“Several of the world’s leading CE executives have said that the pending launch of the Apple iPhone was most important introduction in CE of the past 20 years… The comments were made during a major industry summit in the US over the weekend,” David Richards reports for Smarthouse News. “Top executives from Dell, Panasonic, Philips and Sony voiced their opinions and agreed on many of the issues facing their companies and the industry during the Manufacturer Power Panel at the CEA CEO Summit.”
“Ron Garriques, president/CEO of Dell Global Consumer Group, Stan Glasgow, president/COO of Sony Electronics, Stewart Muller, president/CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics and Joseph Taylor, executive VP/COO at Panasonic were members of the panel,” Richards reports.
The four executives were asked for their opinions of Apple’s iPhone and if it is, as some have claimed, the most important introduction in CE of the past 20 years. “Garriques said, ‘If you can reset in the consumers’ minds that cellphones can be priced at $499 to $699, instead of the thinking that it is just $1, that’s good.’ He echoed the view of his colleagues that ‘the marketing and hype surrounding iPhone is good,’ and said that even if iPhone isn’t all that it is supposed to be ‘you know that they are working on iPhone2, iPhone3 and 4 versions.'”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s iPhone is priced at US$499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model. Beyond the pricing “mistake,” Garriques’ attempt at using future iPhones as FUD against iPhone is an interesting study in desperation.
Richards reports, “Taylor said, ‘Apple makes intuitive products. You can open the box and figure them out in two minutes. We can learn from Apple and make things easier to use.'”
Full article here.
“We can learn from Apple and make things easier to use.”
Good luck with that.
I love the smell of fear in the morning.
Technically they could learn but they’ve shown no real sign of it so far.
At least these guys have the guts to admit that the iPhone may be a paradigm shift in the consumer electronics world.
The iPod has shown that electronics needn’t be daunting and painful to learn and use… think about how miserable VCRs, cell phones, digital cameras and yes, even Windows (wink wink nudge nudge) generally are to use.
Apple and the iPod have proven that these devices can be deceptively simple, elegant, powerful and actually FUN to use… what a concept!
Apple is for idiots like me, I just tried to change some settings on my Airport Extreme, really messed it up, unplugged it, went thru “their setup” menu, wala, back on line. I should learn to leave their defaults alone!!
The expectations around Apple’s new iPhone have become so extraordinary, they have nowhere to go but down.
In the last 23 years to be precise. Let’s not forget why 1984 was not like 1984.
” Apple iPhone the most important product in 20 years.”
But the smartest man in the world proclaimed:
“They’re way overhyping this,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, a San Jose-based research firm. “The phone isn’t that good.”
Rob needs a knife and fork.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s iPhone is priced at US$499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model. Beyond the pricing “mistake,” Garriques’ attempt at using future iPhones as FUD against iPhone is an interesting study in desperation.
It’s a good business decision. If you call sell a very small percentage of users a $600 device that is made of $100 of junk Korean parts, you can indeed reset the mindset of consumers and make more profit my screwing them over…
Apple has been doing it for years with their PCs so I assume the iPhone will be a great success..
Poor PC Fan. The next ten years aren’t gonna be very kind to you.
PC Fan:
If you are going to innovate, you will need a R&D department. If you have a R&D Dept., then you need to feed it, specially with some dough that came precisely form You gess! Sales.
If you are going to sell a product and have no gains, well…
FG
PC Fan
Then why do Apple computers last so much longer that Doze PCs? Oh yeah its because they are using “cheap parts” . If Apple is using cheap parts, what do you think Dell, HP and all the others are using? Elaborate if you will (or can).
“We can learn from Apple and make things easier to use.”
The message behind the products from Apple has been clear (for most people): less bullshit, more functional functions.
This is not news. It was probably obvious after Apple sold 10 million iPods, which clearly outnumbered the Apple-userbase back then.
Rumors about an iPhone probably also started then – and when Apple seriously started into getting it ready for production (which must have been about a year ago, as an educated guess), it should not have been a secret for anybody “in the industry” – after all, the phones are made in China, often phones from mutliple vendors in the same factory side by side. I don’t believe in “Chinese walls” – even less so in China.
So, do all those poor mobile-phone makers actually tell me that between then and January and now, they have more or less been “waiting”, looking at how “the market” will “react” to the iPhone? Doing nothing? Spending their boni?
I can’t believe that. If that was true, they’d be all doomed.
Reduced to making accessories, like Creative.
Compare that to Apple’s reaction when the Zune came out: a day before it came out, they announced the new version of their own player, and undercut the the price of the rival product.
Well, the only mobile phone company, whose products I liked (Siemens) isn’t in the business anymore anyway.
I might just as well buy a new phone from Apple, if it reaches Europe later this year (and if I can afford the voice/data plan).
“Then why do Apple computers last so much longer that Doze PCs? Oh yeah its because they are using “cheap parts” . If Apple is using cheap parts, what do you think Dell, HP and all the others are using? Elaborate if you will (or can).”
