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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.'"
The announcement was fine. Given the breath of reports on this phone (competing phones, trademark disputes, other), to NOT make an announcement is to simply NOT CONTROL the perception of the news when it breaks. Seriously. I can respect that the author of this article sees problems with the announcement, but the benefits FAR outweigh the detriment. To miss that is to miss the point.
1. Cingular gets to gauge consumer interest
2. Customers can plan accordingly with respects to their phone agreements (big point)
3. Customers can plan accordingly with respects to their savings (medium point)
4. They answer HIGH expectations around a new iPod release (big criticism)
5. Accessory makers have 6 months to plan (avoiding the criticised "shock" effect)
6. Customers can educate themselves about product expectations
--And the list goes on. Wait until the phone comes out before prenouncing "what went wrong", especially if there's no indication that anything isn't going according to plan. 6 months is a long time. We're still in month 1. There'll be plenty of time to second guess this month 3-4 months from now.