I like to take a minute every once in a while to put things into perspective. Realize things that were fantasy just a few years ago that fit in our pockets today.
That is no more true than with today’s focus. iphone. The little microchip doodad taking the world by storm. This is a process that goes on in my head on a regular basis. A “this is the future” mindset, even though we completely got gipped on the flying car thing. (I’m looking at you Back to the Future 2. You still got 7 years to prove me wrong) This was brought even more to my attention as I watched “Batman Tech” on History Channel Sunday with my brother. They discussed Batman’s ability to take real technologies and make them small. I don’t know how many times they flashed the iphone.
I’ve always done this in a progressive manner. Just two years ago, I was playing Doom RPG on my cell phone. A regular cell phone. While it wasn’t a full fledged Doom game, it was comparable, graphically. So in my hand was something as powerful as, if not more so than that old 486DX-33 computer that filled a computer desk and cost $3,000+ in 1993 when I was introduced full fledged into the world of computers.
The iphone does this even more so. We are talking, especially with the latest update and App Store, a device that fits in my hand, that I can almost replace my laptop with. I can aptly surf the internet, anywhere. (except my dad’s house.)
Of course, with me, I’m a video gamer. So a nice bonus to this was the arrival of gaming on the iphone. Sega is involved. You’ve arrived when the likes of the Sonic guys, Vivendi, and even id Software’s own John Carmack step up with new games, new announcements, and quotes ranging from the iphone being comparable in power to the Sega Dreamcast, to Carmack claiming power reaching that of Playstation 2 and Xbox. The greatest catch, to me, is that people have had this powerful hardware for a full year before being able to even know it was there. I’ve played Super Monkey Ball (but haven’t on the console, in full disclosure). This seems like real gaming on a phone. There are only a handful of real games, mostly racing, Wii ports, and Monkeys, but the real stuff is coming.
So now I am constatnly attached to everything that involves my tech-centric life. I can sit on the train and check my email on the way to work, while listening to some music, checking my morning twitters, and switch up to a video podcast or Super Monkey Ball. One of the Mayhemers tonight told me “It’s not a phone, it’s a life style changing device.” So true.
Next, I might tackle the internet in general.