An Apple A Day

Apple, Inc. announced last week the newest addition to the line of iPod family. It's called the iPhone. It combines all the features of an Internet ready cell phone, and iPod into one handy little gizmo.

Apple, Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs unveilved the new iPhone. Jobs is a gazillionaire at this point in his life. According to Forbes.com his net worth is approximately $4.9 billion. But, who's counting?

What has made this man so wealthy? Let's take a look. A computer animation company that Jobs bought in the mid 1980's for $5 million was purchased last year by Disney for $7.4 billion. You may know it as Pixar, the company responsible for Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Cars. Then there's Apple. If there's technology in the world, it seems as though Steve Jobs can put and "i" in front of it and it will sell. iMac, iBook, iPod.

But what about the newest iPhone? With a heavy price tag of $500 for the 4GB or $600 for the 8GB, is it worth having a combo iPod/cell phone? Jobs has been pushing the notion that the cost of an iPhone would be less than if an individual purchased a "smart phone" and and iPod separately. But, it may prove difficult to convince some consumers.

Some states have already been denied iPhones simply because of their location. The Boston Globe reported today that Apple, Inc. has an exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T Cingular Wireless. "The iPhone service won't be available in all or large portions of Alaska, Colorado, the Dakotas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, upstate New York, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming, among other places."

My Opinion: Is this really necessary? Am I gonna have to go on another gadget rant like I did with the PS3? *sigh* I suppose so. Why does anyone need to spend $500+ on an iPhone? I have an iPod, and I love it. I just got a new cell phone for Christmas. They're both great. But I can guarantee you they didn't cost $500 combined. It just seems so superfluous to me. I know of many more things I could use $500 dollars on; textbooks, rent, tuition, bills. Who is this thing supposed to be geared towards? Several older people don't use technology as often as young people, and a majority of young people; college students can't afford it.

Now, Bill Gates is frantically trying to get people to buy Microsoft's "Zune" and Steve Jobs sleeps on a bed of money.

In the meantime, I'll sleep better at night with my iPod, cell phone on the desk and an extra $500 in my checking account.