“With only a brief preview of its new iPhone, Apple has yanked the rug from under the rest of the industry. The talking heads desperately need to something to say. Here’s what they’ll all be saying, and why they’ll be wrong,” Daniel Eran writes for RoughlyDrafted.
Eran’s Ten Myths of the Apple iPhone:
1. iPhone is missing EVDO (or some other high end feature) which will stifle adoption
2. iPhone is priced too high. It needs a 2 GB version for $299 lacking phone features
3. iPhone should be sold unlocked, not tied to Cingular service
4. iPhone software is a closed model, therefore the sky is falling
5. iPhone is just a phone with features lots of other phones already have
6. Cisco owns the iPhone name, which presents an impossible conundrum of epic proportions
7. Apple will need to port iLife 07 to Windows in order to have a photo viewer for PC users
8. An integrated battery is a significant problem for users
9. OMG Scratches
10. Apple can’t figure out how do do a phone
Full article here.
Related articles:
FUD Alert: Analyst – I am pretty skeptical Apple’s iPhone can succeed – January 11, 2007
Apple calls Cisco’s ‘iPhone’ trademark lawsuit ‘silly,’ says ‘very confident we’ll prevail’ – January 11, 2007
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
It’s funny that how after Apple released its phone, that articles and commentary addressing those 10 points kept popping up. People will soon learn to stop treating Apple like a red-headed step child of the tech industry.
Does anyone recall if there will be an iTunes mobile that will allow media purchases while in a Wifi hotspot?
But anyway, I like how the Zune has become a footnote in people’s memory.
The question with this phone is who Isn’t going to buy one, not who is.
Great article. Glad you gave it a spot MDN.
I don’t know how phone companies work in the US so I don’t know if the price of the iPhone is subsidised but assuming it isn’t it is tremendous value. The closest iPod is the Nano by virtue of having the same capacaties, in addition you get a bigger screen, advanced video functionality (in comparison to the 5G), enhanced iPod functionality, a phone and internet device and all the associated other functions. Plus you get an amazing form factor and new UI. What do people expect it to cost?
Compare the smartphones here. The iPhone is NOT overpriced by anyone’s standards…
http://ce.seekingalpha.com/article/23905
These guys are saying this because of only one thing:
THEY ARE AFRAID OF APPLE!
This might interesting to some of you.
iPhone & LG KE850: separated at birth?
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/01/11/iphone-and-lg-ke850-separated-at-birth/
Macaday,
Thanks for that link. I did a froogle search for the Palm 700wx and found it for $700+. Looks like Apple did not price out of the market.
Corporations keep spreading FUD about Apple, ’cause Apple has good products and loyal userbase, while other companies keep making half-baked products. There’s commitment and then there’s greed.
The Network Sucks- It’s Cingular.
Without a decent Network, it’s just an expensive (and crippled) iPod.
They are similar looking, but not really that close in resemblance. The buzz around this thing is unbelievable, even by Steve Jobs standards. I have never, ever seen something that hasn’t even been touched by anyone cause such a stir. Crazy. The next ten years are definitely going to be interesting.
People can argue on a lot of things about the iPhone (price, battery life, functions, etc).. but what makes the iPhone really different is the experience of using it..
“iPhone should be sold unlocked, not tied to Cingular service”
What I don’t understand is what does Apple get out of the Cingular tie-in? Did they all refuse to allow Apple to use their networks? It seems at the price, Apple makes all their money on the phone, but does Apple get money from each subscription, call cost, web surfing data packets, ringtones sold, etc? If so, the unlocked phones sold to Europe/Asia will be very valuable in the US.
Clearly the iPhone is so far ahead of the rest that for the last couple of days, other phone manufacturers will have been ripping up existing plans and starting afresh.
There’s no way that they can beat Apple by bringing a better product to market by the end of this year, so there are only two strategies left.
One is to get as much FUD going as possible, so that customers can be frightened off the iPhone.
