone so I won't have to go back in the house when I realize that I've forgotten one of them (which I always used to do).

It also says I'm cool

Lol, couldn't have said it better...

 

[MultiFinder17]

Mine says I enjoy having a Unix workstation in my pocket, that I'm a happy Apple whore, and that I like having quality products that do what I need them to do

 

[Mikey B]

i think the "i have a lot of money" issue is not nearly as relevant with the 3G as it was with the 1st gen.

for me, it just says that i am an iWhore. and i am...

 

[someguy7014]

it says that its my homie....


"Ring ring with the iPhone it was my homie!"

Lupe!

 

[CharQuake]

if you have a white one it means you're a woman or a gay otherwise having an iPhone means you have the best phone around and everyone around you wants one

 

[macpluslaptop]

It says it's Apple's world, I just live in it.

Actually ipods are just as expensive now, mostly, and no one thinks twice about them. Though my niece has had two ipods stolen in the last 6 months, so thieves are stepping up. This theft problem may be Apple's equivalent to PC viruses; you just have to hope it won't happen to you, but it probably will at some point.

 

[wonderbread57]

It says it's Apple's world, I just live in it.

Actually ipods are just as expensive now, mostly, and no one thinks twice about them.

Ipods def aren't a money status symbol but listening to your ipod in public will get you noticed. Especially if you are a young professional walking around town in a crowd with your white apple ear buds in. Something about that says "DO NOT DISTURB" and "I would rather tune you out then hear that car comin.. *splat*".

 

[Sweetbike40]

I guess the three you listed are targeted for a different type of person completely. I couldn't relate to any of those answers. I'd say it says i like new technology. I love new toys. It states i'm a bit addicted to email and internet access.

 

[Twenty5]

I hate having to carry my personal phone for calls, my work pda for email, and my ipod for music. Now I can get it all in 1 phone...

Music, E-mail, Calendar, Contacts, Internet all at the touch of my fingertips...

Oh and it screams, "I'm better than you..."

Exactly. Thumbs Up.

 

[macfearless]

I've definitely found that in my area it's mostly an "oh sh*t, I'm cool now" thing. Now that doesn't go for everyone, just the sudden thriving hipster population that suddenly sprang up in my town (note: and this only really happened when we got an urban outfitters, oooh). I mean to walk around in jeans so tight that people are impressed that you can walk; wear shirts that look like you took them from a 5 year old; and have enough grease in your hair to be a fire hazard if you're near an open flame, having an iPhone only ups your scene points. These people make me laugh... sometimes out loud

 

[lamadude]

Where I live iPhones cost over 800$ (525 euros) but I bought a second hand iphone 2G when I was in the US for 150$. So people will think I want to show off and that I'm insane to spend so much money on a phone, when that's not the case at all.

 

[pj rage]

Ipods def aren't a money status symbol but listening to your ipod in public will get you noticed. Especially if you are a young professional walking around town in a crowd with your white apple ear buds in. Something about that says "DO NOT DISTURB" and "I would rather tune you out then hear that car comin.. *splat*".

Yeah, something about people wearing their ipod headphones EVERYWHERE just bothers me, and I definitely notice them. I can totally see doing it on the bus ride, metro ride, plane ride, etc, but people wear them walking down the street, in the car (while driving!!), in stores, etc. These people seem to make the statement "I wish I was somewhere else, I hate being in situations where I might have to interact with other people, so being in my own world here makes this more bearable." I'd venture to guess that these people are definitely not the most outgoing bunch.

And I know I'm definitely very quickly becoming part of the minority here, but I think this bothers me for the same reason that people talking almost exclusively online and using myspace and facebook etc instead of meeting/interacting with people in real life bothers me. People are doing everything they can it seems to avoid interacting with other people in real life, and the headphone everywhere people are just an example of that. And I don't mean to say that everyone who listens to their headphones everywhere are definitely anti-social, because surely there are tons of exceptions.

