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:still

[kitsunewarlock]

I personally wonder what the next fad/"statement" will be after this brushed-chrome, pseudo-indy, myspace loitering, ipod-totting, grad-student worshiping, super-liberal phase... It reminds me so much of the 60s for some reason...could some sort pseudo-electro dance-ready high-energy disco resurgence be coming around the corner? Recent hits like "here we go", etc...have such a similiar energy to them... But fad speculation is usually impossible. Some weird bizarre movie hit no one was expecting or some garage band from any random country will probably come out of the woodworks...or we will enter a "multi-genre generation", which is entirely possible thanks to the internet. Although it makes marketing rather difficult...

Re:still

[dreddnott]

After Crazy Frog became a riotous hit in the UK, the former bastion of musical excellence and good taste as recently as 20 or 30 years ago (no offense, Radiohead fans!), I'll believe that anything is possible.

I believe that peoples' tastes in just about everything will become more sequestered and idiosyncratic as marketing demographics draw finer lines and become more precise in their targets. Remember the Calvin & Hobbes strips about chewing gum magazines?

I have to say it's probably a fallacy that Apple or any other single corporation truly dictates phases or fads in culture. Apple in particular just happens to have a superlative and highly recognisable advertising method. Most of the people out there with iPods probably think Family Guy is hilarious (and original!), and wouldn't get half the jokes on South Park, let alone watch C-SPAN for more than 5 minutes. I despise Myspace more than any other currently prevalent cultural phenomenon, though. Just about every idiot I know has a profile with six thousand images, videos, and embedded WAV files that is capable of crashing the majority of computers within five minutes.

What I see most in popular culture, and I hope this isn't just me - is a lack of originality: so many films are remakes or rethinks or sequels or prequels, and so many popular radio songs are remixes, or use borrowed hooks, vocal samples, or are simply covers of the old hits. When are we going to hear Captain Beefheart, Erik Satie, Robert Johnson, Bix Beiderbecke, or Charles Ives in the Top 40? Never, yet these are some of the most original composers I've ever heard.

Re:Jesus

[zappepcs]

Welcome to the Apple fanboi club^H^H^H^H er, /. or any other web site that talks about Apple. If you don't support Apple's point of view somehow, your comments get modded to oblivion.

I continue to believe that the worst part of the iPhone is the hype, and I certainly include all the gibberish iterated here on /. today about what should or could have been done for the keynote.

I've never even seen an iPhone, and will probably walk away without asking to look at it when I do see one. I'm tired of hearing about this product that doesn't yet exist. Instead, I'll learn about and play with products that do exist. More than that, I'm tired of hearing people spout off about how great it is.... they can't possibly know if it is great or not, not yet.

Re:still

[thedbp]

What, are you retarded?

It's called "Never Mind The Bollocks" and it is the album responsible for turning the punk lifestyle into a social fad and fashion, and served only to discredit any positive ideas the punk movement had at the time.

I do love that album, but you really have to look at what it did culturally to both the mainstream and the underground that it eventually destroyed.

And, interestingly enough, 30 years later they took that material out on tour for the simple purpose of making money, reflected in the tour's name: The Filthy Lucre Tour. To quote Jello Biafra, they got back together to make money singing songs about how bad the good old days were.

So, there's your example.

Re:6 months!

[StikyPad]

Those are commonly called life partners, a subset of SOs. Obviously I wasn't referring to them specifically, and just making a joke in general, so piss off.

Re:iPhone will suck, moderate market share

[bar-agent]

Certainly a phone utilizing yesterday's data technology will not muscle it's way to the top of the market.

Hah. As opposed to Sprint and Verizon, who use yesterday's cellular technology? CDMA? Come on! Everyone else on the planet uses GSM.