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> Your phone is your personal property. It’s a public expression of who you are and what you stand for. No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use f
by lolsal 9y ago
> Your phone is your personal property. It’s a public expression of who you are and what you stand for.
No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
- feocco 9y agoFair. But, it seems to me that having to choose between Android, iOS, or any other OS is an expression of who you are. For others, there are more properties that express them. /shrug
- _jal 9y agoSo, do tell. What does my choice of an iPhone express about who I am? People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.
- rcthompson 9y agoI think their point is that lots of people customize the appearance of their phones by adding custom cases, stickers, and other decorations to them, and they want to give you a blank slate to do that rather than force you to either accommodate their branding into your expression or cover it up.
- optimuspaul 9y agoIf you are anything like me it says you just want something that works and does the job reliably.
- falcolas 9y agoThat you make enough money to afford a smartphone plan, plus anywhere from $30 to $50 a month to pay for the phone itself, either up front or as part of the contract. That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems) It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores. In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual. It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.
- skrause 9y agoI own an iPhone SE and will continue to do so in the future. - I'm currently buying a new ThinkPad. - I have never owned an Apple TV. My iPhone integrates just fine with my Sony TV. - I have never bought anything in iTunes. - My phone plan costs 10€ per month. Seems like stereotypes aren't that simple.
- falcolas 9y agoSo, you don't have more money than the average person in Europe? Because that's the "stereotype" you're trying to debunk here, the rest are the reasons the stereotype exists. WRT iPhone integrating with Sony TV - how? Not something I've ever heard of before.
- _jal 9y agoAh, so money. And somewhat off. My phone is two generations old, so the amortized per-month cost of the phone is rather lower. Cheap, last-gen macbook Air[1], but no Apple TV. I've bought exactly one album from iTunes, but yes, apps. You've basically caught me mid-migration away from the ecosystem. It takes a while. [1] At this point, the only things keeping me from switching entirely to Linux are backing up the iPhone and running OmniFocus. And when I have time to noodle with it, I'm liking orgmode.
- jhasse 9y agoYou don't care about free software.
- jetpks 9y agoI have an iPhone, and a mac (two actually,) and an AppleTV, and an Apple Watch. There are a pair of beats headphones sitting next to me on the coffee table. Somehow, I still manage to write free software that I care about, release it for free, and contribute to other FOSS projects. Caring about free software doesn't mean I have to use ONLY free software. What you're doing with that argument is called gatekeeping http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gatekeeping http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gatekeeping
- _jal 9y agoThat's pretty much the opposite of reality.
- sidcool 9y agoSeriously, my phone should just work, it is not an expression of anything.
- smichel17 9y agoPlaying devil's advocate, is that not itself a statement of sorts?
- sidcool 9y agoI don't get you
- jfoutz 9y agoA marketing person would say you like simplicity and reliability. You'll probably pay more for something if it has perceived quality above it's peers. Being slightly overbuilt leads to reliability. For example, you have a good chance of wearing boots rather than sneakers, because they can deal with mud puddles or snow or whatever. They cost more, but they are simple and reliable in all environments. You are expressing those values, other people pick up on it. just because you don't cultivate an image, you still have an image.
- petra 9y ago>> Seriously, my phone should just work, it is not an expression of anything. reply It's a statement a large share of poeple would say, so it doesn't mean much.
- epicide 9y agoIt is a statement, but not one that his selection of phone is making. In other words, if he states that's why he got a particular phone, then yes. However, just by having a particular phone, nobody can draw any significant information from it other than he owns a phone. There is always the significant chance that the person did not choose their phone (e.g. work phone).
- amiga-workbench 9y ago
- goialoq 9y agoThat's a public expression of who you are and what you stand for.
- lolsal 9y agoSometimes a cigar is just a cigar. edit to clarify: What statements can you (anyone, not just personally you) make about the expression I'm making with any degree of accuracy or confidence?
- Jarwain 9y agoAt the very least, that you're into cigars. If you were to get this phone, I'd hazard that you're interested in supporting this kind of brand and what it stands for, even if only a small aspect of it.
