Posts Tagged: apple iphone

strategy / technology — 6 Comments
17
Mar 10

Shrinking ray to shine on iPhone?

For a company that loves to surprise people, Apple does a darn good job of sticking to a schedule. In fact, they go about innovating in a most businesslike way.

Products are refreshed on a fairly regular schedule. New products tend to start off basic, and then bloom over time.

Look at the original iPod and you’ll get a serious case of the giggles. The thing is a brick. Just a thousand songs, no photos, no video. Apple spent the first three years finessing it. Then, just as competitors started to narrow the gap, they zigged when the pursuers were zagging. A smaller and cheaper model (mini) caught everyone off guard, attracting even more customers. The family continued to expand from there, with a still cheaper model (shuffle), followed by a sexier model (touch).

So — is this a time of reckoning for iPhone? The next generation is expected in June. Apple has spent the first three years perfecting a single model, just as they did with iPod. Now that the the League of Android is nipping at their heels, is this the time Apple shakes things up by starting to build a family of iPhones?

It may be hard to imagine Apple offering an iPhone with fewer features. But no more illogical than what happened with iPod — and Apple is pretty good at duplicating success. It’s not hard to envision the iPhone market opening up to even more customers with a super-slim iPhone nano offering full speed and new-model coolness at a reduced price.

Surely, stranger things have happened…

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advertising / creative — 16 Comments
12
Mar 10

Playing it safe with iPhone

I like my Apple to be brash. Unafraid. Gleefully killing products in their prime. Taking risks in unproven markets. Making other companies look cowardly. What I love about Apple is that they never play it safe.

Well, almost never.

I’m honestly puzzled why, after three years, the newest iPhone ad looks pretty much like the first iPhone ad. If you weren’t paying close attention to this newest spot, you might well think you’d seen it before.

It’s about Apps, of course — and I’m 100% in favor of that. Apps have changed the world, and Apps have become iPhone’s crushing advantage. It’s just that there are a thousand creative ways to talk about Apps. And it’s very un-Apple to do the same thing over and over and over.

But wait, you say. The Mac vs. PC campaign has been running even longer. It sure has. And the beauty of it is, every spot tells a fresh story. The characters change appearance, they talk about different things, they use props, guest characters appear — in other words, it’s a real campaign. People actually talk about it. When was the last time you heard someone raving about “that new iPhone commercial”?

The production technique is stale (still photo of iPhone in hand with a finger moving over it) and even the words are becoming suspect. I was pretty shocked to hear the Exedrin-quality last line, ”That’s why I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone.”

Maybe I’m not the target with these ads, but I should be. In a marketplace where word of mouth is everything, you want to keep giving your owners the ammunition to enthusiastically recruit friends and family.

Apple has always taken bold leaps because it’s in their nature to do so. In the case of iPhone, they have gale force winds at their backs, so stretching creatively is literally a no-risk situation. A little fire can only help. Between Apple and Chiat, there isn’t the remotest chance of creating ads that will bring the empire down. It’s only advertising. It’s there to get people excited.

As far as I can tell, there’s only one reason on earth why Apple keeps running these ads: they work. And make no mistake, it is terrifically hard to knock success. However, this is the “don’t rock the boat” school of marketing — and it’s completely out of character for Apple. I’d say it might even be dangerous, with new and better smartphones popping up around every corner.

This is one boat that could use some serious rocking.

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strategy — 10 Comments
3
Mar 10

Apple fires a shot over the bow

Apple to Android: may we have your attention please

They grow up so fast, don’t they?

It was just three years ago that Apple introduced iPhone. That was when, in one little aside, Steve Jobs gleefully noted that this new bundle of joy was patented out the wazoo.

Well, yesterday those patents got their first good workout. Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC claiming 20 violations. In doing so, Apple has stepped over an interesting line. That scrappy young revolutionary is now officially playing with the big boys — adding a little aggression to their arsenal of tricks.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing. In a global market worth countless billions, it’s bound to get a bit rough. Companies will try anything they can to gain an advantage or strip away the other guy’s advantage. Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.

