The iPhone is coming!

[David M]

That's exactly it HAL. Is someone happy with the money they just spent?

[HAL9000]

Only time will tell with that... but that would still leave my original question remaining then.

[tigstah]

Originally Posted by glc Depends on the area, Tom. Cingular is pretty decent here but I've been in cities where it's lousy. Their high speed network is a joke though, Verizon and Sprint have them beat big time there.

cingular is lousy here to.
lots of dead spots.

[mbossman2]

Originally Posted by David M The fact remains, Apple ripped one out of the ballpark and into the parking lot with the bases loaded over the weekend. Call it hype or naivety...thats assuming people do not read any of the hundreds of reviews available before they buy a product. There were plenty of negative things in the reviews...yet they still chose to "Buy! Buy! Buy!". <-- (Cramer reference)

the first orgasmic burst doesn't really say much. The key is sustainability. The numbers almost certainly will see a fall off, the question will be how much?

Will the iPhone become an expensive toy or a viable phone/internet/portable entertainment unit?

The iPod feature of the phone has been tried before - and that didn't do so well. (remember the Motorola that ran iTune songs?)

Who knows, Apple may have figured it out, but only time will tell....not prepared to brand this a success or a failure. Only a shortsighted day trader mentality would do so.

[mairving]

Interesting too. I was reading this article about how Apple could possibly lose Univeral as a partner. Probably won't happen but who would it hurt most if they did pull out from Apple and sign an exclusive offer with someone else.

[David M]

I don't think Universal Music Group (UMG)-Vivendi wants to lose the market of people who are paying 99 cents a song. My guess is that it is a threat to pull out unless Apple coughs up a higher percentage of the revenue from the download fees. A pre-negotiations threat basically.

Jobs holds the upper hand in that iTune sales are a small percentage of revenues for Apple. iTunes for Universal Music Group HAVE to be a greater percentage of sales. Apple can live without UMG more than UMG can live without Apple. If UMG wants to hurt sales, then go ahead and cut off Apple as a customer. Where else are they going to sell music as easily to iPod owners other than iTunes? iPods are the largest percentage of the MP3 player market. UMG would only be screwing themselves by cutting off Apple. It's a symbiotic business relationship here..not a one sided relationship.

Vivendi is only 1/3 the size of Apple. UMG is a division of Vivendi, a French company.

[LeftyAce]

Isn't Vivendi also a huge global water supply, waste management, and assorted media company? I think to some degree Vivendi could live without it's music business, forget Apple :-)

Nonetheless, I agree it's probably pre-negotiation leveraging.....neither company wants any music to disappear from iTunes.

[David M]

This is what Vivendi does, in the lower right hand corner. I did not see any mention of water.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=vivendi&hl=en

[TimPoet]

Okay, I saw an iPhone yesterday and got to handle it for a few brief seconds during a break at work.
I must say I am impressed with the little I saw. It was so thin! And the screen creates a gorgeous display. Very sexy it is.

Buuuut it's so expensive!!! Jeez, $600 with a contract! It'll be awhile before I get one of those...

If any flaws ares revised well enough, perhaps in a year or two, and if it's features can beat out my new Blackberry Pearl, then I may just get one.

[LeftyAce]

Ah, I was forgetting that they've sold down to a 40% share in what used to be their water division. They were founded by a mandate from Napolean to supply water to Paris: https://www.fundinguniverse.com/comp...y-History.html

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by Floppyman The question is David, how many of those people actually seriously considered that the phone had those types of drawbacks? It sort of like someone buying a car because it looks cool, yet having no clue about that the engine may provide trouble in the long run. Plus we all know about the herd mentality of people in this culture....if the Jones' have one then.... Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to knock Apple -- I think it's great that so many units sold, especially for the holders of AAPL. But just like the iPod back then, it comes to show that Apple products really don't sell because of features alone (we have already discussed comparable products to the iPhone), but the certain type of "sleekiness and sexyness" inherent to them that appeals to people.

I think you're right. How much of the population actually knows all the facts about how cell phones operate and what functions are better than others? If something looks snazzy, has a huge name behind it (like Apple), and works most of the time, then it's going to sell. Technology is an area in which the majority of consumers simply throw their hands up at and exclaim "If it works and does what I need, I'm sold". Half the time when I explain things to guests at Target they simply stop me and ask me will it work or not. 90% of the time I have to give them the watered down version because that's all they care to hear.

The average Joe doesn't have time for explanations, they just want the popular items. Why do you think corporations spend so much money on advertisements? American consumers are like ADD monkeys - you can't keep their attention for very long, but spark their interest and they'll be clamoring to get their hands on the product. If you saw Paris Hilton carry around a sack of horse hockey then we'd be lining our shelves with them - you wouldn't be able to keep it in stock.

[mystvearn]

Originally Posted by mbossman2 this behavior is what may, in the long run, do some significant damage to the Chinese economy. Eventually it will get to the point that it makes no sense to have something built in China as their rogue manufacturing, product duplication and intellectual property violations almost instantly commodotize a new product, thus upsetting the delicate adoption curve and it's financial implications.

