The iPhone in "Zero History"

As I was reading William Gibson's superb new novel, one of whose foci is a search for the creator of a shadowy brand that prefers not to be known, it dawned on me after I was well into it that the iPhone — perhaps one of the most iconic and pervasive brands in the world — was being mentioned over and over again.

I went back to the beginning and took notes and here's what I found.

1. The word "iPhone" appears on a total of 36 (of 404) pages: 18, 30, 31, 74, 75, 80, 98, 103, 104, 115, 136, 146, 163, 168, 169, 190, 200, 243, 244 (twice), 250, 253, 256, 297, 310, 313, 328 (twice), 334, 335 (twice), 340, 349, 351, 359, 361, 367, 377 (twice), 393.

2. On page 146: "Where did you buy your phone?" "The Apple Store. SoHo. New York SoHo."

3. The iPhone functions in a variety of roles in "Zero History"; excerpts follow.

••••••••••••••••••••••

p. 18: Purse, iPhone, key with its tassel.

p. 30: She got out her iPhone and Googled "Gabriel Hounds."

p. 31: Hollis put the iPhone down...

p. 74: "Aldous," said Aldous, to his iPhone.

p. 75: ... Milgrim returning the iPhone...

p. 80: ... the iPhone suddenly inert, empty.

p. 98: Now it's all iPhone apps.

p. 103: ... she brought out her iPhone.

p. 104: Hollis held the iPhone away...

p. 115: Meredith Overton was stroking the horizontal screen of an iPhone, pinching up virtual bits of information.

p. 136: The image that came up for Heidi's call, on the iPhone...

p. 146: She looked at the iPhone.

p. 163: It's been around since before the iPhone started to become the default platform.

p. 168: "Controls the penguin," she said. "But we're switching over to iPhones for that."

p. 169: She got the iPhone out of her purse in the little bronze elevator, hit Heidi's cell number as she stepped out.

p. 190: The iPhone app's made a huge difference.

p. 200: ... the iPhone with it.

p. 243: ... holding an iPhone with both hands, arms extended...

p. 244: ... offering her the iPhone...

p. 244: ... then looked at the iPhone...

p. 250: ... rapidly thumbing the screen of his iPhone.

p. 253: ... pinching at pixels on her iPhone's screen.

p. 256: Now Heidi produced her iPhone.

p. 297: Instead, he was focused on the screen of the iPhone, watching the feed from the ray's camera as it rolled.

p. 310: Hollis's iPhone rang...

p. 313: ... came up with an iPhone...

p. 328: Her iPhone rang....

p. 328: ... said Hollis, to the iPhone.

p. 334: ... stroking the screen of an iPhone.

p. 335: Glanced down at the iPhone's glowing screen, then looked at Hollis....

p. 335: The woman looked down at her iPhone, stroked the screen.

p. 340: There was an arming sequence, on the iPhone now, that required a thumb and forefinger...

p. 349: Her pale bare arm passed her iPhone in.

p. 351: He put the iPhone on the edge of the sink...

p. 359: ... the iPhone began to vibrate.

p. 361: He held her iPhone behind her back, seeing exactly where they were now...

p. 367: ... where she'd given him the penguin's iPhone.

p. 377: ... her own iPhone glowing green on her lap.

p. 377: Milgrim turned on his iPhone, saw a blank glowing screen, then realized that the penguin's camera was seeing empty sky.

p. 393: ... said Heidi, on Hollis's iPhone.

••••••••••••••••••••••

My question is this: why "iPhone" rather than "phone" after the first time a character is noted to use/have one?

Or is an iPhone, in Gibson's mind, sui generis and not "just" a phone?

Is the frequent invoking of the word meant to create a kind of word trance in the reader, drawing her or him more deeply into the virtual world rendered by the text?

With Gibson it's entirely possible, whether intentional or not.

We know what Steve Jobs thinks but he's not here just now.

So I'm asking you.

Note: page numbers refer to the British trade paperback edition.

Don't ask.