Keywords: Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, touch-screen devices, mobile Internet, smartphone, Killer App, technolust
So, what happened? How much hyperbole greeted Apple Inc.'s entry into the mobile phone business?
Here's how Scott Kurtz's online comic strip, PvP, greeted the iPhone, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs launched Tuesday at the annual Macworld Conference in San Francisco:
"Jesus has come back and he's a cellphone now."
The sleek, stylin' smartphone, less than 13 millimetres thick, has a touch-sensitive, widescreen surface that multitasks for viewing videos, email, websites and visual voice mail as well as keying in phone numbers, email and text. (A smartphone is a wireless handheld device that integrates telephone functions with multiple capabilities such as email and Internet.)
Why all the fuss? CEO Jobs promised the iPhone will reinvent mobile communications the way the company's Macintosh revolutionized computer design in 1984 and the iPod transformed the music industry in 1991.
"The Killer App is making a call!" Jobs bragged. (A killer application, or app, is a use that proves the worth of a certain technology, such as the light bulb for electricity or the Mosaic web browser for the Internet.)
"It appears to be so far beyond every other mobile phone - in both power, scope and, more than anything else, simplicity - that you almost want to call it something else," enthused Andy Ihnatko in the Chicago Sun-Times:
Jobs predicted Apple will sell
10 million units - at $499-$599 U.S. apiece - next year, about one per cent of the U.S. cellphone market. They will be available starting in June. The iPhone will only be available in the U.S. through AT&T's Cingular wireless network and requires a two-year contract.
Takin' it to the Street: The iPhone's rapturous reception sent Apple shares soaring by 8.3 per cent in New York on Tuesday to close at $92.57 U.S., while rival Palm dropped 5.7 per cent and Research in Motion was down 7.9 per cent.
Apple rose again by 4.8 per cent Wednesday to finish at $97 but closed yesterday at $94.62, down $1.18, or 1.2 per cent from Thursday.
The buzz was such that New York Times technology columnist David Pogue commented: "the torrent - and I do mean torrent - of iPhone commentary from the citizens of the Web is practically outflooding spam this week. Most of it comes from people whose shirt fronts are practically drenched in drool."
Mistaken iDentity? But while technophiles oohed and ahed, networking giant Cisco Systems Ltd. rained on Apple's parade by announcing plans to sue the computer company for using the name iPhone without permission.
It seems Cisco has owned the iPhone trademark since 2000, a small detail Jobs forgot to sort out before Tuesday's gala launch.
CNET, a technology news site, reported Apple and Cisco were in negotiations right up until the product launch.
And that isn't Apple's only legal problem.
Jobs is also under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a backdated stock option awarded to him that was falsely dated October 2001.
"Even amid the iPhone splash ... some in the press are circling," reported Kevin Kelleher on TheStreet.com. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal raised the question: "Should Steve Jobs Go to Jail?"
What's under the hood? Despite the iPhone's indisputable aesthetic appeal, some critics suggest its beauty is only skin deep.
For example, when you're fumbling for the "send" key, there are drawbacks to having a smooth surface where you can't feel the keys.
Even the New York Times' Pogue, an Apple devotee and one of the select few who got to try out the iPhone, admitted typing on the handheld device was tedious.
Some analysts warn the steep price and the fact it's only available from Cingular might also hamper sales.
Leave it to Beaver? North of the border, Canadians were left wondering when we'll get to try the vaunted device.
It's likely the iPhone will only be available in Canada from Rogers Wireless. That's because only Rogers uses the same Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) technology as the iPhone.
Scott Deveau reported in the National Post that Apple's hard line on pricing and Rogers' monopoly are sparking fears the price will be out of reach for most consumers.
Sources: PC World, CNET, NewYorkTimes.com, Chicago Sun-Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury-News, PvPonline.com, National Post, TheStreet.com
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