Taylor Balkom: Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event started in typical fashion, showing how much it is currently and will be kicking its competition’s ass.
OS X Lion has managed to sell 6 million copies since its launch in July. It took 20 weeks for Windows 7 to hit 10 percent of Window’s install base — it took Lion two weeks. Apple’s Mac platform has grown by 23 percent in the last year. PC has only grown four. Apple is quickly approaching 60 million users across the globe, and has grabbed close to a quarter of the market share as of August 2011.
In the portable music player market, the iPod owns a 78 percent market share, selling more than 300 million players since 2001. The iPad is also dominating the tablet market, making up 74 percent of all tablets sold. There are officially more than 250 million iOS devices on the market today.
Adam Arinder: While that’s all fine and dandy, at the end of the day, Apple continues to be Apple.
The company, which thrives on the herd mentality, will be making a killing later this month without having to do any real work. Upgrade a few things, convince millions to buy it, make money — sounds like a great business strategy to me. However, Tim Cook just didn’t bring the same energy to the keynote as former CEO Steve Jobs and his turtleneck did.
Jobs was a brilliant marketer and could sell water to a fish. He made Apple what it is today, one hyperbole and overpriced iThing at a time. This keynote was much bigger than an iPhone event. It showed an underlying theme in the direction I see Apple going in the future. And if you’re an Apple follower, things aren’t looking too bright.
Taylor: Hey, settle down now. One conference doesn’t mean the ship is sinking. Cook did what he was supposed to do: not screw up. No one will ever be able to replace the magic of a Jobs keynote, and we know that. But I can guarantee Jobs handed Cook a white leatherbound book containing the next four versions of the iPhone and everything he needed to know. Cook just isn’t used to running the ship yet. For now, small updates to a great design are all they need.
Jobs trusts Cook to continue making Apple great — he wouldn’t have hired him otherwise.
Adam: While Apple has made a killing with all of its iDevices, the main reason people flocked to Apple’s main headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. — as well as crashing multiple websites online — was to see the unveiling of the new iPhone. With rumors swirling around the net based on speculation as well as the “lost” prototype from earlier this summer, everyone was itching for the illustrious iPhone 5.
You’d think after nearly a year and a half since the release of the iPhone 4, Apple would have something “magical” and “revolutionary” planned for all of its followers. Unfortunately for Apple fans everywhere, the house that Jobs built unveiled nothing but disappointment.
Taylor: To the disappointment of myself and Apple fans everywhere, all we got was the iPhone 4S — the same design we know and love with a faster processor, better graphics, new camera and crazy voice-recognition app, Siri.
Adam: But, Taylor, how could you forget about Apple’s new main moneymaker app, Cards? After the newly appointed Cook spoke his piece, Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall took the stage to talk about Cards. Joining the Apple app powerhouse of iMovie and GarageBand, Cards will allow all iPhone users to create greetings cards to mail to their loved ones.
Suck it, Hallmark.
I jest. Cards is a cute gimmick, but Forstall’s main contribution to the keynote is the introducing the world to iOS 5. The new slick operating system for all iDevices launches on October 12 boasting many features already available on other platforms. A new drop-down notification system a la Google’s Android. A new messaging system called iMessage — allowing users of any iOS device to quickly communicate to each other — similar to BlackBerry’s BBM. Finally, a deeper Twitter integration rounds out some of the key features promoted by Forstall for iOS 5.
Taylor: Like Steve Jobs once said, Apple may not be the first at doing something, but it does it the best.
Adam: No more Jobs hyperboles, please. He’s gone — it’s Cook’s show now. But if Apple is the “best” at making things, the company may have surpassed Facebook as providing easy tools to stalk your friends.
Taylor: Oh yes, we couldn’t forget about Find My Friends. Instead of “checking in” to places on Facebook, you can easily see the locations of iPhone owners who have opted to use the service. While this may seem like just another way to stalk, it’s actually pretty useful if you get separated from a group. Imagine you’re at a festival of some sort and you go to the restroom. Instead of calling your friends to find out their location, just open the app and you can see them on Google Maps.
Adam: Creepy, yet effective. However, not as creepy as Apple’s main highlight of the keynote — a voice-recognition application called Siri. How about you discuss Siri, Taylor?
Taylor: “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Adam.”
Siri will inevitably kill you, much like the self-aware computer HAL9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” But until then, it’s a pretty advanced voice-command application. You can ask things like “How’s the weather?” and get weather stats pulled up on your phone. Even cooler, you can simply ask “Do I need an umbrella for today?” and Siri will answer whether or not it’s raining. It can also do dictation, and take commands like “Wake me up tomorrow at 6 a.m.” or “Remind me to call Rodger tomorrow.”
Adam: While Siri is an impressive piece of tech, the overall iPhone keynote was a huge letdown. The jump from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4 truly was a huge technological advancement in terms of hardware and software.
Unfortunately, the jump from the 4 to the 4S is insignificant. The only changes, as Taylor mentioned, are an improved camera and a faster processor. Apple spent too much time showing Siri off to try and convince people this new phone is relevant and should be bought.
However, with few improvements it should be just left on store shelves — especially if you already have an iPhone 4.
Taylor: I wouldn’t suggest paying an early-termination fee to upgrade from the iPhone 4 to the 4S, but if you’re still running on a 3GS, I would definitely switch. Everyone was hoping for the iPhone 5, but Apple is sticking to the design of the 4, which is not a bad thing.
The phone is simply gorgeous, even if it’s prone to more cracked glass than other phones. There’s an old saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And the iPhone 4’s design definitely isn’t broken. Apple gave its baby a zippier processor, a phenomenal camera and crazy voice-recognition software, which is plenty enough for me.
Adam Arinder is a 22-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
Taylor Balkom is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @taybalkom.
 
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