First of all I have no idea what an iPhone is. I understand the Phone bit but why the "i" bit?

Why is Phone capitalized and i in lower case? Is it an intelligent phone or a phone for idiots?

Nonetheless I was impressed by the story of a missing iPhone and how it was found. Here is a link to an article in the New York Times about an iPhone which went astray.

 

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/where-is-david-pogues-phone/?hp

Aha! I may not know much about computers and nothing about smart phones, but this I think I do know. It's a branding symbol first used by Apple when it brought out the iMac in the late 1990s. This was, the marketers announced, the first desktop that made it easy to access the internet. So 'i' stands for internet. But, of course, the marketers then added more 'i's - including individual and inspiration. Now the 'i' family includes iPhones, iPads, iPhoto, iStudio, iLife . . .

 

The reason I know is that I bought one of those computers specifically to get on to the internet which I had never accessed previously. The worldwide marketing campaign was exceedingly simple. "Get on to the internet in three easy steps. Step One - Plug In. Step Two - Switch On. Step 3 - oops, there is no Step 3. Enjoy the Internet."

 

When my computer was delivered, that is precisely what I did. And no internet! I tried for days, ploughing through the manual and trying to assure myself I was missing something. Of course, what the advertising did not say was - First, sign a deal with an internet provider! I really did feel that was misleading advertising, even though I loved the computer.

Maybe many years from now people will make the occasionl discovery of a 'crude contraption' found buried in the back gardens of old houses. "What the hell is this junk?" they might ask themselves. I guess owners of those things decided when times got a bit turbulent to bury their precious prime-possession with the idea of retrieving it when things cooled down. Except, rather like bags of gold coins or jewellery that are found even now, they never got to reclaim it. Sad, uh?

Koko, you are not alone. A few months ago I had my first physical contact with a friend's i-something, but I have read about them before. Nothing special, as far as I can judge. When they have an app than makes coffee, I might get one.