The other is to set their lawyers onto the task of finding some obscure patent that they own, which could possibly be interpreted in a way that suggest Apple might have infringed that patent. They will then try to get the iPhone delayed.
I reckon that we’ll see the second course of action starting to take off shortly. ( The Cisco suit is a dispute over a trade name and isn’t the sort of issue I’m talking about ).
“The question with this phone is who Isn’t going to buy one, not who is.”
Exactly. Smart phones are normally marketed to business types who can:
1) afford it
2) increase productivity by using a mobile convergence device
iPhone’s major problem is that it doesn’t tie in with corporate exchange servers. There just isn’t a consumer market for a pricey convergence device with a boatload of features that consumers aren’t going to use. How many snotty rich kids can you find to back up initial sales estimates of one million units?
The ZunePhone, on the other hand, will feature seamless connection to corporate servers to actually warrant alleging that it’ll take away sales from Moto Q and other smart phones.
MDN magic word: shall. I shall wait this one out.
It is truly impressive MDN how your rampant fanboism continues unabated.
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The original author is also dumb – none of these issues really qualifies as a “myth” – I think he needs to invest in a dictionary.
However since I want to waste time at work today here’s a few quick responses…
1) This iPhone does use a slow and outdated GSM data technology which is very poor at internet connections – it’s not a 3G phone, hence this criticism is valid, especially in the context of Apple trying to say that this phone is 5 years ahead of the competition. 3G networks aren’t new or bleeding edge any more.
2) As a UK resident I’m used to seeing phones heavily subsidised by networks – my Treo I had a couple of years ago was free with a 1 year contract. A subsidised price of $499 on a two year contract seems like extortion to me.
3) At a $499 price point I too would expect this phone to be unlocked.
4) Symbian, Palm, and Windows Mobile all allow software development. This allows for interesting and innovative business applications to be written for such devices. If Apple really are going to keep iPhone development closed off from general developers then this could cost them. I’m not convinced the author really understands this issue.
5) This is true – even the multi-touch UI is only marginally innovative. It should also of course be noted that recent Nokia phones run a browser based on WebKit, which is what drives Safari and the iPhone browser.
6) Whilst it’s true that the iPhone name has been associated with Apple, the first time that Apple themselves used the name for a product was two days ago. Cisco own the trademark fair and square – it was on products released as early as 1996, and the latest products bearing the name came out last month. Since the iPhone name was only attached to a genuine Apple product a couple of days ago I think this is their earliest opportunity to genuinely defend their trademark.
7) This comment is dumb.
8) Palm had integrated batteries in the Treo which they ditched in favour of more conventional replaceable units. Palm aren’t stupid – they did this for a reason, and it wasn’t to make performing resets easier.
9 & 10) Both dumb.
In spite of the flaws I see in the iPhone, I still want one.
treocentral.com >> Stories >> Commentary
http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/1047-1.htm
Commentary: A discussion on the iPhone
Michael Ducker: You getting an iPhone?
Dieter Bohn: Obviously. You?
Michael Ducker: Obviously. Keeping your Treo, though?
Dieter Bohn: Looks that way, yep. I’m no businessman, but I need productivity on the go. You?
Michael Ducker: Same deal. I think yesterday I put in 7 hours on my Treo covering macworld. 3 hours as a modem, 1 hour browsing the web, and 3 hours on the phone. Oh, and 143 text messages. I don’t think the iPhone’s going to be able to do that just yet.
I beleive that The Steve gave the reason Cingular is the network chosen is they were the only service to work with the visible call message system thing. If the others didn’t want to work on that tech and Cingular did, Cingular wins.
MDN Magic Word-“certain” I’m certain iPone should have been named “Apple”Phone.
Michael Gartenberg | January 09, 2007, 11:56 PM
http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg/archives/2007/01/iphone_bottom_l.html
People seem to be linking to this but missing the rest of what I wrote, so bottom line.
1. The iPhone is the most beautiful and functional phone I have ever seen. Apple totally overcame all my issues with music phones and there’s an elegance that must be seen to be appreciated. First time I held it, I was speechless for more than a few seconds.
