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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.'"
Right at the start of the presentation, Jobs says something like "When's it going to be available? We're shipping them in June -- we're announcing it today because we have to go get FCC approval... We thought it'd be better to introduce this today rather than let the FCC introduce this".
Judging from all the rumours about the Zune the future iPods that have been helped along by FCC documents, I think they made the right call.
The trouble is that Apple apparently had no choice, because it needs FCC approval which would have made the device public anyway.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Steve Jobs clearly explained why they announced it so early in his Keynote. They needed FCC approval, so if Jobs didn't do the keynote this early, then the FCC would have been the one to announce the iPhone. This probably would have increased anticipation, and possibly even increased the amount of dissatisfied customers.
Some of the things the author talks about that the phone can't do, nobody really uses anyway. Voice Dialing? My old phone had voice dialing, and it was the most worthless piece of crap technology I have ever used. Rarely worked correctly, so I never used it anyway. 3G Internet Access would have been a nice feature, but Jobs mentioned they were planning on this in a later version of the product. As for Microsoft Outlook... who uses it these days anyway? I sure as hell don't.
I agree the iPhone has much to be desired, but it is still MUCH better than any other phone available in the US to date. I only wish the iPhone was just a little bit cheaper.
google.slashdot
L4 would be a much more rational choice then Linux. It's basically a faster Mach. And Apple might want to take advantage of the 4 security layers of the x86 processor, something Linux doesn't do. Also, Apple would need to port IOKit to Linux. Since L4 is written in C++ it would be much easier. Or OpenSolaris. Since Apple is integrating a lot of OpenSolaris features anyway, the might as well take the whole hog.
Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further development.-- Frontinus, 1st cent. AD
You mean you set your expectations about a groundbreaking new product based on currently shipping technologies (maybe they will have announced a newer higher density solid state storage) and assumptions about what tech they will use (maybe they'd use a hard drive?) Niiiiice
I too was very disappointed by the 8GB size. I understand it, but I'm still disappointed by it.
And like OP, it's the Cingular tie-in that kills it for me, and everyone I know.
Still... it's not like the author of this article has a bias or anything... "Mike Elgan is a technology writer and former editor of Windows Magazine."
1997: The Spice Girls get 3 Number 1's. Aqua's "Barbie Girl" and "Teletubbies Say 'Eh-Oh" all sell over 1 million copies. Biggest selling record of the year: Elton John with "Candle in the Wind 1997".
1987: Stock, Aitken and Waterman sign Kylie Minogue on the basis of "The Locomotion". Number 1's include: The Firm "Star Trekkin'" and Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up".
The trouble, such as it was, was that nothing was ready to announce
They do have the Apple TV and the AirPort Extreme both shipping in February. Apple didn't even announce the new AirPort in the keynote. Apple tends to release consumer devices at Macworld and operating systems at WWDC. So they announced their new gadgets at Macworld, and they'll announce their new OS at WWDC in a few months.
They've been taken out of AMD64 native mode, and they expect people to just use the NX bit for everything now.
Yes, but to put not too fine a point on it, it isn't February yet. Or June. :)
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I agree that those announcements that end in, "and you can buy them in stores today" are much more powerful. I recall the Intel-based Macs were announced that way. Clearly the iPhone didn't miss MacWorld due to development delays, they announced it now to make the biggest splash. I thought it was overdone at the time - especially as they completly ignored the 11n AirPort upgrade - but who can argue with the incredible PR it brought them and the 5% stock bump, all ahead of another jump at earnings announcement. And they beat the LG/Prada phone to the punch. This was less an analysis of the unqualified success that it was, and more a prediction of the failure that iPhone is going to be. These journalists seem to be rewarded for making wrong predictions, because they're labeled "controvertial." Adjust accordingly.
I still want a AirPort Extreme though.
Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others. -Groucho Marx
As far as I can see, the only feature of the iPhone that makes it stand out from its fellow smartphones is the interface, which is pretty damn funky. Apple have, like they usually do, produced a great UI - the applications that it's the interface to, OTOH, don't seem to be anything new.
This has to be the least impact and most important cellphone news of the past year, and no one seems to be able to remember it. New rules got passed last december. It was covered here and on most of the major tech sites. The telcos can't as in "NO", restrict the use of any phone as along as it is frequency capable. You can unlock them, they are now portable if you so choose. Apple saying it is cingular only is mass consumer FUD now. That might be their contract they have with AT&T, but it isn't the law for individuals. Tell your friend he shouldn't have to switch if the iPhone hardware is compatable. Scroll to section five, clear as day, cellphones are now portable, legally, they can't stop you
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/index.html
"5. Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."
I have posted this a few times now on cellphone theads, hopefully it will stick this time
With that said, I would encourage anyone to support open moko and the neo1973 instead of the iPhone,it is pretty close to half the price, totally open, no restrictions of note, free as in speech.
Support hardware vendors who support open source (and it is a sharp looking phone, and there will be a ton of apps for it, unlike apple's big FU to consumers and devs)
The IT professionals get pissy because they don't like being blindsided by new computers or operating systems.
I can't recall any time during the past ten years that Apple has blindsided anyone by introducing a new operating system or feature as a surprise. They've been quite upfront about upcoming Enterprise features in Mac OS X Server and Client at WWDC each year. One might argue that the interface of Mac OS X Beta in 2000 was a big surprise, but the underpinnings of the OS were well-known and didn't change much from NeXTSTEP/OPENSTEP to Mac OS X with the exception of RedBox.
