Note that none of the new iPod models released yesterday support Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther”, even the new shuffle, though I don’t see why it would not be unofficially supported, as the new update is just cosmetic changes.Just an FYI to all you Panther users..
Well, tonight, I ordered the new iPod shuffle in the color lavender. I can’t wait until it arrives, as my old iPod shuffle (1st gen), sadly kept getting corrupted, and requiring a restore/reset for some reason, so I’ve been iPod-less for a while. I do like the new form factor of the new iPod shuffles, as they’re smaller, and they were made 200% better today when they announced new colors, particularly the lavender color, which as it turns out is my favorite color. Anyway, I will report on it when I receive it in a few days. Also, even though today’s iPod shuffle refresh only changed the colors, Apple surprisingly says that the iPod shuffle now requires Mac OS 10.4, instead of only 10.3+ like the previous releases. While I do understand why Apple is slowly dropping 10.3 (including security updates perhaps this or next month), but requiring a new OS just for a cosmetic change? Hmm, anyway…
Apple released new iPods. Most noteworthy is the new nano and the new iPod touch. Watch the keynote from Steve Jobs.
There are also some good videos from Apple to watch, such as the nano ads and the guided tour of the iPod touch. And you can now purchase music right on your iPhone and iPod touch without needing your PC or Mac.
I few other nifty things like new ringtones and a partnership with Starbucks.
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.
Nothing announced or official from Apple. I think some clever anti-theft protection from Apple is long overdue.
“The patent, titled “Protecting electronic devices from extended unauthorized use,” outlines a technique that would allow a particular device to authenticate itself with certain, user-approved power supplies and devices so that it can only be charged by those devices.”
Full article, Apple anti-theft system would leave thieves powerless—literally, at Ars Technica.
I just checked out the iPhone in a little more detail at the Apple store. I was familiar with most of the issues people have been having with it. The iPhone could definitely benefit from 3rd party apps.
But I wanted to mention an issue I had with YouTube on the iPhone. It seems like something kind of obvious to me and I did a quick search and didn’t find it being mentioned anywhere. You can’t subscribe to channels with iPhone. That seems very important. Probably more important than being able to bookmark videos. So if I regularly watch the PBS Channel, the only way I can view the videos in it is by doing a search. Viewing a channel should be three clicks away. YouTube > Channels > PBS. You should login once at the beginning, your first time launching the YouTube app, and that should be it.
Of course, I have other qualms with the iPhone. It looks like there is so very much more they can do with it, and I expect them to in future updates. But I just wanted to quickly mention that one for the two reasons of seeming obvious that it should be done and not seeing anyone having mentioned it.
It seems my MacBook is suffering from hairline cracks. I only just noticed them. I thought they might be small streeks of dirt and never looked too closely. One got extremely exacerbated and I finally noticed. I wasn’t aware this was a problem with the MacBooks. Seems it’s been reported everywhere, including ZDNet and AppleDefects.com. I have an AppleCare Protection Plan and they set me up with a Mac Genius at the nearby Apple Store. We’ll see how that goes and see what they can do. I’ll try to follow up with an update on how well my customer service experience goes.
