iPhone Update

I got some flak from friends on my original "Apple Impact" post. Most of the complaints regarding missing features in the iPhone and the "openness" or "closedness" of it.

I think overall reaction to the iPhone depends on whether one is using a microscope or a telescope. "What is is" vs. "what it means." I honestly don't care what it is - I am ridiculously confident in my assessment of what it means.

First and foremost, (not that Apple fully understands this), this is not the iPhone. It is an iPod that makes phone calls. I hope Apple doesn't blow this. You have to look the iPhone within the context of iPod product line and price points.

iPod Shuffle: $79
iPod Nano: $149 $199 $249
iPod (Video): $249 $349
Apple TV $299

//Pat's Conjecture:
iPod (Video, new formfactor, touch screen, no phone, no wi-fi) $349
iPod Video Wi-fi $399
iPod Phone small disk - $499
iPod Phone big disk - $599
End Conjecture//

Mac-Mini $599
Mac-Mini $799

If you splice in the prices of Apple TV or Mac-Mini you get a nice curve up to $1,000 by the time you have a monitor. Have you priced a Playstation Portable and necessary accessories? Every kid/teen you see walking around with PSP is down $1,000 bucks, and at that price they still own only a handful of games. So the whole argument that the price is too high is just not relevant here in the USA - where between affluence and credit card debt, $600 for a toy for self or teens just isn't an issue.

This is why "retail drives enterprise", or "consumerprise" or "prosumer" is such a big deal. If I am a large enterprise making billions off of the knowledge capital of my people, then of course $600 is too much. "Bob, we can't outfit sales with these, our revenue per head would drop from $1.5 million per head to $1,499,400 per head - can't do it!"

The whole success of this product will be driven by the fact that it is not a business product. Business products suck. In fact Generation D (Net Generation, Generation-G) will likely evaluate jobs by access to consumer technology vs. business technology.

Old Business vs. New Business

Vista vs. Mac OS X / Ubuntu
Laser Printers vs. Lots of cheap inkjets
PBX-based Phone vs. Skype
Nextel click to talk vs. iPhone
Enterprise Backup vs. Mozy Accounts

And more.

Closed? More closed than my lame phones? Can't be for long - not with a real web browser. Not with widgets. Not with a universe of hackers out there. One of my best friends rails against iTunes because it is "closed." If selecting a set of AAC drm-protected songs in iTunes and clicking the "convert to mp3" button in another application is closed - then I will take closed in the Apple Reality Distortion Field over any product shipped to date by Sony, Nokia, Ericsson, or Microsoft.


UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:
OK, Bill Gates did one more major Window's wing-ding after my post declared he was done. And - the product is being sold as iPhone, something I didn't believe would happen. However, I do stand by what I said, long run this is not an iPhone, it is an iPod that makes phone calls. Do we really believe as the news tells us that ATT/Cingular has a 5 year exclusive? Or is it a 5 year exclusive to the "iPhone" brand and by June 29th next year we will all be able to buy an iPod that makes phone calls for use with most major carriers? Fingers crossed.