Letters to the Editor
mcphoto
Published Letters: 2 Editor's Choice: 2
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What'll suck? Nothin, as far as Steve Jobs is concerned.
[Read the article: iPhone doomsters: Cracked screen, broken keyboard?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]OK, I've gotten a few laughs from the web-wide predictions of iPhone doom.
Too pricey for corporate purchasers? Not treo/blackberry-ish enough for business users? Lousy service provider? Come on, you don't know your Jobs basics.
As they did with the iPod, Apple will clean up... not with an existing market, but by creating a new one: "Those who Use an iPhone". You'll find it hard to define this market, other than they love their iPhones, they evangelize 'em, they figure out every nook & cranny of the software, and, oh yeah -- they can scrape up $600 for the thing.
Take a look at the animated demos on Apple's website... the interface, useability, and utility of this thing looks stellar. The first cat to whip one out at a party or the office will send plenty more folks down to the Apple store. Sure, a few will say "you're nuts to spend the cash on that toy", "who needs all those features", but for some slice of America, one look at that thing will be all they need. And that's been a great strength of Apple: there have been nice markets for the iMacs, the Powerbooks, the iPods, the G5's, OSX... Jobs knows how to Build it so They will Come, and they come in enough numbers to keep profits up. The iPhone is a re-boot of the way cell phones work; it's evolutionary, may well be revolutionary, and enough people will dig that to make it a smashing success.
A lot more people (like me) will shrug their shoulders and be happy with their current phones. (I don't want an iPhone, you should see how banged up my freebie is from dropping it daily).
Jobs lost the PC vs. Mac wars ages ago; but he knows there's a market for his mojo. Yeah, I've read all the crap about "Mac users are stupid to pay more for something that can't run all that PC software", that they're fashion-centric fools, yadda yadda yadda. But I have a Mac and a Dell sitting on this desk, and as far as Windows goes? It's a primitive, poorly-designed, depressingly clunky place to spend the majority of my workday. So I spend it on my Mac instead. OSX may not be perfect, but it kicks Windows' ass in every way imaginable from where I sit. Love your PCs? That's fine. Hate Apple? Great. There are enough people that love them some Macs; there will be plenty that love 'em some iPhone.
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Zzzzzz.....
[Read the article: Is the press too nice to Apple?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"A big part of it, of course, is CEO Steve Jobs, who could affix a matte-white Apple logo to a pot of gruel and make us beg for seconds." Sheesh. Yeah, the hype is justified, and it's got little to do with Job's salesmanship. Apple took the stumbling MP3 player market by storm, with ONE product done right. Having a reputation for "doing products right", Apple announces their foray into cell phones, and demos an evolutionary/revolutionary (you choose -- actually, the market will) product. Those who looked at the demos on Apple's site said "Holy Sh*t -- someone figured it out, FINALLY".
It's a big story, seeing how every person between 6 and 90 in the developed world seems to have (a) a cell phone and (b) an iPod strapped to their hips, and if the iPhone delivers - it'll be a long-term success for Jobs & co.
The last "pot of gruel" with an apple logo that I recall was the Newton, and it was more like a plate of Sushi in 1975; a bit before its time, but heck, kinda tasty.
So yeah, for a tech reporter, a business reporter, a "lifetsyle" reporter, even a fashion reporter... it's a very big story with its share of drama. Now, Mr. Manjoo, can't you come up with something a little more original to write about?