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Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
After liveblogging the iPhone 3G unveiling, PM's guest Apple geek unearths the new landscape for the turtlenecked titan that Silicon Valley loves to hate. Did Apple back down to the mobile market with its new $200 device? Or was Jobs always waiting for the day when he'd deem the iPhone good enough for everyone else?
Does that highway logo mean Apple had an iPhone road map from luxury good to mass-market cellphone? Or is Steve Jobs just happy to see 3G? (Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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KEYWORDS
SAN FRANCISCO — Almost one year to the day since Apple put its breakthrough iPhone into the hands of fanboys across the United States, CEO Steve Jobs appeared to do something very surprising here. It was something that the company's fearless (and notoriously headstrong) leader almost never does: He made lots and lots of compromises.
The sleek, black device introduced at the Moscone Center this morning has been dubbed iPhone 3G, after the high-speed data connection it (finally) offers. And the second-generation iPhone reverses almost everything that made the original a fetish item for the rich, famous and geeky worldwide:
• The first iPhone was $600, and was only available in the U.S. through AT&T. The second iPhone is $199, and will be available in 22 countries at launch, with another 48 already slated to carry it in the months to follow.
• The first iPhone ran only the applications that Apple said it could. The new one is wide open to developers of every stripe, from part-time solo operations to major multinational software operations.
• The first iPhone didn't work well with enterprise operations, or offer push e-mail to equal BlackBerry or Palm. The new iPhone software uses licensed Microsoft technology to provide a robust, Fortune-500-ready-enterprise smartphone with push for everyone.
• The first iPhone was for a few million Mac and phone freaks. You'll see this one in the hands of many more millions of teenagers, parents and executives around the world within days of its launch on July 11.
What could prompt a leader as detail- and control-oriented as Jobs to affect such a remarkable change? There are really just two possibilities. The first is that the original iPhone was too niche-oriented, because it did everything Apple's way. Sales weren't fast enough to meet expectations at such a high price point, the data connection wasn't fast enough with the EDGE network, and users couldn't fully replace an enterprise-equipped BlackBerry or Treo. In other words, Apple got smacked down by the market, then realized that it needed to change in order to thrive. The second possibility is that Jobs always knew the first-gen iPhone would be a niche device thanks to its slow data speeds, which can be a particular problem in the global market. As such, he pumped the price up and made it an exclusive item—all the while pushing his software and hardware geeks toward today, when demand is certainly high enough for a cheaper and more capable device.
Both the market responsiveness theory and the technological road map hold some water. It seems clear, from talking with insiders and looking through my magnifying glass over at the Cult of Mac, that Apple never intended to sell the iPhone at a price this low. Background rumors have swirled for years that Apple was uncomfortable with carriers subsidizing the cost of its handset. It was said that Jobs didn't like the idea of devaluing the most amazing device he had ever created to a price below an iPod.
Today's announcement, however, is a clear signal that he has recognized that this luxury-brand strategy won't make the iPhone a major success in the vast mobile market. Disappointing sales overseas highlighted the need to drop the price, so Apple did it. In every way, this decision resembles the big compromises Apple had to make in offering movies on iTunes. Jobs bashed the idea of rental movie content until he and his team realized that no studios would sign up until they could offer rental-exclusive films. The same thing happened with the iPhones, only with consumers and corporate users offering the reality check: They wouldn't scoop up the iPhone en masse until it had a low price, so Apple changed its model.
Other decisions showcased today, however, signal that Apple had many of today's moves planned far in advance. Third-party application support was always going to come—it was just a matter of when. Enterprise support was always a clear target. By delaying head-to-head competition with RIM's BlackBerry product line, Apple moved relatively under the radar until it had a solution that beat anything else on the market. Similarly, GPS and 3G would have killed the battery life on the first iPhone. New chips are less energy intensive—and cheaper—making now the perfect time to introduce them. Apple consciously held back features to improve first-generation stability and drive interest in future models.
For further evidence that Jobs and co. haven't changed their stripes, consider which oft-requested and rumor-mongered features didn't actually end up in the new product. If Apple had truly become a listening company that responded to all reasonable requests from users, these features would not be missing. Again, all of these—save shooting video—are issues of software, not hardware. Any of them could have come pre-loaded in the first-gen iPhone, but they won't even make the second one:
1. MMS: It's still impossible to send photos taken on your iPhone to non-iPhone users without attaching them to an e-mail.
