At this point even I'm sick of the iPhone, and I invented the friggin thing
Honestly. I mean it's great. I've been using one for months. It does all the stuff it's supposed to do. I love it. But come on people. It won't cure cancer or regrow your hair or make you lose weight. For that you'll need Linux, from what I'm told. It's just a phone. You make calls, you can listen to music, you can do some Web surfing. And if you use a Mac it will integrate really well with your computer. And that's it. I'm sorry I ever said that line about reinventing the phone. I should have just said, Oh, yeah, here, we made this phone, try it out and let us know if you like it. It's the old double-edged sword of product hype. On the one hand you want to pump stuff up and sell it; that's just your natural inclination. The risk is that people will actually believe your hype, and hold you to it. Which is exactly what happened here. Yeah. Not good. But then again, that's why we have PR people. And ours are the best in the world. Most are former CIA, young guys and gals who got a few years in at the agency and then decided they didn't like it. We pay them four times what they made with the agency and hold them to fewer rules and regulations. The whole torture thing? Perfectly okay with us.
Pre announcing a product so well in advance has created so much hype, that if it is difficult for the product to surpass hype. Plus competitors will be waiting in wings with their own surprise. Compared to that ipod debuted with mixed review and then caught fire. If this thing bombs, Apple will be the best short of this year.
1 comment:
Those Steve Jobs' words are part of his smart marketing strategy. He realizes that Apple might be caught in the classic trap of overpromissing and underdelivering. Jobs doesn't want to see his stock rising in expectation of the product's release and to be sold on news. He well knows that IPhone is not technically superior compared to Blackberry, but one product doesn't have to be technically superior in order to become a best seller. Fashion is what matters most in sales, at least on a short term basis. Look at Crocks - a very simple product, which was new and different and had the chance to become popular. And popularity sells.
The Price of $599 is not too much for the american consumer. Don't forget that we live in a time, when everyone has at least 2 credit cards and the options for leasing purchases are offered everywhere. Every second person around me is talking about iPhone and wants it, disregarding the personal financial situation. I personally don't intend to buy iphone, before I get acquantant with its real technical characteristics.
Currently I don't have a position in Apple and the only purpose of my thoughts is to point out, that the initial iPhone's sales will most likely beat the estimates.
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