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March 9, 2008
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iPhone: the New Gateway Drug

I just got an iPhone. I know some of you can’t believe your eyes, but it is true. Since my purchase, I have noticed a strange phenomena. The other day I was flying with a First Officer who also had purchased an iPhone, and he was telling me how it got him so interested in Macs that he went out and bought a MacBook Air; he had been a hard core PC user until then. Our very own Judie, after having an iPhone since December, just got a MacBook Pro. I myself was in the Apple store the other day looking at MacBook’s for the first time in my life!

Gear Diary iPhone: the New Gateway Drug photo

I have seen posts on other blogs of people either having gone Mac, or who are thinking about it since getting an iPhone. Apple may have inadvertently done with a phone what they could never seem to do for decades: How do you switch people married to Windows over to a Mac? Maybe it was just as simple as giving them a phone that actually works with no hiccups. In a way they said, "Look how nice this interface works, you could have this on your desk too!".

I think the iPhone may very well be a gateway to Macs for a lot of people. What do you think?

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About Jerry Raia

View all posts by Jerry Raia
Jerry Raia is a full time Airline Captain when he is not playing with all the latest gadgets he can get his hands on. He is also a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI-AIM). His primary interests are with Smartphones and more recently, Photography. He was a Unix programmer in the 1980s and wrote assembly for HP proprietary handhelds like the HP71B. His interest in handheld devices led to being a beta tester for Windows CE (Pegasus), the first incarnation of the Windows Mobile operating system. He is also a Contributing Editor on Smartphone Thoughts. Jerry’s interest in handheld computing goes all the way back to the HP25 calculator that came out in the mid 1970s and was one of the first programmable calculators.
  • reidme

    That’s a very interesting observation. I can see it making people appreciate how useful “just working” is.

    I remember during the “quality” craze in the 80s watching a video by Tom Peters, author of the classic business book “In Search of Excellence”, where he was giving an example of a company going out of their way to make a quality product. Someone in the audience asked him if they were practicing market segmentation. He replied “Yeah, they’re going after that segment of the market that likes things that work!” :lol:

  • Rico3201

    I’m on my second iMac, my wife is on her second Apple, and we have been very happy using Apple products. I love buying a printer or external hard drive and just connecting it… that’s it! No “installation disk” procedures and all that.

    Remember old phones (home phones, rotary or dial?) You either got one from Ma Bell, or (later) bought one at the store and plugged it in. And used it. Everybody knew how to use a phone. You didn’t need a manual.

    Computers ought to be like that. Techie geeks (like me, sometimes) enjoy figuring out how to solve problems but, really, these gadgets ought to be simple and intuitive. Apple products come close to that for me, which is why I recommended them for my 80 year old parents.

    I would love an iPhone!

  • http://www.geardiary.com Mitchell Oke

    I’ve been showing my dad the MacBook Air over the last few days, and he’s sold ;)

  • Wayne Schulz

    My transition was:

    iPod Touch (after avoiding iPods for many years due to a poor early experience with failing battery life) –> iPhone (which I believe you were indirectly responsible for –> iMac (after seeing the Gateway One which was going to be the same money but just not as many features) -> MacBook Pro.

    I’m currently contemplating a MacBook for my Mom when her Dell fails (which will probably be in another 6 months).

    This weekend I worked to configure a Compaq Presario T2330 (which I’m still elbow deep in removing all sorts of bloatware from).

    Without the iPhone, I don’t think I would have converted to the Mac world (of course the people here played a big role in the conversion as well).

  • Wayne Schulz

    Love the iphone graphic too – do you know something we don’t?

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    I think Jerry downloaded the first iPhone picture he found on Google; he certainly doesn’t have any inside knowledge…or I would make him share. ;-)

  • reidme

    Are you referring to the Flash icon?

  • Pingback: Since You Came For My Opinion » iPhone: the New Gateway Drug

  • danc

    July- “I’ll never get an iPhone”

    August- “This thing is friggin’ amazing but just this one Apple product, no Macs”

    End of August- “I love this MacBook but I’m keepin my Dell”

    Sept. “This 20inch iMac is Awesome!!!”

    Dec. “If you want a laptop Mom I’m getting you a MacBook.”

    Feb. “Glad I got a good price on my MacBook- I love this Air (and eBay”

    Gateway?? Yeah, pretty much… but something tells ME it wasn’t inadvertent at all.

    And I’m never going back…

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    @Mark – yep. ;-)

  • Wayne Schulz

    Danc – I followed that route exactly – and I ripped the iphone via private emails with my consulting buddies for a good 4 months….prior to that I ridiculed my sister’s MAC..