2. Cut, copy and paste: You literally cannot move text and pictures freely from one application to another, despite upgrades in iPhone 2.0 to programs like Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.
3. Landscape keyboard support outside of Safari: Don't like typing vertically? Apple doesn't particularly care.
4. iPhone tethering as 3G modem for laptops: You can either surf the Web or use your laptop with the iPhone. No connectivity along the lines of the long-standing Treo feature.
5. No bluetooth keyboard support: It's great that this iPhone has full iWork compatibility. Why not make it possible to use the iPhone as an actual mobile working platform?
6. Videocamera support: iMovie for iPhone could be the best application that Apple ever puts on a mobile platform. Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera.
7. Flash support: A huge swath of the Web remains inaccessible via the world's premiere mobile platform.
8. Bluetooth headphone support: Don't want to listen to music over cables? Tough luck.
All of this functionality comes completely standard on other smartphones—and plain old cellphones—so there's simply no reason that Apple should leave them out. People really do want them, and Apple is the only company that can deliver these features on iPhone, no matter how open third-party development becomes. As always, if Steve Jobs wants a feature, it gets built immediately. If anyone else does? It's not getting in there without a major fight.
And maybe that's the real lesson from this morning's keynote: No matter how much it appears to change, Apple is still Apple. The company works in its own style, and doesn't worry too much about its competitors. If you want absolute control over every aspect of your cellphone, you're never quite going to get it from Apple. If you want to experience the best that mobile computing has to offer, you'll have to learn to live with Apple's quirks. There's just no middle ground between the beauty of the iPhone and the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. There's the mediocre way, Steve's way or the highway. Whose side are you on?
• The first iPhone was $600, and was only available in the U.S. through AT&T. The second iPhone is $199, and will be available in 22 countries at launch, with another 48 already slated to carry it in the months to follow.
• The first iPhone ran only the applications that Apple said it could. The new one is wide open to developers of every stripe, from part-time solo operations to major multinational software operations.
• The first iPhone didn't work well with enterprise operations, or offer push e-mail to equal BlackBerry or Palm. The new iPhone software uses licensed Microsoft technology to provide a robust, Fortune-500-ready-enterprise smartphone with push for everyone.
• The first iPhone was for a few million Mac and phone freaks. You'll see this one in the hands of many more millions of teenagers, parents and executives around the world within days of its launch on July 11.
What could prompt a leader as detail- and control-oriented as Jobs to affect such a remarkable change? There are really just two possibilities. The first is that the original iPhone was too niche-oriented, because it did everything Apple's way. Sales weren't fast enough to meet expectations at such a high price point, the data connection wasn't fast enough with the EDGE network, and users couldn't fully replace an enterprise-equipped BlackBerry or Treo. In other words, Apple got smacked down by the market, then realized that it needed to change in order to thrive. The second possibility is that Jobs always knew the first-gen iPhone would be a niche device thanks to its slow data speeds, which can be a particular problem in the global market. As such, he pumped the price up and made it an exclusive item—all the while pushing his software and hardware geeks toward today, when demand is certainly high enough for a cheaper and more capable device.
Both the market responsiveness theory and the technological road map hold some water. It seems clear, from talking with insiders and looking through my magnifying glass over at the Cult of Mac, that Apple never intended to sell the iPhone at a price this low. Background rumors have swirled for years that Apple was uncomfortable with carriers subsidizing the cost of its handset. It was said that Jobs didn't like the idea of devaluing the most amazing device he had ever created to a price below an iPod.
Today's announcement, however, is a clear signal that he has recognized that this luxury-brand strategy won't make the iPhone a major success in the vast mobile market. Disappointing sales overseas highlighted the need to drop the price, so Apple did it. In every way, this decision resembles the big compromises Apple had to make in offering movies on iTunes. Jobs bashed the idea of rental movie content until he and his team realized that no studios would sign up until they could offer rental-exclusive films. The same thing happened with the iPhones, only with consumers and corporate users offering the reality check: They wouldn't scoop up the iPhone en masse until it had a low price, so Apple changed its model.
