Bananas or Apples?

I seem to be faced almost everyday with silly discussions of Apple vs. Google or why Android is better or… why bananas are better than apples.

And because I feel strongly about my convictions, I can’t help myself from getting involved. Then, when I calm down, talking to my inner voice of reason I remind myself what this whole thing with Apple products is: a personal preference based on personal experiences.

Thus, for anyone concerned, I will write here about my history with Apple and why I (still) choose their products over the green fellow’s.

History

The year is 2008; I’m in Moscow of all places, attending an interview with a big software company(for a different location, not for the Russian Federation, eww!); I meet two other fellow Romanians there. Both are tech guys, both are interviewing for the same position. One of them had an iPhone (1)!…

Now, at the time I knew about OS X, I knew about hacking it – I was quite enamored with Apple’s OS that had been so inaccessible to me. They had made the switch to the x86 architecture and there were all these guides all over the Internet on how to get OS X Tiger and Leopard on your PC. It was all very fascinating to me.

And yet it seems I was living under a rock when it came to mobile technology. I was aware that some people had Blackberries and that there were Windows CE devices out there…

To me the iPhone seemed like the single most amazing piece of tech packed into a phone I had ever seen, I was simply blown away by it’s user interface and features(it had google maps! and GPS! and a real browser!). At the time the iPhone was really only available in the US and this guy had gotten it from a friend in the States.

Less then a year later, the iPhone 3G was introduced for the first time in my home country as well. I had to have one and I did. The AppStore was already live and there were tons of apps to try at the time. For a month at least I think I installed all the apps I could get my hands on…

It’s back in those days that the saying “There’s an app for that” started catching. I faced my fair share of ridicule at the time for being so attached to my iPhone.

There’s something you need to know about me to understand my special connection with that iPhone: my mind wonders, runs, sprints; it never stands still – I have many questions and so few answers – so the possibility of having google search with me all the time was just amazing to me. I think no other device changed the way I am or impacted my personality like the iPhone…

Today

Years passed and the Android is gathering a stronger following. But to me,  they were late to the party. Sure, Android has features that Apple will never allow but in the end to me it’s about that personal connection that I have established. If I was 18 today, yes, I might have picked up an Android because it was cheaper and it had more options. But as it is, I am already invested emotionally and yes, financially, in another platform.

To me the iPhone is that “bicycle for the mind” for when you are out and about and you can’t access your “mainframe”.

What It’s Not Anymore

There are a few things that have obviously changed over the years.

I come from a poor country where access to technology has never been equal nor fair. We have on of the highest illiteracy levels in Europe. Also, we are a country where there are stark differences between the regular people and the wealthy ones. I am not wealthy but I invest every dime I have in technology.  I always have.

As such the iPhone has become associated with rich spoiled assholes that ruin out society. There are a few real reasons for that: they can easily afford it and it’s a social status thing for them. Even if they only really needed a phone to talk trash on. They get it because it’s “the thing to have”. There’s nothing I can do about that – so do my best to ignore this aspect.

When I originally heard about the iPhone it seemed like this thing designed for techies, people who had a hyper active mind like mine but in time it became this accessory… It seems that whether they need it or not, everyone needs to have a smartphone. Don’t get me wrong – it is a wonderful tool that can do a lot for you – if you are willing to learn how to use it.

So the plan is that next time anyone starts messing with me about being a “fanboy” or telling me how Android is the best thing to ever happen to mobile devices I will just link them this article.

Sounds like a plan?

And P.S. you should never judge so harshly people’s choices until you really understand them. Humm… I still stand by my rich assholes theory from a few paragraphs up.