

What the iPhone Teaches Us About Happiness - noheartanthony
http://trueslant.com/ryansager/2009/06/18/what-the-iphone-teaches-us-about-happiness/

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msluyter
Yes, experiences trump possessions, but...

I almost think the iPhone might be an exception to this generality. I saw a
t-shirt on Threadless recently that said "My iPhone has totally changed the
way I poop." Or, as I often have said, having an iPhone means never having to
be bored. Whenever I'm in line, waiting at the Dr. Office, etc... I have
something interesting to read at the tips of my fingers, or a game, music, or
whatever.

So perhaps the iPhone takes the edge off of what otherwise might be
dull/unpleasant experiences to such an extent that its overall impact on
happiness is quite high. I, for one, am still hugely attached to my original
2G and feel lost without it.

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ntoshev
I lost my 1st gen iPhone a few weeks ago. Waiting for the 3GS has been quite
an agony - I didn't realize I use it so much in my daily activities. To me the
iPhone is an interface to the collective wisdom of the internet that is always
with me. I feel stupider without it.

To many people the iPhone is just a fashion item. The number one reason I have
heard from my friends for not wanting one is that it is so common: everybody
has one. Well, obviously some of us don't care about this... what surprised me
with the 3GS is that Apple apparently doesn't care too. They didn't change the
appearance of the phone at all, even though that would be an easy and cheap
way to get the more fashion-oriented users to upgrade. Does anyone has an
explanation for this?

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danw
Interesting to see the attachment to the physical object:

 _I love my iPhone. I’d lay down my life for it. If it fell onto the subway
tracks, I’d jump in and grab it — ignoring the posted signs and tempting fate
to strike me down for my worship of a material good. A bright, shiny,
covetable material good._

The iPhone isn't a singular object however, it's an instance of a dataset. The
iPhone gets backed up every time you sync. Drop it on the subway tracks and
it's no trouble. Plug in a new iPhone and restore from backup and you wouldn't
know the difference. Same data. Same icons. Same phone number.

Watching the upgrades to the iPhone 3GS is going to be interesting. It looks
the exact same. The software is essentially the same 3.0 on your old iPhone.
Will people feel ripped off? Will they place less value on the upgrade?

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zacharypinter
I think that's why Apple reserved Voice Control for 3GS. There's no legitimate
technical reason for it not being on the iPhone 3G.

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buymorechuck
I recall someone (possibly John Gruber) saying that there's a dedicated DSP
chip in the 3G S, which would explain why Voice Control is only in that model.

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akeefer
The phenomenon that people tend to adapt to their material circumstances is
generally referred to as "the hedonic treadmill."

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill>

