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Gimme More
As of two weeks ago, I am the proud owner of a beautiful iPhone 3G. My treatment towards it is reminiscent of a stage mother’s obsession over her child prodigy. I’m constantly praising its features to my friends and colleagues (“iPhone is soo clever, it can…”), and I am on a perpetual scavenger hunt for new apps to pull out as party tricks.
Recently, there have been a rash of articles lauding the 1 billion downloads of the 25,000 (and counting) applications available. From Fast Company to the NY Post, everyone has an opinion on the app with the coolest interface, the most efficient time-manager, and the most obscure virtual game.
With the increasing specificity and diversity of apps available, home screens are becoming indicative of their owner’s personality…it’s become a mini facebook page. It certainly has the same stalking potential! It’s easy to tell if you’re a gamer, an audiophile, a news junkie…all from the little square buttons decorating the toy you flash to anyone who will stay still long enough to look. For example, my friend Brendan’s love for obscure microbrews is evident in his BeerBrands app, which will tell you everything there is to know about the local brews in any city you happen to be visiting.
My obsession with filling the face of my phone got me thinking about what my ideal application would be (winner: A Sephora Beauty Insider’s deal list). Out of curiosity, I sent out a short email blast to a group of my friends, all 20-somethings living in the city, asking what their ideal app would do. These are some of the responses I got.
– “An app that finds good scenes and monologues for specific acting situations.”
Aspiring actor
– “One that acts like a TV guide in your pocket so you can see what’s playing when and on what channel. It would also have a search function (so you can see if your favorite made-for-tv movie is playing.)”
MTV employee
– “An application that catalogues all of my items of clothing, like Cher’s closet in ‘Clueless’, and provides outfit suggestions for everyday of the week.”
Jean, Just Ask a Woman
– “An unobtrusive device that continuously records audio such that you always have access to the last 10 minutes of any conversation in which you participated. Can’t believe what you just heard? Need to remember what your boss said? In an argument where your counterpart just contradicted herself? Just play the tape.”
Law student
And my personal favorite, and most applicable for all of us impatient New Yorkers…
– “A really loud honk button, so that if people in front of you on the sidewalk are walking slowly you can honk at them.”
My (very vocal) roommate…
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