Dvorak: Apple iPhone a Big Risk in Company Reputation
It’s like the world’s wost kept secret. I feel like a doubting Thomas who needs to be reassured that there will be an iPhone, but more importantly, that its going to click regardless of what industry people such as Steve Ballmer and John C. Dvorak say. In his Market Watch column, John mentions that the iPhone’s proof of concept plays too much on the advertising hype rather than in the product itself.
The problem here is that while Apple can play the fashion game as well as any company, there is no evidence that it can play it fast enough. These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months. [source]
I myself have some reservations about the iPhone in the same way that Apple used to have a really good PDA called the Newton, but was removed from the market before it became popular. On the other hand, the iPod could have met a similar fate except that it was marketed really well - and sliced and diced to fit all market segments.
So there are some clues in all of this. The fact that there is only one iPhone model (notice that most phone manufacturers always release a clamshell, candybar and slider version of the same unit) truly proves that this is an experimental device which, at worst, could become a collector’s item for Mac Zealots if it does flop. On the other hand, it could do really well, and Apple scraps the name “iPhone” and just rebrands the iPod to include telephony. It makes sense. Everyone has an iPod nowadays. Why not put a phone in it?
Tags: Apple, iPhone, Mobile-MonitorRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Apple, Mobile Monitor, iPhone
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