A Wider Net

As this review points out, every living thing has heard of the iPhone. We are collectively the victims of another unstoppable buzz campaign from Apple. Like many reviews of this slick new device, the comments are mixed. The iPhone is slick, elegant, and potentially game-changing. At the very least, every handset maker in the world has been given a challenge to make better devices and for that we will all benefit. But, like the iPod, the device is technically imperfect and, like the iPod, competitors should be able to beat the iPhone technically and at lower prices. The question on every analysts mind must be: Will people continue to buy the iPhone despite the inevitable availability of lower cost, technically superior products, just because it’s an iPhone (just like they do with iPods).

I don’t have that answer of course, but I suspect iPhones will sell no matter what. In the meantime, the iPhone is among us, we have rumors of another iPhone right around the corner, and we have time to ponder it’s success from a marketing perspective and it’s usefulness as a marketing or communications tool.

As far as the marketing hype is concerned, we have only to look back at Macworld 2007 during which Steve Jobs finally unveiled the phone, after months (if not years) of endless and frantic rumors and speculation. I was a few hundred miles away at CES and once it was announced, that’s all anyone at CES was talking about. Steve Jobs had stolen the thunder of the largest consumer electronics event from hundreds of miles away. It was simply astonishing. Months later, on iPhone launch day, despite the over-abundance of iPhones at retail stores, the news media only covered the stores that had long lines filled with mattress-toting diehard fans, afraid to miss having their $1,975 phones on launch day. The media clearly loves Apple, because there were plenty of stores with plenty of stock and no rabid fans. Today, there are still iPhone stories in every magazine, newspaper, newsletter, and blog. Clearly Apple has a handle on brand loyalty and hype.

As a gadget, it’s has strong appeal despite its technical limitations, and because the price is out of range for most cellphone slingers, it has become arguably the hottest VIP gift you can give without wheels. And because it can display video and images so beautifully, it makes elevator pitches engaging. It’s the handset equivalent of a fancy car and a Rolex watch carrying prestige and gadget-chic. I imagine we will see at least one exhibitor at every trade show in America offering an iPhone giveaway, just like the iPods when they launched (before everyone got one).

For those of you simply hating the overpriced little thing, or if you are one of the unfortunate people charged with finding one for someone else, here’s a video you’ll love: The iPhone in a blender.