A Faux ‘faux pas’

Some thoughts on the whole “I-thought-my-phone-was-silent-but-it-wasn’t-and-it-embarrassed-me-in-front-of-the-whole-world-and-now-I-want-to-die” thing:

The discussion regarding this quasi-fiasco revolves around the design and behavior of the mute switch on the iPhone.

First off, Marco Arment, John Gruber, and Andy Ihnatko have penned great analyses for or against a particular behavior.

In summary, Gruber and Arment are for, and Ihnatko is against.

All make valid points. But what nobody has mentioned(or maybe I’ve missed it) is that both arguments imply a level of understanding about how to operate your phone that the gentleman in question clearly does not possess. I’m not saying he’s an idiot. It’s just that he was new to the phone and did not yet fully understand how it would work.

Which leads me to ask, how well do people really understand how their phones can and should operate?

For those of use who follow the three above(and any number of similar gadget blogs), we can argue about the intricacies of product design and switch behavior until we all fall asleep. But surely the gentleman in question is neither following them nor is he probably even aware that there has been a significant discussion about his incident outside of the social circles he so recently tarnished. He is devastated, horrified, and deeply sorry, and perhaps rightfully so. It is embarrassing to be the talk of the town, but if he were comfortable with his abilities to control his phone I suspect he’d have brushed it off with nary a second glance—“Ok, I forgot to turn my phone off, I’ll do it next time.”

Now he may suspect that he has some sort of rogue device in his pocket that does not do what it is told and cannot be trusted to remain silent in future.

And this matters, because if he thinks this is the case, then he may lose any interest in using the device at all. For some people, the learning curve is such that if the device does not do what they expect—the first time they try to do that, then they say “What a piece of crap!” and toss it aside and go back to their old device.

Which is sad, because when he tries to do almost anything in his Samsung Galaxy Prime Nexus Ice Cream Sandwich Blade Xyboard IV, he will surely be able to produce behavior that he either expected or is so similar to what he’s used to that he will pronounce that device to be familiar enough for use. It will be just about close enough to the way he used to do something on his old phone that he is content with using the rest of the device’s crappy and confusing metaphors the rest of the time.

I can safely say that pretty much everyone I know(I know a lot of older folks) has no interest in the thought that is put towards how their devices work. They learn how to use one device, and any new device they try will forever be compared to that seminal learning event. They will forever be looking for the similarities between the two and the later devices will, however subconsciously, be compared to that first device. And this is the power that device makers have. They have the power to literally control how we think. If your first phone was the Nokia 6162(like me), you will always remember the chicago-esque font it used(maybe it was chicago, I don’t know for sure). You will always remember scrolling through contacts with the hardware keys. You will remember playing the Snake game on it and comparing your scores to those of your best friend. You will have specific memories based on how you used the phone.

Memories based on how you used the phone.

Or, more generally,

Neural connections based on how you did something.

And here is where Apple’s approach works. They know this. They know that when you open the box it makes an impression. They know that when you turn on the device it makes an impression. They know that when you pick up the iPhone and try and do something, the mere act of doing that task is imprinting onto your brain. And it’s a good job they’re concerned with this relative to their competitors. I highly doubt that Samsung or Motorola or LG or HTC are interested in this kind of neuroscience. They want to move boxes. They want to sell.

Don’t get me wrong, I like that. I love capitalism more than most people these days.

But don’t make a confusing and/or crappy product and then try and smooth over the rough edges with millions in marketing and PR. How about smoothing over the rough edges before selling the product so the product is something someone wants to buy and doesn’t need to be “sold?”