“Apple Computer Incorporated is no more. On Jan. 9, CEO Steve Jobs announced that the name he and Steve Wozniak gave to their new business 30 years has changed. It will now be called simply Apple Inc. Jobs had deleted the word ‘computer’ with the same ruthlessness that he once used to deny cursor keys to the original Macintosh, and an on/off switch to the iPod,” Steven Levy reports for Newsweek.
Related article: Apple’s Schiller: We’re not getting out of the computer business – January 10, 2007
Levy reports, “It was no coincidence that Jobs revealed this on the day that he unveiled the iPhone, Apple’s long-awaited entry into the mobile marketplace. The device further broadens the scope of the company once known primarily for making things with keyboards. It also enhances Apple’s legacy for swooping into a creatively moribund category and upending the established players with a level of style and innovation that has seemed beyond their grasp.”
“‘It’s the best iPod we’ve ever made,’ Jobs told me in a postkeynote interview and hands-on product demo. (Apple isn’t confirming, but I’d expect the rest of the iPod family to follow suit sometime later this year,)” Levy reports.
Levy reports that Jobs “once referred to the Cingulars, Sprints and Verizon Wirelesses of the world as ‘orifices.’ But a couple of years ago, he realized that he would have to deal with them. ‘We talked to several of them and educated ourselves,’ he says. He finally decided to deal with AT&T’s Cingular network. ‘[They] were willing to take a really big gamble on us. We decided what the phone is. We decided what software would be on the phone. And so we could make the product we wanted.'”
Levy reports, But it’s not like the walled garden has gone away. ‘You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,’ meaning that anyone can write applications for it and potentially gum up the provider’s network, says Jobs. ‘You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.'”
“Still, since the iPhone runs a full version of OS X, the operating system of the Macintosh computer, it’s reasonable to expect the device to take advantage of that power by running lots of applications, even if Apple has to vet them to make sure they won’t compromise the integrity of the networ,” Levy reports. “Jobs says we can expect more apps on the phone by the time it ships in June. (For instance, one might expect the iPhone to allow users to view Word documents, something that the prototype doesn’t do today) … Jobs hints that Cingular may offer different billing plans for iPhone, though for now he isn’t saying for sure. In any case, Jobs say, ‘There’s no reason we couldn’t have iChat on here.’ So bring it on… Another intriguing possibility not yet exploited in the iPhone is the ability to take a song from one’s iTunes music library and instantly make a ring tone from it. ‘Wouldn’t that be cool?’ says Jobs, after I brought it up. ‘It could be done.'”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Why Apple’s iPhone doesn’t do high-speed mobile phone networks (yet) – January 11, 2007
RealMoney: Apple just blew up the whole damn mobile-phone supply chain with its new iPhone – January 11, 2007
ZDNet: Hands on with Apple’s iPhone: ‘elegant, ravishing, simple, sleek; impeccable & intuitive UI’ – January 11, 2007
Apple iPhone FUD campaign begins – January 10, 2007
Nine ways Apple changed the face of consumer electronics yesterday – January 10, 2007
Analysts and investors applaud arrival of Apple iPhone – January 10, 2007
Top 10 things to love and top 10 things to hate about the Apple iPhone – January 10, 2007
How Apple kept the iPhone top secret for 30 months – January 10, 2007
Hands-on with Apple’s iPhone – January 10, 2007
The only thing really wrong with Apple’s iPhone is its name – January 09, 2007
Is Apple building ‘The Device?’ [revisited] – January 09, 2007
Analyst Bajarin: Apple’s iPhone and Apple TV are industry game changers – January 09, 2007
Time: ‘iPhone could crush cell phone market pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority’ – January 09, 2007
Analyst: Apple iPhone should be given its own category – ‘brilliantphone’ – January 09, 2007
Cingular to use Synchronoss Technologies’ platform for Apple iPhone – January 09, 2007
iPhone photos from Apple’s Macworld Expo booth – January 09, 2007
Enderle: Apple’s iPhone is going to do very well – January 09, 2007
Apple debuts iPhone: touchscreen mobile phone + widescreen iPod + Internet communicator – January 09, 2007
FUD Alert: Analyst – I am pretty skeptical Apple’s iPhone can succeed – January 11, 2007
The Register’s Ray: Apple ‘iPhone’ will fail – December 26, 2006
Analyst: Apple iPhone economics aren’t that compelling – December 08, 2006
CNET editor Kanellos: ‘Apple iPhone will largely fail’ – December 07, 2006
Palm CEO laughs off Apple ‘iPhone’ threat – November 20, 2006
One thing I don’t understand about this name change is Apple Record. What is going on there? The fact they dropped Computer from their name must mean they must have some agreement in place already. Another thing I noticed was SJ using Beetle songs in presentation. Again it indicates there is an agreement in place. Otherwise, Apple Record’s lawyers must be busy writing complaints right now.
once referred to the Cingulars, Sprints and Verizon Wirelesses of the world as ‘orifices.’
HAHAHAHA
New corporate name plus Beetles songs in the keynote can only mean an “announcement” is forthcoming about the Beetles in the iTunes store, perhaps as early as next week after MacExpo hype has settled.
