By SteveJack
Apple really only botched one thing with the iPhone – its name.
Oh sure, you can argue that the top model’s 8GB of storage is too small, but with 6 months to go that spec (and others) can and probably will change; Apple isn’t even taking pre-orders on the device, yet. So things can change. One thing’s for sure, Apple has frozen a nice chunk of the smartphone market, not to mention some of the iPod market, too.
Back to the naming issue: Apple’s “iPhone” isn’t really a phone at all. It’s really a small touchscreen Mac OS X computer, a Mac nano tablet, if you will. Here’s how misnamed the iPhone is: Some people are complaining that Jobs didn’t spend enough time on the Mac in his keynote! Folks, iPhone is not only a Mac, it’s the most radical new Mac in years! What’s to stop Apple from making a 12-inch model (and larger, and smaller) one of these days (use the headset for the phone, please) and calling it a Mac tablet?
It has an iPod built in, yes, so it can be used solely as a “true video widescreen iPod,” if that’s what you want. And even using it just like that, the price is about right. It also has a smartphone built in, too; except this smartphone’s UI actually makes sense and is usable. Even if you just use it as a smartphone, the price is right, too.
But, the main thing about the “iPhone” is that it’s really a pocket Mac. It has email, SMS, full-featured Web browsing, and much more. But, beyond that, it is a platform that’s just sitting there waiting for Apple to sell software for it. Just imagine games with the large multi-touch display and the built-in accelerometer!
Imagine all of the other software possibilities, too. Given Apple’s history with the iPod (closed to third-party developers), today I’d have to guess that they’ll keep the iPhone under tight control, too. Maybe that will change in the future, maybe not. Still, Apple could do a lot with the platform all by themselves. What about ringtones sold via Apple’s iTunes Store? With Wi-Fi onboard these things could beam data between each other like crazy. The possibilities are endless.
No matter how you look at it, for all that it can do even now, the device is very well priced and should fly off the shelves regardless of its name.
Maybe Apple named it iPhone because of all of the free publicity and buzz that name has already garnered. Maybe they want this trojan horse to slip into the market first under the guise of being the best smartphone available and they’ll exploit its capabilities as a full-fledged platform later. Perhaps it’s easier to explain and sell as a phone first. It probably would have been even easier to just have called it iPod (6G) and listed “iPhone” as a new iPod feature – that’s how they sold video, right?
I also have to wonder what will happen to Safari’s market share after the iPhone starts shipping. All of those iPhones hitting sites with their Safari browsers are going to have an impact if they’re counted properly. What about Mac OS X market share? Each iPhone is technically a Mac, right? If so, Apple will at least double their Mac shipments in the first year alone. Let’s hope IDC and Gartner count them all!
So, yeah, it can be a phone, even the very best smartphone, but it’s so much more and holds so much promise that the name “iPhone” hardly does it justice.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
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The big question is will Apple release an SDK for the device (or build support into X-Code) or will they keep it closed? It is a stealth OS X computer if Apple wishes it to be. The HW/SW would make a hell of a telematic set up for auto manufacturers. Imagine one of these built in to your dashboard with a Nav system and a bigger touch screen.
If you look at the “Home” screen in the demos, you wiil notice that there is additional room for more widgets — Hmmmmm…….
I hope Apple opens it up to 3rd party apps and widgets. I’m also curious about the audio capabilities. This may make a great little musician assistant (maybe a mini garageband app could be created with connectivity to a bluetooth based midi controller). I guess no mention of VOIP yet so as not to put Cingular/ATT in a sour mood.
I wonder if – after Leopard – the macintosh as a name will be left to history. It’s time. It was tough enough to come up with a decent name for Apple’s laptops – the names suck.
Apple TV – on the other hand – with the logo seems to work nicely. So I would propose the same for the phone – Apple Phone – with just the logo instead of Apple.
The only problem with the iPhone is the fact that its going to be offered through cingular only, which is quite sad. I would pay more for it if it was unlocked and unbranded. I just hope I can get it with no contract and not locked to one company.
SteveJack,
Nice to finally see an article from you.
More, please – and more often!
Thanks.
Perhaps Cisco and Apple, Inc. won’t be able to work out a deal after all. The following alternative names may surface: Apple Phone, MacPhone, iDevice, iCell, iFone, iPod maxi, Mac micro. Maybe there’s a more appropos name to the new device.
I would have gone with MacPod. Or just call it iPod, and give a “second name” to the other iPod devices: iPod video, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, etc. Afterall, this device is the forerunner of future “wearable” computer products from Apple.
This is my theory. Apple is calling it iPhone right now to capitalize on the free publicity, as SteveJack mentions. However, upon actual release, Apple will announce a name change. By that time, the hype will be so heavy, it won’t matter what Apple calls it. The name change itself will cause more free publicity. It’s the perfect strategy.
I also think Apple will double the storage capacities by the time the product is released, along with the same upgrade for the nano.
The name iPhone is perfect because the minute you say “Mac Phone” or “Mac Mobile” or “Apple Phone”, 90% of PCers out there will think it is only for Mac users. iPhone, like iPod, says generic to any platform even though the realities are very different.
I totall agree with SteveJack – I’ve already posted on how boring and uninspiring the name “iPhone” is. And it’s just too darn limiting.
When Apple decided to name their new GUI computer “Macintosh,” they didn’t do it because people thought “computer” when they heard the word. Macintosh became synonymous with graphical computing.
iPhone doesn’t do that. The name inherently limits it to just phone duties.
Call it “AppleSeed,” “Apple Tricorder” or “Thor” – almost any other name would be more inspiration and do a better job of evoking something greater than itself than the cheap, prosaic “iPhone.”
