The iPhone Rhapsody
01.15.07 - 02:02pm
On Tuesday the 12th Apple introduced the iPhone - not what anyone expected, no clickwheel, no white earbuds - instead Apple stayed true to it’s past of inspired design innovation and came out with something new, something better, a new hybrid of the iPod rather than just a duplicate.
Steve Jobs in his Macworld Keynote address said “Today, Apple is reinventing the phone, after today, people will not look at smart phones the same way again.”
With that Apple has taken things above and beyond combining three products in one - phone, iPod and video. The 3.5 inch screen is larger than Apple’s iPod Video and rotates from horizontal to vertical automatically when the screen is turned, providing video lovers with widescreen. One also has Google maps, a home button for toggling, web, email, and the new technology “Multi-Touch”, which replaces the click-wheel by letting users make calls, play music and videos, and control the web, all with the touch of their fingertips. In total the phone is 4.5 inches in length, 2.5 inches wide with a thickness of only 11.6 mm.
Apple’s stock soared with the news of the iPhone, hitting highs that reached as far as $97.80 on Wednesday following the announcement. Anaylsts everywhere were raising their target prices such as Andrew Neff of Bear Stearns who raised his target price from $100 to $125. Not only is Apple’s stock rising on the news of the iPhone but it is also having a trickling down effect on stock for companies who are component makers of the iPhone.
Apple is looking forward to selling over 10 million iPhones by 2008, even with a price tag of either $499 for the 4GB or $599 for the 8GB. Some analysts such as says Charles Golvin, principal at Forrester Research think the price tag is a bit high saying “Initially, I’m sure there are people who want one regardless of the price, whether that’s enough to reach 10 million unit sales is an ambitious goal.” However, considering that the iPhone combines the iPod ($79 for the shuffle - $249 for the Nano), the Video iPod $349) and the phone (Blackberry 87803e runs $399) it just doesn’t seem all that expensive.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper jaffray wrote that “Apple is clearly becoming a consumer digital-lifestyle company vs just a computer and music device company.” He was not the only one touting Apple, Charlie Wolf with Needham & Co. wrote “(It’s) arguably the most important event since the Mac’s introduction in 1984. In a single moment, Apple put all of these erstwhile (mobile-phone) competitors to shame.”
While trying to put others to shame Apple still must deal with it’s own involvement on stock backdating and a variety of lawsuits including one filed by Cisco over the iPhone trademark name. Apple may also see a fall in iPod sales as consumers wait to buy the iPhone, which becomes available in June. Nevertheless Apple is continuing to leap forward and lead the way in high profile, high tech innovation. Its song which was being song with a choir, now seems to also be sung with a full fledged symphony.
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