It’s amazing how much unfounded gossip there is about the fact that Steve Jobs might reveal the iphone 2 on June 9th. One of the first „solid“ rumours I saw was at Gizmodo. Since then, new rumours, hints and other gossip has increased.
I subscribed to an RSS Newsfeed of Google News with the keyword iphone. There is so much happening, it’s amazing. If apple had tried to construct a viral or word of mouth campaign around the iphone, they couldn’t have done a better job than the web just did. Or may be they did help spreading the word?
Jobs‘ secretive computer and gadget company, has been quietly positioning millions of units of a mysterious new product—almost certainly the new iPhone—in key markets since March. And yet, incredibly, not one credible image of Apple’s new product has yet been published.
[…] One clue: Jobs began racking up serious mileage on his corporate jet during the company’s final quarter of 2007, as he likely finalized deals with distribution partners in Europe and Asia, and perhaps scrutinized the first 3G iPhone handsets to come from his partners‘ factories. Morgan Stanley’s Kathryn Huberty was the first to spot the enormous jump in Jobs‘ airplane expenses—to $550,000 from $203,000 during the previous quarter.
[…] By May 6, it became clear that AT&T was getting ready for something big, with a blogger publishing an all-hands memo to employees at AT&T stores telling them they couldn’t take vacation time between June 15 and July 12. That news hit amid widespread reports of iPhone shortages in Europe and across the U.S.
With all the clues, hints and gossip around the web, it appears to be like a giant world wide scavenger hunt. The whole setup and effect should be every marketers dream (and every ad agencys dilemma, since less or no advertising will be needed for the launch). Once the product itself carries viral potential, it automatically triggers word of mouth. The iphone is a classic example of this.
PS: if all goes well, I will be owning an iPhone 2 by next week 😉
The graphic is from this place here. Just today I found the ‚corresponding article‘ about ‚how google and apple dominate‚ whatever field they are moving into. Written by Umair Haque, this article goes into the „no compromise for bucks“ philosophy that is at the core of their DNA – Goople’s DNA, as he calls the two companies:
The ends they’re working towards are similar: Goople aspires to – with laserlike intensity – change the world for the better. And where most of their competitors will sell out everything they believe in for a few bucks and a latte, Goople is deeply, radically purposive: they won’t compromise much, if anything, to achieve the goal of changing the world for the better.
Go read that and remember the graphic above. And then keep this in mind whenever you’re thinking of a company’s strategy.
Steve Jobs announced some fabulous things once again during his MacWorld Keynote. The stockmarket obviously did not agree, as the share price fell considerably during Steves speach, but he gained one new potential customer (me).
Business Week features an article that says Sony BMG drops DRM. Peere pressure or not, I don’t care, I am just very happy about this. That’s the last Giant of the 4 to drop DRM.
Will Apple now drop their DRM so that I can listen to the songs I purchased (and I did purchase some, indeed!), everywhere I like?
But Sony won’t make their whole collection DRM free:
Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony (SNE) and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sony apparently noticed, that there can also be positive sides to offering music online:
Sony has been experimenting with DRM-free songs for about six months. The company began giving away DRM-free promotional downloads for recording artists that sell less than 100,000 units, and at least one artist gained mainstream exposure through the effort.
Given that and the Pepsi Promo I blogged about earlier, I think we can savely look forward to 2008 being the year, when the music industry finally awakes and joins the digital era.
It’s amazing how much unfounded gossip there is about the fact that Steve Jobs might reveal the iphone 2 on June 9th. One of the first „solid“ rumours I saw was at Gizmodo. Since then, new rumours, hints and other gossip has increased.
Wo ich sonst so bin...