An additional limb: A decade after its release, El Pasoans reflect on Iphone’s influence
El Pasoans, on the day Apple marked the the ten year anniversary of the iPhone’s debut, reflected on how much influence the iconic smartphone has on their everyday lives.
“I’m embarrassed to say, but it’s like a limb on my body,” Mollie Whetten said.
When Steve Jobs stood on a stage on January 9, 2006 to introduce the iPhone, he said he was going to make history. “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” Jobs declared as he paced across a San Francisco stage.
That’s just what Apple did. Fast forward ten years and its best-selling phone, with all of its groundbreaking features, is now the digital epicenter of many people’s lives. We use iPhones and copycat smartphones to instantly share video and pictures with friends and family from almost anywhere.
The device has established Apple as the world’s most profitable company with earnings of $45.7 billion on sales of $216 billion during its latest fiscal year. Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones since its debut, spawning millions of mobile applications and prodding other technology companies to make similar smartphones that have become like phantom limbs for many of us.
The iPhone’s revolutionary touch screen doomed the BlackBerry, another once-popular internet-connected phone. Mobile phones and their tablet cousins triggered a downturn in personal computer sales that is still unfolding.
An estimated 219 million desktop and laptop computers shipped worldwide last year, down from 264 million in 2007, according to the research firm Gartner Inc. Meanwhile, nearly 1.9 billion mobile phones shipped last year, up from 1.15 billion in 2007.
Luis Lizama told ABC-7 he uses the iPhone in multiple facets of his daily life. “Work, my business, personal — for everything,” said Lizama.
“I can’t even stop looking at it for two seconds,” Whetten added. “I’m embarrassed.”
A push of the home key lets you scroll through emails, blast your favorites tunes and navigate around town. However, the beloved phone we often have glued to our palms wasn’t met with excitement by all.
“At first I was very nervous about it, but then my kids taught me how to use it,” said Nancy Welshimer. “It became my best friend for a while.”
That speculation eventually turned into acceptance. “It took my a while to get into it, but now I can’t live without it,” said Gary Kroeplin
“It’s been a good phone. I have no complaints whatsoever,” said Lizama.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE
