Macworld: Last Year's iPhone Announcement Is a Tough Act to Follow
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Apple's stock has doubled since the introduction of the iPhone and the Apple TV set-top box at last year's Macworld. How can Steve Jobs top that at Macworld 2008?
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T-Mobile had the misfortune to announce a new product last week that may be as game-changing as Appleâs.
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(InfoWorld) - The level of hysteria associated with the arrival of Apple's iPhone is just a notch, maybe two, below that of the Second Coming. However, there is a very good chance that when the smoke clears in the next weeks and months, a whole lot of disappointment, frustration, and dissatisfaction will be left behind. If the iPhone is like other wildly anticipated products in the past, this could well manifest in one or more of the following forms: * The iPhone has a massive hardware defect that results in a recall of the hardware. This is not likely, but it is a risk with all first-gen hardware. * The iPhone is initially received with warmth but, after the first year of AT&T's two-year sentence, the public begins to realize that they've been had. See: Motorola RAZR. * The iPhone is a smashing success and marks the beginning of a run of Apple dominance that, like other successful rebellions, becomes twisted and short-sighted, leaving the general public with limited market options. * The iPhone is an immediate disappointment in both the power and performance categories and is immediately recognized as such for some or all of the reasons explained below. Those are the generalities. Now, read my 13 most probable reasons the iPhone will break your heart. 13. No GPS. The more you compare the iPhone to the BlackBerry, the more it pales. Imagine attempting to navigate your way through the streets of New York City -- or anywhere else for that matter. It's really, really nice to have a built-in GPS system showing you the way. And it's really, really frustrating that Apple has neglected GPS in the iPhone. 12. Text entry won't work well. There is no way -- no way! -- that the virtual keyboard on the iPhone's touch screen interface will work as well as the physical keyboards found on BlackBerries or most other devices. Most assuredly, entering text will be a frustrating, convoluted affair. Complaints about typing have already begun to surface. 11. It's ugly! There, it had to be said. The iPhone's awkward, neo-futuristic design looks like something out of an old Star Trek episode. Remember the me-too styles and hairdos that were in vogue at the tail end of the 1980s? The iPhone feels like that, and it likely marks the end of the relatively pleasing design aesthetic that marked Apple's rise to grace. 10. Slow Internet access. The iPhone will utilize AT&T's old Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution EDGE wireless network, which means data speeds that aren't nearly as fast as far superior 3G technology. In 12 months, when everyone you know is surfing the Web at lightning-fast 3G speeds while they're mobile, you'll be stuck in the slow lane. And you'll still have one more year of locked-in service contract to go. 9. Sensitive screen = scratches. It's extremely easy to scratch the front of the iPod. It will be really easy to scratch the front screen of the iPhone, even with its glass faceplate. This is a neurotic concern, perhaps, but it's still valid, especially considering the $500 price tag for the low-end model. 8. It's pricey. As much as $600 for the phone. As much as $100 per month for a reasonable service plan. That's almost $2000 for the first year of iPhone, which is a lot of cash. Worse yet, after the first year of service, first-gen iPhone users will still have another year remaining on their contract with AT&T but by then, Apple could well be up to its third iteration of the iPhone. 7. No MMS. The absence of MMS technology means that you can't send or receive pictures via text messaging. This takes about 70 percent of the fun and usefulness out of the phone's camera. This is something that will likely be rolled into a future version. 6. Touchscreens lose their sensitivity. The hard reality of using a touchscreen on the go is that, over time, it will lose sensitivity and begin to malfunction. Ask anyone who has toted their Treo or Palm Pilot around in a bag or pocket for a few years. 5. No IM. Initially, the inability to use instant messaging apps may seem like no big deal. But it's a huge convenience for both workplace and social connectivity. BlackBerry users and Windows Mobile devices can already IM away. 4. No enterprise e-mail connectivity. Chances are that if you are reading this, you'll want to use the iPhone as a work-oriented device. Unfortunately, if your workplace doesn't utilize POP or IMAP e-mail servers, you're out of luck on the e-mail front. 3. No third-party applications. Given Apple's insistence on closed environments, it's no surprise that iPhone will not support third-party applications unless they exist within the Safari browser environment. Congratulations, Apple -- you have just stifled innovation and development on your brand new phone for years. 2. Locked to AT&T? In the eponymous 1984-themed commercial that marked the debut of the Macintosh, Apple went out of its way to emphasize freedom of choice, freedom of life, freedom from the hegemony of the PC. Does anyone else think it strange that Apple is now releasing a phone based on a closed OS with virtually no third-party application support and limited file flexibility? The clincher is that iPhone users only have one choice of service providers: AT&T. June 29, 2007 could mark the moment that Apple becomes the sort of oppressive, inflexible bad company that it has long accused Microsoft of being. 1. The smug factor. How excited are you to be on a plane surrounded by legions of iPhone users, each of whom is smugly confident that their iPhone has transformed them into a superior being? Admittedly, this complaint ranges into grumpy old man territory, but still. Remember when Apple used to be cool because it was alternative? On June 29, those days are officially over. George Jones has been an avid technophile since the day he got his first Commodore 64 (and almost electrocuted himself by cracking it open with the power on).