But enough off topic - to each their own, I shouldn't judge

 

[Small White Car]

I really don't get how this phone says you're rich...

My wife's entire extended family lives in another state from us in a very rural area. They're nice people. We visit them twice a year.

There is no way a single one of them would ever get an iPhone. They could afford it if they really wanted one, but it would be very irresponsible for them to do so. They drive an hour to the town to go to 'Olive Garden' on special occations. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year. That's a big deal for them. Buying an iPhone AT&T plan would mean cutting back on other essential items, which would be a bad choice on their part.

Yes, you are rich. I am also rich. You don't understand this until you get out of your community and travel a bit. Then it becomes very clear.

 

[Auzburner]

Perfection.

I would call myself a geeky, but also very social. Also I had money to spend. I found the iPhone a perfect fit for me. I was always carrying my iPod Video, BB Pearl AT&T cell phone and sometimes my MacBook for internet browsing when bored in school. The iPhone fit my lifestyle and usage perfectly combining ALL 3 devises in ONE! It was PERFECT, and it just happened to come from Apple

 

[Auzburner]

My wife's entire extended family lives in another state from us in a very rural area. They're nice people. We visit them twice a year.

There is no way a single one of them would ever get an iPhone. They could afford it if they really wanted one, but it would be very irresponsible for them to do so. They drive an hour to the town to go to 'Olive Garden' on special occations. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year. That's a big deal for them. Buying an iPhone AT&T plan would mean cutting back on other essential items, which would be a bad choice on their part.

Yes, you are rich. I am also rich. You don't understand this until you get out of your community and travel a bit. Then it becomes very clear.

Exactly right! My grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles - almost my entire family on my fathers side are the same. They visit my area once every couple of months to go to Olive Garden for a "treat". Kinda funny, but true and realistic for many people. iPhone is the last thing on their minds - Most of them are unaware of its existence besides the brief news story on its launch and hype. And they say to me "Oh, you have one of those cool little toys"... Toy... haha

 

[pj rage]

My wife's entire extended family lives in another state from us in a very rural area. They're nice people. We visit them twice a year.

There is no way a single one of them would ever get an iPhone. They could afford it if they really wanted one, but it would be very irresponsible for them to do so. They drive an hour to the town to go to 'Olive Garden' on special occations. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year. That's a big deal for them. Buying an iPhone AT&T plan would mean cutting back on other essential items, which would be a bad choice on their part.

Yes, you are rich. I am also rich. You don't understand this until you get out of your community and travel a bit. Then it becomes very clear.

There are also plenty of people who's decision to purchase an iphone and data plan could be considered financially irresponsible, but they do it anyway. Are these people also rich? If your wife's family made the irresponsible decision of buying an iphone and cutting back other essential items, should someone who saw them with it out at olive garden make the assumption that they are rich?

I see where you are coming from, but I don't think having an iphone makes you "rich," or is really any indication of your monetary status, other than to say that you have good enough credit that AT&T sold and activated a phone for you. There may be other indicators about a person with an iphone that would further support the idea that they *could* be "rich," as you say, such as the clothing and accessories they wear or the car they drive, but the iphone alone, to me, isn't an indication of much of anything. So they spent a little more on their phone than the next guy. Big deal. Who knows what they cut out of their budget to buy it. There are plenty of people out there with money coming out of their ears who just use the "free" cellphones because they just couldn't care less about what their cell phone can do besides make phone calls. That doesn't mean they aren't "rich."

It's not like we are talking about affording a Lamborghini vs a Honda civic here. You HAVE to be "rich" to buy a Lamborghini, but you don't have to be "rich" to buy a $200 phone. If it was a $1500 phone, and everyone knew it, then yeah, it would definitely make the statement "I have money!"

Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that an iphone doesn't make any more of a statement about money than just the fact that you are able to afford the luxury of a cell phone in the first place. If you want to argue that having a cell phone AT ALL is a luxury and therefore makes you "rich," then I would probably have to agree.