Obviously Apple believes they have a case against HTC. But just as obvious, there’s a far, far greater goal here. Apple wants the whole unruly gang of Androiders to think long and hard before they borrow/steal even a glimmer of the technology that sets iPhone apart. That includes hardware, software and philosophy. The message is: don’t even think about it.

Apple is demonstrating that they have the brains and brawn to fight in any arena, whether consumers be the judge or judges be the judge.

Yes, I do get a little wispy whenever another piece of the original, lovable Apple falls by the wayside. But the kid needs to grow up sometime, and it’s hard to be cute when you need to be intimidating.

Unlike some, I really don’t worry about Apple turning into the kind of company they’ve always fought against. Their moral compass remains one of the biggest reasons for their success.

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strategy / technology — 9 Comments
20
Jan 10

Nexus One: the world’s fastest price cut

Everything's fine ... really

Well, that didn’t take long. Just nine days after the launch of the Nexus One phone, Google and T-Mobile announced a $100 price drop. Only catch: it’s not for everyone.

Existing T-Mobile customers only. Account active for 22 months only. Individuals only. No business or family accounts. No phones numbers ending in 7 or 2. Okay, just kidding about the last one — but it doesn’t feel so out of place with the actual restrictions.

In its email to customers, Google is outright cheery: “Good news! The upgrade pricing for existing T-Mobile users with data plans has changed from $379 to $279.”

Not to throw cold water on the merriment, but “good news” like this normally happens only after bad news reaches the CEO’s desk. Like puny first-week sales of 20,000 (vs. iPhone 3GS’s first-week sales of 1.6 million). Or a customer uprising due to lack of tech support.

How different companies respond to similar circumstances is revealing. Remember when the first iPhone met with pricing resistance? Just two months after launch, Apple responded with a price cut. But theirs applied to all customers — $200 off for new purchases and $100 Apple Store coupons for those who’d already bought. Some felt that Apple actually ended up with a net positive for being forthright and fair.

Google and T-Mobile, however, have chosen to zero in on a subset of their customers: upgraders only. It’s as if someone had calculated the least possible thing they could do to help right the ship — which actually diminishes the good will generated by offering a discount in the first place.

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naming / strategy / technology — 13 Comments
6
Jan 10

Google enters the arena

nexus_one

Stand back — another iPhone killer is born

Droid, Pre, Storm, Cliq — kindly step aside. The real Clash of the Titans is taking shape. In a single day, ad giant Google unveiled the Nexus One while phone giant Apple bought itself a mobile ad company. This should be fun. But first things first. A few instant reactions to Google’s new baby:

Name. Lame. You’ve got a killer brand, a high-end entry into the world’s hottest market, months of global anticipation for a “Google phone” … and you call it what? Ya know, sometimes obvious really is best. Ask iPhone. GooglePhone, Gphone, take your pick. (Oh, and if you really, really had to go this route — and you didn’t — was that “One” really necessary?) Extra points for iPhone before the rumble even starts.

Features. Overall: spotty. Some cool things (better screen than iPhone, 5-megapixel camera, voice-enabled so you can write an email simply by speaking). Some duds (no multi-touch, a microscopic 190MB allotted for downloaded apps, wimpy app store, dismal music player).

OS. Google presented Nexus One as “the best Android device.” Brazen, considering the co-CEO of Motorola was in attendance — presumably with the second-best Android device, Droid, in his pocket. Wouldn’t there be fighting in the streets if Microsoft suddenly started selling “the best Windows computer”? Google says it’s not trying to reap profits from the sales of Nexus One, just “broadening the availability of Android handsets.” Uh huh. Already, Nexus One has features that are merely “coming soon” to other Android phones.

Price. $529 unlocked, $179 with a 2-year T-Mobile “subsidized” contract. To be honest, this industry-wide subsidy thing has always sounded fishy to me. If Apple can haul in the cash selling a 16GB iPod touch for $199, how much more can it cost to add telephony to that? Conspiracy theorists, unite!

Design. Hmm, now where have I seen this look before…

I’m eager to see some real reviews now that Nexus One is among us. I think the competition between former buddies Apple and Google will be good for the industry and riveting to watch. But make no mistake: there will be blood.

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