It’s Apple Corp. not Apple REcord
That’s exactly what I have been thinking these last days.
That was part of the deal between Apple Computer and Apple Record.
So, change of name, lots of Beatle song in the presentation, but no statement??
Something didn’t leave the curtain in the keynote!
jEEZ. it’s Beatles not Beetles.
cripes!!
Playing “Lovely Rita” at the keynote was very interesting. But, I think the name change is a non-starter. So they dropped “computer” from their name – big deal. It simply reflects the fact that as the footprint of desktop and laptop computers gets smaller and smaller you have to question what the next form factor will be. Apple is the best positioned company in the world today to take this concept and run with it. Apple will NOT own the living room – they will own the entire house. Your house will be run and controlled by a Mac with a handheld controller that does a lot more than just dim the lights and turn on the TV (or Apple TV).
Love the thought of not having to pay YET AGAIN for a different ring tone if the one I’m using becomes tired.
“Levy reports that Jobs “once referred to the Cingulars, Sprints and Verizon Wirelesses of the world as ‘orifices.’
And the technical term is Lack Holes.
According to iLounge’s Q&A with Apple staff, the iPhone actually won’t be able to take a song from your library and make it the ringtone because of “rights” issues (which iLounge probably correctly translates as music industry pressure). I don’t know why – a ringtone isn’t a dealbreaker after all – but this really, really irks me for some reason, and reinforces more than ever why the recording industry is screwed and must die. The gall that they have to say “No, you can’t use that audio file which you already have on your phone/iPod and which you bought and paid for for that purpose; you have to pay for, download and give-up further memory to another, more expensive version of the same audio file to use in that way…” I know it’s not Apple’s fault and ultimately they have to keep the record companies sweet if they want iTunes to survive, but I really wish they’d just tell the where to shove it (if what iLounge reports is accurate).
That’s what I love about Bluetooth and my RAZR – Simply upload a mp3 to my phone via Bluetooth and Viola a new ring tone… Even better edit it down with quicktime and get just the part of the song you want.. I’m not paying for any of those sucky ringtones you can download..
‘There’s no reason we couldn’t have iChat on here.’
Except for the fact that the camera lens is on the back – gonna make it rather hard to see the caller at the same time
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=:~)
MW: got – as in ‘I’ve got to have one of these’.
“Still, since the iPhone runs a full version of OS X…”
WAKE UP MDNers!!
iChat does more than just video – You know like free audio calls…
Chas,use it in front of a mirror.
why can’t they just make it so you can program an AAC or an MP3 as the ringtone. Then you don’t ahve to change the file at all, and rights doens’t enter into it.
In order to use iChat, you will need a small mirror (like neomonkey says) on the back of the iphone because the cam is in the back, that could solve the problem in a easy way. BUT!!!!, the next gen iPhone, will have the patented “Camera-Display” that apple registered last year.
In the other hand, The Beatles- Apple issue could mean that Apple will buy Apple records and enter the music production market also.
“‘There’s no reason we couldn’t have iChat on here.’
Except for the fact that the camera lens is on the back – gonna make it rather hard to see the caller at the same time”
I don’t think he was talking about video chatting, he was talking about IM vs SMS. IM=FREE. SMS+$$$ for Cingular. Unfortunately it looks like, thanks to the providers, and perhaps record industry, iPhone will probably never see it’s true potential.
As for software applications for iPhone, don’t forget that Dataviz (makers of MacLinkPlus Deluxe) already produces ‘Documents to Go’ that allows you to view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your Palm or PocketPC – http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/index_palm.html.
This would be a good suite of software applications to have on iPhone.
Would you buy a TV from a computer company?
Sony? Well, Sony is the exception.
Toshiba? Oh, no, another exception.
Acer? Yes, Acer makes TV’s.
Dell? Yea, I know.
HP? Them too.
What computer company does not make TV’s? Apple of course. Good thing they changed their name. Wouldn’t want people looking for TV’s at the Apple Computer Stores. No confusion likely at the Apple Inc. store.
Jobs says we can expect more apps on the phone by the time it ships in June.
Of course. The phone has a 4×4 icon grid with only eleven items.
Big Al,
Is Sony called Sony Computer?
Is HP called HP Computer?
Is Toshiba called Toshiba Computer?
* full version of OS X
* can expect more apps on the phone by the time it ships in June
* no reason we couldn’t have iChat on here
* ring tones from iTunes, possibly says Jobs
“‘You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,’ meaning that anyone can write applications for it and potentially gum up the provider’s network, says Jobs. ‘You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.'”
Now this is the biggest load of crap I’ve seen.
First, I can buy a network card for my laptop and run whatever software I might want to run. People have been doing this for awhile and Cingular’s network hasn’t gone down.
The best and fastest way to make the phone useful is to let application developers loose at it. Then you’ll see things like SFTP clients, games, chat programs, word processors, etc. If we have to wait for Apple to eventually get around to it, we’ll be waiting years–kind of like for the spreadsheet in iWork.
The feature which allows you to make a ringtone of any song on your phone is commonplace already I think and I would be very suprised if you weren’t able to do that on the iPhone by June.