Let me first say that I am no product reviewer and that i have never owned an Apple product, neither have i found the need too. I just find that Apple's marketing strategy is absolute genius.
Let me start with the iPhone. Honestly, if any other company had released the iPhone, people would just be like bleah.. nothing special. Honestly, when the iPhone was announced the specification sheet was so terribly ordinary. No 3G, only a 2 MP camera, no video recording and no multi-tasking. Honestly, I was wondering how they were gonna sell this phone especially when compared with the Nokia N95 which was released earlier with much better specs.
However, when it was released, the iPhone was good for one thing and one thing alone. It had an incredible operating system. In essence, the iPhone was by far the easiest phones to use in the market. It had the best implementation of a touch screen and the layout was easy enough for anyone to understand.
This was more than enough to convince consumers to change to the iPhone. They were willing to part with a very considerable amount of cash for a phone which paled in comparison to others in the market. I'm not saying that they were gullible dummies for choosing an under-equipped phone, because ease of usage is something worth paying for.
Apple had to market their phones not just to consumers, but to the tons of people who write apps. As soon as the iPhone started selling, tons and tons of apps starting flowing into the market. Making it even easier to use the iPhone and access information over the net. Suddenly, it was so much easier to watch YouTube videos, check email, check up on facebook, find bus info, find places to eat, download tons of games and of check up on blogs.
Suddenly, it became synonymous to relate these functions to the iPhone. I had people telling me that they wanted to get the iPhone so that they can receive email. Flabbergasting really.. surely the blackberry is a better option for such a purpose. In any case, as more people bought into the iPhone, more people wrote apps for it leading to more people buying into the iPhone and i think you get my drift.
Still it was ridiculous that such an internet driven phone was running on a 2G network which is a lot slower than the 3G one. So once Apple had made sure that enough people had bought the 2G version of the iPhone, it decided to release the 3G version. It just added 3G support plus GPS. So now the multitude of people who had bought the 2G version found out that they had an underpowered device. Mind you that the 3G version came out just 1 year after the initial product.
Yet apple was praised for improving a handset which already was the best-selling one in the market. Of course, the 3G and GPS technology was already available even before the 2G version was released. In any case, 1 year later, Apple release another updated model, 3Gs. Improving the camera, enabling video recording and utilising a better CPU.
Now in 2010, just one year after the 3Gs was released, we wait on the 4G version on the iPhone. Which finally has a spec sheet comparable to phones released half a year earlier. It is expected to be a smash hit just like the 2G,3G and 3Gs versions.
Apple could have arguably released this 4G version back in 2007, but they chose to release 3 under-powered versions before releasing this one. Absolute genius. The iPhone now sells at a price comparable to the initial price of the iPhone 3 years ago, the price of the 4G version will definitely go up a few hundred dollars. Which other phone in the market has been able to continue selling at the same price tag it was first released with?
Look at any Nokia, Samsung or SE phone.. within 3 months the price drops by at least 10%, not so with the iPhone. A phone which is inferior to a host of phones in every way except for it's ease of use.
Why am I writing about this now? Well... the iPad was just released and I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that they are going to continue with the above marketing strategy. Why change a working system?
The iPad is a brilliant conception.I can see it eventually replacing laptops in the next decade or so. Paper, pencil, textbooks all could potentially be replaced by iPad-like devices in the future. A good thing if you are high on saving the environment or if you do not fancy training up your shoulder muscles as you travel to and from school.
Honestly though, I'm more than happy to wait for Samsung or some other company to come up with a more competent version of the iPad, which is missing a plethora of essential features. It would probably be easier to get accustomed to Apple's operating system, but i think it is worth my time to figure out a different operating system which will give me better performance. So grazie apple for your great concept, but there isn't a way that I will buy your products in the conceivable future.
Till the next random thought, farewell and God bless!
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