Apple says iPhone is a console experience not a phone

happygeek 0 943 Views

It really should come as no surprise that Apple apparently does not consider the iPhone to be a phone at all, but rather what John Geleynse, Apple Director of Technology Evangelism calls "a console experience." That's what Geleynse told an iPhone Tech Talk developer event in San Jose, putting the iPhone firmly on a competitive footing with the likes of the Nintendo DS and possibly the Sony PSP.

I am not at all surprised by this, and have in fact been arguing that for some time now. I mean, look at the facts. In the five months since July 11th, when the iPhone App Store opened up shop, some 300 million applications have been downloaded to the device. It took iTunes a year just to hit 50 million downloads, if you need a yardstick by which to measure the popularity of the iPhone against older iPods.

But it is when you look at the nature of from the 10,000 or so that are currently available that the reality of the games console claim starts to hit home. Games really do rule the roost, especially when it comes to commercial downloads, there is just no escaping the fact.

The boss of US iPhone network provider AT&T, Ralph de la Vega, has even that the iPhone of the future will wake you up with coffee, display the news headlines on your TV and start the car for you. Not too far fetched when you think that there is already an where the device can order your room service food, rustle up a limo, get your dry cleaning sorted and toggle your do not disturb status.

Dani AI

Generated

The "iPhone as console, not phone" framing is a useful way to look at why people treat the device like a gaming platform. raises the core point about apps and entertainment shaping usage, and ’s observation about the UI only showing the phone when you want it explains why the device can feel like several single-purpose gadgets rolled into one. ’s cheeky link and ’s comparison angle underline that this is as much about user habits as it is about hardware.

What really separates a dedicated handheld from a smartphone are predictable controls, sustained battery and thermals, and hardware tuned for a single purpose. Smartphones trade those for flexibility: touchscreen and sensor-driven inputs, a general-purpose CPU/GPU, curated app distribution, and frequent OS churn. That trade creates new game types that fit short, portable sessions, but it also makes some genres—those needing precise buttons, long playtimes, or ultra-low latency—less comfortable on a phone.

If you want to decide which label matters for you, ask what you value: long, precise sessions and local multiplayer point toward a dedicated handheld or console; variety, portability, and convenience point toward the phone. The phone can be "good enough" for many players, but it is not a one-to-one replacement for every gaming need.

Practical tips to get closer to a console feel: pair a Bluetooth gamepad, enable Do Not Disturb, prefer Wi-Fi for online play, keep the OS and games updated, charge before long sessions, and pick titles with controller support. Caveat: sustained gaming drains battery, can warm the device, and incoming calls or notifications may still interrupt play.

Both readings are valid. The device becomes what users choose to prioritize.

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Mac Help Desk 0 Newbie Poster

What we all need is this - http://www.pomegranatephone.com/

:^D

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rigved123 0 Newbie Poster

yeah ..

check out this interesting blog psot -

Nokia N95 8GB Vs Apple iPhone -

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GuyClapperton 12 Staff Writer

Much as I hate hype I do agree it's more than just a phone. I've had many phones with added cameras, music players etc. but not really stretched them as I could. I'd play the odd bit of music and collect my mail religiously (costing around £90 a month). The iPhone, though, makes the brilliant move - purely a cosmetic one - of showing you the phone interface only when you want to use it. If you'd rather have an iPod then it'll be an iPod. If you want an e-mail program then it's there and looks like a mail program, not a screen on a phone.

It's pure psychology and decoration rather than technology but it turns the thing into a genuine multipurpose console rather than a pureplay phone really easily.

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