Remember Japan in the late 70s-80's where they copied American cars. Now they are the leader in that sector and almost in every technological aspect. So now its China's turn to copy and few years down the road they will be a leader as well. They have one thing which other nations do not have. Manpower and a huge consumer market. Manufacturing wages are low, manpower easily replaceable.

Rouge manufacturing state or not, I see lots of Europeans, Americans going to Hong Kong, and here to get pirated stuff from clothes to watches, to software. Its just like the street peddlers at NY, if you can get a Gucci bag for $20, why pay $200. Its all down to those who think how much they are willing to pay for a certain product. Piracy will never die

[Mac Medic]

I'm happy with mine so far. SMS didn't work for a while but that was an AT&T issue which they fixed. I have 2 weeks to see if I want to keep this as I left my other service active, so time will tell but as of right now its ok but I do miss some of the functionality of my Dash.

[David M]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 I think you're right. How much of the population actually knows all the facts about how cell phones operate and what functions are better than others? If something looks snazzy, has a huge name behind it (like Apple), and works most of the time, then it's going to sell. Technology is an area in which the majority of consumers simply throw their hands up at and exclaim "If it works and does what I need, I'm sold". Half the time when I explain things to guests at Target they simply stop me and ask me will it work or not. 90% of the time I have to give them the watered down version because that's all they care to hear. The average Joe doesn't have time for explanations, they just want the popular items. Why do you think corporations spend so much money on advertisements? American consumers are like ADD monkeys - you can't keep their attention for very long, but spark their interest and they'll be clamoring to get their hands on the product. If you saw Paris Hilton carry around a sack of horse hockey then we'd be lining our shelves with them - you wouldn't be able to keep it in stock.

It's just my opinion, but I think most people who have the income to afford this phone also have the wherewithal to at least do some basic research before buying. Its kind of arrogant to think that us computer geeks are the only ones capable of doing basic research on the internet and therefore determining if others should be buying this phone. Some people are sheep, yes. But this phone is targeted at people who already have a pretty decent disposable income and are therefore in most cases better educated and more resourceful than the typical cell phone buyer. It's pretty arrogant to think that it is only uneducated sheep that are purchasing this phone. Sure, some are sheep...but the majority of purchasers?...Naaaaaaaaah

[mbossman2]

Originally Posted by mystvearn Remember Japan in the late 70s-80's where they copied American cars. Now they are the leader in that sector and almost in every technological aspect. So now its China's turn to copy and few years down the road they will be a leader as well. They have one thing which other nations do not have. Manpower and a huge consumer market. Manufacturing wages are low, manpower easily replaceable. Rouge manufacturing state or not, I see lots of Europeans, Americans going to Hong Kong, and here to get pirated stuff from clothes to watches, to software. Its just like the street peddlers at NY, if you can get a Gucci bag for $20, why pay $200. Its all down to those who think how much they are willing to pay for a certain product. Piracy will never die

but it's not just copy or mimic, it is down right theft - dies and castings leaving the factory and going to another factory where illicit production starts up. Counterfiet product being positioned as real and legitimate. Software code being taken, bugs and all, and being repackaged as another company's products.

While americans and europeans may go to HK for these types of items, it does not make the production of them legitimate.

Take a look at some of the issues that are coming out of China:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/28/news...ion=2007062816
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/28/news...ion=2007062816
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/231583
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...ub=CTVNewsAt11
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cyberc...rgeConvict.htm
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/corp_012303.html

the issue is moving out of consumer soft goods into commerical products, pharmaceuticals, foods and food additives. Basically from things that are just an inconvenience to things that can cause significant physical harm.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by David M It's just my opinion, but I think most people who have the income to afford this phone also have the wherewithal to at least do some basic research before buying. Its kind of arrogant to think that us computer geeks are the only ones capable of doing basic research on the internet and therefore determining if others should be buying this phone. Some people are sheep, yes. But this phone is targeted at people who already have a pretty decent disposable income and are therefore in most cases better educated and more resourceful than the typical cell phone buyer. It's pretty arrogant to think that it is only uneducated sheep that are purchasing this phone. Sure, some are sheep...but the majority of purchasers?...Naaaaaaaaah

If you think I'm being arrogant then come work where I do for awhile and deal with who I deal with.

I know most people do do a moderate amount of research on an item before they purchase it, but a large portion of buyers don't do enough. If everyone actually researched items and chose those based on quality over pizazz then there would be a lesser need for advertising.

My PR class taught me that it is actually easier to sell to a consumer who has no intention of purchasing an item than those who are shopping around for it. Those instantaneous shoppers are actually a large portion of the population that advertisements are aimed at. Because if they really begin comparing then they might go some place else.

[mystvearn]

http://paultan.org/archives/2004/12/05/china-pirates/

They do know how to copy something very good, also eventually they will move away from copying everything
http://lifestyle.monstersandcritics....opycat_designs