2. Apple unveiled what is probably the most hyped product… Well ever. And despite high expectations, they knocked the ball out of the park. In my opinion they exceeded the hype which was totally insane pretty high.
3. Yes, I think it’s not perfect, but let’s be clear, the innovation and design outweigh any issues by an order of magnitude, perhaps several. I look forward to leaving my carrier of more than a decade in June to pick one of these up.
Bottom Line. Home Run. Period.
Michael Gartenberg | January 09, 2007, 09:02 AM
http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg/archives/2007/01/is_apple_late_t.html
I’ve been getting this question a lot this morning. The answer is no. Sure, there’s stuff they could have done earlier but people forget that Apple was not first to market with the iPod either. There were a lot of other folks with devices in the market. Nor was it first with a flash based music player. And it was also one of the last vendors to put a recordable CD player in their computers.
The phone market is dynamic and we’re at a point in time where the technology is finally available that can make something like the iPhone viable. This product could not have been done two years ago and come to market the way that it has. Yes, I know other devices can do a lot of what the iPhone can do but that’s like saying there’s a lot of other music players out there as well.
No, I don’t think everyone is going to want to make the move to the iPhone, but enough people will that it will be a success. And like the iPod, don’t think that Apple is going to stop with one model in this line. This game just a whole lot more interesting and will only continue to do so over time.
“iPhone’s major problem is that it doesn’t tie in with corporate exchange servers. There just isn’t a consumer market for a pricey convergence device with a boatload of features that consumers aren’t going to use. How many snotty rich kids can you find to back up initial sales estimates of one million units?”
Umm, Exchange servers use IMAP, so there is no reason why it wouldn’t work.
Also, the only feature that seems to be tied specifically to the carrier’s network (Cingular) is the visual voicemail feature. I assume that regular voicemail would work the same with any carrier.
who is this tool that has posted this article? Can you say REV1. This is how things get done. 1 thing at a time. This is a revolution no matter how many ways you want to cut it down. The other comapnies are already stealing the ideas, hard at work. There are so mayb flaws in that list that I don’t even feel like commenting.
Biased source alert:
From a review of his past track record, it appears that Daniel Eran of roughlydrafted.com makes his living from Apple technology, and as such he is not a credible or reliable source.
Rather, he is a typical blogger. His writings are rife with flat assertions, contorted leaps of logic, and ignores facts or data that contradict his views.
He says he is open to criticism, but in reality he doesn’t make logical responses and in fact deletes critical comments and bans users on his blog who don’t agree with him.
For those who agree with him, he will probably come across as entertaining and right on. But that’s only if you already drink the Kool Aid.
For everyone else, anything Eran writes should be taken as suspect, until and unless his claims are independently verified.
MDN would do well to stop posting Eran’s article, until and unless another, more neutral and credible, source makes similar points.
JadisOne wrote…
I like how the Zune has become a footnote in people’s memory.
Now think what going to happen to Vista afa Longhorn down the road a month or two…
M$$$$ is in deep s–t and they know it now!
Why I would go for a new iPod over an iPhone for a while:
(1) If I were going to spring 600 bucks on a “convergence” device, I would want something that would actually replace my ipod – all 23 gigs of my music/photos/video podcasts. I mean, it is widescreen with brilliant video – but only 8 Gigs? Perhaps as a nano replacement it works…But it is no full ipod replacement with only 8 Gigs of memory…
(2)Apple tends to wildly exaggerate battery life, so if they say 5 hours -I take it with a grain of salt and wonder – what if it is something miserable, like 2 in real world conditions? Without a user-replaceable battery, it has to have some good battery life unless you want to be saddled with a charger at home, work, car, etc…
(3) If I so much as glance at my ipod screen, it scratches – hopefully it is more smudge-scratch proof than it seems…
Finally, the software is closed – so you have to wait for Apple to release a “widget” that you could really use but Apple hasn’t released it yet.