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As the WWDC crowd awaits iPhone info, Apple's chief lays out new features in the upcoming OS. Also: Safari for Windows.
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As the iPhone ascends, Apple contemplates yet another price cut.
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Will it be a new thinner, lighter laptop? An updated iPhone? Movie rentals through iTunes? Computerworld's Ryan Faas is at Macworld today and plans to send back live reports as Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs delivers his keynote address. We'll update our story accordingly, technology permitting.
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What will Apple do at Macworld this year to top last year's iPhone hoopla? Here are our best guesses.
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Blog: With all of the hoopla surrounding the iPhone, we have all forgotten about the most important development of today's release: a new way to activate a cell phone.
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Blog: AT&T's iPhone activation numbers disappointed many--especially Apple investors--but it's not a perfect measure of iPhone demand.
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With plans to enter Europe by the end of the year, Apple could be ready to announce who gets to carry the iPhone.
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(InfoWorld) - For all the buzz building about Apple's iPhone launch next week, success is not a sure bet, according to a survey released Tuesday. "The first million, no problem," said Chris Hazelton, senior analyst, mobile technology and trends with IDC, talking about iPhone sales. "Interest in this has been building for years. But the '08 goal [of 10 million sold]...that will depend on the iPhone experience. If it's not rock solid...." The IDC survey, which polled online users researching their next cell phone purchase, found a majority were interested in the iPhone but also revealed several hurdles to mass acceptance. About 10 percent, for example, said they were willing to pay full price -- the iPhone will list at $499 and $599 for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively -- and sign a two-year service contract with AT&T, the iPhone's sole carrier. That's close to the estimate offered by a survey detailed yesterday by M:Metrics, a Seattle research firm, which said that 9 percent, or about 19 million, of all U.S. cell phone subscribers pegged their iPhone purchase intent at high. Although Hazelton didn't argue with M:Metrics' numbers, he stressed the snags that could limit the iPhone to a much smaller group than Apple and AT&T hope. "The exclusivity of AT&T will be the largest barrier," said Hazelton. "Only some people will have timed it right so that they can leave their carrier and won't have to pay an early termination fee." Others, the survey found, were unwilling or unable to eat the penalties. AT&T's rumored five-year exclusivity agreement with Apple will give the two companies the time to "weed out" other carriers from consumers interested in the iPhone, he noted, but again, that could be a slower process than the companies have planned on. "And then there's the price of the iPhone itself, and the need for a data plan on top of a voice plan," Hazelton said. "That's probably $80-plus a month right there. People will pay it if they want the iPhone experience, but moving forward, that may be simply too expensive." If the iPhone doesn't deliver on its promises, though, all might be moot. Dubbing it the "iPhone experience," Hazelton ticked off many of the same potential pitfalls as other analysts, ranging from the lack of a tactile keyboard to the slower speed of AT&T's EDGE-based data network. How users react to the iPhone, and how they expect to use it, said Hazelton, will ultimately be the most important determiner of success. Nothing will kill the buzz faster and brand the iPhone as a failure, said Hazelton, like negative word-of-mouth from the first buyers. And although the early adopters may be especially savvy about technology, one unknown could play a major role. "There are relatively few people who use smartphones in the U.S., and most of them are business users. This will be the first smartphone aimed at consumers," he said. "It's a complicated phone, basically a computer, and like computers, like Macs, it may crash, maybe a lot." Tales of iPhone problems, say frequent crashes, will turn Apple's hope into another Newton, Hazelton argued, referring to the 1993 PDA flop. In other words, there is much that may not go Apple's way after June 29. Ironically, that would make rivals unhappy, rather than glad to see Apple fall flat, Hazelton said. "The iPhone could open up the smartphone market to the U.S. consumer," he said. "When we talk to other device makers and carriers, they generally welcome Apple to the game. It makes sense. The iPhone raises the bar of customer expectations for what a cell phone is. If it succeeds, other vendors will have more ability to drive product upgrades, get customers to pay more for the device, and carriers will be able to get more people to subscribe to the more expensive plans." Apple will launch the iPhone Friday, June 29, at 6 p.m. local time, with the device available then at AT&T and Apple retail stores.
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Blog: AT&#38;T said it signed up 146,000 iPhone subscribers in the first two days of selling the iPhone, but the true promise of the iPhone won't likely kick in until next year.
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The Motley Fool - The Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) rumor mill has been hard at work lately, with plenty of folks prognosticating about what exactly Steve Jobs would announce today in the company's "It's Showtime" event. I found the actual announcements mostly underwhelming, with some potential bright spots on the horizon.
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New Apple gadget, which goes on sale in the US, will struggle to break into mainstream, research says.
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There's more to gain than lose from the upcoming iPhone.
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As with everything, the novelty of the iPhone fades. Its calendar can track how soon.
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The strange journey of Appleâs popular iPhone is another sign of its extraordinary popularity and a blow to the companyâs business model.