Apple Comes Through in the Slump

When the iPhone came out last year I had to have one. There were many reasons why I needed one. And yes, I needed one. I needed one because I text more than should legally be allowed. I needed one because I am always listening to music so instead of having a phone and an iPod I have been able to include both in one. I needed one because I love having the latest and greatest in technology. I needed one because Apple put it in a box, told me to buy it, and I listened.

But the phone has proven, over the little over a year that I have had it, to be one of the, if not the most important inventions of my life time. Let me just tell you how I personally benefit from the iPhone.

First comes the text messaging. I send around, and this is just on average mind you, 10,000 text messages a month. Yes, that is 10,000, not 1,000. But hold on before you get all up in arms. I send that many because I am a busy person. And I can text anywhere. I can not always call someone when I need information. But I can text at work, in class, while on the phone, in the bathroom, while in the shower, and while driving. (OK, stop it. I put all my focus on the road before I focus on the text message. I can usually type without looking at the screen anyway.)

Next would be the interactivity. You are forced to touch the screen. You are forced to learn the little innuendos about the phone. I mean, the phone learns how you type for God’s sake. But the phone forces you to become a part of the technology. Of course a phone that has no buttons (other than the home button) is going to require some user input.

One of the bigger reasons is the integration of the iPod itself. I have over 100 full length CD quality albums on my phone. And let’s say I want to get rid of Britney and throw on Kanye. I can do that in a matter of seconds with the close relationship that the iPhone has to iTunes on your computer. (Does it bother anyone else that iPod, iPhone, and iTunes are all considered to be spelled wrong by my Mac Book Pro? Think about that one.)

The last reason that I am obsessed with the phone is the ability to download and develop applications. This is a newer feature for the phone, and with already over 15,000 different applications to choose from, you can do anything from record voice, drive a go-kart, and even have at the touch of a button fart noises. (Remember the iFart application that I discussed a few posts back? There is now a free version for those who want cheaper farting.)

So what brings me to this post? I am in love with my phone. So what brings me here today? Well, not everything about the phone is perfect. There is one feature that is not even close to perfect. I would even throw these in the category of crap. I am speaking of the headphones that come with the phone itself. These headphones are the in ear buds that everyone hates but you see around more necks than Bose. (Best Christmas present of the year, by the way, were my Bose headphones.)

These headphones are even integrated with a microphone that can double as a headset. I do not even need to take my phone from my pocket and I can skip songs, play and pause my music, answer a call and even end a call. The power in that little microphone is incredible.

So why am I upset? Because I have had my phone just over a year. And I am currently on my 7th pair of headphones. They break. They are junk. They fall apart. They loose quality. They loose structure. They are simply poorly made. So why does this make me mad? Because the last time thees broke, in late November, I was told that Apple understands that they are poorly made. They also understand that they were not intended to be used the way that I use them.

Wait a minute. They were not intended to be used the way I use them? I am sorry but what are headphones for? Sitting in the box and not allowing me to use them? I mean, come on Apple, you know better than that. But today I was shocked.

Coming from a recent shocking decision from Microsoft to replace my out of warranty (by two years mind you) Xbox 360 due to the red right of death, I am suffering from yet another out of warranty product in my iPhone. But I called Apple to see what we could do about it.

Long story short they were incredibly (and maybe too) nice and they were not even questioning replacing the headphones. They heard my story, they knew my case was rare, and they were eager to replace my headphones at no charge to make me a satisfied customer. And that is exactly what I am.

So in a weak economy where every company (even Google who laid over 100 people last week) is pinching pennies to stay afloat I am saved by two of the biggest in the world. So this is an official thank you to Microsoft and Apple for your eagerness to assist those with faulty products.