Mole: iPhone 5 in testing now, on sale in September Last week's revelation that the iOS 5 developer-only beta release contains pointers to new iPhones and iPads was followed this weekend by the next Apple smartphone is currently in "final testing". That, a "previously accurate Apple source" told website 9to5Mac, indicates a September iPhone release date. Other sources made the …
Oh please, it's the usual Cupertino drip drip of anticipation building publicity.
I'm getting heartily sick of media management by companies like Apple. It's not even as if it will be anything truly revolutionary, it'll be another iteration of the iPhone that's frankly not had anything innovative since its inception but all the fanbois will squee and wet themselves as usual I guess.
However like any industry those who are at the top, however they managed to get there, are watched carefully as an indicator so others can plan their moves. Hardly anyone on the planet wanted a tablet, especially those of us who had used them in the distant past, but the second Apple put one out everyone started falling over themselves to get one out, now the landscape is littered with tablets from £50 to £750. The doomsayers are telling us this is the end of the desktop just 'cos 3 people on an average train have iPads or Galaxy's to read The Times on the way to work.
I'm not sticking up for Apple, just pointing out that Apple prove the old adage that "money talks and BS walks". Those with the "nudge factor", able to have a major influence on the markets, tend to watch the market leaders and then tell others where to put their money. The one thing that genuinely bothers is how delicately balanced the money-markets are and how much they are influenced by these so called experts. Some plank with some influence in the tech sector makes a Tweet that says Steve Jobs is scratching his nuts, next thing the value of my pension is dropping quicker than the value of a new BMW!
The Fuzzy Wotnot wrote:
>>Some plank with some influence in the tech sector makes a Tweet that says Steve Jobs is scratching his nuts, next thing the value of my pension is dropping quicker than the value of a new BMW!
Surely, when Steve scratches his nuts it should cause flash-floods on the other side of the world. Or does that only apply to butterflies?
"So where's the advantage to Apple in pretending to leak info, instead of just issuing a press release?"
Off the top of my head, plausible deniability. Useful when your white iPhone debuts a year late. Apple would've looked like real twits if they'd issued a press release saying that it was going to be released in July of 2010.
Better to let "Unnamed sources" spread juicy rumours to tech reporters, then deny categorically any of the rumours, ensuring double the media coverage.
The advantage comes in the 'juicy tidbit of gossip' angle, everyone likes a little bit of forbidden knowledge so all the fanbois get to feel warm and fuzzy inside plus when you spread that little bit of gossip you get pre-launch feedback from your market as to how much they like it, thus enabling you to do market research on the sly and add/enable or remove/disable features.
Anything that kills the buzz faster than a floating turd at a pool party you can deny and issue statements saying that it's a malicious rumour with no basis in fact.
Mind you, if you really are that trusting then I have a bridge you might be interested in?
Me? Cynical?
Apple skipped "iPhone 2" as a name so they could emphasise the second version's added 3G capability. When the third generation iPhone came out, they had to correct the sequence with the somewhat awkward "iPhone 3GS". Now that they got that glitch out of the way, it would stand to reason they'd continue with "iPhone $INTEGER" as they release new ones. Unless they decide to call it "iPhone 4G" with that additional feature.
Why the dissing of Apple so much? Their market share belies your poo-pooing. iPhone obviously meets the expectations of >25% of the phone-buying public, and the iPad is used, a lot. It is highly portable, and better for reading books and magazines (perhaps Kindle is better at books, but iPad isn't bad).
It seems so many people are just stuck on their own view. You like Symbian? Fine- I really don't care. You prefer Android? Great!
iPad serves me fine for what I do and how I use it. Oh, and it's a godsend on long, overseas flights. My carry on bag is much lighter for it- no books, magazines, etc... all the time-killers are in one place. And it's great for concepting, which I need to do a lot of for work. I found some great tools for idea capture.
I'm just amazed at how many people project their view onto how everyone else should think. Buy what you like, but be objective.
"And it's great for concepting, which I need to do a lot of for work. I found some great tools for idea capture."
Or as most people like to call it "thinking" and "making notes" (which can be electronic or on paper)
If your not already working in Management Consulting you should consider it, they love random made up soundbite terminology and the "concepting" of turning a couple of simple words into a strung out plethora of buzz words.
I'm quite happy to wait a few months for others to get the bugs out, you know, trivial stuff like antennas not really working.. After that I may think about it if there is enough argument to ditch my 3GS. However, if it's full of cloud BS it's basically too much like Android (everything you do monitored), in that case they can keep it..
I like Apple kit, but it has to fit in with what I do. "Everyone else has one" is not a valid argument as far as I'm concerned...
You have to hand it to Apple, they know how to squeeze every ounce of marketing opportunity from a product. Eventually, the hype machine just feeds off it's own energy.
Drop a tiny nugget of information about a possible release date, maybe a bit of news from a component manufacturer 'leaks' out - and it's off. Free marketing.
The hype builds and builds and who cares if the end product never quite realises the hype, or in fact, even comes close.
The finale of the marketing mania comes from Apple itself via the usual stage routine. The product is now reaching an almost mythical status. Words such as 'magical' and 'innovative' are bandied around. 'Life changing' 'Things will never be the same again'
Media reports of punters queuing around the block at the shrines of Apple make headlines.
Reviewers get their grubby paws on the new product first and wax lyrical about just how awesome they are.
Then you get one of them and it's like "sure, this is pretty cool ... but it's not *that* good" - it looks pretty, works nicely, but really, life changing? magical?
I think not.
Lets see what the hype machine promises this time around... they've got to go some to beat 'magical' - perhaps 'it's a religious experience' or 'godlike' or 'the elixir of life'
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