Raised eyebrows from a number of tech journalists.

After the conference, I approached him and asked him why the comparison has to be made to the iPhone all the time. I interjected that mentioning a competitor’s product during your own press conference made it sound more like a fit of desperation on your end. The truth is, the iPhone and his product are two different things. He answered me quickly and said that apparently, consumers don’t think that way. Because of the commercial hype it generated, the iPhone is being compared to everything in the market.

I told him that well, we’re IT journalists and technology bloggers — and you don’t need to justify with us how different these two products are. We know. We did our research. We’re well informed.

It is good that product managers are very aware of the competition. But marketing is marketing – they should only mention the “other phone that begins with an i” if a journalist asks a question pertaining to that during a press conference. Otherwise, I don’t see a need to passively promote your competitor’s products.

Do you agree with me? Or do you think that product managers should really just address this question during a product presentation? C’mon guys, be honest!

Post from: Cellphone9

Telcos are doing some huge subsidies. Apparently the $199 price for the iPhone 3G is a huge mask over its real price. Europe has just announced their pricing and with an iPhone-only package out of the box, this will cost USD $773 for the 8GB model and $881 for the 16GB model. Wowzers. OK so what I said about the implications of a $199.00 iPhone and the cellphone industry should be taken with a grain of salt. But what a world it would be, if the pricing was pegged so low. I guess this is one of the reasons why Apple chooses to partner with telcos after all – they know that people can’t afford the phone without a subsidy.

[image: Newscom]

Post from: Cellphone9

I’m excited. Really excited. Not much for the new 3G iPhone features, of the fact that you can now sync it over .Mac (renamed to MobileMe). What I’m excited about is competition. Today, Apple announced the new prices for the iPhone 3G: $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB upgrade. With Windows Mobile devices costing in the close $600.00 and above, what happens when the world’s most talked about phone get a huge price cut by half? What happens when the world’s most talked about phone acquires Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange and push email? What happens when it acquires GPS and maps as well? All for the price of an entry-level phone from Nokia or Samsung.

What happens to Windows Mobile? What happens to the BlackBerry? The opportunity cost is just too great to miss out. July 11 2008 is the set date for shipping for the new iPhone 3G, making this the cheapest smart phone in the market. And we’re not even counting the Palm Centro anymore.

Image courtesy of the Apple Store.

Post from: Cellphone9

UPDATE: The Apple store is back up with the iPhone 3G being sold

Okay. It really isn’t a big secret anymore, and this was something everybody expected. Apple is capitalizing on 3G data delivery for their new services including GPS and MobileMe, the latter being the rebranded name for .Mac, adding functions such as syncing over the air to your iPhone. It’s sort of like how Plaxo works, actually.

Overall, Apple’s move into the realm of 3G is a tad too late, but they’re making up by trying to innovate with the services – as well as price. The most affordable iPhone is the 8GB model, which will be sold at no more than $199.00. This price is apparently going to be enforced across the big 70 countries that will be selling the iPhone. So yeah, don’t be duped!

More thoughts to come in the next few posts. I’m trying to process myself out of the reality distortion field.

NEW IPHONE 3G FEATURES:
Faster 3G (HSDPA) Speeds
Built in GPS and Maps
Apple Push Service
Built in App Store
Microsoft Exchange and Push Email Support (!!)
8GB and 16GB models
Available in Black

Post from: Cellphone9