Love the phone, though – just hate the name.
My suggestion for a replacement name.
Leonardo.
As in da Vinci, a man who was definitely far ahead of his time and had world class skills in a variety of different areas.
As the Apple Leonardo, the phone would convey those same qualities, a device that fuses art and science into a beautiful package. Imagine a year from now and you hear the following conversation:
Man: “Hey, cool, you got one of those Apple Leo phones!”
Woman: “Yeah, I love my Leo! It works so well with my Mac, it’s like they were made for each other!”
Man: “I’m so jealous – I’ve been wanting to upgrade from my old iPod to a Leo forever, but now I think I’m just gonna go ahead and do it!”
Woman: “You should! I love my Leonardo!”
Steve Jobs, are you reading this????
Great design! There’s only one thing wrong … CINGULAR …
599 for a simlocked phone?
Name it the iCom for iComputer/iCommunicator
I had exactly the same reaction yesterday when plenty of people whined that Apple left out the Macintosh from the keynote. But if an Apple built device runs runs OS X as its OS, it is a Mac by definition. SteveJack got it right. Remember that early in the keynote — and I take this from the MDN coverage log — was this entry:
Jobs: only talking Mac today…
Some think this was to screw the hedge fund bastards who have been holding the stock down by market manipulations — he got ’em. But it is also true, so anyone calling Jobs a liar is wrong.
IT guy got it right though, about not letting on that people were going to be buying a Mac when they buy an iPhone. And given the demographics of purchasing this pricey item, plenty of top executives will become trained in using OS X and be likely to question IT as to why they are not using it. Talk about a halo effect! When iPhone buyers realize that they already know the OS X operating system, they will be very likely to become switchers for their other computer needs.
MW: doubt, as in: There is no “doubt” that the iPhone will be a smashing success and that the competition will be smashed.
Regarding the more software thing: It seems very likely. Look at the demo of it. All that blank space on the home screen just begs to be filled with more goodies.
It’s the Newton 2… on steroids.
MaWo: ‘morning’. As in, ‘The presidents of Palm and Research in Motion didn’t want to get up on this one…’
<u>Alfred the wise</u> said it very well: “It is understated and has style”
Before you get to cool features like the music and photo capabilities or internet communication possibilities the phone is genuine in its presentation and interaction with the user. There is power in simplicity; less is more. The interface doesn’t have eye candy for eye candy’s sake, or use it to cover up some shortcoming. Everything flows intuitively and sensibly.
I’ve seen the same or similar interface elements in OS X for years, but my jaw dropped when I watched the iPhone Quicktime demonstrations on Apple’s website. When something is understated and has style, it ages well.
Whatever— I want an iPhone.
I think the quote of Steve’s was “And that’s all we’re going to talk about the Mac today” after giving some figures for it -as in no more Mac talk.
iMac
iPod
iPhone
That is the only reason for this name that I see, the three darling innovations from Apple.
I prefer MacPhone, but that might imply it is not PC compatible to some, just as Newton might. (I’m talking about the drive-by media here, who gets “little details” like this wrong all the time, and then the perception is set)
But just as AppleTV is multiplatform, I wish the name were different. And it still can be.
For six months, Apple could slowly focus the name away from iPhone for many reasons, including Cisco. This could be a marketing strategy to use the name “iPhone” to gain maximum media exposure for the unveiling.
Lets hope.
Incredible is an understatement ! I wonder if you will be able to share the internet connection via Wi-Fi ? We would finally have portable ‘modem’ that is simple to use – by multiple people if wanted.
We have several Crackberry’s here and we use the Crackberry Enterprise Server to sync them to MS Exchange. Thus we have all notes, contacts, email, calendar, etc automatically and wirelessly sync’d between “Outlook” and the Crackberry.
The iPhone will have to be able to do that, but if it can and does (sync between “Outlook” and the iPhone) then they can and very well may gobble up a MAJOR chunk of the Crackberry market.
MW: “develop”ers “develop”ers “develop”ers “develop”ers…
Apple Blaster perhaps..?
With this speaker within, IPhone is the return of the ghetto blaster. What a mess in the subway. Aghhhhh!
tMac – T for telephone, telecom, all things tele.
Have anyone noticed that the iPhone Steve demoed yesterday was rigged via its dock to a conference hall projection system?
Think about having in 3 or 4 years from now a 24″ screen with keyboard and mouse, Wacom tablet (and any other peripheral you use with your iMac or iBook) connected to a small dock. Same setup at your parents house. You use it at home where your docked iPhone is running the show, with its 500GB flash disk and Core8Quattro processor. You go to parent’s house, playing a game or movie on the iPhone while your spouse drives (or the car drives itself). You use parent’s dock to use your ‘computer’ there. Same for your wife carrying her iPhone between home and work. No more home, office desktops, laptop for travel. You have one computer for everywhere, and it goes with you in your pocket. And it has Apple logo on its back.
Open your mind to that possibility folks! Have you bought your Apple stock yesterday?
MW: further
dogfriend and others are right – it’s a mac that will get people hooked.
My father complained about getting an iPod for Christmas because he was too old, but shows off his crappy motorola phone like it’s the bomb.
This is a bigger trojan horse than the iPod. I think this form factor will replace laptops. Apple will make versions with a larger screen, but over time. Eventually, the MacBook and iPhone will have a merged device. And, suddenly, everybody’s using a Mac, whether they know it or not!
This is the coup de gras for Apple. The platform wars are over, and Microsoft just lost.
MDN Magic Word: “french” As in, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer probably haven’t felt like french kissing in over a day!