The end of the year is traditionally when people take stock of and plan changes to their lives. Naturally, we here at JAiB also take stock of the iPhone ‘s life “ where it ‘s been, where it ‘s going, etc. So before we speculate on the next iPhone that theoretically will be introduced next year, let ‘s take a look back and relive some of the sage wisdom dispensed about the iPhone before and after its initial release.
(Culled from various places on the Web)
‘We ‘ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They ‘re not going to just walk in. ‘
Palm CEO Ed Colligan – November 2006
Funny, you could say that they are still struggling; only now the ‘learning ‘ is from Apple
‘Apple is slated to come out with a new phone And it will largely fail . Sales for the phone will skyrocket initially. However, things will calm down, and the Apple phone will take its place on the shelves with the random video cameras, cell phones, wireless routers and other would-be hits When the iPod emerged in late 2001, it solved some major problems with MP3 players. Unfortunately for Apple, problems like that don ‘t exist in the handset business. Cell phones aren ‘t clunky, inadequate devices. Instead, they are pretty good. Really good. ‘
Michael Kanellos (CNET) – December 2006
At last report, Michael is still rockin ‘ his RAZR
‘The Apple phone will be exclusive to one of the major networks in each territory and some customers will switch networks just to get it, but not as many as had been hoped. As customers start to realise that the competition offers better functionality at a lower price, by negotiating a better subsidy, sales will stagnate. After a year a new version will be launched, but it will lack the innovation of the first and quickly vanish. The only question remaining is if, when the iPod phone fails, it will take the iPod with it. ‘
Bill Ray (The Register) – December 2006
OK, everyone whose iPhone 3G has vanished, raise your hands .
‘The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks. In terms of its impact on the industry, the iPhone is less relevant Apple is unlikely to make much of an impact on this market Apple will sell a few to its fans, but the iPhone won ‘t make a long-term mark on the industry. ‘
Matthew Lynn (Bloomberg) – January 2007
I wasn ‘t an Apple fan, but I guess I was a gadget freak. Which category do Megan Fox, Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Alyssa Milano, Carl Rove, Paris Hilton, and Jennifer Love Hewitt belong to?
‘Five hundred dollars? Fully subsidized, with a plan? It is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn ‘t appeal to business customers because it doesn ‘t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine So, I, I kinda look at that and I say, well, I like our strategy. I like it a lot. ‘
Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) – January 2007
Soft target. Let me address this with another quote:
According to figures released by Gartner on Thursday, Microsoft’s mobile operating system had 11 percent of the global smartphone market in Q3 2008. A year later, it had 7.9 percent of the market, while the iPhone‘s share had risen from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent, and RIM’s share had risen from 16 percent to 20.8 percent.
I guess it ‘s easiest to drink your own Kool-Aid. How ‘s that strategy looking now, Mr. Ballmer?
Microsoft had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.
Yeah. Thought so.
‘Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone What Apple risks here is its reputation as a hot company that can do no wrong. If it ‘s smart it will call the iPhone a ‘reference design ‘ and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else ‘s marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace failures. ‘
John Dvorak (Columnist) – March 2007
John also suggests that Apple should have sold the technology to Samsung. You know, the makers of the iPhone killer, the Instinct.
‘There ‘s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It ‘s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I ‘d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get. ‘
Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) “ April 2007
Ahem. Apple: 17% share and growing. Microsoft: 8% share and falling like a stone. Sir, you epitomize FAIL.
‘The forthcoming (June 29) release of the Apple iPhone is going to be a bigger marketing flop than Ishtar and Waterworld combined. Because its designers forgot Platt ‘s First, Last, and Only Law of User Experience Design ( ‘Know Thy User, for He Is Not Thee ‘), that product is going to crash in flames. Sell your Apple stock now, while the hype ‘s still hot. You heard it here first. ‘
David S. Platt (Suckbusters!) – June 2007
I had never heard of Suckbusters. I wonder if they featured themselves on their site?
‘We are not at all worried. We think we ‘ve got the one mobile platform you ‘ll use for the rest of your life. They are not going to catch up. ‘
Scott Rockfeld (Microsoft) – April 2008
‘They are not going to catch up pass us leave us way behind get 100% market share. ‘ If Windows Mobile is the mobile platform for the rest of my life, then get Kevorkian over here. Quick. Unless, of course, he ‘s attending to matters in Redmond
‘Windows Mobile has nothing to fear from either the iPhone or Google Android. One ‘s an emerging one, the other is a very limited form factor. One has relatively limited hardware support and limited distribution; the other is just one form factor from one company with limited choices of operators. So they both at this point feel fairly restrictive compared to all the great options consumers would have with a Windows Mobile phone. ‘
John Curran, Microsoft UK, 24 Oct 2008
Okay, here ‘s an exercise for the reader: Name one “ ONE “ Windows Mobile device that ANY respected source outside Microsoft has mentioned as a serious contender to the iPhone in 2008 or 2009. I ‘ll wait.
‘The truth of the matter is all the consumer market mojo is with Apple and to a lesser extent BlackBerry. And yet, the real market momentum with operators and the real market momentum with device manufacturers seems to primarily be with Windows Mobile and Android. ‘
Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) – Feb 2009
Wait a minute .. Didn ‘t I just read that:
‘Windows Mobile has nothing to fear from either the iPhone or Google Android. ‘
OK, which is it? iPhone and Android are insignificant, or they have ‘consumer market mojo ‘ and ‘real market momentum ‘? Does Ballmer win by virtue of his CEO title? Did Curran resign in disgrace? I know one thing: This would never have happened on Bill Gates ‘ watch
‘You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later. Think about it ” If you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market. Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they ‘re going to buy. ‘
Roger McNamee (Big-time Palm investor) – Mar 2009
Maybe it ‘s upside down?
I know what most of us bought “ an iPhone 3GS. Or was it a Pre? Wait, let me check. Nope, it ‘s an iPhone 3GS.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
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