Tomorrow marks the iPhone’s official release to the public, in what will be one of the most hyped and anticipated product debuts in history. So far we’ve seen prediction markets making odds on everything from sales figures to the likelihood of spontaneous combustion. But what of the aftermath? Will economists, psychologists, sociologists and other researchers pick up where the tech experts have left off? We’ve assembled a list of possible studies that could start appearing within the next few years, A.i. (After iPhone). Got your own ideas to add? Feel free to share.
1. “The iPhone’s Effect on Social Cognition: Can We Shuffle Playlists and Web Browse at the Same Time?”
2. “Did iPhone Sales Affect July Gas Prices?”
3. “Gender and the iPhone: Do Women Browse Better?”
4. “The iPhone Crime Effect: How a Joint Phone/iPod/Web Browser Contributed to the National Drop in Violent Crime”
5. “The iPhone Gap: How the iPhone Intensified the Country’s Growing Class Divide”
6. “iPhone Addiction: A Legitimate Disorder?”
21 Comments
“My beloved iphone: Did the screen crack in my wife’s purse or in my back pocket?”
— egretmaniPhones and Driving: the correlation between iPhone sales and a nationwide spike in high-speed traffic accidents
— Teels25iPhone sales: How many were purchased by speculators rather than end-users?
Can the iPhone be the Blackberry’s Methadone?
iPhone as Chick Magnet: Does it work? This needs more study.
— microcarsiPhone on the job: costing employers billions in lost productivity
— discordianThe iPhone effect: did AT&T’s gamble on the Apple brandwagon pay off?
— Ike PigottiPhone Studies: How much time is spent “studying” the iPhone as opposed to “using” it.
— microcarsiPhone finger epidemic: the long term effect on the healthcare system of iPhone users rubbing their primary index fingertip raw?
— discordianiPhone as commerce change agent: How has improved mobile commerce usability effected retail traffic?
— frontfloatI just reeealy hope they have it in black
— frankenduf@frankenduf: That will be an extra $150, please.
— Ike PigottThe iPhone: Why it failed
— poewarThe iPhone and the $100 Laptop Project, Examining the New Digital Divide and its Impact on African Children.
— proalesWhy should somebody care that a new product was brought to the market? So what?
— KiriliusiPhone: New Coke of the 00’s?
— zbicyclistIf you believe the hype, the story will be how Verizon went under because it turned down the exclusive offer that AT&T accepted.
— MackI shudder at the thought of using cingular. What was Job’s thinking?
— egretman“Why do iPhone users still live with their moms?”
— msp“Can cats use iphone?”
— KentDoes AT&Ts Quality of Service dillutes Apple’s brand equity?
The effect of sensory feelings - Which drugs are emitted by the brain when using the iPhone’s new Zoom functionality?
Research on Perception - How large does a screen need to be to create the perception of inifinity when watching Star Trek?
Effects of scial influence, word-of-mouth on network stability — Since due to YouTube http now outnumbered P2P networks in traffic - is the AT&T nework able to handle the iPhone users’ traffic? An anecdotical research using self directed ‘funny’ clips. (On a sideline also a study on the humor of iPhone users)
— Alex BudzierWell - the iPhone apparently has had one positive impact on AT&T/Cingular… forcing an improvement in the EDGE network.
— Ike PigottEarly-Adopter Price Discrimination - How Much is Too Much? Lessons from two months A.i.
— Dale Marsden