- lolsal 9y agoYou could hazard that guess, but you could be wrong or at the very best case you're making an assertion that you cannot prove true or false in which case it seems pointless to try to draw further conclusions from it. edit: Actually you could only assert that I have a cigar. I could have purchased it as a gift for someone else, or am currently being asked to transport it, or maybe I found it on the ground... etc. It certainly does not with any certainty make a 'public expression' about me.
- squeaky-clean 9y agoSure, but is it A cigar, or is it YOUR cigar? I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day.
- lolsal 9y ago> I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day. - Maybe it's a work phone and I had no choice in the matter? - Maybe I have a specific requirement (like a specific app I need) which requires a specific platform? - Maybe my preferred phone recently broke and I could only immediately afford the phone in my hand? - Maybe the phone was a gift and I had no say in the matter? There are lots of not-unlikely scenarios like the above which mean any conclusion you might try to draw would have a very low level of accuracy. I'm not interested in defending/participating in your particular evaluation of whatever phone you think I might have, I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless, except for making internal musings and assumptions about me (which you could do about anything).
- idiot900 9y agoThis is a fancy way of saying it's a fashion accessory for many people. Just like clothes, cars, housing, etc. I bought one because the materials seem like they will be nice, and that has value to me.
- ams6110 9y agoThe price certainly supports that point of view. I saw the name "Essential Phone" and was expecting something basic, low-cost, and simple. Instead it's priced at the top end of the market (about 3x what I would ever dream of spending on a phone).
- idiot900 9y agoSeems like they really meant "uncluttered", but "essential" sounds better. Who knows, if it isn't a good phone I will return it and wait for the next Pixel.
- y04nn 9y agoThis quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry fits pretty well here, if there is any french passing by. J'interdis aux marchands de vanter trop leur marchandises. Car ils se font vite pédagogues et t'enseignent comme but ce qui n'est par essence qu'un moyen, et te trompant ainsi sur la route à suivre les voilà bientôt qui te dégradent, car si leur musique est vulgaire ils te fabriquent pour te la vendre une âme vulgaire. Or, s'il est bon que les objets soient fondés pour servir les hommes il serait monstrueux que les hommes fussent fondés pour servir de poubelles aux objets.
- zazpowered 9y agoThat obviously varies by person. Why do you think people get different cases or make modifications to their phones?
- skrause 9y ago> Why do you think people get different cases So that it doesn't break as easily if it falls down? At least that's my reason.
- dschep 9y agoHuh. Looks like that's been updated to: > Devices are your personal property. We won’t force you to have anything you don’t want.
- lolsal 9y agoSorry! I quoted from the homepage of the device (poor use of quote indentation, shame on me): https://www.essential.com https://www.essential.com
- notheguyouthink 9y ago> No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication. I'm curious, wouldn't that imply you're not the demographic they're seeking? So are you basically saying, "I'm not in their demographic"? Or is there another point to your comment that I'm missing. I ask because often I see people get pissy about statements like this, almost as if they think the web page was curated for them. I could make a webpage targeted at guitarists with something like "Your guitar is something you cherish", and clearly that statement isn't true for someone who neither owns a guitar nor plays. So what purpose is a statement like this? I don't make snarky comments at bra commercials on TV about how I don't have breasts and therefor am not concerned with support. Do you (assuming you're male, of course haha)?
- lolsal 9y agoI don't like the marketing appeal to some sort of deep emotional instinct that the advertisement is making. I think it's ridiculous that consumer goods represent who I am and what I might stand for. That's silliness and hyperbole, right? To say that a person's phone choice defines them in any sort of meaningful way is extremely silly to me. This feels similar to something like: "This product stands for freedom! You stand for freedom don't you?" The guitar analogy is not accurate - your statement about cherishing the guitar is evaluated internally and is true or false. It's not the same as saying the guitar publicly and externally (and deliberately!) defines you and what you stand for. "There goes lolsal - now there's a guy that really stands for non-branded personal compute devices!" Give me a break.
- sossles 9y ago> To say that a person's phone choice defines them in any sort of meaningful way is extremely silly to me. For someone buying a mainstream product like a Samsung or Apple phone, I'd agree that it doesn't mean very much. To someone buying a niche product like this though, it definitely says something about the person's values.
- Avshalom 9y agoWho is the demographic they're seeking that wouldn't just wrap it in a case for individuality or buy a phone with branding for name recognition?