They are the same parts, made in the same factories by the same people. What you fanboys fair to understand is there is nothing special about Mac hardware, they are for the most part, the same as any other PC. The only difference is the EFI and a special chip so that Apple “Hardware Limited” OSX will run (stop over sometime kids, I’ll show you OSX (OSX86) running on a Dell faster than you’ve ever seen it run on a “gorgeous ” and “really beautiful” Mac…
Of course, none of you will ever believe that (don’t let facts get in the way).
As far as “long lasting”, I’ll keep that in mind next time I have to change out the motherboard in my iBook (that will make the 4th time)….
“Poor PC Fan. The next ten years aren’t gonna be very kind to you.”
Yeah, I and the other 95% of the world will be busy making a living. You will still be living off of daddy and doing “fun stuff” on your Mac..
Seems to me that there has always been about 5% of the population who are the deadbeats of society, who would rather live off of public assistance than work. Seems an excellent market for people not interested in PCs, but would rather play all day on their Mac and do “fun stuff”….
I’ll have a life, … you can have your iLife.
PC Fan, the hardware may be similar but there are differences in quality, depending on how much the manufacturer is willing to pay. Just take a look at the difference in laptop power bricks. It is very easy to spot that some use cheap cables while others provide better grade power cords. As they say around here, it is the same but it is different.
PC Fan,
Boy, aren’t we bitter today. Someone piss in your Wheaties this morning? Get shot down by every chick at the bar last night? No? Just a bitter person, I guess.
Sorry about your luck with your iBook. No one ever said that every product that Apple makes is flawless. But, they do have the lowest recall and repair rates out of any PC manufacturer.
PC fan doesn’t know the importance or value of software. He should stick to buying his stuff from the dollar store.
It is lear that the tide is turning. Those who have made a large personal commitment defending the platform that is going down are starting to feel that their choices are being questioned. There is going to be a backlash, so expect to hear from many more PC Fans here and in other forums. However, that is not going to stop the trend.
While it’s tempting to keep blasting PC Fan, I’d rather get back to the subject of the post.
Personally, I can’t wait for the iPhone to come out, but the most important Consumer Electronics product of the last 20 years? Really?
Honestly, I’d put a number of innovative, game-changing products in front of the iPhone. For example: the iPod, flat-screen TV, HD TV, the DVD player and TiVo (and its ilk) were all game-changers. For that matter, the original iMac was at least as revolutionary, and probably saved Apple.
Ask me the question two years from now, and maybe I’d give you a different answer. But today, with zero sales (albeit with lots of potential), I think the panel overreached when it comes to the iPhone.
I will give you one thing sir, your doze boxes are definitely NOT “fun stuff”
I guess that’s why they call it ‘work’ when you have to do your work with a doze box.
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I downloaded the 20-minute iPhone video tour from Apple, and boy, the iPhone really is something else. Is there anything it can’t do? And it is so insanely simple to use, despite being an incredibly versatile device, that it’s criminal! Even one of the less-touted features – the Google maps – is so brilliant and useful – while also being entertaining – that you are left saying “WOW!!”
And it is all done in brilliant color, with gorgeous icons. Just watching that screen is probably going to become addictive for many people.
I do hope they include video recording, and a 5-or-more megapixel camera in future editions. And maybe an optional larger version with a 5-inch screen or something.
In terms of importance, I would put the cell phone as #1. The iPhone would be #2. (If we could go back just a bit further, I’d put the VCR alongside the cell phone. And the Sony Walkman would come just after the iPhone; the iPod being an extension, albeit a much better revision, of the Walkman.) The thing is though, most people didn’t recognize the value of those products before they were introduced.
The cell phone changed the way people stay in contact but its main focus has been on voice. Data has begun arriving, though slowly, and I think the iPhone has the opportunity to take data mainstream. The PDA, UMPC, and smartphone are forerunners but noee of them was done well enough or broad enough to move beyond the tech geek and business niches.
The VCR changed TV and then the entertainment industry. The DVD player is just an extension of the half the VCR as most people still don’t have DVD recorders. The TiVo is also an extension of the VCR concept but after all this time, has barely penetrated the market.
That said, the fact that the iPhone has been hyped as the most important product is a very negative indicator. Things that have turned out to have a huge impact were not hyped before introduction. Things that have been hyped have almost always fallen short.
PC Fan –
Dude, let’s see that Dell running OS X.
I want an iPhone, but I am still wary of some issues: most of which is the AT&T service plan pricing.
In addition, I’ve seen no indication of voice dialing; we don’t how viewable the screen is in sunlight; how fast (really) will EDGE system run; will it be easy to carry? And how soon will it be eclipsed by 2nd gen iPhones? Lot’s questions that can lead to buyers remorse and ammunition for the anti-Apple crowd. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that none of my worries proved to be major distractions because by the time I learn about it I will already be an owner.