Why the iPhone Keynote Was A Mistake

jcatcw writes "Mike Elgan at Computerworld lists six reasons why it was a mistake to make the iPhone keynote at Macworld. He argues that extremely high expectations can only lead to disappointment for consumers and investors. The focus on the phone during the keynote also took away from the Apple TV announcement, put iPod sales at risk, gave competitors a head start, and (perhaps worst of all) ruined the company's talks with Cisco over the iPhone name. From the article: 'The iPhone, despite its many media-oriented virtues and its sweet design, will do far less than most existing smart phones. The problem Apple now faces because of Jobs' premature detail-oriented announcement is that of dashed expectations. When customers expect more and don't get it, they become dissatisfied.'"

Comments

Re:6 months!

[aetherworld]

TFA is FUD. Word.

Re:It means Apple has focus

[jmorris42]

> Apple was right not to dwarf any OS X/Mac hardware announcement with the release of the iPhone - which is why Macworld
> will be primarily consumer electronics going forward

Hey, moron! Think! There won't BE but one or two more Macworlds. As Apple exits the computer business they will be announcing consumer electronics where everyone else does, CES. Without the cult of Mac there is no Macworld. Without exciting new MAC announcements to look forward to who is going to go?

You can't get people to fly thousands of miles and sit in a hotel to see the new point release of OS X and from now on the new hardware is going to be absolutely predictable, look at Dell's website and Intel's product roadmap. Anything new you see will appear in a new Mac/Macbook in three to six months. For the next couple of years the Apple version will be better designed and look cooler but be defeatured and crippled with a one button pointer on the laptops and other BS. Eventually they will be reduced (by lack of interest and engineering resources if for no other reason) to being just another rebadger of generic kit with the only product differentiation being the keys loaded into the Trusted Computing Module and preloaded with OS X instead of Vista.