[potatoofdoom]

My 2 cents.

I believe these are the most important points in regards to the iphone's mass appeal:

1) The iphone is incredibly easy to use. I feel that that is it's functional appeal. People like it because it makes them feel smarter than they are. They can operate a very technologically advanced device, yippie!

2) The iphone is now the pop culture phone. Remember the sidekick? Well that's gone, it's the iphone now. Kids, teenagers, younger adults, even older adults. In short everyone thinks it's the cool phone to have. Watch MTV for half an hour and you'll hear "iphone" at least 5 times (that statement has not been tested, but I'm sure it's true).

Why don't people like the iphone?

I would say, that at least some of the time, it is because of 1 and 2 above.

Personally, I do not like the iphone. 1) The price of service: Because AT&T is gouging people with the plan for it. $106.xx a month is the minimum you're paying with unlimited texts, 450 minutes, no friends and family. That's just way too much for this guy. 2) It is too easy to use and operate, so easy, that it is hard to do anything that it wasn't designed to do, that's annoying for me, and many others, but not to the majority of people out there.

Hope that helps with the psychological background of the appeal.

All my own opinion, I'm no expert on any of this, just a B.A. in psychology.