Other decisions showcased today, however, signal that Apple had many of today's moves planned far in advance. Third-party application support was always going to come—it was just a matter of when. Enterprise support was always a clear target. By delaying head-to-head competition with RIM's BlackBerry product line, Apple moved relatively under the radar until it had a solution that beat anything else on the market. Similarly, GPS and 3G would have killed the battery life on the first iPhone. New chips are less energy intensive—and cheaper—making now the perfect time to introduce them. Apple consciously held back features to improve first-generation stability and drive interest in future models.
For further evidence that Jobs and co. haven't changed their stripes, consider which oft-requested and rumor-mongered features didn't actually end up in the new product. If Apple had truly become a listening company that responded to all reasonable requests from users, these features would not be missing. Again, all of these—save shooting video—are issues of software, not hardware. Any of them could have come pre-loaded in the first-gen iPhone, but they won't even make the second one:
1. MMS: It's still impossible to send photos taken on your iPhone to non-iPhone users without attaching them to an e-mail.
2. Cut, copy and paste: You literally cannot move text and pictures freely from one application to another, despite upgrades in iPhone 2.0 to programs like Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.
3. Landscape keyboard support outside of Safari: Don't like typing vertically? Apple doesn't particularly care.
4. iPhone tethering as 3G modem for laptops: You can either surf the Web or use your laptop with the iPhone. No connectivity along the lines of the long-standing Treo feature.
5. No bluetooth keyboard support: It's great that this iPhone has full iWork compatibility. Why not make it possible to use the iPhone as an actual mobile working platform?
6. Videocamera support: iMovie for iPhone could be the best application that Apple ever puts on a mobile platform. Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera.
7. Flash support: A huge swath of the Web remains inaccessible via the world's premiere mobile platform.
8. Bluetooth headphone support: Don't want to listen to music over cables? Tough luck.
All of this functionality comes completely standard on other smartphones—and plain old cellphones—so there's simply no reason that Apple should leave them out. People really do want them, and Apple is the only company that can deliver these features on iPhone, no matter how open third-party development becomes. As always, if Steve Jobs wants a feature, it gets built immediately. If anyone else does? It's not getting in there without a major fight.
And maybe that's the real lesson from this morning's keynote: No matter how much it appears to change, Apple is still Apple. The company works in its own style, and doesn't worry too much about its competitors. If you want absolute control over every aspect of your cellphone, you're never quite going to get it from Apple. If you want to experience the best that mobile computing has to offer, you'll have to learn to live with Apple's quirks. There's just no middle ground between the beauty of the iPhone and the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. There's the mediocre way, Steve's way or the highway. Whose side are you on?
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26. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Looking at Apple's recent product history and general product life cycle theory, When you introduce something as revolutionary as an iPod (with iTunes) or iPhone the first incarnation can command high prices, which help the company recoup their development costs. The first go round isn't meant for everyuone, but for the "early adopters" who are willing to pay higher prices to have the latest technology. After a few months of taking the (very high profit margin) cream off of the top, you lower the price a little to restimulate demand, so many people now think it is a "bargain" and the company has had a few months to work out any start up problems, and they have already lowered their costs. Version two of almost any product has more features and a lower price, of course that was the plan from the initial iPhone introduction. This is basic "Product Marketing 101". This article really looks like someone trying to create a sensationalized story around a normal Version 2.0 electronic product life cycle release. Apple is doing the kind of "textbook" style marketing that a company can do when they make exceptional products (comapared to the competition) and pay great attention to detail.
25. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Looking at Apple's recent product history and general product life cycle theory, When you introduce something as revolutionary as an iPod (with iTunes) or iPhone the first incarnation can command high prices, which help the company recoup their development costs. The first go round isn't meant for everyuone, but for the "early adopters" who are willing to pay higher prices to have the latest technology. After a few months of taking the (very high profit margin) cream off of the top, you lower the price a little to restimulate demand, so many people now think it is a "bargain" and the company has had a few months to work out any start up problems, and they have already lowered their costs. Version two of almost any product has more features and a lower price, of course that was the plan from the initial iPhone introduction. This is basic "Product Marketing 101". This article really looks like someone trying to create a sensationalized story around a normal Version 2.0 electronic product life cycle release. Apple is doing the kind of "textbook" style marketing that a company can do when they make exceptional products (comapared to the competition) and pay great attention to detail.
24. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
And to-do list? And synchronized notes?
23. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
great article until the end...BlackBerry is by far more superior than Windows Mobile. How could you compare these two is beyond me. Blackberry OS is equal with Apple. It doesn't have the sleek interface, but has a much more reliable and user-centric interface and a much better keyboard. Also, blackberry doesn't have all those features listed above besides MMS and Copy-paste. Don't sound like iPhones are only phones that lack tethering, bluetooth keyboard, etc. What the heck, very few phones have those. Blackberry doesn't even support inline frame, not to mention flash or quicktime movie. This article is full of bias toward iPhone or BlackBerry at the wrong points! Also, who uses MMS? I never used it. I think Jobs doesn't want to put an outdated useless tech in his phone. He only puts feature that more than 80% of people want...not featuers that only 10% of people use. Sure it's ridiculous that iPhone can't copy-paste, Jobs doesn't want to have that because it would allow iPhone to do so much that Jobs doesn't want us to do. By in any regard, iPhone doesn't have featuers that are unnecessary like MMS.
22. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
I don't know why people have a hard time understanding why flash does not work on the iPhone. It doesn't work because it's a bloated cow! I can hear my fan speed up on my MacBook when visiting FLASH enabled sites. That's CPU heat the fans are dissipating. Flash needs to lay off the CPU cycles before it can be put on a mobile devices such as the iPhone.
21. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: www.microsoft.com
"If you want to experience the best that mobile computing has to offer, you'll have to learn to live with Apple's quirks. There's just no middle ground between the beauty of the iPhone and the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. There's the mediocre way, Steve's way or the highway. Whose side are you on?" The Nokia side. You might want to research on the Nokia e61i or the Nokia 810. True tried and tested features made by the best mobile manufacturer of the world. The UI might not be fancy, but who cares with real power under them? I swear, Apple just appeal to the lower denomination customer with their UIs.
20. Tethering
I suspect the omission of tethering is specifically requested by carriers including AT&T. They want to sell separate laptop cards with separate monthly fees instead of using something that business users are already carrying (and paying for). With the iPhone SDK, someone will create a tethering solution, I suspect.
19. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
"What could prompt a leader as detail- and control-oriented as Jobs to affect such a remarkable change?" Are you REALLY asking this question? Do you remember the first Palm? The first Windows "SmartPhone", etc. Do you remember lame they were (or are in the latter case)? The iPhone was a BRAND NEW device for Apple. They had never made a phone before and Apple is super, super, SUPER secret about their products. So much so that even the CEO of AT&T didn't get to see it until everyone else (except for selected "reveal this and you die" testers). Now that people know about the iPhone and Apple doesn't have to be secret about it existing, they were able to work with AT&T, Microsoft, and lots and lots of companies to get things working right. And from all appearances Apple did. "Remarkable change" my a**. It's called Phase Two. Phase 1) Get the hardware right and make it work as a phone/ipod/mobile surfing device for "the rest of us". Phase 2) Make it work for corporations. "Remarkable change" my ... Next up, how many people were on the grassy knoll...
18. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
With the whopping "10 hours of 2G talk time / 5 hours of 3g talk time", why should it be an issue? Furthermore, it runs Mac OSX, no? So why would Flash on the iPhone be any more a pig on resources than on a desktop environment? I think something deeper is in the works here. Probably a license disagreement, or Apple is planning on pushing its own web media platform (so rumors say). All this could change when Adobe finally releases the open-sources the Flash platform though. Here's hoping.
17. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
That is why people hack apple products. 3 weeks after the launch, the new 3G iPhone will be hacked and those missing features will be loadable... plus VOIP Just look at iTV hack site.... for another good example.
16. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
"Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera" Thank goodness. Why people just want all that crap stuffed into miniature devices is beyond me. Just one more item for some other publication to rant about the low quality video - if it had it.
15. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.goingson.be
Man where do you begin. Apple somehow manages to stay afloat despite not listening to customers. No other company in the world is able to do that. I really wish consumers would wake up and see how they being porked by apple all the time. The best feature isn't the 3G, although the 3G will be yet another avenue for Apple and AT&T to rope you in. The best feature is the normal standardized headphone jack. Maybe the iPhone will plug into a computer and act like a USB device and some hang man noose to the iTunes store.
14. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.cafebrownsville.com
"Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera." THEY may not have, but someone (http://www.iphonevideorecorder.com/) has. And it's kludgy, but perfectly workable.
13. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
How about another alternative explanation: that what has been produced so far has taken a great deal of development time and that the other features just didn't implement to the standards that Steve Jobs demands. That they just may still be working on them and will incorporate them once they are sure the new ones are accepted and reliable. That the incomplete, requested ones, are going to be incorporated once their user experience can match what has already been done to date. Why isn't this possibility on the table - giving apple a little credit for its signature strategy that Jonathan Ives has so eloquently spoken of in the past - that Apple sweats every detail and until perfected won't release it. Michael
12. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
How about another alternative explanation: that what has been produced so far has taken a great deal of development time and that the other features just didn't implement to the standards that Steve Jobs demands. That they just may still be working on them and will incorporate them once they are sure the new ones are accepted and reliable. That the incomplete, requested ones, are going to be incorporated once their user experience can match what has already been done to date. Why isn't this possibility on the table - giving apple a little credit for its signature strategy that Jonathan Ives has so eloquently spoken of in the past - that Apple sweats every detail and until perfected won't release it. Michael
11. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Flash sucks on mobile phones. It's a pig on resources
10. You forgot voice dialing
I'm surprised you didn't include voice dialing to your list. It's more critical to me than any of the other features you mention. I can deal without them (well, the tethering is a pretty big omission especially considering AT&T's outrageously high data plan rates) but the lack of voice dialing is a deal breaker.
9. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Simple answer... stimulus package.
8. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
good points except Flash is pointless and is now 98% just banner ads - it's the animated GIF's of the web 2.0.
7. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
All these features could be added w/ sdk
6. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: iWindowsMobile.com
Let's also wait for Android.
5. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Most of the points do make sense, and I think it is really a mix of things that had been planned from the beginning and moves that were forced upon Apple. The first and most important target here is market share. MP3 players are slowly becoming yesterdays news and a respectable part of Apple's income will move - they have to get a respectable percentage of the mobile market to make the iPhone generate as much revenue as the iPods did/do. The price point is extremely aggressive - in some European countries they will undercut direct competitors (after subsidies) by as much as 50% - and those do not have usable touch interfaces yet, no iTunes ecosytem, horrible user interfaces with unusable browsers and mail clients (Nokia, LG, Palm), terrible built quality (LG, Samsung, SonyEricsson, Prada), a usable touch version of Windows Mobile is years away, and even if it arrives, it will still be a desktop OS shrunk into an inappropriate device, most subscribers to the Android plans are makers of second-class devices or half-dead. If Apple plays this right - it will smoke the iPod's success. Getting it into as many hands as possible is the right step and will generate a lot of additional business (iTunes Store, App Store, people buying Macs). I cannot agree with your "8 missing items" though. MMS is a tool for providers to rip off customers, why pay 1 or 2 bucks for sending one image when you can send a hundred for free - I am proud of Apple for not offering it. The horizontal keyboard leaves room for 1 or 2 lines of body text - this is not usable for anything (maybe you can type a bit better, but see nothing). 3G tethering is a provider issue - providers do calculate device specific flat-rates based on the capabilities of the device (that's why RIM flat-rates cost almost nothing and laptop flat-rates an arm and a leg). If the iPhone could transfer gigs of data to a laptop, the tariff would be higher. All office apps (MS and iWork) are read-only, a BT keyboard would not change that. Take the time to check your Activity Monitor on the Mac while Flash Player is running in Safari - you will find the answer to the Flash issue right there. Unless Adobe improves this thing - it does not belong on a phone. I do agree with the rest though. On top of that, I am a little miffed that iPhone 2.0 and Mobile Me both still seem to lack To Do list and Notes syncing... cannot be that hard to make more than half-a-PIM :-(
4. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.en-dash.com/blog
Very interesting, Pete--I tend to agree with those who suggest that Apple had most of this stuff planned out in advance. They sold a very respectable number of iPhones 1.0 (as many as they made, as far as I can tell), but in keeping with the Apple Style Guide they kept it extremely simple. Now that they have established their baseline, they can add features as Jobs desires. But I definitely agree that Jobs and co. didn't plan for subsidies--comparing the prices for the new phones with their iPod Touch counterparts demonstrates that. It'll be hard to maintain that disparity for long.
3. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
1) the first phone was $499/$599 later reduced to $399/$499 2) the first iphone will be able to run the exact same applications as the second gen iphone. anyone paying even the slightest attention to the iphone was well aware the SDK has been in development since before the phone launched. the twelve month cushion between the launch and the opening platform was equal parts learning the mobile market, and marketing. 3) partially true. the iphone did not work well with microsoft outlook and other enterprise software. however the iphone supported push email from day one. 4) baseless claim. -- this release schedule is nothing more than an accelerated ipod. the ipod launched with no support for windows, cost $500 and did little more than play music. a few years later you could buy an ipod a third the size, 60% more storage for half the cost. that it happened faster with the iphone is indicative of little more than apple having 7 years experience in creating/sourcing consumer electronics. your second set of speculation is true, but not necessarily accurate. the iphone 2.0 upgrade won't be released until next month, some, all or none of the features you mention might exist.
2. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://newtonpoetry.wordpress.com
I like your argument, but I'm inclined to side with John Gruber: namely, getting the iPhone into people's hands as soon and as quickly as possible is the name of the game. Imagine if they had started selling Macs and a comparable price. Maybe you're right about the lesson of Blackberry and Palm: cheaper sells better. Well now here we are; look where we're going to go.
1. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Steve's, thanks! Jeez guys, way to hate.
Looking at Apple's recent product history and general product life cycle theory, When you introduce something as revolutionary as an iPod (with iTunes) or iPhone the first incarnation can command high prices, which help the company recoup their development costs. The first go round isn't meant for everyuone, but for the "early adopters" who are willing to pay higher prices to have the latest technology. After a few months of taking the (very high profit margin) cream off of the top, you lower the price a little to restimulate demand, so many people now think it is a "bargain" and the company has had a few months to work out any start up problems, and they have already lowered their costs. Version two of almost any product has more features and a lower price, of course that was the plan from the initial iPhone introduction. This is basic "Product Marketing 101". This article really looks like someone trying to create a sensationalized story around a normal Version 2.0 electronic product life cycle release. Apple is doing the kind of "textbook" style marketing that a company can do when they make exceptional products (comapared to the competition) and pay great attention to detail.
25. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Looking at Apple's recent product history and general product life cycle theory, When you introduce something as revolutionary as an iPod (with iTunes) or iPhone the first incarnation can command high prices, which help the company recoup their development costs. The first go round isn't meant for everyuone, but for the "early adopters" who are willing to pay higher prices to have the latest technology. After a few months of taking the (very high profit margin) cream off of the top, you lower the price a little to restimulate demand, so many people now think it is a "bargain" and the company has had a few months to work out any start up problems, and they have already lowered their costs. Version two of almost any product has more features and a lower price, of course that was the plan from the initial iPhone introduction. This is basic "Product Marketing 101". This article really looks like someone trying to create a sensationalized story around a normal Version 2.0 electronic product life cycle release. Apple is doing the kind of "textbook" style marketing that a company can do when they make exceptional products (comapared to the competition) and pay great attention to detail.
24. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
And to-do list? And synchronized notes?
23. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
great article until the end...BlackBerry is by far more superior than Windows Mobile. How could you compare these two is beyond me. Blackberry OS is equal with Apple. It doesn't have the sleek interface, but has a much more reliable and user-centric interface and a much better keyboard. Also, blackberry doesn't have all those features listed above besides MMS and Copy-paste. Don't sound like iPhones are only phones that lack tethering, bluetooth keyboard, etc. What the heck, very few phones have those. Blackberry doesn't even support inline frame, not to mention flash or quicktime movie. This article is full of bias toward iPhone or BlackBerry at the wrong points! Also, who uses MMS? I never used it. I think Jobs doesn't want to put an outdated useless tech in his phone. He only puts feature that more than 80% of people want...not featuers that only 10% of people use. Sure it's ridiculous that iPhone can't copy-paste, Jobs doesn't want to have that because it would allow iPhone to do so much that Jobs doesn't want us to do. By in any regard, iPhone doesn't have featuers that are unnecessary like MMS.
22. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
I don't know why people have a hard time understanding why flash does not work on the iPhone. It doesn't work because it's a bloated cow! I can hear my fan speed up on my MacBook when visiting FLASH enabled sites. That's CPU heat the fans are dissipating. Flash needs to lay off the CPU cycles before it can be put on a mobile devices such as the iPhone.
21. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: www.microsoft.com
"If you want to experience the best that mobile computing has to offer, you'll have to learn to live with Apple's quirks. There's just no middle ground between the beauty of the iPhone and the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. There's the mediocre way, Steve's way or the highway. Whose side are you on?" The Nokia side. You might want to research on the Nokia e61i or the Nokia 810. True tried and tested features made by the best mobile manufacturer of the world. The UI might not be fancy, but who cares with real power under them? I swear, Apple just appeal to the lower denomination customer with their UIs.
20. Tethering
I suspect the omission of tethering is specifically requested by carriers including AT&T. They want to sell separate laptop cards with separate monthly fees instead of using something that business users are already carrying (and paying for). With the iPhone SDK, someone will create a tethering solution, I suspect.
19. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
"What could prompt a leader as detail- and control-oriented as Jobs to affect such a remarkable change?" Are you REALLY asking this question? Do you remember the first Palm? The first Windows "SmartPhone", etc. Do you remember lame they were (or are in the latter case)? The iPhone was a BRAND NEW device for Apple. They had never made a phone before and Apple is super, super, SUPER secret about their products. So much so that even the CEO of AT&T didn't get to see it until everyone else (except for selected "reveal this and you die" testers). Now that people know about the iPhone and Apple doesn't have to be secret about it existing, they were able to work with AT&T, Microsoft, and lots and lots of companies to get things working right. And from all appearances Apple did. "Remarkable change" my a**. It's called Phase Two. Phase 1) Get the hardware right and make it work as a phone/ipod/mobile surfing device for "the rest of us". Phase 2) Make it work for corporations. "Remarkable change" my ... Next up, how many people were on the grassy knoll...
18. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
With the whopping "10 hours of 2G talk time / 5 hours of 3g talk time", why should it be an issue? Furthermore, it runs Mac OSX, no? So why would Flash on the iPhone be any more a pig on resources than on a desktop environment? I think something deeper is in the works here. Probably a license disagreement, or Apple is planning on pushing its own web media platform (so rumors say). All this could change when Adobe finally releases the open-sources the Flash platform though. Here's hoping.
17. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
That is why people hack apple products. 3 weeks after the launch, the new 3G iPhone will be hacked and those missing features will be loadable... plus VOIP Just look at iTV hack site.... for another good example.
16. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
"Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera" Thank goodness. Why people just want all that crap stuffed into miniature devices is beyond me. Just one more item for some other publication to rant about the low quality video - if it had it.
15. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.goingson.be
Man where do you begin. Apple somehow manages to stay afloat despite not listening to customers. No other company in the world is able to do that. I really wish consumers would wake up and see how they being porked by apple all the time. The best feature isn't the 3G, although the 3G will be yet another avenue for Apple and AT&T to rope you in. The best feature is the normal standardized headphone jack. Maybe the iPhone will plug into a computer and act like a USB device and some hang man noose to the iTunes store.
14. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.cafebrownsville.com
"Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera." THEY may not have, but someone (http://www.iphonevideorecorder.com/) has. And it's kludgy, but perfectly workable.
13. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
How about another alternative explanation: that what has been produced so far has taken a great deal of development time and that the other features just didn't implement to the standards that Steve Jobs demands. That they just may still be working on them and will incorporate them once they are sure the new ones are accepted and reliable. That the incomplete, requested ones, are going to be incorporated once their user experience can match what has already been done to date. Why isn't this possibility on the table - giving apple a little credit for its signature strategy that Jonathan Ives has so eloquently spoken of in the past - that Apple sweats every detail and until perfected won't release it. Michael
12. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
How about another alternative explanation: that what has been produced so far has taken a great deal of development time and that the other features just didn't implement to the standards that Steve Jobs demands. That they just may still be working on them and will incorporate them once they are sure the new ones are accepted and reliable. That the incomplete, requested ones, are going to be incorporated once their user experience can match what has already been done to date. Why isn't this possibility on the table - giving apple a little credit for its signature strategy that Jonathan Ives has so eloquently spoken of in the past - that Apple sweats every detail and until perfected won't release it. Michael
11. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Flash sucks on mobile phones. It's a pig on resources
10. You forgot voice dialing
I'm surprised you didn't include voice dialing to your list. It's more critical to me than any of the other features you mention. I can deal without them (well, the tethering is a pretty big omission especially considering AT&T's outrageously high data plan rates) but the lack of voice dialing is a deal breaker.
9. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Simple answer... stimulus package.
8. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
good points except Flash is pointless and is now 98% just banner ads - it's the animated GIF's of the web 2.0.
7. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
All these features could be added w/ sdk
6. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: iWindowsMobile.com
Let's also wait for Android.
5. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Most of the points do make sense, and I think it is really a mix of things that had been planned from the beginning and moves that were forced upon Apple. The first and most important target here is market share. MP3 players are slowly becoming yesterdays news and a respectable part of Apple's income will move - they have to get a respectable percentage of the mobile market to make the iPhone generate as much revenue as the iPods did/do. The price point is extremely aggressive - in some European countries they will undercut direct competitors (after subsidies) by as much as 50% - and those do not have usable touch interfaces yet, no iTunes ecosytem, horrible user interfaces with unusable browsers and mail clients (Nokia, LG, Palm), terrible built quality (LG, Samsung, SonyEricsson, Prada), a usable touch version of Windows Mobile is years away, and even if it arrives, it will still be a desktop OS shrunk into an inappropriate device, most subscribers to the Android plans are makers of second-class devices or half-dead. If Apple plays this right - it will smoke the iPod's success. Getting it into as many hands as possible is the right step and will generate a lot of additional business (iTunes Store, App Store, people buying Macs). I cannot agree with your "8 missing items" though. MMS is a tool for providers to rip off customers, why pay 1 or 2 bucks for sending one image when you can send a hundred for free - I am proud of Apple for not offering it. The horizontal keyboard leaves room for 1 or 2 lines of body text - this is not usable for anything (maybe you can type a bit better, but see nothing). 3G tethering is a provider issue - providers do calculate device specific flat-rates based on the capabilities of the device (that's why RIM flat-rates cost almost nothing and laptop flat-rates an arm and a leg). If the iPhone could transfer gigs of data to a laptop, the tariff would be higher. All office apps (MS and iWork) are read-only, a BT keyboard would not change that. Take the time to check your Activity Monitor on the Mac while Flash Player is running in Safari - you will find the answer to the Flash issue right there. Unless Adobe improves this thing - it does not belong on a phone. I do agree with the rest though. On top of that, I am a little miffed that iPhone 2.0 and Mobile Me both still seem to lack To Do list and Notes syncing... cannot be that hard to make more than half-a-PIM :-(
4. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://www.en-dash.com/blog
Very interesting, Pete--I tend to agree with those who suggest that Apple had most of this stuff planned out in advance. They sold a very respectable number of iPhones 1.0 (as many as they made, as far as I can tell), but in keeping with the Apple Style Guide they kept it extremely simple. Now that they have established their baseline, they can add features as Jobs desires. But I definitely agree that Jobs and co. didn't plan for subsidies--comparing the prices for the new phones with their iPod Touch counterparts demonstrates that. It'll be hard to maintain that disparity for long.
3. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
1) the first phone was $499/$599 later reduced to $399/$499 2) the first iphone will be able to run the exact same applications as the second gen iphone. anyone paying even the slightest attention to the iphone was well aware the SDK has been in development since before the phone launched. the twelve month cushion between the launch and the opening platform was equal parts learning the mobile market, and marketing. 3) partially true. the iphone did not work well with microsoft outlook and other enterprise software. however the iphone supported push email from day one. 4) baseless claim. -- this release schedule is nothing more than an accelerated ipod. the ipod launched with no support for windows, cost $500 and did little more than play music. a few years later you could buy an ipod a third the size, 60% more storage for half the cost. that it happened faster with the iphone is indicative of little more than apple having 7 years experience in creating/sourcing consumer electronics. your second set of speculation is true, but not necessarily accurate. the iphone 2.0 upgrade won't be released until next month, some, all or none of the features you mention might exist.
2. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Website: http://newtonpoetry.wordpress.com
I like your argument, but I'm inclined to side with John Gruber: namely, getting the iPhone into people's hands as soon and as quickly as possible is the name of the game. Imagine if they had started selling Macs and a comparable price. Maybe you're right about the lesson of Blackberry and Palm: cheaper sells better. Well now here we are; look where we're going to go.
1. RE: Why the iPhone Forced Steve Jobs to Play (Somewhat) Nice
Steve's, thanks! Jeez guys, way to hate.
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