MacMage has released a great little app called Cents, which provides a super convenient and quick way to keep track of how much money one is spending.
From the Cents website: “We never realize how much we spend on the little things in life… but it all adds up. This pocket app will help you keep track of your little spendings and show you how much you’ve spent.”
Check it out! Requires Leopard, $4.99.
An article about whether Apple has taken advantage of the poor reception of Microsoft Vista to sell more Macs. As reported by the New York Times, “The best time for gaining market share is when your main competitor stumbles while introducing an entirely new version of its core product. Thanks to Microsoft’s lumbering pace, Mr. Jobs had six years to look forward to the moment when XP would be replaced by Vista.”
Here is a very helpful blog post listing several applications for the Mac that would be useful in business with a summary of each. This includes applications for time tracking and invoices, money management, communication, project management, contact management, and miscellaneous.
From the article: “…just ask your local IT guy at work how much Apple is on his radar for future purchases. He’ll likely know a lot about Apple, and may even be a Mac user himself, but his next purchase order for 200 desktop computers will probably be from Dell.”
Technical specs aside. There are plenty of reasons why the iPhone isn’t the do-all, be-all phone. But I think we can still agree that it is a pretty good phone. It does not have any major technical flaws. I think there are six major reasons why the iPhone will succeed, despite the high price, lack of an SDK for third party apps, and AT&T exclusivity.
Branding - The iPhone is made by Apple. Apple has very strong and positive brand recognition. 1997 at the Macworld in Boston, Steve said he believed Apple was one of the top five recognizable brands along with Nike, Coca-Cola, and Disney.
Advertising - Apple’s advertisements are iconic. Most everyone is still familiar with the famous 1984 commercial that played only once during the Super Bowl. It was even remade into a pro-Obama and anti-Clinton video that was put on YouTube by an individual unaffiliated with the Obama campaign. The silhouette iPod advertising have been parodied everywhere, even by Family Guy. And the “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials have even seen parodies by Novell. The iPhone commercials make it seem like getting an iPhone is just the obvious thing to do.
Established Fan-Base - “Mac zealots” as they’re often called will support the iPhone and be early adopters. How often do you see people camping outside an AT&T Wireless store? That’s a rhetorical question, but the answer is likely: Just once. And that once was for the iPhone.
Aggressive Retail - Steve Jobs often notes the strong growth of the Apple Retail stores. Figures aside, I personally have been to Apple Stores from San Francisco to New York to Europe and they are always packed. iPhone will be at the forefront of every Apple Store and a strong highlight at every AT&T Wireless store.
Strong Partnerships - When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he noted in his keynote presentation at Macworld that in order for the company to survive, they must forge meaningful partnerships. Apple isn’t going at this alone. Other major companies have a stake in the success of iPhone. The obvious one is AT&T. If AT&T has five years of exclusivity with iPhone and if the iPhone grows at the same rate as the iPod, AT&T will be cashing in big time. Google has a very close relationship with Apple. Steve Jobs even stated recently that it seems the only two companies that seem to be innovating are Google and Apple. Google has its map service and YouTube video service on iPhone. Google has been trying to increase their presence on mobile devices. The success of the iPhone could be a great help for Google in expanding in that market.
Integration - Unlike Nokia or Motorola, Apple is in a position to leverage the other markets they inhabit and to tightly integrate the iPhone to work with those products. Macintosh, TV, ITMS, iPod, etc. If Moto wants music services available on their phones, they partner with someone. (In the case of the ROKR, they happened to partner with Apple.) If Apple wants a music service available on the iPhone, the iPhone developers just pick up their iPhone and give the ITMS developers a call.
About 3 out of every 4 music players in the US are iPods. The iPod has sold over 100 million units. It took approximately five years for iPod to become approximately 75% of the market.
This USA Today article, sourcing Forrester Research, states that AT&T is the leading wireless provider in the US with 27.1% of the market. AT&T and Apple have a five year agreement for iPhone exclusivity.
If you aren’t familiar with the history of AT&T, Steven Colbert of the Colbert Report comedically sums it up in this video.
If iPhone becomes as popular as iPod that would bump AT&T from 27.1% to potentially over 75% of the wireless market.
On the other hand, the iPhone could end up inhabiting only approximately 5% to 6% of the market like the Macintosh.
What do you think of the new AT&T?
AT&T Corporate Center; a monolithic monstrosity in the Chicago skyline.
Working with Apple computers, this is good for me. Apple’s success ensures more work for me.