    Then I got an iPod Touch and loved it. Still use it to this day and agree with Mitchell’s assessment that it’s one of the best video players around.

    The out of the box setup and usage experience with iMac and MacBook Pro has been unlike anything I’ve experienced recently…

  • Jerry Raia

    I have to admit I also bashed the iPhone as a nice toy with a very slick interface when it first came out. It looks like it will soon (if not already) be a very serious contender. While I was in the ATT store getting mine, three other people ahead of me bought iPhones. I have never seen that with any phone, except perhaps the RAZR when it first came out.

  • Chris Magnusson

    Alex Kac has said that there will be Pocket Informant for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Ilium have said that there will be iPhone/iPod Touch versions of their products. There is already rudimentary calendar, contact, and email syncing with iPhones and iPod Touches. If a native Tasks app that syncs with Exchange is included with the v2 software, I’m kissing Windows Mobile goodbye. I really, really hate to say it, but it’s true.

    The only concern I have is, if I get a Mac and move all my data over to it, will I be able to sync my music (exclusively MP3 but for one AAC track) over to my three iPods, since they’re all Windows formatted?

  • danc

    The “worst” thing about it wasn’t having to eat all my words (Wayne- “ripped” is accurate but too gentle for describing my initial comments about the iPhone) no, it was my wife turning to me when I walked in with one and saying “Well that took a bit longer than I expected.” :)

  • http://wonderdawg777.blogspot.com/ Kerry Woo

    Last week, I was at a conference (I don’t recall the context) when a speaker asked the audience, “How many people here own a Mac?” Hands shot up among the 300 present. “OK, if I give you $2000 to buy another Mac, who would do it?” Virtually the same amount of hands went up. The question was asked of Dell’s with the $2000 offer. Not many takers in the audience. The speaker went on to comment that people don’t buy Apples because they have a great spreadsheet or word processor… it’s because Apple has become so customer centric that they are “empathy arrogant”.

    I like that phrase “empathy arrogant”.

    The stuff just works and they are so it touch with the needs of their customer base. The Apple store, documentation, support, packaging… I still have all of my packaging and Apple disks from 1984… Seeing my wife take to the Apple iMac and especially the iPod touch only proves the point that they know how to provide a great consumer experience that other companies should emulate.

  • Chris Magnusson

    Oh. My. Gawd. You just made my year!

    Actually two, as there’s still two years left on the warranty for my (somewhat Mac-like imo) XPS M1210.

  • reidme

    @Chris, You may have to hard reset the iPods, but they will work.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Mitchell Oke

    My dad is pretty much convinced of ditching his M1210 for the Air ;)

  • http://www.justanothermobilemonday.com patrickj

    I’m in this club too, just not a fully paid-up member yet as I haven’t found a way to beg, borrow, or steal enough to get a Mac – but am determined to find a way. Since switching to the iPhone I find myself increasing a trend towards online and / or cross-platform apps – Gmail, Remember The Milk, Evernote etc. – partly in hope of easing a future transition …

  • Wayne Schulz

    @Chris – there may be more than a reset required if you want to also transfer your music.

    I’ve never migrated an iPod from Windows and MAC – but found a few resources.

    First, from a quick reading it sounds as if the only solidly supported way to do this is to backup your iTunes library from Windows to CD/DVD and restore it to MAC.

    This appears to preserve all your playlists and ratings – as well as music.

    There is a slightly more complex way of doing this documented over at LifeHacker – which does not require a bunch of CD/DVDs for copying large iTunes libraries:

    http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/geek-to-live–how-to-move-an-itunes-library-from-a-pc-to-mac-and-back-242468.php

    There’s a thread in the Apple Support forums dealing with a similar question. In it there are links to 3rd party software which may allow you to copy the files directly off your iPod.

    There is a lot more discussion on the Apple forums about this topic.

    Here’s a pretty good thread on the overall process:

    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1301923&tstart=75

    Remember to de-authorize your Windows machine (as per the above thread) when this is all done.

    Also, iTunes is funny about copying stuff that you did not buy (license) through iTunes – and you may need to use third party software (sadly) to copy your own non-purchased mp3s off the iPod.

  • David Goodspeed

    For someone seriously considering going in the opposite direction of the theme of this thread (suckled on a mac and have never looked back):
    what will iphone do and what won’t it do?
    I am hoping it is the new killer ap, or soon will be in new version.
    I need a handheld device that:
    works as a phone,
    works as a digital still camera,
    shoots video clips,
    will record digital audio via internal/external mic,
    read and answer email,
    won’t kill be with the eventual “mac taxes” their computers are known for.
    Can it be done?