If anything, Apple was very open about the features and underpinnings of Mac OS X, they stuck to a release schedule after the summer of 1998, and Apple hasn't cut significant features or introduced surprises that break software since, either. A notable quibble could be that MaconIntel won't run 68k or Mac OS 9 software anymore, but after twelve and seven years respectively, it's time to give up on those old cdebases.
You can't say that Microsoft has been as punctual or diiligent in it's efforts during the same time. It's tough to underdeliver when you don't overpromise.
Hardware? Apple has been very secretive about hardware design specifications, but has always provided a well-anticipated set of interfaces, with the exception of the iMac and Blue and White G3 - disruptive machines indicitive of Steve Jobs' first releases. Nothing since has been disruptive in the sense that it wouldn't connect to an existing network or be able to use existing peripherals. Since those 1998-vintage machines, even with PowerPC, Apple has been at the forefront of compatibility and standards adoption when it comes to interfaces - USB, Bluetooth, Gigabit, Firewire, ATA, SATA, Fiber Channel...now, with Intel, we have a practical roadmap to Apple's new CPU products.
Now, with the iPod and iPhone, Apple has a "secret" product line not slaved to the expectations of corporate purchasers.
Honestly, I think the IT types just hate not being invited to Cupertino for "technology briefings" - which are useful for making one feel like a mini-God with a purchasing budget.
The adage that helps me give computer purchase advice to friends remains true for businesses - look at the roadmap for the parts, and imagine the whole. Intel's roadmap is now Apple's - unless you want me to believe IT managers are now buying based on color coordination.
And even now that I have 3G I don't browse on my phone because with bluetooth I can simply use it as a modem for my laptop without even taking my phone out of my pocket.
I'm sure the iphone will be a good phone, but I just don't see that it solves any problems that needed fixing - you still have a small screen, a very limited text input system and slow speeds. Its not a mass market device and people in the niche can already get everything the iphone provides (I can run Opera, putty, multi-service IM, ebook reader, mail client, mp3 player, Word doc reader, PDF reader, SIP client, with bluetooth and WIFI, on my Nokia _and_ it came free with my contract, and the next version will come free when I upgrade).
Funny thing about the BlackBerry; they don't have a touchscreen. From what I understand, they don't need it, and their testing probably indicates that the standard scroll wheel interface they use now is just "better", and the less you have things touching the screen, the better.
This is one reason why I think the iPhone is going to be a disappointment to a lot of folks who get them. I went to Apple to take a look at their plans, and when I went into the "How do I send an SMS message?" thing and saw the touch screen keyboard pop up, I thought to myself: "Great, another way people will muss up their screen and probably end up scratching the darn thing in the long run.
I just recently got a BlackBerry 8703e (dropping a Treo 650) and I must say - I'm happier with the BlackBerry. No stylus to contend with, the push function for email just "works" (where the push function for Sprint's Business Connect didn't always, based usually on when they upgraded the software) ...
The only drawback of a BlackBerry I've seen so far is that (at least with Sprint, and probably some other providers), there's always a "BlackBerry specific" data plan you have to be put on when you get one. And those data plans are always more expensive than other "unlimited data plans" available from the cell provider, because they *know* you'll be using the data constantly (my 8703e is always connected to the data network).
Thing is though, between Jabber and the Google Talk program for BlackBerry, I have my AIM, MSN, and Google Talk contacts on my BlackBerry. I get my Google Mail on it. And, I get my work email on it (it'd be nice if work had a BES, but worst case I could always put one on the network myself if I had to). There isn't a "full sync" of my mailboxes, but that's only a "nice thing to have" - and then only because there's older mail I'd like to see, and some mail stored in sorted inboxes I'd like to have, too. On the other hand, it's better off for me that I don't have some of that email, as it would just result in me doing more work when I'm not actually at work. And as a consolation, I can set up so that messages from my main inbox get sorted into other boxes at sync time.
Movies aren't a big deal for me. MP3s, honestly, aren't a big deal for me (if I want music, I get my iPod, which I usually only end up using when riding my bike or on an air plane). More storage would be nice (I think the 8703e only has 64MB and no mem card slot), but I haven't had an issue running out of space yet. No camera was, in a way, a selling point.
The device, while slightly wider than my Treo, is shorter and thinner, and lighter.
You can't yet use it as a Bluetooth modem for a Mac, like I could my Treo ... but you can use it as a modem for a Windows machine with the USB cable, and probably Bluetooth too if you wanted, and maybe USB/Mac (haven't tried it yet).
I dunno - talk to me in 6 months when it's no longer a new toy, I guess.
I talk about stuff.
The kind of crowd that is likely to buy the iPhone will be the kind that probably travels a lot (i.e. business and corporate users).
You mean the same crowd that needs outlook/exchange sync capability? They will most likely stick with their blackberries and (to a lesser extent) Treos.
Finkployd
The iPhone's main feature is that it has an "i" in front of the name. That feature alone will induce a large number of people to wait for/ purchase the iPhone without bothering to compare to other devices.
You call this a sig?
They can't. Before any device with a transmitter....enabled or disabled....is released, it must receive a FCC Type Acceptance. The reason this exists is so that the FCC can make sure that the iPhone does not mess with your HDTV and vice versa.
Gorkman