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Archive for the ‘mac’


Published June 27th, 2007

The Jesus Phone… I Mean iPhone Arrives

Category apple, confuser, gadget, gadgets, mac, technology, video, web | No Comments »

 
The most over-hyped, over anticipated, over the hill… I’m over it already, mobile phone in history is due for release into the wild this Friday 29th June in the USA. Never before in tech-gadget history has so much been rumoured, speculated, written and talked about a device that is not even available for sale yet.  Since it’s announcement at MacWorld in January 2007, the Apple Inc share price has risen over 30%, mostly due to the promise of the mystical, magical, mythical iPhone.
 
I‘m not going to add too much to the melting pot here at WD.  As a mobile phone, the iPhone is overpriced and uses the old-hat 2.5G mobile network. The largest mobile phone markets in the world have all long since moved up to 3G technology. (Europe, Asia, Australia).  As a portable consumer device that plays videos and music (iPod) it shows extreme promise of things to come. As a smart-phone portable computing internet device…  we’ll wait and see how the touch screen interface translates across to that realm of user happiness.
 
Whether you like it or not, make no mistake… You WILL be hearing lots about this phone, so you need to be informed and make up your own mind about it’s worthiness.  Click the picture to open the page and play the video.  Or click this link to download the full-screen version (175MB).
 
Click to view the VIDEO...
 
After watching the video myself I have to say I’m very impressed with the PROMISE of what they are showing. The interface does for phones, what the iPod did for MP3 players. Clean, elegant, 110% Mac-like. However, in true Apple style, the reality-distortion-field is working overtime.  There appears to be a lot of real-world things they are not showing us in this Guided Tour video.  Things like loading times between screens, and loading times for websites, and music being played on the iPod section. How long DOES it take to type SMS message and names and phone numbers using the keyless touch screen interface. Let alone compose and reply to emails. All that stuff is conveniently left out of this promotional video.  BUT… IF, Apple truly HAVE solved those issues and the iPhone is just as glorious in real life as in this video, then run, don’t walk, down to your share broker and buy as much (AAPL) as you can afford. 
 
IF, remember IF…. and it’s a very big IF.  
 
The iPhone will not appear in Australia until at least 2008, and it will not be the version released on Friday.  Apple will release a newer, better, faster version for the 3G markets.  They have to. Carriers throughout Europe and Asia have already stated publicly they are NOT interested in selling the iPhone in it’s current 2.5G version.  Also stand by for new iPods using the same form factor (touch-screen, wide-screen) soon.
 
As a final note to this article, you might be wondering  "How much does this thing COST ?"  Well the iPhone itself is US$599 upfront at the phone shop. You can only get it with one company (AT&T) by locking into a 2 Year monthly contract for calls. The Data Plan to access the internet and email features is an EXTRA $40pm…   total cost over the two years…. a touch over US$3100..  yes, that’s three thousand dollars US.  Wow… it had BETTER be good for that money…
 

Published April 14th, 2007

Apple Runs Out Of Things To Say

Category apple, confuser, feature, mac, opinion, rant, video | No Comments »

 
The latest yawn-fest PC v Mac commercials would indicate that Apple has run out of things to say about it’s own PC hardware products ( yes - Macs are PC’s too). Instead they are continuing down the "PC’s are Evil" road.  I’m sure this approach goes down well with the zealot fan base who laugh mockingly down their noses at the poor old non-Mac computer users.  But you have to ask yourself as a PC user (which over 90% reading this will be), do you enjoy being made fun of ? Being ridiculed and made to feel stupid and small for your choice of computer hardware ?  Do these ads make you want to leave your PC out on the kerb on rubbish day and trot off to the local Apple store with a suitcase full of cash. No, they make you want to punch the crap out of the smarmy little brat playing the Mac PC.
 
 
Sure the early ads were clever, humorous and poked fun at the many foibles of Windows and the PC’s it runs on.  We all got a chuckle watching those.  But a monkey could have written those ads, it was like shooting fish in a barrel, even Apple would admit that.  As the campaign has progressed it’s spiralled down from the heights of witty and clever to become a little embarrassing frankly.
 
I‘m not going into a whole debate and article about the actual facts of Windows PC’s versus Mac OS.X PC’s.  We all know the score there. I’ll cover that in a future article. For now we’ll let the Apple Reality Distortion Field carry on unabated.
 
As if we needed more proof that the message has become lost along the way from initial campaign conception to the current implementation of today… What is supposed to be the "take-away" from this ?  That things never change ?  Really… that’s all you’ve got left in the ideas tank. Maybe things would have changed if Bill Gates hadn’t taken out his wallet and chipped in a lazy US$150M, back in 1997 to save Apple from sliding off into oblivion.
 
 
Time to get a new PR firm Apple.  One with a new message. One that promotes YOUR products, not simply taking pot shots at easy targets, ie: the +90% of the worlds computer users that don’t use your hardware.  I’m sure you’re paying them a tidy sum to pump out this tired boring warmed over idea. You deserve to get value for your money…